Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Mike Freer and Kate Hollern

Tuesday 12th September 2023 Commons Chamber

[Mike Freer]

The time taken once all required documents are received is between six and nine weeks. We always advise that no one should take a decision on the sale of a property until probate is granted, but I can reassure my hon. Friend that despite a significant increase in applications, the service is recruiting and training up more than 100 new caseworkers to ensure that it delivers the service that my hon. Friend wants, as do I.

[Kate Hollern (Blackburn) (Lab)]

Last month the United Nations called for an urgent Government review of sentences of imprisonment for public protection. Will the Secretary of State listen to the UN? Can he explain why the number of people with an IPP sentence recalled to prison without committing any further offence has soared in recent years?

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Mike Freer and Kate Hollern

Tuesday 22nd November 2022 Commons Chamber

[Mike Freer]

My hon. Friend is spot on: it is not acceptable that his area is going backwards. I have commissioned officials to report in detail on the exact problems affecting his area, and I will report to him in the next four to six weeks.

[Kate Hollern (Blackburn) (Lab)]

2. What assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Common Platform on the delivery of justice by HM Courts and Tribunals Service.

[Rachel Hopkins (Luton South) (Lab)]

13. What steps he is taking to improve the performance of the Common Platform.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Mike Freer)]

We have rolled out the Common Platform at 173 criminal courts in England and Wales and 76% of courts are now live. It has improved the format and timeliness of outcomes of hearings generated and shared with our criminal justice partner agencies and removed the need for staff to re-key information across different IT systems. If we are to reform the criminal justice system, we need to press ahead and reform the IT that underpins it.

[Kate Hollern]

The Common Platform has been nothing short of a disaster—one quarter of a billion wasted on a project that was fundamentally flawed from the start and designed primarily to slash thousands of highly skilled legal jobs. Even the Lord Chief Justice has raised serious concerns recently to the Justice Committee. Is it not time the Minister held up his hands, admitted this was a mistake and told His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service to build a better system that focuses on delivering justice instead of wasting money in such a damaging and short-sighted way?

[Mike Freer]

The simple answer to that question is no.