Asked by: Lisa Smart (Liberal Democrat - Hazel Grove)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans his Department has to reform the family court system; and whether such reforms will include strengthening enforcement powers where child arrangement orders have been breached.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
This Government is committed to reform of the family court to improve the experiences of, and outcomes for, children and families. Central to this is the expansion of the private law Pathfinder model, which amplifies the voice of the child through a Child Impact Report, ensures a higher proportion of children are directly engaged by social workers during proceedings, and offers specialist support to victims of domestic abuse. The model is supporting the court in making safe decisions which prioritise the best interests of the child, without delay.
The court has a range of powers open to it in relation to the enforcement of child arrangement orders, including the power to make an enforcement order under Section 11J of the Children Act 1989 where one party has failed to comply without reasonable excuse. The court will consider the circumstances of the breach, and the impact on the child ahead of making any decision in relation to enforcement.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of either-way cases in the present Crown Court backlog that have yet to elect mode of trial.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice publishes information about cases in the open caseload at both the magistrates’ courts and at the Crown Court. This includes breakdowns of volumes and durations as part of the Crown Court open caseload published as part of Criminal Court Statistics Quarterly: Criminal court statistics quarterly.
The Ministry of Justice does not publish data relating to the progression of cases or mode of trial in the open caseload.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the proportion of cases in the backlog are still pending the decision of the defendant to elect mode of trial.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice publishes information about cases in the open caseload at both the magistrates’ courts and at the Crown Court. This includes breakdowns of volumes and durations as part of the Crown Court open caseload published as part of Criminal Court Statistics Quarterly: Criminal court statistics quarterly.
The Ministry of Justice does not publish data relating to the progression of cases or mode of trial in the open caseload.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department holds information on the median age of cases that have yet to elect mode of trial.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice publishes information about cases in the open caseload at both the magistrates’ courts and at the Crown Court. This includes breakdowns of volumes and durations as part of the Crown Court open caseload published as part of Criminal Court Statistics Quarterly: Criminal court statistics quarterly.
The Ministry of Justice does not publish data relating to the progression of cases or mode of trial in the open caseload.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the percentage of the cases awaiting a Crown Court trial that have a potential sentence of up to three years imprisonment and that would go before a Judge-only court under his proposed court reforms.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
As is usual practice, detailed impact assessments will be provided alongside the necessary legislation for these reforms. The Government will bring forward this legislation when parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the percentage of cases in the overall Crown Court backlog are either way cases that would be no longer eligible for jury trial under the government’s proposed reforms.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
As is usual practice, detailed impact assessments will be provided alongside the necessary legislation for these reforms. The Government will bring forward this legislation when parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the percentage of the overall Crown Court backlog which comprises the cohort of up to three years’ imprisonment cases and would go before a Judge only court under proposed court reforms.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
As is usual practice, detailed impact assessments will be provided alongside the necessary legislation for these reforms. The Government will bring forward this legislation when parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the percentage of cases in the overall Crown Court backlog which are either way cases that would be no longer eligible for jury trial under his proposed reforms.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
As is usual practice, detailed impact assessments will be provided alongside the necessary legislation for these reforms. The Government will bring forward this legislation when parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Jess Brown-Fuller (Liberal Democrat - Chichester)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the percentage of the current Crown Court backlog would be sent for judge alone trials under the government’s proposed court reforms.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
As is usual practice, detailed impact assessments will be provided alongside the necessary legislation for these reforms. The Government will bring forward this legislation when parliamentary time allows.
Asked by: Andy McDonald (Labour - Middlesbrough and Thornaby East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the percentage of the current Crown Court backlog that would be sent for judge alone trials under his proposed court reforms.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
As is usual practice, detailed impact assessments will be provided alongside the necessary legislation for these reforms. The Government will bring forward this legislation when parliamentary time allows.