Show Search Form

Search Results

registered interest	true false
date	exactly: or between: and
answering body
answering dept id
answering dept short name
answering dept sort name
hansard heading
house id
legislature	pref label
question text
tabling member constituency
tabling member printed
uin
answer	is ministerial correction true false date of answer exactly: or between: and answer text answering member constituency answering member printed grouped question UIN question first answered answering member label
tabling member	label

Search

1224969

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	Court of Protection
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average waiting time is for an application for deputyship to be heard by the Court of Protection.
tabling member constituency	Rhondda
tabling member printed	Chris Bryant
uin	74457
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/07/2020 answer text <p>The average waiting time for an application for deputyship to be heard by the Court of Protection is 39 days based on March 2020.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 20/07/2020 13:28:15 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	1446 label Biography information for Sir Chris Bryant

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

1225037

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	Employment Tribunals: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department has taken to ensure employment tribunals can take place in a timely manner during the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Inverclyde
tabling member printed	Ronnie Cowan
uin	74663
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/07/2020 answer text <p>Employment Tribunals have continued to sit during the covid-19 lockdown restrictions by making use of online and remote technology to hear cases and ensure continued access to justice for users. Face to face hearings are now starting to resume where it is safe to do so in line with comprehensive and ongoing risk assessments. The details of Employment Tribunal receipts and disposals during the period of lockdown restrictions can be found here:</p><p>www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/hmcts-management-information-may-2020</p><p>Having responded effectively to the immediate crisis, HM Courts &amp; Tribunals Service (HMCTS) is now fully focused on recovering its operations to increase courts and tribunals capacity to deal both with normal workloads across jurisdictions and outstanding cases. HMCTS has recently published a progress update on its recovery plans.</p><p>https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/896779/HMCTS368_recovery_-_COVID-19-_Overview_of_HMCTS_response_A4L_v3.pdf</p><p>The Employment Tribunal Presidents have also published a document setting out how Employment Tribunals operate both now and in the months ahead.</p><p>www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/FAQ-edition-date-1-June-2020.pdf</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp grouped question UIN 74665 question first answered 24/07/2020 13:18:02 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4465 label Biography information for Ronnie Cowan

1225040

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	Employment Tribunals Service: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many employment tribunals, relating to variations of contract during the covid-19 outbreak, have taken place in Scotland.
tabling member constituency	Inverclyde
tabling member printed	Ronnie Cowan
uin	74664
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/07/2020 answer text <p>HM Courts &amp; Tribunals Service do not hold the information requested.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 24/07/2020 13:19:48 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4465 label Biography information for Ronnie Cowan

1225041

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	Employment Tribunals Service: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions his Department has had with relevant stakeholders on the recommencing of employment tribunals throughout the UK as covid-19 lockdown restrictions are eased; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Inverclyde
tabling member printed	Ronnie Cowan
uin	74665
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/07/2020 answer text <p>Employment Tribunals have continued to sit during the covid-19 lockdown restrictions by making use of online and remote technology to hear cases and ensure continued access to justice for users. Face to face hearings are now starting to resume where it is safe to do so in line with comprehensive and ongoing risk assessments. The details of Employment Tribunal receipts and disposals during the period of lockdown restrictions can be found here:</p><p>www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/hmcts-management-information-may-2020</p><p>Having responded effectively to the immediate crisis, HM Courts &amp; Tribunals Service (HMCTS) is now fully focused on recovering its operations to increase courts and tribunals capacity to deal both with normal workloads across jurisdictions and outstanding cases. HMCTS has recently published a progress update on its recovery plans.</p><p>https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/896779/HMCTS368_recovery_-_COVID-19-_Overview_of_HMCTS_response_A4L_v3.pdf</p><p>The Employment Tribunal Presidents have also published a document setting out how Employment Tribunals operate both now and in the months ahead.</p><p>www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/FAQ-edition-date-1-June-2020.pdf</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp grouped question UIN 74663 question first answered 24/07/2020 13:18:02 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4465 label Biography information for Ronnie Cowan

1225162

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	Courts
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the length of time it will take to clear the backlog in the criminal courts of England and Wales.
tabling member constituency	Kingston upon Hull East
tabling member printed	Karl Turner
uin	74521
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/07/2020 answer text <p>COVID-19 has been an unprecedented challenge for the criminal justice system, but we have kept courts open and cases flowing through the system throughout. The UK has been a global leader and we are ahead of comparable systems.</p><p> </p><p>HMCTS has now published a Court Recovery Plan, which sets out that court operating hours will be extended, alternative venues will be used as courts to increase capacity and the use of the Cloud Video Platform (CVP) will be rolled out into all Magistrates’ and Crown Courts. Further measures to increase jury trial capacity are also being explored. The Court Recovery Plan can be accessed via the following link: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/court-and-tribunal-recovery-update-in-response-to-coronavirus" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/court-and-tribunal-recovery-update-in-response-to-coronavirus</a></p><p> </p><p>Public confidence requires cases to be dealt with in a timely manner and the backlog must be addressed. This goal will require ambition from the whole system. We have recently announced a record investment in court infrastructure and maintenance. We’re recruiting more court staff and we will shortly be making an announcement on use of additional court centres.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 20/07/2020 13:33:02 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4030 label Biography information for Karl Turner

1225163

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	Courts: Opening Hours
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has consulted (a) legal practitioners and (b) other stakeholders on plans to reintroduce Flexible Operating Hours in the courts.
tabling member constituency	Kingston upon Hull East
tabling member printed	Karl Turner
uin	74522
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/07/2020 answer text <p>The Flexible Operating Hours pilots took place at Manchester Civil Justice Centre and the County Court at Brentford from September 2019 to March 2020. Local Implementation Teams, which include legal representatives and local support groups, were set up in Manchester and Brentford to plan and deliver the pilots. To support a cross-justice system approach to the evaluation of the pilots HMCTS set up an Evaluation Advisory Group which includes representatives from the judiciary, partner government agencies, the Bar Council, the Bar Standards Board, the Law Society and CILEx.</p><p> </p><p>HMCTS has appointed a consortium of IFF Research and Frontier Economics to carry out an independent evaluation of the Flexible Operating Hours pilots. The evaluation is being conducted as set out in the evaluation plan, published July 2019: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/flexible-operating-hours-evaluation-plan-and-summary" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/flexible-operating-hours-evaluation-plan-and-summary</a>. The evaluation report will be published following completion, in the autumn and we will consider its findings carefully.</p><p> </p><p>Proposals to extend court operating hours are being considered as part of the HMCTS recovery plan. Working groups under the leadership of judiciary have been established to develop these proposals which include members of the legal profession across the jurisdictions.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 20/07/2020 13:40:39 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4030 label Biography information for Karl Turner

1225164

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	Courts: Costs
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much it costs on average to process each defendant in the Crown Court.
tabling member constituency	Kingston upon Hull East
tabling member printed	Karl Turner
uin	74523
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/07/2020 answer text <p>Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service currently does not calculate the average cost to process each defendant in the crown court.</p><p> </p><p>Historically costs have been calculated around such metrics as the unit cost of a sitting day in the crown court, but we are unable to calculate the average cost of processing a defendant in the crown court.</p><p> </p><p>Criminal cases may be multi handed resulting in multiple defendants in one trial. Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service has been working over the last 12 months to establish a variety of key financial metrics around the unit costs associated with various volumetrics.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 20/07/2020 13:21:26 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4030 label Biography information for Karl Turner

1225165

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	Magistrates' Courts: Costs
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much it costs on average to process each defendant in the magistrates court.
tabling member constituency	Kingston upon Hull East
tabling member printed	Karl Turner
uin	74524
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/07/2020 answer text <p>Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service currently does not calculate the average cost to process each defendant in the magistrates’ court.</p><p> </p><p>Historically costs have been calculated around such metrics as the unit cost of a sitting day in the magistrates’ court. We are unable to calculate the average cost of processing a defendant in the magistrates’ court. Magistrates operate several sessions across a sitting day, which may be multi handed resulting in multiple defendants in one trial.</p><p> </p><p>Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service has been working over the last 12 months to establish a variety of key financial metrics around the unit cost associated with various volumetrics.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 20/07/2020 13:25:36 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4030 label Biography information for Karl Turner

1224311

registered interest
date	14/07/2020
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons: Staff
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	What plans his Department has to launch a (a) whistleblowing hotline and (b) know-your-rights campaign for prison staff.
tabling member constituency	Easington
tabling member printed	Grahame Morris
uin	904693
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/07/2020 answer text <p>The physical, emotional and social wellbeing of employees is paramount; particularly during these difficult times.</p><p> </p><p>Whistleblowing procedures are already in place for staff who wish to raise any concerns, including a Reporting Wrongdoing Integrity Hotline.</p><p> </p><p>We are also taking action to address unacceptable behaviours within HMPPS, and will be putting in place in the coming months a dedicated Unit to support our objective of reducing discrimination, bullying and harassment which will include a phone line to provide advice and guidance.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 14/07/2020 18:38:15 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	3973 label Biography information for Grahame Morris