Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North East Bedfordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average holding time was for phone calls to the probate office contact line in each year since 2019.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The average holding time (Average Speed of Answer (ASA)) for phone calls to the Probate office contact line in each year since 2019 is as follows:
2021 = 17 minutes 28 seconds
2022 = 33 minutes 23 seconds
2023 = 12 minutes 17 seconds
HMCTS does not hold ASA data prior to 2021 due to a change in system in Spring 2021.
HMCTS has recruited over 100 additional staff, between June 2022 and June 2023, to improve both telephone response times and increase the overall volume and speed of grants being issued.
In addition, HMCTS have undertaken additional staff training to ensure probate call agents can resolve more queries at the first time of contact and issue the grant wherever possible.
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North East Bedfordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of HM Courts and Tribunals Service's (a) performance on probate issues and (b) speed at processing probate applications.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The probate service received record levels of applications during 2022 and this has continued to grow with higher levels of receipts during January to June 2023 compared to the same period in 2022.
HMCTS has streamlined internal processes to cut down on administrative delay and reduce processing times. We are continuing to invest in improving digital systems and online filing capabilities so users can track progress more easily.
HMCTS has increased staffing levels in Probate over the past year to help process applications faster. The training and upskilling of those new and existing staff have led to applications taking longer in the short term.
HMCTS are focused on increasing outputs to reduce overall timeliness on all types of applications and the average mean length of time taken for a grant of probate, following receipt of the documents required, is 13 weeks during April to June 2023.
Average waiting times for probate grants are routinely published on gov.uk via Family Court Statistics Quarterly and currently cover the period up to June 2023.
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North East Bedfordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has made a comparative assessment of the time it takes for (a) sexual offences and (b) other criminal offences to reach trial.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The data on the time taken from offence to completion for all cases is published by the Ministry of Justice on a quarterly basis. Timeliness data is available for sexual offences and other criminal offences at the link below in the ‘Crown Court timeliness tool’ and ‘End-to-end timeliness tool’: Criminal court statistics quarterly: July to September 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
We remain committed to reducing the Crown Court caseload and have invested a significant amount of extra money for the Criminal Justice System to help improve waiting times for victims of crime. We have introduced a raft of measures to achieve that aim, including opening extra courtrooms and funding over 100,000 sitting days last year, with plans to deliver the same again this year. We are investing £220 million for essential modernisation of our court buildings over the next two years as well as investing in judicial recruitment, so that we expect to recruit more than 1,000 judges across all jurisdictions by the end of 2023/2024.
We are working closely with the judiciary and other partners to improve the experience of court users. We have quadrupled funding for victims’ services so victims get the support they need throughout the process. Judges prioritise cases involving vulnerable complainants and witnesses, and seek to ensure that domestic abuse, serious sex cases and those with vulnerable witnesses are listed at the first available opportunity.
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North East Bedfordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he (a) is taking and (b) plans to take to reduce the number of cases of sexual offences waiting to be heard in the crown court.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
We remain committed to reducing the Crown Court caseload and are working closely with the judiciary and other partners to improve the experience of court users. We have introduced a raft of measures to achieve that aim, including funding over 100,000 sitting days last year and planning to deliver the same again this year. We are investing £220 million for essential modernisation of our court buildings over the next two years as well as investing in judicial recruitment, so that we expect to recruit more than 1,000 judges by the end of 2023/2024.
We have invested a significant amount of extra money for the Criminal Justice System to help improve waiting times for victims of crime. We have opened extra courtrooms, and continued hearings, alongside quadrupling funding for victims’ services so victims get the support they need throughout the process. Judges prioritise cases involving vulnerable complainants and witnesses, and seek to ensure that domestic abuse, serious sex cases and those with vulnerable witnesses are listed at the first available opportunity.
In June 2022, we announced our Specialist Sexual Violence Support (SSVS) project in three Crown Courts, to improve the support on offer in court for victims of rape and improve timeliness of cases going through the system. This includes trauma-informed training for all staff at courts who come into contact with victims, improved facilities and technology, and at least one Case Coordinator at each court.
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North East Bedfordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans he has to take steps help ensure that claimants in civil debt recovery cases are kept informed of the progress of court bailiff action on their behalf.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
In October 2021, following a review of the communications sent by HMCTS to claimants regarding the progress of their warrant, improvements to our case management system were made. This introduced improved communications to give claimants more focussed details on the progress of a warrant.
The HMCTS Reform Programme will provide the opportunity to review and deliver improvements to the service. The aspect of the Civil Reform Project focused on the enforcement of judgments commenced in April 2022 and is due to conclude by March 2023.
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North East Bedfordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the efficiency of court bailiffs in the collection of unpaid debts following a court order for recovery and enforcement; and what steps he plans to take to improve services for claimants seeking recovery of unpaid debts.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Justice and HMCTS have taken steps to review County Court bailiffs’ capacity and have introduced efficiencies by reducing their administrative tasks. This has, and will, free up more bailiff resources to focus on enforcement activity.
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North East Bedfordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many appeals to the First Tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum) have been awaiting allocation of a hearing for more than (a) six months and (b) twelve months in the last three years for which figures are available.
Answered by Oliver Heald
The information requested is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North East Bedfordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to reduce waiting times for the First Tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum).
Answered by Oliver Heald
HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) has provided an additional 4,500 tribunal sitting days for the First Tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) in this financial year compared to 2015/16. HMCTS keeps performance and resource levels under close review. The Government has also recently published a consultation on expediting appeals from immigration detainees.
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North East Bedfordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the cost of moving Bedford County Court from Shire Hall, St Paul's Square, Bedford, to the Employment Tribunal building in Howard Street, Bedford.
Answered by Shailesh Vara
The enabling works of moving Bedford County Court to the Employment Tribunal building will be subject to a tendering process. The disclosure of any estimate of costs is therefore commercially confidential.
Asked by: Richard Fuller (Conservative - North East Bedfordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many pregnant women have begun a prison sentence in each of the last five years.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
This information is not held centrally.