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Written Question
Debt Collection: Regulation
Thursday 17th October 2019

Asked by: Sandy Martin (Labour - Ipswich)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the regulation of the bailiff industry, following the call for evidence that the Government announced in Autumn 2018; and what options for regulatory reform the Government is considering in that sector.

Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)

In a statement on 22 July, the Government set out its initial response to the call for evidence on the enforcement agent reforms.

We intend to make body-worn cameras mandatory for private enforcement agents and the complaints system more effective. We are also considering strengthening regulation of the industry.

My officials have since met a range of interested parties. We hope to set out our proposals for further reform as soon as possible.


Written Question
Legal Aid Scheme: Domestic Abuse
Tuesday 30th April 2019

Asked by: Sandy Martin (Labour - Ipswich)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will bring forward legislative proposals for the provision of legal aid for expatriates that have returned to the UK with their children after fleeing domestic abuse from their partners while abroad.

Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

The Government is absolutely clear that victims of domestic abuse must have access to the help that they need, including access to legal aid.

Legal aid remains available for some private family proceedings where there is evidence of domestic abuse. To qualify for legal aid in a private family matter, applicants must provide evidence that they are a victim of, or at risk of being a victim of domestic violence or child abuse as well as meet the means and merits criteria.

The availability of legal aid is dependent on the type of legal proceedings and expatriates are not excluded.


Written Question
Employment and Support Allowance: Ipswich
Tuesday 26th March 2019

Asked by: Sandy Martin (Labour - Ipswich)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will take steps to allocate additional resources to reduce the waiting time for a tribunal hearing for employment and support allowance in Ipswich.

Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

In the last 12 months we have allocated 7 judges to Ipswich as primary or secondary venue, 2 medical members and 2 Disability Qualified Panel Members (DQPMs)

In Norfolk and Suffolk there is a pool of 6 staff who are deployed to clerk the SSCS hearing venues which are situated in Ipswich, Kings Lynn and Norwich. An additional member of staff will be joining this team from the 1st April 2019 to facilitate additional hearings to be held in Norfolk and Suffolk, subject to judicial availability.

The Ministry of Justice 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. In the Social Security and Child Support (SSCS) jurisdiction, 225 new medical members have already been appointed and 119 disability qualified members have recently been recruited. The SSCS jurisdiction will also benefit from the fact that 250 fee-paid judges and 100 salaried judges are being recruited across tribunals more widely. In addition, we have recently launched a new digital service to enable 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/government/news/new-online-service-launched-for-pip-appeal


Written Question
Legal Aid Scheme: Asylum
Monday 15th October 2018

Asked by: Sandy Martin (Labour - Ipswich)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans he has to ensure an adequate level of legal support and advice to provide for the projected increase in unaccompanied child asylum seekers dispersed to Ipswich under the National Transfer Scheme.

Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

The LAA will shortly complete the procurement process for new civil legal contracts which included immigration advice. The majority of contracts commenced on 1 September 2018 however there are still a small number of contracts that have not yet commenced.

Once the procurement process is completed the LAA will assess whether there are any gaps in provision and what steps need to be taken to fill the gaps. We are aware of the concerns raised in relation to access in the East of England and have had this under review for some time. This is one of the first areas that we will consider once all the contracts have started.


Written Question
Legal Aid Scheme: Immigration
Monday 15th October 2018

Asked by: Sandy Martin (Labour - Ipswich)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether the Legal Aid Agency plans to provide contracts for immigration legal aid to advisers in Ipswich.

Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

The LAA will shortly complete the procurement process for new civil legal contracts which included immigration advice. The majority of contracts commenced on 1 September 2018 however there are still a small number of contracts that have not yet commenced.

Once the procurement process is completed the LAA will assess whether there are any gaps in provision and what steps need to be taken to fill the gaps. We are aware of the concerns raised in relation to access in the East of England and have had this under review for some time. This is one of the first areas that we will consider once all the contracts have started.


Written Question
Legal Aid Scheme: Immigration
Monday 15th October 2018

Asked by: Sandy Martin (Labour - Ipswich)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he is taking steps to ensure that legal aid is available for immigration cases in Suffolk; and if he will make a statement.

Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

The LAA will shortly complete the procurement process for new civil legal contracts which included immigration advice. The majority of contracts commenced on 1 September 2018 however there are still a small number of contracts that have not yet commenced.

Once the procurement process is completed the LAA will assess whether there are any gaps in provision and what steps need to be taken to fill the gaps. We are aware of the concerns raised in relation to access in the East of England and have had this under review for some time. This is one of the first areas that we will consider once all the contracts have started.


Written Question
Debt Collection: Regulation
Thursday 13th September 2018

Asked by: Sandy Martin (Labour - Ipswich)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has plans to introduce independent regulation for the bailiff industry in order to prevent the use of aggressive and intimidating behaviour.

Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

The Government intends to launch a call for evidence in the Autumn, to evaluate the enforcement agent reforms introduced by the Tribunals, Court and Enforcement Act 2007. Evidence received from the call for evidence will be used to inform our assessment of the current regulation of the industry, and options for further reform.


Written Question
Rape: Victim Support Schemes
Tuesday 5th June 2018

Asked by: Sandy Martin (Labour - Ipswich)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will review funding for rape crisis centres and make an assessment implications for (a) the perceived independence and (b) the advocacy role of those centres of financial dependence on police and crime commissioners.

Answered by Phillip Lee

The Government is committed to ensuring that victims of crime get the support they need to cope with and, as far as possible, recover from the effects of crime. Under the 2016-2020 Violence Against Women and Girls strategy, the Government made a commitment to maintain funding for rape support services at 2016/17 levels for the remainder of the spending review period and we continue to meet that commitment.

In 2017/18 we allocated around £7.2m to 99 independent Rape Support services across England and Wales to provide specialist support to female and male victims of sexual violence, including victims of child sexual abuse.

In 2017/18 we allocated Police and Crime Commissioners around £68m funding to commission or provide support services to meet the needs of victims of crime in their local areas, including victims of sexual violence.

Rape Support Centres receive funding from a range of sources, including the government, Police and Crime Commissioners, charitable trusts and foundations, and the National Health Service.


Written Question
Children: Custody
Monday 12th March 2018

Asked by: Sandy Martin (Labour - Ipswich)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate his Department has made of the number of child custody cases heard in court (a) prior to and (b) since the removal of legal aid for early advice per year.

Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO) came into force in April 2013.

A new form of child arrangements order was introduced on 22 April 2014 to replace the former separate contact and residence orders (formerly known as “access” and “custody” respectively).

The number of applications made for a residence order, or a child arrangements order making provision for a child’s residence in England Wales, since 2011 is shown in the table below.

Number of private law applications for a residence order or child arrangements order making provision for a child’s residence in England and Wales since 2011

Year

Number of applications

2011

23, 187

2012

23, 838

2013

23, 568

2014

17, 820

2015

15, 766

2016

17, 552


Written Question
Legal Aid Scheme
Wednesday 15th November 2017

Asked by: Sandy Martin (Labour - Ipswich)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 11 September 2017 to Question 7534, on legal aid scheme, whether he has looked more widely at the impact of recent policy changes on access to legal aid; and whether his Department will be taking steps to ensure that people in all regions can access legal aid providers.

Answered by Dominic Raab

On 30 October, the Lord Chancellor announced the commencement of the post-implementation review of the legal aid changes made by, and following, the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012. The review will look at the impact of recent policy changes on access to legal aid.

The Legal Aid Agency regularly review the capacity of the legal aid market to cope with demand for legal aid and take action where a regional shortfall develops.