Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lucy Frazer and Helen Hayes

Thursday 23rd May 2024 Commons Chamber

[Helen Hayes (Dulwich and West Norwood) (Lab)]

T3. The legacy of 14 years of Conservative Government is a 73% real terms cut in local authority expenditure on youth services since 2010. Will the Secretary of State admit just how profoundly the Tories have failed our young people, and acknowledge that only a Labour Government can restore hope and opportunity for young people across this country?

[Lucy Frazer]

In addition to the £500 million in the national youth guarantee, which is supporting young people across the country, we are approaching youth in a cross-departmental way, whether through the £200 million from the Home Office to support young people not to go into a life of crime, the similar amount of funding from the Ministry of Justice to ensure that that funding comes through, or the £64 billion that we give to local councils. We are supporting young people at every stage of their life.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Lucy Frazer and Helen Hayes

Tuesday 5th February 2019 Commons Chamber

[Helen Hayes (Dulwich and West Norwood) (Lab)]

8. What assessment he has made of the effect of recent (a) changes in court staffing and (b) court closures on access to justice.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Lucy Frazer)]

I assure the hon. Lady that any decision to close a court is taken incredibly carefully, but in circumstances in which 41% of courts were operating at half their available capacity in 2016-17, it is right that the Ministry of Justice considers how best to spend its resources. We are investing £1 billion in our courts, bringing them up to date, improving back-office systems and making it easier for people to access justice.

[Helen Hayes]

Three years ago, I expressed concerns about the impact that the closure of Lambeth county court would have on the efficiency of the court system and access to justice for my constituents. Lambeth was closed two years ago and the workload was moved to Clerkenwell and Shoreditch. Yesterday, I heard from a local legal aid solicitor that Clerkenwell and Shoreditch county court is completely overwhelmed, that delays of six to eight months to receive court directions are common, and that the contact centre cannot provide up-to-date information on cases. When will the Government act to sort out this shambolic mess?

[Lucy Frazer]

I am happy to meet the hon. Lady to discuss that specific situation. The MOJ is taking a number of steps to improve court timeliness, which is of course important. We are digitising a number of services—people can now track their tribunal appeal online—and recruiting more judges to tribunals, with more than 225 recruited over the past year. I am happy to discuss that particular case.