Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that reasonable adjustments are made by His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) provides reasonable adjustments for court and tribunal users with disabilities, in accordance with its legal duty under the Equality Act 2010, to help them access information and services. HMCTS also has a wider duty to avoid treating people less favourably because of a disability to meet its wider Public Sector Equality Duty. HMCTS encourages court and tribunal users to get in touch before a hearing to discuss any particular adjustments they may need. Information about HMCTS providing reasonable adjustments is available on GOV.UK at www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-courts-and-tribunals-service/about/equality-and-diversity.
HMCTS has mandatory Reasonable Adjustment learning for staff to help them understand what reasonable adjustments are and how the agency should put them in place to support court and tribunal users with disabilities.
As part of the HMCTS Reform Programme, HMCTS is improving how reasonable adjustments are requested and managed within Civil, Family and Tribunals jurisdictions. This will include proactively asking service users for their support needs within their journey, and improvements to case management systems to make it easier for its staff to manage and deliver the adjustments.
HMCTS does record requests for reasonable adjustments. Requests from court and tribunal users across all jurisdictions are manually logged and recorded on OPTIC which is the HMCTS incident and feedback recording system.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to simplify the process for people seeking reasonable adjustments in His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service settings.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) provides reasonable adjustments for court and tribunal users with disabilities, in accordance with its legal duty under the Equality Act 2010, to help them access information and services. HMCTS also has a wider duty to avoid treating people less favourably because of a disability to meet its wider Public Sector Equality Duty. HMCTS encourages court and tribunal users to get in touch before a hearing to discuss any particular adjustments they may need. Information about HMCTS providing reasonable adjustments is available on GOV.UK at www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-courts-and-tribunals-service/about/equality-and-diversity.
HMCTS has mandatory Reasonable Adjustment learning for staff to help them understand what reasonable adjustments are and how the agency should put them in place to support court and tribunal users with disabilities.
As part of the HMCTS Reform Programme, HMCTS is improving how reasonable adjustments are requested and managed within Civil, Family and Tribunals jurisdictions. This will include proactively asking service users for their support needs within their journey, and improvements to case management systems to make it easier for its staff to manage and deliver the adjustments.
HMCTS does record requests for reasonable adjustments. Requests from court and tribunal users across all jurisdictions are manually logged and recorded on OPTIC which is the HMCTS incident and feedback recording system.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department takes steps to record requests for reasonable adjustments.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) provides reasonable adjustments for court and tribunal users with disabilities, in accordance with its legal duty under the Equality Act 2010, to help them access information and services. HMCTS also has a wider duty to avoid treating people less favourably because of a disability to meet its wider Public Sector Equality Duty. HMCTS encourages court and tribunal users to get in touch before a hearing to discuss any particular adjustments they may need. Information about HMCTS providing reasonable adjustments is available on GOV.UK at www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-courts-and-tribunals-service/about/equality-and-diversity.
HMCTS has mandatory Reasonable Adjustment learning for staff to help them understand what reasonable adjustments are and how the agency should put them in place to support court and tribunal users with disabilities.
As part of the HMCTS Reform Programme, HMCTS is improving how reasonable adjustments are requested and managed within Civil, Family and Tribunals jurisdictions. This will include proactively asking service users for their support needs within their journey, and improvements to case management systems to make it easier for its staff to manage and deliver the adjustments.
HMCTS does record requests for reasonable adjustments. Requests from court and tribunal users across all jurisdictions are manually logged and recorded on OPTIC which is the HMCTS incident and feedback recording system.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure that the special category level of personal data held by his Department is protected.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) takes its data protection responsibilities very seriously. The Department has a well-resourced and knowledgeable Data Protection Team led by an experienced and certified Data Protection Officer (DPO). We have a departmental data protection strategy providing a framework which enables the lawful use of personal data.
The Department delivers regular training which is bespoke to roles which involve the processing of personal information, including special category data. All staff are required to undertake information handling training. The Department has a policy governance framework in place and conducts regular audits to check that our policies and procedures are effective.
The Department continues to foster a culture which promotes good data protection and security principles. The Data Protection Team also works with the Cross Government Data Protection Committee to share learning, best practice and recommendations. This approach has been endorsed by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
The department has a range of security policies, standards, and guidance material which staff, contractors and suppliers are obliged to follow. These define the security requirements that systems which process MoJ information, including special category information, must include to ensure it is properly protected at all times.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make it his policy to introduce a public advocate as set out in the Public Advocate (No.2) Bill; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government is committed to supporting bereaved families after public disasters and during public inquests. We have consulted on proposals to establish an Independent Public Advocate and we are carefully considering the best way forward.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 22 July to Question 35513 on Remote Hearings: Hearing Impairment, if the Minister will publish the Equality Impact Assessment referred to.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Equality Impact Assessment will be published alongside an evaluation of the use of remote hearings during the covid-19 outbreak. HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) aims to publish the evaluation in due course.
HMCTS Reasonable Adjustment Guidance and training are intended for internal use and HMCTS does not intend to publish these materials. Remote participation in hearings provides an alternative method for conducting a hearing. However, attending a hearing remotely will not always be appropriate. The option to hold a remote hearing is at the discretion of a judge, who will decide if it is appropriate and in the interests of justice to do so, taking into account the needs of the parties involved. The allocation of court facilities will be provided accordingly. HMCTS is committed to ensuring that remote hearings are accessible to all users including those with hearing loss.
To preserve the independence of the judiciary, the Lord Chief Justice (LCJ), the Senior President of the Tribunals, and the Chief Coroner have statutory responsibility for judicial training. All judicial training materials are created and held by the Judicial College which is independent from the Ministry of Justice.
All judicial office holders have access to the Equal Treatment Bench Book (ETBB). This is a publicly available guidance document that provides explicit guidance on a wide range of considerations, including with individuals who are hard of hearing. The ETBB is published here: www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Equal-Treatment-Bench-Book-February-2021-1.pdf.
HMCTS has issued guidance to staff highlighting that court/tribunal users with hearing loss may wish to use personal or specialist equipment including Roger assistive devices in our buildings. Where a court/tribunal user wishes to use equipment at a hearing not provided by HMCTS this is subject to judicial approval.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what guidance has been provided by his Department to HMCTS officials on court hearing participants using specialist equipment assessed as suitable including Roger assistive devices.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Equality Impact Assessment will be published alongside an evaluation of the use of remote hearings during the covid-19 outbreak. HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) aims to publish the evaluation in due course.
HMCTS Reasonable Adjustment Guidance and training are intended for internal use and HMCTS does not intend to publish these materials. Remote participation in hearings provides an alternative method for conducting a hearing. However, attending a hearing remotely will not always be appropriate. The option to hold a remote hearing is at the discretion of a judge, who will decide if it is appropriate and in the interests of justice to do so, taking into account the needs of the parties involved. The allocation of court facilities will be provided accordingly. HMCTS is committed to ensuring that remote hearings are accessible to all users including those with hearing loss.
To preserve the independence of the judiciary, the Lord Chief Justice (LCJ), the Senior President of the Tribunals, and the Chief Coroner have statutory responsibility for judicial training. All judicial training materials are created and held by the Judicial College which is independent from the Ministry of Justice.
All judicial office holders have access to the Equal Treatment Bench Book (ETBB). This is a publicly available guidance document that provides explicit guidance on a wide range of considerations, including with individuals who are hard of hearing. The ETBB is published here: www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Equal-Treatment-Bench-Book-February-2021-1.pdf.
HMCTS has issued guidance to staff highlighting that court/tribunal users with hearing loss may wish to use personal or specialist equipment including Roger assistive devices in our buildings. Where a court/tribunal user wishes to use equipment at a hearing not provided by HMCTS this is subject to judicial approval.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 22 July to Question 35513 on Remote Hearings: Hearing Impairment, if his Department will publish the learning materials which provide explicit guidance on working with diverse individuals such as those who are hard of hearing which the judiciary has access to.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Equality Impact Assessment will be published alongside an evaluation of the use of remote hearings during the covid-19 outbreak. HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) aims to publish the evaluation in due course.
HMCTS Reasonable Adjustment Guidance and training are intended for internal use and HMCTS does not intend to publish these materials. Remote participation in hearings provides an alternative method for conducting a hearing. However, attending a hearing remotely will not always be appropriate. The option to hold a remote hearing is at the discretion of a judge, who will decide if it is appropriate and in the interests of justice to do so, taking into account the needs of the parties involved. The allocation of court facilities will be provided accordingly. HMCTS is committed to ensuring that remote hearings are accessible to all users including those with hearing loss.
To preserve the independence of the judiciary, the Lord Chief Justice (LCJ), the Senior President of the Tribunals, and the Chief Coroner have statutory responsibility for judicial training. All judicial training materials are created and held by the Judicial College which is independent from the Ministry of Justice.
All judicial office holders have access to the Equal Treatment Bench Book (ETBB). This is a publicly available guidance document that provides explicit guidance on a wide range of considerations, including with individuals who are hard of hearing. The ETBB is published here: www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Equal-Treatment-Bench-Book-February-2021-1.pdf.
HMCTS has issued guidance to staff highlighting that court/tribunal users with hearing loss may wish to use personal or specialist equipment including Roger assistive devices in our buildings. Where a court/tribunal user wishes to use equipment at a hearing not provided by HMCTS this is subject to judicial approval.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 22 July to Question 35513 on Remote Hearings: Hearing Impairment, if his Department will publish the reasonable adjustment guidance and training available to HMCTS personnel.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Equality Impact Assessment will be published alongside an evaluation of the use of remote hearings during the covid-19 outbreak. HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) aims to publish the evaluation in due course.
HMCTS Reasonable Adjustment Guidance and training are intended for internal use and HMCTS does not intend to publish these materials. Remote participation in hearings provides an alternative method for conducting a hearing. However, attending a hearing remotely will not always be appropriate. The option to hold a remote hearing is at the discretion of a judge, who will decide if it is appropriate and in the interests of justice to do so, taking into account the needs of the parties involved. The allocation of court facilities will be provided accordingly. HMCTS is committed to ensuring that remote hearings are accessible to all users including those with hearing loss.
To preserve the independence of the judiciary, the Lord Chief Justice (LCJ), the Senior President of the Tribunals, and the Chief Coroner have statutory responsibility for judicial training. All judicial training materials are created and held by the Judicial College which is independent from the Ministry of Justice.
All judicial office holders have access to the Equal Treatment Bench Book (ETBB). This is a publicly available guidance document that provides explicit guidance on a wide range of considerations, including with individuals who are hard of hearing. The ETBB is published here: www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Equal-Treatment-Bench-Book-February-2021-1.pdf.
HMCTS has issued guidance to staff highlighting that court/tribunal users with hearing loss may wish to use personal or specialist equipment including Roger assistive devices in our buildings. Where a court/tribunal user wishes to use equipment at a hearing not provided by HMCTS this is subject to judicial approval.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, in the context of needing to make reasonable adjustments for hearing impaired users to access remote hearings, how the (a) availability and (b) allocation of court rooms for attended hearings is made.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Remote participation in hearings provides an alternative method for conducting a hearing. However, attending a hearing remotely will not always be appropriate. The option to hold a remote hearing is at the discretion of a judge, who will decide if it is appropriate and in the interests of justice to do so taking into account the needs of the parties involved. The allocation of court facilities will be provided accordingly.
HMCTS is committed to ensuring that remote hearings are accessible to all users including those with hearing loss. At the start of the pandemic HMCTS considered its public sector equality duty and completed an Equality Impact Assessment. This is regularly reviewed and updated.
The technology used to facilitate video hearings has the functionality to effectively support those with hearing loss. A range of adjustments can be provided, including speech to text reporters if live captioning was required and sign language interpreters. Additional support is also offered, such as regular breaks in a hearing.
Court and tribunal users are encouraged to get in touch before any type of hearing to discuss any particular adjustments they may need so that people are not treated less favourably because of their disability.
HMCTS staff have access to reasonable adjustment guidance and training. All guidance raises awareness of the issues people may face, and the reasonable adjustments which may help them to fully participate in hearings.
The Judicial College ensures judicial training promotes equal treatment by weaving equality issues and case studies into training material. The judiciary have access to the Equal Treatment Bench Book (ETBB), and learning materials which provide explicit guidance on working with diverse individuals such as those who are hard of hearing.