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Written Question
Illegal Migration Bill
Monday 10th July 2023

Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department have had with the (i) Scottish Government and (ii) the Scottish Legal Aid Board on potential implications for legal aid of the Illegal Migration Bill.

Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Government has engaged with the Scottish Government regarding legal aid in connection with the Illegal Migration Bill. Officials in the Ministry of Justice have confirmed with Scottish Government officials that no legislative changes are required in Scotland to ensure equivalent provision of legal aid for individuals in receipt of a removal notice, in relation to that removal notice, will be available as will be in England and Wales. We will continue to engage with our Scottish counterparts as necessary.


Written Question
Immigration: Prosecutions
Wednesday 14th June 2023

Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have been prosecuted and sentenced as adults under s24, s25 and s25A of the Immigration Act 1971 and have subsequently been accepted to be children in each of the last 24 months.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The Ministry of Justice publishes information on prosecutions and sentence outcomes for defendants of different ages in the Outcomes by Offence data tool: December 2022, including offences under section 24, 25 and 25A of the Immigration Act 1971 as set out in the Offence Group Classification. The tool includes filtering by specific offences.

However, whether a defendant was subsequently found to be a child is not held centrally in the Court Proceedings Database and cannot be obtained without incurring disproportionate costs.


Written Question
Prisoners on Remand: Immigration
Wednesday 14th June 2023

Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners were (a) in remand in prison under s24, s25 and s25A of the Immigration Act 1971 and (b) in remand under the Act and subject to an age dispute in each of the last 12 months.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

The number of prisoners on remand under s24, s25 and s25A of the Immigration Act 1971, for each of the last 12 months, is included in the attached table.

Data regarding the number of prisoners on remand under the Immigration Act 197 and subject to an age dispute is not held centrally and could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.


Written Question
Prisons: Drugs
Monday 6th March 2023

Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he made of the effectiveness of the abstinence-only approaches to drug treatment services in prisons.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

NHS England is responsible for commissioning substance misuse services in English prisons, and we work closely with them to ensure that all those who need drug treatment in prison have access to a full range of treatment options to support their recovery. That is why we are investing up to £120m to tackle drug misuse and support more offenders into treatment.

Different prisoners will benefit from different forms of treatment, and the patient and their clinician will decide what is right for them, in line with clinical guidelines. Opioid substitution treatment, such as methadone, can be an important part of recovery for some offenders – but when they are ready to stop, it is important we put appropriate support in place. We are rolling out up to 18 new, abstinence-only Drug Recovery Wings, to provide a supportive environment for prisoners who are ready for abstinence-based treatment. These wings are a new model of support, and we will evaluate their effectiveness.

Alongside this, we are increasing the number of Incentivised Substance Free Living Wings to up to 100, which will continue to support prisoners in all forms of treatment for any substance.


Written Question
Prisoners' Release: Drugs
Monday 6th March 2023

Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to improve continuity of care for prisoners released while they are undergoing drug treatment services.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

It is vitally important that all prisoners and prison leavers with a substance dependency continue treatment on release and have access to timely and high-quality drug treatment services to recover from the misuse that drives offending. We work closely with health and justice partners through the Adult National Partnership Agreement published on 23 February 2023, one of the goals of which is support access to, and continuity of care throughout the prison estate and into the community.

As part of the Cross-Government Drug Strategy, we are investing up to £120m over the next three-years to keep drugs out of prisons and get offenders off drugs and into recovery. Our work includes focusing on prison “in-reach” by providing prisoners with the opportunity to engage with community treatment pre-release via video calling and recruiting Health and Justice Coordinators in every probation region to improve links between prison and local treatment services, ensuring continuity of care upon release.


Written Question
Secure Accommodation: Drugs
Monday 6th March 2023

Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of drug-related deaths across the secure estate.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

Every death in custody is a tragedy, and we continue to do all we can to keep people safe in prison. We are committed to ensuring all those who need drug treatment in prison have access to a full range of treatment options, including abstinence-based interventions, to support a meaningful recovery and thereby reduce drug related deaths.

As part of the Cross-Government Drug Strategy, the MoJ is investing up to £120m to tackle drugs and support offenders into treatment. This includes working with NHS England to supply life-saving naloxone medication to staff in prisons, to administer to those who have suffered an opiate overdose.

We are also investing in prison security to prevent drugs entering prisons in the first place, recruiting Drug Strategy Leads in all male category C and women's prisons to coordinate a whole system approach to tackling drugs, and rolling out abstinence-based Drug Recovery Wings to help opiate users recover from their substance misuse.


Written Question
Judiciary: Pensions
Thursday 2nd March 2023

Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill, whether he plans to (a) revoke, (b) retain or (c) replace the (i) Judicial Pensions (Fee-Paid Judges) Regulations 2017 and (ii) the Judicial Pensions (Fee Paid Judges) (Amendment) Regulations 2023.

Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Secretary of State for Justice is presently considering implications of the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill for the Judicial Pensions (Fee-Paid Judges) Regulations 2017 and the Judicial Pensions (Fee-Paid Judges) (Amendment) Regulations 2023, and the options available to him. In that context the Secretary of State is mindful of historic pension entitlements.

For service after 31 March 2022, fee-paid judges have accrued pension entitlements in the new JPS22 Pension Scheme which is unaffected by the Bill.


Written Question
Ministry of Justice: Information Officers
Thursday 28th April 2022

Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many communications staff in his Department are employed (a) full time, (b) part time and (c) under flexible working arrangements.

Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

The number of staff working in MoJ HQ to deliver the communications functions is 104.

91 are employed on full time contracts, 13 are employed on part time.

The data does not capture flexible working arrangements.


Written Question
Ministry of Justice: Information Officers
Tuesday 26th April 2022

Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much his Department spends on communications staff on average each year.

Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)

On average, expenditure on MoJ HQ communications staffing is £5.5m.


Written Question
Legal profession: Qualifications
Thursday 14th January 2021

Asked by: Stuart C McDonald (Scottish National Party - Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch East)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effect of the loss of mutual recognition of qualifications within the EU on the UK legal services industry.

Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice

Under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA), the UK and the EU have agreed a framework under which both parties may agree arrangements on the recognition of professional qualifications, such as mutual recognition agreements. While frameworks like this are conventional practice in free trade agreements, the Government successfully negotiated improvements to those agreements, which are designed to make the system more flexible and easier for regulatory authorities, including those within the legal services sector, to use, should they wish.

It is possible that some UK legal services regulatory authorities, professional bodies or associations might also seek to conclude other agreements with EU counterparts outside of this framework.

The Government will continue to provide help and guidance to UK regulatory authorities and professional bodies on issues of mutual recognition of professional qualifications. As of 1 January 2021, UK-qualified professionals in the legal services sector who wish to supply services in the EU should seek recognition of their qualifications according to the local laws and regulations of individual Member States.