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1521745

registered interest
date	13/10/2022
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Upper Tribunal: Land
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which Departments have been party to cases in the Upper Tribunal Lands Chamber involving disputes under the Electronic Communications Code in the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Harlow
tabling member printed	Robert Halfon
uin	62788
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/10/2022 answer text <p>This information relating to which Departments have been party to cases in the Upper Tribunals Lands Chamber involving disputes under the Electronic Communications Code is not centrally recorded and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.</p> answering member constituency Dartford answering member printed Gareth Johnson question first answered 20/10/2022 10:41:35 answering member 3970 label Biography information for Gareth Johnson
tabling member	3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon

1327820

registered interest
date	25/05/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Family Courts: Custody
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the presumption of contact at the Family Court does not result in unsafe contact arrangements.
tabling member constituency	Harlow
tabling member printed	Robert Halfon
uin	7148
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/06/2021 answer text <p>Section 1 of the Children’s Act 1989 sets out that the welfare of the child is the court’s paramount concern. This is the fundamental principle that guides any decision made by a court regarding the future arrangements of children.</p><p> </p><p>The presumption of parental contact requires courts to presume that the involvement of both parents will further the child’s welfare; because it is a presumption, it applies unless the contrary is shown. This means that the presumption only applies if the parent’s involvement in the child’s life does not put the child at risk of suffering harm. If the court considers that the parent’s involvement does put the child at risk of harm, the presumption does not apply.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is currently conducting a review into the presumption of parental involvement in child arrangement cases. Launched in November 2020, this review focuses on understanding how the presumption is applied where there is an allegation, or evidence to suggest, that parental involvement will put the child at risk of harm. Conclusions from the review will be announced in due course.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 07/06/2021 16:04:57 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon

1327821

registered interest
date	25/05/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Family Courts: Disclosure of Information
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to improve transparency in the Family Court process.
tabling member constituency	Harlow
tabling member printed	Robert Halfon
uin	7149
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/06/2021 answer text <p>Ensuring that decisions made in family proceedings are open and transparent to the public is something to which this Government<del class="ministerial"> has</del> give<ins class="ministerial">s</ins><del class="ministerial">n</del> careful consideration. We recognise that there is a delicate balance to be struck between ensuring that family proceedings are open and transparent to ensure adequate public scrutiny and the principle of public justice, whilst also ensuring that <del class="ministerial">the</del> we protect the privacy of vulnerable children and families who are party to such proceedings.</p><p><ins class="ministerial">In terms of attendance at hearings, most family proceedings are held in private. However, ‘accredited media representatives’ have been permitted to attend most types of hearings in family proceedings for several years. In addition, a pilot scheme to allow duly authorised lawyers, attending for journalistic, research or public legal educational purposes (colloquially referred to as 'legal bloggers') access to those same types of hearings was initiated in October 2018. That pilot scheme is scheduled to end in December 2021, but it is intended that it should be replaced by permanent provision in court rules, before that end date.</ins></p><p><ins class="ministerial">In terms of disclosure of information from family proceedings, for example by reporting it in the press or online, there are various legal provisions which determine if and when it is possible to disclose such information. These include laws on reporting restrictions and contempt of court. Judges dealing with cases have discretion to allow publication of information from family proceedings. In addition, court rules include provision about when it is possible to make disclosures of information without this being a potential contempt of court.</ins></p><p><del class="ministerial">This Government has taken several steps to increase transparency in family proceedings where appropriate. This has included continuing to support a pilot which allows accredited representatives of media outlets to have access to proceedings. The pilot allows legal bloggers access to proceedings with permission of the presiding judge. It also allows the blogger to write about their experiences at court but requires that names and personal information are kept anonymous.</del></p><p><ins class="ministerial">The livestreaming of some Court of Appeal family proceedings is also now possible as a result of amendments made by the Court of Appeal (Recording and Broadcasting) (Amendment) Order 2020, which extended the existing livestreaming provision to cover family proceedings. Under this scheme, members of the public may view selected Court of Appeal family cases on the internet. Members of the judiciary select suitable cases for livestreaming, having taken into account the public interest. Proceedings involving litigants in person, and those with specific reporting restrictions, will not be selected. Participants in all selected hearings will be given the opportunity beforehand to object or to obtain further information.</ins></p><p><del class="ministerial">We have also allowed the livestreaming of Court of Appeal family proceedings. This became a permanent arrangement in June 2020 through the Live Streaming Court of Appeal SI 2020 and allows anyone to view a Court of Appeal family case on the internet (again, whilst protecting the anonymity of the parties involved).</del></p><p>Further recommendations for increasing transparency will be carefully considered to ensure that the children and families who use the family courts continue to be protected, whilst also ensuring adequate scrutiny is given to the family courts.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 07/06/2021 16:18:44 question first ministerially corrected 29/07/2021 08:31:40 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp previous answer version 4558 answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon

1235552

registered interest
date	17/09/2020
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Ministry of Justice: Apprentices
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress his Department is making on meeting the 2.3 per cent public sector apprenticeship target; and when his Department will meet that target.
tabling member constituency	Harlow
tabling member printed	Robert Halfon
uin	91614
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/09/2020 answer text <p>As of 31 March 2020, the Civil Service has achieved a total of 2.1% of its total workforce as apprentices against the legislative target for the public sector of 2.3% by March 2021. The Ministry of Justice has achieved 1.3% of the total staff employed within the department.</p><p>The Ministry of Justice’s Apprenticeship Strategy, designed to meet the allocated targets consists of 3 strands:</p><ol><li>Promoting the use of Cabinet Office approved apprenticeships programmes to develop professional skills;</li><li>Designing and delivering operational apprenticeship standards for specific operational roles; and</li><li>Promoting the use of apprenticeships as an entry route / development of career pathways for staff at all levels of the organisation.</li></ol><p>In March 2020 the MoJ reported a year on year increase in apprenticeships starts vs 2018-19 by 31%; and it was expected that this trend would continue into the new financial year, with the recruitment of c2,700 prison officer apprentices nationally throughout 2020-21.</p><p>Unfortunately, Covid-19 has significantly impacted the delivery of our apprenticeship strategy; particularly in the prison operational roles, with activity being paused in the short term. Plans are in place to rapidly re-start operational apprenticeships as soon as it is both safe and operationally viable to do so.</p><p>Given this target is a percentage of the total workforce, the percentage changes in line with workforce fluctuations over time, therefore making it challenging to predict when a department will meet it. The data for 2018/19 can be found <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-apprenticeship-data-2018-to-2019" target="_blank">here</a>. The data for 2019/20 will be released on <a href="http://gov.uk" target="_blank">gov.uk</a> by the end of September 2020.</p><p>Departments are committed to increasing the number of apprentices across the Civil Service and continue to work towards the 2.3% target. The impact of the current pandemic has slowed recruitment due to priority work and logistics. With the current strategy and targets coming to an end in April 2021, the Civil Service is already focusing on how to continue to support the apprenticeship agenda and drive forward apprenticeship recruitment, pulling on the Plan for Jobs initiative and considering the current economic situation.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 22/09/2020 14:00:17 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon

1224986

registered interest
date	15/07/2020
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Ministry of Justice: Apprentices
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to reach the public sector apprenticeship target.
tabling member constituency	Harlow
tabling member printed	Robert Halfon
uin	74510
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/07/2020 answer text <p>The Ministry of Justice’s Apprenticeship Strategy, designed to meet the allocated targets consists of 3 strands:</p><p>1) Promoting the use of Cabinet Office approved apprenticeships programmes to develop professional skills;</p><p>2) Designing and delivering operational apprenticeship standards for specific operational roles; and</p><p>3) Promoting the use of apprenticeships as an entry route / development of career pathways for staff at all levels of the organisation.</p><p>In March 2020 the MoJ reported a year on year increase in apprenticeships starts vs 2018-19 by 31%; and it was expected that this trend would continue into the new financial year, with the recruitment of c3,500 prison officer apprentices nationally throughout 2020-21.</p><p>Unfortunately, Covid-19 has significantly impacted the delivery of our apprenticeship strategy; particularly in the prison operational roles with activity being paused in the short term. Plans are in place to rapidly re-start operational apprenticeships as soon as it is both safe and operationally viable to do so.</p><p>The apprenticeship strategy focuses on recruitment of operational staff within prisons being largely predicated on an apprenticeship model, with all new operational support grades being strongly encouraged to undertake a level 2 apprenticeship as part of their initial training; and plans for all new prison officers to undertake a level 3 apprenticeship with effect from January 2021 (following a successful pilot of the programme in early 2020)</p><p>Across the MoJ, 1,199 staff are currently undertaking an apprenticeship programme of learning; of which 143 are on a higher level (degree level or above) programme. Apprenticeships span a broad range of professional and operational areas such as Business Administration, Customer Service, Operational Delivery, Project Management and Finance. These cover a range of qualifications from Level 2 (equivalent to GCSE, up to Level 7 which is equivalent to a Masters Degree.</p><p>The MoJ Apprenticeship Strategy is being updated to include an even stronger focus on ensuring equity of access to programmes for staff across all protected characteristics and will seek to understand trends for withdrawals and completions.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 24/07/2020 13:14:15 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon

1194448

registered interest
date	07/05/2020
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Marriage: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans he has to extend the marriage licence while weddings are unable to take place during the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Harlow
tabling member printed	Robert Halfon
uin	45140
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/05/2020 answer text <p>The Government understands the frustration couples planning a wedding must be feeling at this time. We are exploring what changes might be possible and realistic in line with Public Health England’s guidance on social distancing. As with all coronavirus restrictions we will look to ease them as soon as it is safe to do so.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk question first answered 19/05/2020 17:00:17 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
tabling member	3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon

1180336

registered interest
date	25/02/2020
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Ministry of Justice: Civil Society
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much funding she has allocated to civil society and campaigning bodies in each of the last three years.
tabling member constituency	Harlow
tabling member printed	Robert Halfon
uin	20457
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/03/2020 answer text <p>Civil Society forms an essential part of our communities up and down the country. It includes large, national charities, social enterprises, volunteers and small grassroots organisations but what joins them all is the idea of creating social value to help build a better society.</p><p> </p><p>Government funding to civil society is ring-fenced for particular projects or programmes. Grant agreement terms and conditions prohibit grant funding being used for paid for lobbying and political campaigning.</p><p> </p><p>The Cabinet Office publishes grants data on www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-grants-register for all departments. Within that data, the Ministry of Justice grant schemes that may relate to civil society funding are identifiable. We do not pay grants for campaigning activities.</p><p>The data for 2016/17 and 2017/18 has already been published and it is expected that the data relating to 2018/19 will be published by end of March 2020 as part of the Cabinet Office transparency agenda.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk question first answered 04/03/2020 15:17:20 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
tabling member	3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon

1145076

registered interest
date	05/09/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Sexual Offences: Victim Support Schemes
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to decrease victim attrition rates in criminal cases of sexual assault and rape.
tabling member constituency	Harlow
tabling member printed	Robert Halfon
uin	287547
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>The Government is committed to tackling the unacceptably high victim attrition rates in sexual violence cases. We know that access to counselling and therapeutic support when and where victims most need it increases victim engagement. That is why in March this year we increased funding available to these essential services by 10% - up to £8m per year and totalling £24m over the next three years. This funding ensures that, for the first time, that there are government-funded services in all 42 of the country’s Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) areas and by extending it from one to three years, it provides greater security and sustainability for the sector to deliver their essential services. This is in addition to the £68m we allocate to PCC’s to locally deliver support services for victims of crime, including for victims of sexual violence, as they are best placed to respond to local needs.</p><p> </p><p>Moreover, in the cross-government Victims Strategy, which we published on 10 September 2018, we made a commitment to improve support for all victims of crime, including by increasing the number of Registered Intermediaries, communication experts helping vulnerable victims and witnesses give their best evidence at police interview and at court.</p><p> </p><p>The Government also recognises the importance of understanding the decline in the number of rape and serious sexual offences reaching court and being charged. It is vital we grasp this issue, which is the Criminal Justice Board (CJB) has committed to a cross-government end-to-end review of response to serious sexual violence and adult rape. We have established a Sub-Group of the CJB to oversee this review and a stakeholder group made up of victim organisations to ensure the inclusion of the victim experience.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 09/09/2019 16:35:05 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
tabling member	3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon

1145081

registered interest
date	05/09/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Sexual Offences: Victim Support Schemes
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to support survivors of (a) rape, (b) attempted rape and (c) sexual assault through the process of trial.
tabling member constituency	Harlow
tabling member printed	Robert Halfon
uin	287550
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>Serious sexual violence and rape are horrendous crimes. It is essential that victims and survivors of these crimes have access to support when and where they need it most.</p><p>In accordance with the Code of Practice for Victims of Crime (Victims’ Code), a person is entitled to support if they have suffered harm, including physical, mental or emotional harm or economic loss, which was directly caused by a criminal offence. They are entitled to access victim support services at any time, whether they have reported a crime or not.</p><p>In March this year the Government increased funding available to these essential services by 10% - up to £8m per year and totalling £24m over the next three years to specialist sexual violence and abuse support services across England and Wales. This enables these services to provide advice, support and counselling to victims of these appalling crimes to help them cope with and, as far as possible, recover from the effects of crime. Part of this funding will go towards Independent Sexual Violence Adviser’s to provide impartial advocacy for victims of sexual violence and abuse who have reported to the police or are considering reporting to the police. This funding ensures that, for the first time, that there are government-funded services in all 42 of the country’s Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) areas. This is in addition to the £68m we allocate to PCCs to locally deliver support services for victims of crime, including for victims of sexual violence.</p><p>Moreover, in the cross-government Victim’s Strategy, which we published on 10 September 2018, we made a commitment to improve support for victims of crime, including by increasing the number of registered Intermediaries, communication experts helping vulnerable victims and witnesses give their best evidence at police interview and at court.</p><p>The Government also recognises the importance of understanding the decline in the number of rape and serious sexual offences reaching court and being charged. It is vital that we grasp this issue, which is the Criminal Justice Board (CJB) has committed to a cross-government end-to-end review of the Criminal Justice System’s response to serious sexual violence and adult rape. We have established a sub-group of the CJB to oversee this review and continue to engage regularly with specialist stakeholders and victim organisations to ensure that the victim experience is central to our work.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 09/09/2019 16:36:06 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
tabling member	3985 label Biography information for Robert Halfon