Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Shailesh Vara and Andrew Turner

Tuesday 16th December 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Vara]

I join my right hon. Friend in congratulating her council. We have a lot of measures to deal with trespassers. On increasing fines, we are always on the lookout for ways of improving the law and I will take that on board.

[Mr Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight) (Con)]

2. What proportion of immigration and asylum appeals were made on the grounds of alleged breaches of the Human Rights Act 1998 in the last five years.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Mr Shailesh Vara)]

In 2009-10, 10% of recorded appeals, lodged from inside the UK, raised human rights grounds; in 2010-11 the proportion was 28%; in the last three years the proportion has been 34%. Information is not available for appeals lodged from outside of the UK.

[Mr Turner]

Does my hon. Friend agree that incorporating the Human Rights Act into British legislation by the Labour party is rightly seen by the public as a disaster? It should be replaced with a Bill of Rights as soon as possible.

[Mr Vara]

My hon. Friend’s comments are timely given that next year we will commemorate the 800th anniversary of the sealing of Magna Carta. The House will be aware that the Government agreed in the coalition agreement that no major changes would be made to the human rights framework in this Parliament, but as he rightly says, the Conservatives believe that we need major reform to the way in which human rights operate in this country. We believe that we need to curtail the ability of the European Court of Human Rights to tell our courts what to do. We have an excellent record in this area, of which we should be proud, but Conservatives believe that a new British Bill of Rights and responsibilities would remain faithful to those basic principles of human rights while restoring much-needed common sense to their application. This is a debate that we will have over the next few months and I look forward to debating it with the Opposition, when they are prepared to listen, as well as with the Lib Dems and the British public.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Shailesh Vara and Andrew Turner

Tuesday 11th November 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mr Vara]

I entirely agree with my hon. Friend. The Bill will send a powerful message to the public that if they are acting selflessly in an emergency to help somebody in danger and something goes wrong, the courts will always consider the context of their actions if they are sued in negligence or for breach of statutory duty.

[Mr Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight) (Con)]

21. What estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of providing legal representation for offenders accused of trivial offences whilst in custody in the last 12 months.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Mr Shailesh Vara)]

The Legal Aid Agency does not record whether offences were committed while the offender was in custody, as that is not relevant to assessing eligibility for legal aid. In the magistrates courts relatively minor criminal offences are generally unlikely to pass the interests of justice test.

[Mr Turner]

Will my hon. Friend reassure me and my constituents, many of whom work in the prisons, that changes made under this Government mean that inmates can no longer get legal aid for frivolous or vexatious causes, such as arguments over damaged property or the condition of their cells?

[Mr Vara]

I can certainly give my hon. Friend that assurance. Earlier in this Parliament we reformed civil legal aid so that only the most serious compensation cases are in scope—for example, where there has been abuse of a child or a vulnerable adult, a sexual assault or a significant breach of human rights. Civil legal aid applications, including for exceptional funding, are subject to a merits test, as well as a means test. From 2 December last year, treatment matters, including prison conditions, were removed from the scope of criminal legal aid for prison law.