Asked by: Steve Baker (Conservative - Wycombe)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Law Commission's report, Celebrating Marriage: A New Weddings Law, published July 2022, if he will implement the Commission's recommendations on removing restrictions on venues where civil and religious marriages can take place; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Sarah Dines
The Law Commission report contains 57 recommendations for wholesale legislative reform. We must now take the time to consider the report recommendations fully. As has been set out in Parliament, marriage will always be one of our most important institutions, and we have a duty to consider the implications of any changes to the law in this area very carefully. We will publish a response to the report in due course.
Asked by: Steve Baker (Conservative - Wycombe)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to remove the requirement for face coverings to be worn in courts by people completing jury service.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The announcement of the ‘Living With Covid’ strategy means all Covid-related restrictions across the courts in England and Wales have been reviewed, and will be removed as quickly as possible. There is no longer a requirement to wear a face covering in our buildings in England and Wales. This applies both to staff offices, and to the public parts of our courts and tribunals. While the requirement has now been removed, government guidance still recommends wearing a face covering in crowded and enclosed spaces, especially where you are likely to come into contact with people you don’t normally meet.
We expect to be able to confirm what (if any) other measures will remain beyond April, which is when existing Government guidance on workplace/venue safety will be replaced. For the interim period, however, jurors who are using certain deliberation rooms assessed as too small to use without protection of fluid resistant face masks will continue to be asked to wear those masks in those areas of our buildings. This reflects ongoing Public Health advice, which we continue to observe so as to ensure both safety of all using our buildings, and public confidence in those safety standards.
Asked by: Steve Baker (Conservative - Wycombe)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many illegal evictions took place in England and Wales between the implementation of the stay on possession proceedings on 25 March 2020 until the end of that stay on 21 September 2020, and how that figure compares to the same period in 2019.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
With the exception of evictions for trespass under rule 55.6 of the Civil Procedure Rules, which were exempt from the stay on possession proceedings, HM Courts & Tribunals Service county court bailiffs undertook no evictions during the period of the stay from the 25 March 2020 to 21 September 2020.
The notice of eviction (N54) advises tenants to seek help and advice about the eviction, or about re-housing from an advice agency, solicitor or their local authority housing department. In addition, as part of initiatives to assist tenants facing eviction, the notice must now also include a list of local debt advice agencies who tenants can contact for further advice. These steps have been put in place to support the existing legal, debt and housing advice already available in many courts to tenants when attending possession hearings.
Subject to statutory means and merits, legal aid is available for cases concerning evictions. The Legal Aid Agency has recently launched a tender to secure additional housing legal aid providers.
We are working with the judiciary on measures to support all parties now possession hearings have resumed, and as part of this we are exploring the option of mediation.
Asked by: Steve Baker (Conservative - Wycombe)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure that tenants facing eviction or who have been illegally evicted have access to legal advice and representation.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
With the exception of evictions for trespass under rule 55.6 of the Civil Procedure Rules, which were exempt from the stay on possession proceedings, HM Courts & Tribunals Service county court bailiffs undertook no evictions during the period of the stay from the 25 March 2020 to 21 September 2020.
The notice of eviction (N54) advises tenants to seek help and advice about the eviction, or about re-housing from an advice agency, solicitor or their local authority housing department. In addition, as part of initiatives to assist tenants facing eviction, the notice must now also include a list of local debt advice agencies who tenants can contact for further advice. These steps have been put in place to support the existing legal, debt and housing advice already available in many courts to tenants when attending possession hearings.
Subject to statutory means and merits, legal aid is available for cases concerning evictions. The Legal Aid Agency has recently launched a tender to secure additional housing legal aid providers.
We are working with the judiciary on measures to support all parties now possession hearings have resumed, and as part of this we are exploring the option of mediation.
Asked by: Steve Baker (Conservative - Wycombe)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will implement the recommendations of the final report of the Lammy Review - An independent review into the treatment of, and outcomes for, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic individuals in the Criminal Justice System; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
We are committed to publishing routinely progress on the implementation of the Lammy Review and, as of 16 June 2020, the status of the recommendation are as follows:
Out of the 35 recommendations;
i. 16 have been completed (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13, 18, 19, 22, 23, 33, 35)
ii. 17 recommendations are still in progress, of which:
iii. In the Government’s response to the Review in December 2017, it was stated that two recommendations specific to a target for judicial appointments and appraisal (14, 16) would not be taken forward.
The Government is committed to advancing each recommendation of the Review in some way and where a recommendation could not be implemented in full or exactly as set out, alternative approaches have been sought to achieve the same aim. The Government’s response also identified actions going beyond the Review’s recommendations. Progress on recommendations and additional actions, and decisions on other areas of disparity where the principle of “explain or change” needs to apply, are overseen by a CJS Race and Ethnicity Board. The Board was created in response to the Review.
The Government provided a detailed public update on progress against each of the 35 recommendations of the Lammy Review, and the other related activities, in February 2019 in the “Tackling racial disparity in the Criminal Justice System” update: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tackling-racial-disparity-in-the-criminal-justice-system-2020.
Asked by: Steve Baker (Conservative - Wycombe)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether she has made an assessment of the threat to the public from individuals convicted of terrorism offences and subsequently released in Wycombe; and if she will make a statement.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
All terrorist offenders released on probation are closely managed by the National Probation Service and HMPPS.
Months before a terrorist offender is released, preparations for their management begin through the Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) process. This is led by HMPPS and Police, with input from other partners as required. This process ensures that a set of robust and appropriate licence conditions are drawn up for each offender. These restrictive licence conditions can include: living in approved premises; restrictions on movement and stringent curfews. Failure to adhere to conditions results in enforcement action, and could result in recall to prison.
For those subject to a Parole Hearing we will make sure all necessary evidence is made available to the Board and we will make representations in any case where we feel the decision is lacking.
Since the attack in Streatham, we have begun a further set of urgent assurance checks of all terrorists on licence to ensure their risk management arrangements remain appropriate following the incident. These reviews are to be led jointly with CT police colleagues.
Asked by: Steve Baker (Conservative - Wycombe)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to reduce delays in securing dates for First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum) hearings.
Answered by Phillip Lee
We do everything we can to avoid unnecessary delay in the Immigration & Asylum Tribunal and we have provided an additional 4,950 tribunal sitting days for this financial year to ensure current caseloads do not increase. We are keeping performance under close review.
Asked by: Steve Baker (Conservative - Wycombe)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will ensure that restricted access to books for prisoners is not an obstacle to preparation for employment; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Jeremy Wright
We firmly believe that giving offenders the skills and training they need to get and keep jobs on release reduces their likelihood of re-offending. This will include providing access to books, subject to the constraints of operating within a custodial environment.
Prisoners undertaking education courses (including distance learning) are provided with relevant course materials and set books.