Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the (a) needs of hearing impaired Court users, (b) functioning of live captioning and (c) challenges experienced by those people when participating in remote hearings; when and by whom that assessment was made; and if he will make a statement.
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.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether the needs of a hearing impaired court user for reasonable adjustment to enable them to access hearings in person are met in all cases; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
HMCTS will provide reasonable adjustments for court and tribunal users with disabilities and takes steps to avoid treating people less favourably because of their disability. Court and tribunal users are encouraged to get in touch with HMCTS to discuss any particular adjustments they may need. HMCTS staff will sensitively ask those needing reasonable adjustments what support they require in order to be able to provide reasonable adjustments. We are committed to providing reasonable adjustments for all of those people with hearing loss to be able to access hearings in person.
Reasonable adjustment guidance and broader disability guidance is provided to all HMCTS staff for in person hearings and remote hearings. All guidance raises awareness of the issues people with hearing loss may face, and the reasonable adjustments which may help them to fully participate in hearings. Guidance also provides practical help for staff to ensure they know what hearing enhancement equipment is available in their buildings for users and how to use it. It includes a checklist for making sure that staff have time to test hearing enhancement equipment and are comfortable with how it’s used.
The Judiciary of England and Wales is constitutionally independent of Government, so the MoJ does not issue guidance to the judiciary. Judicial guidance on equal treatment is provided through access to the Equal Treatment Bench Book (ETBB), published by the Judicial College, and learning materials which provide explicit guidance on working with diverse individuals such as those who have hearing loss.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what guidance his Department (a) has given and (b) plans to give to (i) HM Courts and Tribunals Service personnel and (ii) the Judiciary on enabling hearing impaired users to use specialist equipment assessed as suitable for them at attended Court hearings; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
HMCTS will provide reasonable adjustments for court and tribunal users with disabilities and takes steps to avoid treating people less favourably because of their disability. Court and tribunal users are encouraged to get in touch with HMCTS to discuss any particular adjustments they may need. HMCTS staff will sensitively ask those needing reasonable adjustments what support they require in order to be able to provide reasonable adjustments. We are committed to providing reasonable adjustments for all of those people with hearing loss to be able to access hearings in person.
Reasonable adjustment guidance and broader disability guidance is provided to all HMCTS staff for in person hearings and remote hearings. All guidance raises awareness of the issues people with hearing loss may face, and the reasonable adjustments which may help them to fully participate in hearings. Guidance also provides practical help for staff to ensure they know what hearing enhancement equipment is available in their buildings for users and how to use it. It includes a checklist for making sure that staff have time to test hearing enhancement equipment and are comfortable with how it’s used.
The Judiciary of England and Wales is constitutionally independent of Government, so the MoJ does not issue guidance to the judiciary. Judicial guidance on equal treatment is provided through access to the Equal Treatment Bench Book (ETBB), published by the Judicial College, and learning materials which provide explicit guidance on working with diverse individuals such as those who have hearing loss.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what information or evidence of impairment has to be provided by a court user to HM Courts and Tribunals Service before reasonable adjustments will be considered.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
HMCTS will provide reasonable adjustments for court and tribunal users with disabilities and takes steps to avoid treating people less favourably because of their disability. Court and tribunal users are encouraged to get in touch with HMCTS to discuss any particular adjustments they may need. HMCTS staff will sensitively ask those needing reasonable adjustments what support they require in order to be able to provide reasonable adjustments. We are committed to providing reasonable adjustments for all of those people with hearing loss to be able to access hearings in person.
Reasonable adjustment guidance and broader disability guidance is provided to all HMCTS staff for in person hearings and remote hearings. All guidance raises awareness of the issues people with hearing loss may face, and the reasonable adjustments which may help them to fully participate in hearings. Guidance also provides practical help for staff to ensure they know what hearing enhancement equipment is available in their buildings for users and how to use it. It includes a checklist for making sure that staff have time to test hearing enhancement equipment and are comfortable with how it’s used.
The Judiciary of England and Wales is constitutionally independent of Government, so the MoJ does not issue guidance to the judiciary. Judicial guidance on equal treatment is provided through access to the Equal Treatment Bench Book (ETBB), published by the Judicial College, and learning materials which provide explicit guidance on working with diverse individuals such as those who have hearing loss.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when covid-19 restrictions on interment of ashes following cremation will be lifted; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
There are no Government restrictions on the interment of ashes. It has never been Government policy to prevent the interment of ashes, and the Government amended the Regulations on 22 April to make it clear that it was only crematoria buildings which had to close to members of the public, except for funerals and burials. There have never been restrictions on the grounds surrounding crematoria, including burial grounds and gardens of remembrance. The restrictions on crematoria buildings were then lifted on 4 July.
The law does not compel the owners and managers of these places to keep them open, and there are many reasonable justifications for why they may need to close temporarily, such as when conducting a funeral, or for maintenance. The Government urges the owners and managers of these places to take all practical steps towards enabling these places to be visited, in a safe manner consistent with social distancing guidelines.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many benefit tribunals in (a) Liverpool, (b) the Northwest and (c) the UK have been postponed since March 2020.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The information requested is not available.
The latest period for which data about appeals to the First-tier Tribunal (Social Security and Child Support) (SSCS) are available is October – December 2019.
www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent steps he has taken to reduce the waiting times for personal independence payments appeals to be heard in the Garston and Halewood constituency.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Ministry of Justice expects appeal hearings to take place as quickly as possible and is carrying out a series of initiatives to increase capacity which will help reduce waiting times for appellants in Garston and Halewood, whose closest tribunal venue is in Liverpool. Since January 2018, additional panel members have been recruited to hear cases at the Liverpool venue. Four judges, seven medical members and one specialist member have been allocated to Liverpool as their primary venue and a further 13 judges, seven medical members and 4 specialist members have been allocated to Liverpool as their secondary venue. In addition to this, the capacity at the Liverpool venue has recently increased and it is now using five to six hearing rooms on a daily basis.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent progress has been made on implementing the commitment in the Queen's Speech 2017 to introduce an independent public advocate who will (a) act for bereaved families after a public disaster and (b) support those families at public inquests; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The Government is committed to doing all it can to support bereaved families after a public disaster and to ensure those families are supported during public inquests.
We are continuing to consider the responses to the proposals for an Independent Public Advocate on which we consulted last year and will be publishing our plans for establishing the role in due course.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average waiting time was for personal independence payments claimants awaiting an appeal on their claim to be heard in the Garston and Halewood constituency in each of the last 12 months.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Waiting times for appeals against decisions made about Personal Independence Payment (PIP) are published at:
www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics
Average waiting times1 for PIP2 appeals in Garston and Halewood3 between July 2018 to June 2019 (the latest 12 month period for which data are available) are included in the table below:
Month | Waiting time (in weeks)4 |
July 2018 | 34 |
August 2018 | 35 |
September 2018 | 37 |
October 2018 | 38 |
November 2018 | 38 |
December 2018 | 39 |
January 2019 | 37 |
February 2019 | 40 |
March 2019 | 36 |
April 2019 p | 37 |
May 2019 p | 35 |
June 2019 p | 37 |
1. Waiting time is interpreted as average clearance time – time taken from appeal receipt to outcome.
2. PIP (New Claim Appeals), which is replacing Disability Living Allowance was introduced on 8 April 2013, and also includes Disability Living Allowance Reassessed cases.
3. SSCS data are recorded by the office that dealt with the case, and if the case went to oral hearing, the location of the tribunal hearing, which is normally the hearing venue nearest to the appellant’s home address. Cases relating to the Garston and Halewood constituency are attributed to the Liverpool venue.
4. Includes all cases cleared both with and without a tribunal hearing, in line with the published statistics.
p. Provisional data which are subject to change.
Waiting times are calculated from receipt of an appeal to its final disposal. An appeal is not necessarily disposed of at its first hearing. The final disposal decision on the appeal may be reached after an earlier hearing had been adjourned (which may be directed by the judge for a variety of reasons, such as to seek further evidence), or after an earlier hearing date had been postponed (again, for a variety of reasons, often at the request of the appellant). An appeal may also have been decided at an earlier date by the First-tier Tribunal, only for the case to have gone on to the Upper Tribunal, to be returned once again to the First-tier, for its final disposal.
It is important that appeals are heard as quickly as possible. HMCTS recognises there are delays in the system and it is in the process of recruiting more judicial office holders in order to increase capacity and help to reduce waiting times for appellants. This includes 250 judges across the First-tier Tribunal, 125 disability qualified members and up to 230 medical members.
In addition, HMCTS has recently launched a new digital service with a view to enabling speedier processing of appeals. Information on the new digital service can be found at: www.gov.uk/appeal-benefit-decision/submit-appeal.
HMCTS is also working with the Department for Work and Pensions to understand what could be done to reduce the number of appeals being submitted to the Tribunal, through their focus on improving decision-making and the mandatory reconsideration process.
Asked by: Maria Eagle (Labour - Garston and Halewood)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average waiting time has been in Merseyside for personal independence payment tribunal appeals in each of the last 12 months.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
Information about waiting times for Personal Independence Payment (PIP) appeals to the First-tier Tribunal (Social Security and Child Support - SSCS) is published at:
www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics.
Average waiting times1 for PIP2 appeals in Merseyside3 between April 2018 to March 2019 (the latest 12 month period for which data are available) is included in the table below:
Month | Waiting time (in weeks)4 |
April 2018 | 34 |
May 2018 | 35 |
June 2018 | 35 |
July 2018 | 34 |
August 2018 | 34 |
September 2018 | 36 |
October 2018 | 37 |
November 2018 | 37 |
December 2018 | 38 |
January 2019p | 37 |
February 2019p | 38 |
March 2019p | 36 |
1 Waiting time is interpreted as average clearance time – time taken from appeal receipt to outcome
2. Personal Independence Payment (New Claim Appeals), which is replacing Disability Living Allowance was introduced on 8 April 2013, also includes Disability Living Allowance Reassessed cases |
3. SSCS data are recorded by the office that dealt with the case, and if the case went to oral hearing, the location of the tribunal hearing, normally the hearing venue nearest to the appellant’s home address. Cases relating to the Merseyside region are attributed to the following SSCS venues: Birkenhead, Liverpool & St Helens |
4. Includes all cases cleared both with and without a tribunal hearing, in line with the published statistics |
p Provisional data which are subject to change.
Waiting times are calculated from receipt of an appeal to its final disposal. An appeal is not necessarily disposed of at its first hearing. The final disposal decision on the appeal may be reached after an earlier hearing had been adjourned (which may be directed by the judge for a variety of reasons, such as to seek further evidence), or after an earlier hearing date had been postponed (again, for a variety of reasons, often at the request of the appellant). An appeal may also have been decided at an earlier date by the First-tier Tribunal, only for the case to have gone on to the Upper Tribunal, to be returned once again to the First-tier, for its final disposal.
In order to respond to a general increase in appeal receipts, HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) has been working with the judiciary to reduce waiting times for appeals and has appointed additional judges and panel members. This includes 250 judges across the First-tier Tribunal, 125 disability qualified members and up to 230 medical members. In addition, more PIP appeals are being listed per session and case-management “triage” sessions have been introduced, with the aim of reducing the time taken for appeals to reach final determination. All these measures will increase the capacity of the tribunal, with the aim of reducing waiting times for appellants.
In addition, we have recently launched a new digital service with a view to enabling speedier processing of appeals and provide a better service for all parties to the proceedings. Information on the new digital service can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/appeal-benefit-decision/submit-appeal
Latest figures for PIP (to December 2018) indicate that since it was introduced, 3.9 million decisions have been made. Of these, 10% have been appealed and 5% have been overturned at tribunals.