Criminal Legal Aid

Debate between Shailesh Vara and Nick Thomas-Symonds

Friday 29th January 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Vara]

I urge my hon. Friend to look at the details of the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Justice Secretary yesterday, wherein the way forward is stated, but I will happily write to my hon. Friend with further details.

[Nick Thomas-Symonds (Torfaen) (Lab)]

I should first say that I used to be a barrister before entering Parliament, and remain a non-practising door tenant of Civitas Law in Cardiff.

A year ago, the previous Lord Chancellor said these very reforms were both sustainable and essential. I thought that was completely wrong and I am delighted that the current Lord Chancellor agrees with me, but can the Minister tell us why the previous Lord Chancellor got so many things so badly wrong?

[Mr Vara]

It lowers the tone of this debate when, not for the first time, the hon. Gentleman takes his lead from the hon. Member for Hammersmith by resorting to personal abuse. There have been two significant developments, which have allowed us to make the announcement. First, thanks to the economies we have made elsewhere in the MOJ, Her Majesty’s Treasury has given us a settlement that allows us greater flexibility in the allocation of funds for legal aid; and it has also become clear, as I have said, that there are real problems in pressing ahead as initially proposed. We recognise those issues and we want to do the best for the profession, and that is why we have taken this decision.

State Pension Age (Women)

Debate between Shailesh Vara and Nick Thomas-Symonds

Thursday 7th January 2016 Commons Chamber

[Mr Vara]

I will not give way.

[Nick Thomas-Symonds]

rose—

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Vara]

I will give way.

[Nick Thomas-Symonds]

I am grateful to the Minister for being so generous in giving way. He read out the quote about £1 billion being a “serious amount of money”, but he really should have quoted the whole sentence, which begins:

“this was a measure to save 30 billion quid over how many years, and we wanted 10% of that back to soften the blow”.

Steve Webb wanted £3 billion back but got only £1 billion.

[Mr Vara]

If the hon. Gentleman had taken the trouble to listen while he was preparing his question, he would know that that is what I said, except that I used different words. He might want to check the Hansard record tomorrow morning. In this place, it always helps to listen before speaking.

The Government listened to the concerns expressed during the passing of the 2011 Act, and shortened the delay that anyone would experience in claiming their state pension, relative to the 1995 timetable, to 18 months. That concession benefited almost a quarter of a million women, who would otherwise have experienced delays of up to two years. A similar number of men also benefited from a reduced increase. The concession was worth £1.1 billion in total, and as a result 81% of women affected will experience a delay of 12 months or less.

Access to Justice: Wales

Debate between Shailesh Vara and Nick Thomas-Symonds

Tuesday 15th December 2015 Westminster Hall

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

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship this afternoon, Mrs Moon. I commend you on having managed to get through so many speakers in such a short time. I congratulate the hon. Member for Swansea East (Carolyn Harris) on securing this important debate. I also thank the many colleagues who have turned out for this debate; that demonstrates its importance. Individuals have spoken with passion, both on constituency matters and more generally. Several points have been raised, and I intend to address as many as I can. I ask Members to be patient if I do not instantly respond to their issue in the first minute or two. I will make one thing absolutely clear at the outset: the Government share the hon. Lady’s passion for a justice system that works for everyone.

The hon. Lady referred to my right hon. Friend the Lord Chancellor’s eloquent comment that the Government’s commitment to one nation justice was fundamental to the rule of law. At the heart of one nation justice is equality, and a justice system that safeguards and protects the vulnerable and works better for victims and witnesses. Our justice system does not always do that, despite the fantastic efforts of those who work in it. That is why the Ministry of Justice is leading a major reform programme. As the hon. Member for Swansea East will know, the MOJ has secured more than £700 million in funding to invest in courts and tribunals in England and Wales. We are working closely with the senior judiciary to deliver a justice system for everyone, at a lower cost for all those who need to access the courts.

There is much agreement that our courts and tribunals need urgent reform, and a high degree of consensus that the current system is not only too slow, but unsustainable. Despite the best efforts of front-line staff, the infrastructure supporting the administration of the service is inefficient and disjointed, and based on technology that is, in some cases, decades old. I hope Members agree that that has to change. That means using up-to-date technology, which I will discuss later in my speech, and modernised working practices, and having a more appropriate and efficient estate. It will also mean victims and witnesses being able to attend some hearings remotely, and not having to experience the stress and strain of a personal visit to a court, or, indeed, having to take a day off work.

Mention has been made of victims and witnesses travelling together. Clearly, that is a situation that none of us would want. The beauty of a remote system is that there is no danger of meeting people on the bus to court. The victims will not be travelling with the witnesses and the defendants. They may well be in a local civic building of some kind, in a video-conferencing suite to which people go by appointment at a specific time. They will be far more comfortable there, and will not have the stress and strain of going to court, which would be a strenuous and stressful experience for most people.

We are replacing paper forms, automating much of the administrative process, and allowing defendants to indicate their plea online. The use of telephones was mentioned. Let me make it clear that we are piloting a scheme in Manchester in which pleas can be made online, using either computers or smartphones. That is happening right now, as we speak.

[Nick Thomas-Symonds]

Will the Minister give way?

[Mr Vara]

If the hon. Gentleman will forgive me, I will not, but I will address his point. He rightly said earlier that there will be some cases where digitalisation is clearly not appropriate; that is why we will maintain courts. Nevertheless, for many cases, court will not be necessary. The majesty of the court will remain for appropriate cases that deserve to go to court, but it is important to remember that access to justice does not always mean access to a court, with all the time and expense that that entails. Nor does it mean that people should always turn to taxpayer-funded lawyers. Where suitable alternatives are available, we want to see more cases diverted from the courts.

There is no doubt that in many cases court should be the last resort, not the first. Encouraging greater use of mediation has been a key part of our wider reforms to the justice system. Mediation can be quicker, cheaper and certainly less stressful than protracted litigation. For the taxpayer, who would otherwise be paying solicitors, barristers and for time in court, there will be a saving. For the parties involved, it is far better to sit around a table and have constructive engagement than to be in a court scenario, where there is often—I speak as a former solicitor—a destructive environment, rather than one of constructive engagement.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Shailesh Vara and Nick Thomas-Symonds

Monday 7th December 2015 Commons Chamber

[Nick Thomas-Symonds (Torfaen) (Lab)]

At the election, the Conservative party promised to exempt pensioners from their proposed benefit freeze, yet as a consequence of the autumn statement some 400,000 of those on pension credit will see their benefits cut, and 800,000 will see it frozen. [Interruption.] There is no point in Ministers looking puzzled; I would have thought they would learn to read the small print of the Chancellor’s economic statements by now. How can it be right, when three quarters of pensioners are facing a choice between heating and eating this Christmas, to be taking more than £100 a year away from so many older people?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Mr Shailesh Vara)]

The hon. Gentleman really must move away from student politics. This Government have done more for pensioners than any other Government. They are benefiting more now than they would have under any system introduced by the Labour party. The triple lock is making sure they have more money. We have also maintained a lot of the universal benefits, so we on this side of the House will take no lectures from those on that side of the House.

State Pension Age Equalisation

Debate between Shailesh Vara and Nick Thomas-Symonds

Wednesday 2nd December 2015 Westminster Hall

[Mr Vara]

This was not mentioned in terms of redress in the Labour manifesto, either.

[Nick Thomas-Symonds]

I do not know how the 1997 to 2010 Labour Government can be responsible for the 2011 Act, or indeed the 1995 Act. First, the Minister talks about equality in the present, but we are talking about inequality that has taken place in the past and been suffered by this generation of women. Secondly, transitional arrangements are transitional by definition, so they do not necessarily affect long-term sustainability.

[Mr Vara]

The hon. Gentleman has said nothing that had not already been said, and I will refer to issues as I progress.

Equalisation was necessary to meet the UK’s obligations under EU law to eliminate gender inequalities in social security provision. The five-year gap in men’s and women’s state pension age dated back to the 1940s and is not fair in a world where women’s employment opportunities have opened up and provisions are made for carers. I hope that all colleagues on both sides of the House agree with that.

The resources made available allowed the new state pension reforms to take place in the form that we have introduced, benefiting those women who would have had poor outcomes under the current system largely as a result of lower average earnings and part-time working. About 650,000 women reaching state pension age in the first 10 years will receive an average of £8 a week more in 2014-15 earnings terms owing to the new state pension valuation of their national insurance record.

To encourage and enable those who want to work longer is a priority for the Government. That is the real solution to ensuring a comfortable and fulfilling later life. People having fuller working lives would not only help our pensions system to remain sustainable but could greatly benefit the economy. Research by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research has shown that adding just one year to people’s working lives would add 1% to GDP a year.

Recent polling indicates that many people want to work longer. A YouGov survey has shown that 74% of people in their 50s who have not retired would like to be in work between the ages of 60 and 65. To help older workers in the labour market, the Government have extended the right of flexible working to all employees. In the same YouGov poll, more women than men said that they would prefer to work flexibly or part-time before retiring. Of course, working longer also provides the opportunity to build up a bigger retirement income.

We know that some people cannot work. For some, that is because they have caring responsibilities; others will suffer from disability, making the continuation of work difficult. We must remember that women affected will be eligible for the same in-work, out-of-work or disability benefits as men of the same age.

For those who cannot work because they have caring responsibilities, carer’s allowance will be available. Those who get carer’s allowance are also awarded national insurance credits automatically.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Shailesh Vara and Nick Thomas-Symonds

Monday 2nd November 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mr Vara]

My hon. Friend makes a very good point. May I put on the record the facts and circumstances? Between April 2009 and March 2011, the Department proactively mailed all women born between 6 April 1950 and 5 April 1953, informing them of their state pension age under the Pensions Act 1995. Following the 2011 changes, the Department wrote to all individuals directly affected to inform them of the change to their state pension age. Sending mail to those individuals, who are due to reach state pension age between 2016 and 2026, was completed between January 2012 and November 2013.

[Nick Thomas-Symonds (Torfaen) (Lab)]

Ministers will be aware of the recent Work and Pensions Committee report, which contained stark warnings about pension scams since the advent of pensions freedoms and about the risk of people being conned out of their life savings. I am sure that Ministers are also aware of the recent survey showing that one in seven over-55s—about 1 million people—have been targeted by pension scams since April, when the pensions freedoms were introduced. Will the Minister reassure the House that he takes the Work and Pensions Committee report and the findings of the survey very seriously, and will he outline what the Government intend to do to protect people from fraudsters?

[Mr Vara]

I assure the hon. Gentleman that we do take this issue very seriously. That is why we set up Pension Wise. Let me make it absolutely clear: the Government are not complacent about scams. We are making sure that the public are aware of how to detect a scam, how to deal with it and how to report it. The two regulators are also working with us. Indeed, the hon. Gentleman will find that the Pension Wise website and those giving guidance do advise people on how to deal with scams.