Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on a Bill of Rights extending across the UK.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
We have no plans to introduce a new Bill of Rights extending across the UK. The Human Rights Act 1998 provides human rights protections across the UK. It is an important part of our constitutional arrangements and will remain part of our law.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he can provide an update on the potential establishment of a residential women’s centre in Swansea.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Planning approval for the Residential Women’s Centre at the Trehafod site in Cockett, Swansea, was granted by the Welsh Government’s Planning Environment Decisions Wales in August 2023.
We are continuing to consider how the Residential Women’s Centre in Swansea could be delivered.
Asked by: Lee Barron (Labour - Corby and East Northamptonshire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when his Department will publish the conclusions of the consultation on the regulation of the debt enforcement sector.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
People in debt deserve to be treated fairly. That is why the Government is supporting the Enforcement Conduct Board’s work to make sure anyone facing enforcement action is treated fairly. We will respond to our consultation about regulation of the enforcement sector soon, which forms part of our wider work to build a more sustainable enforcement sector for everyone.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what data his Department holds on the ethnicity of individuals convicted under section 1 of the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018; and what steps are being taken to monitor and address any disparities.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Ministry of Justice routinely publishes data on the number of convictions at criminal courts for an assault on an emergency worker by age and ethnicity in England and Wales. This data can be found in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, which can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal Justice Statistics. This data is part of a range of data produced by the Ministry of Justice which includes a broader review of ethnicity and the criminal justice system.
Data on those with a mental health condition or a neurodivergent profile is not collated centrally by the Ministry of Justice. Where an individual is convicted, sentencing guidelines stipulate that the court must consider issues of neurodiversity at sentencing, taking an individualistic approach, recognising that the levels of impairment caused by any condition will vary significantly between individuals.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of section 1 of the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018 on individuals with mental health conditions or neurodivergent profiles.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Ministry of Justice routinely publishes data on the number of convictions at criminal courts for an assault on an emergency worker by age and ethnicity in England and Wales. This data can be found in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, which can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal Justice Statistics. This data is part of a range of data produced by the Ministry of Justice which includes a broader review of ethnicity and the criminal justice system.
Data on those with a mental health condition or a neurodivergent profile is not collated centrally by the Ministry of Justice. Where an individual is convicted, sentencing guidelines stipulate that the court must consider issues of neurodiversity at sentencing, taking an individualistic approach, recognising that the levels of impairment caused by any condition will vary significantly between individuals.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool Riverside)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many individuals over the age of 18 have been convicted under section 1 of the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018 in each year since its introduction.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
The Ministry of Justice routinely publishes data on the number of convictions at criminal courts for an assault on an emergency worker by age and ethnicity in England and Wales. This data can be found in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, which can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal Justice Statistics. This data is part of a range of data produced by the Ministry of Justice which includes a broader review of ethnicity and the criminal justice system.
Data on those with a mental health condition or a neurodivergent profile is not collated centrally by the Ministry of Justice. Where an individual is convicted, sentencing guidelines stipulate that the court must consider issues of neurodiversity at sentencing, taking an individualistic approach, recognising that the levels of impairment caused by any condition will vary significantly between individuals.
Asked by: Jim McMahon (Labour (Co-op) - Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the trends in local authority funeral and cremation fees and charges since 2015.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Local authority cemeteries and crematoria are managed by individual councils, who are responsible for setting their own budgets and making decisions on local services in line with community priorities. In line with this principle, local authority burial and cremation authorities have the power to set their charges at levels they consider to be appropriate. This allows flexibility to reflect local needs.
The Government provides some support to people who are unable to meet the costs of a funeral. The Funeral Expenses Payments scheme provides a significant contribution towards the cost of a simple, respectful funeral arranged by recipients of certain income based benefits or tax credits. The scheme pays necessary burial and cremation costs in full, as defined by legislation, plus up to £1000 for other expenses such as the cost of a coffin, church and funeral director fees, Scotland has a similar scheme, the Funeral Support Payment scheme.
Support for funeral costs for all young people under 18 is provided by the Children’s Funeral Fund for England, with similar schemes in Scotland and Wales.
Interest-free Social Fund Budgeting Loans and Universal Credit Budgeting Advances can also be used for funeral expenses. Further financial support is available through Bereavement Support Payments which help working age people whose spouse or civil partner dies.
Asked by: Liz Jarvis (Liberal Democrat - Eastleigh)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to reduce waiting times for Child Maintenance Service appeals that proceed to a Tribunal.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Data on Tribunals performance is published by the Ministry of Justice on a quarterly basis. Receipts, disposals and the outstanding caseload for individual Chambers in the First-tier Tribunal and Upper Tribunal, the Employment Tribunal and the Employment Appeal Tribunal can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics.
Appeals against Child Maintenance Service decisions are heard by the Social Security and Child Support Tribunal, which is part of the Social Entitlement Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal.
The Ministry of Justice is working to reduce the outstanding caseload across the Social Entitlement Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal, which includes the Social Security and Child Support jurisdiction. This is key to reducing the waiting time for tribunal hearings.
The Department continues to invest in improving tribunal capacity and productivity through the recruitment of additional Judges, the deployment of additional Legal Officers to actively manage cases, the development of new, modern case management systems, and the use of remote hearing technology where appropriate. If an expedited hearing is requested, a Judge or Legal Officer will consider this, taking all the circumstances into account.
We expect these actions to have a positive effect, improving timeliness and overall performance of the Tribunal in Child Maintenance Service appeals, and the Social Entitlement Chamber more broadly.
Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, without further legislation or guidance, what percentage of the 80,000 families affected by the Locked Child Trust Fund issue does the government expect to be able to access their funds within the next three years.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
It is a longstanding common law principle that an adult requires legal authority to manage property belonging to another adult. This principle has existed long before Child Trust Funds and the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and is crucial when the individual in question is a vulnerable person.
The Mental Capacity Act facilitates access for parents and carers to matured Child Trust Funds (CTF) on behalf of young adults who lack capacity, through a legal process that provides necessary safeguards.
Where a CTF account holder lacks capacity to access matured capital funds in their account, a parent or carer can obtain legal authority to manage those funds by making an application to the Court of Protection. Authority can be obtained in advance of the account holder reaching age 18, and in many cases no court fee will be payable.
A toolkit for parents and carers Making Financial decisions for young people who lack capacity’ Making financial decisions for young people who lack capacity: A toolkit for parents and carers - GOV.UK was published in June 2023 and explains the process.
The Ministry of Justice is considering what further steps could be taken to raise awareness of the current law and improving the court process while maintaining necessary safeguards.
Asked by: John Milne (Liberal Democrat - Horsham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his department has made of the key legal or administrative obstacles to solving the Locked Child Trust fund issue.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
It is a longstanding common law principle that an adult requires legal authority to manage property belonging to another adult. This principle has existed long before Child Trust Funds and the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and is crucial when the individual in question is a vulnerable person.
The Mental Capacity Act facilitates access for parents and carers to matured Child Trust Funds (CTF) on behalf of young adults who lack capacity, through a legal process that provides necessary safeguards.
Where a CTF account holder lacks capacity to access matured capital funds in their account, a parent or carer can obtain legal authority to manage those funds by making an application to the Court of Protection. Authority can be obtained in advance of the account holder reaching age 18, and in many cases no court fee will be payable.
A toolkit for parents and carers Making Financial decisions for young people who lack capacity’ Making financial decisions for young people who lack capacity: A toolkit for parents and carers - GOV.UK was published in June 2023 and explains the process.
The Ministry of Justice is considering what further steps could be taken to raise awareness of the current law and improving the court process while maintaining necessary safeguards.