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1196682

registered interest
date	18/05/2020
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Debts: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will take steps to support debtors during the covid-19 outbreak by (a) providing a mechanism for people who have historically been charged VAT on High Court enforcement debt fees to reclaim that cost where the judgment creditor is VAT registered and (b) notifying all High Court Enforcement Officers to stop charging debtors VAT on top of those debts with immediate effect.
tabling member constituency	Stockton North
tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
uin	48411
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/06/2020 answer text <p>The Ministry of Justice is working to produce guidance to clarify the circumstances and manner in which VAT costs can and should be recovered from judgment debtors as an enforcement cost. We have shared the draft guidance with interested parties for comment and will publish final guidance in due course.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 02/06/2020 15:50:27 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

1196683

registered interest
date	18/05/2020
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Debts: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of people who (a) have fallen and (b) will fall into debt as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Stockton North
tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
uin	48412
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/06/2020 answer text <p>The government is conducting on-going work to understand and model the extent of indebtedness as a result of Covid-19. This data is still under development.</p><p>People will be impacted by Covid-19 in different ways and to varying extents. A number of measures have been announced to support individuals and businesses through this difficult time.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk question first answered 02/06/2020 16:28:00 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

1196684

registered interest
date	18/05/2020
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Debts: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the additional cost to debtors of High Court Enforcement officers' continued application of VAT to judgment debts during the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Stockton North
tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
uin	48413
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/06/2020 answer text <p>The Ministry of Justice has not made an estimate of the additional cost to debtors of the application of VAT to High Court enforcement fees during the covid-19 outbreak.</p><p>Due to the impact of covid-19, visits by enforcement agents (bailiffs) to take control of goods at residential premises and on highways are currently suspended under the Taking Control of Goods and Certification of Enforcement Agents (Amendment) (Coronavirus) Regulations 2020, which came into force on 25 April. This restriction is a public health measure and will remain in place while the social distancing restrictions that limit the reasons for which a person can leave the place in which they live are in force under the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) Regulations 2020 and the Health Protection (Coronavirus Restrictions) (Wales) Regulations 2020.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 02/06/2020 15:51:49 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

1193605

registered interest
date	06/05/2020
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisoners' Release: Females
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 secure accommodation is available for women released from prison.
tabling member constituency	Stockton North
tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
uin	43896
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/05/2020 answer text <p>In response to the current unprecedented situation, on 4 April the Government announced that risk-assessed prisoners who are within two months of their release date will be considered for temporary release from prison, under the End of Custody Temporary Release scheme.</p><p>Prisoner releases are being phased over time to ensure stringent risk assessments can be carried out and that the required support for offenders is in place. No prisoner will be released without housing and health support being in place. All prisoners released under this scheme are eligible for an enhanced subsistence grant to reflect that these individuals will not have had the full amount of time and resources they would usually have had to prepare for release.</p><p>Additionally, pregnant women and prisoners living on mother and baby units will also be considered for Release on Temporary Licence (ROTL) on compassionate grounds during this period. Pregnant women and prisoners with babies in custody are being assessed case by case, and so the specific needs of each woman are considered before release is authorised.</p><p>Homelessness Prevention Taskforces (HPTs) have been established in each area of England and in Wales to address accommodation needs during these exceptional and extremely challenging times. There is also a strong link with voluntary sector providers to ensure that providers with accommodation are able to link with HPTs to ensure that they are aware of vacancies that are available.</p><p>Prison establishments and Through the Gate teams are actively engaging in ensuring that proposed release accommodation is appropriate for the needs of the women. Where a proposed address is assessed as unsuitable women are supported to find alternative accommodation via the HPTs.</p><p>Local Authorities continue to have a duty to try and prevent or relieve homelessness for all eligible homeless households under the Homelessness Reduction Act, irrespective of whether they are a family or single person, what has put them at risk, or if they have a local connection to the area.</p><p>Whilst our immediate concern is to support those individuals released from prison into suitable accommodation, in the long-term we will analyse the lessons learned during this period, to develop how we can improve the accommodation offer for those with a history of offending.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer grouped question UIN 43897 question first answered 15/05/2020 09:39:48 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

1193606

registered interest
date	06/05/2020
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisoners' Release: Coronavirus
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 effect on women otherwise eligible for release from prison on a temporary license not being so released as a result of secure accommodation not being available during the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Stockton North
tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
uin	43897
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/05/2020 answer text <p>In response to the current unprecedented situation, on 4 April the Government announced that risk-assessed prisoners who are within two months of their release date will be considered for temporary release from prison, under the End of Custody Temporary Release scheme.</p><p>Prisoner releases are being phased over time to ensure stringent risk assessments can be carried out and that the required support for offenders is in place. No prisoner will be released without housing and health support being in place. All prisoners released under this scheme are eligible for an enhanced subsistence grant to reflect that these individuals will not have had the full amount of time and resources they would usually have had to prepare for release.</p><p>Additionally, pregnant women and prisoners living on mother and baby units will also be considered for Release on Temporary Licence (ROTL) on compassionate grounds during this period. Pregnant women and prisoners with babies in custody are being assessed case by case, and so the specific needs of each woman are considered before release is authorised.</p><p>Homelessness Prevention Taskforces (HPTs) have been established in each area of England and in Wales to address accommodation needs during these exceptional and extremely challenging times. There is also a strong link with voluntary sector providers to ensure that providers with accommodation are able to link with HPTs to ensure that they are aware of vacancies that are available.</p><p>Prison establishments and Through the Gate teams are actively engaging in ensuring that proposed release accommodation is appropriate for the needs of the women. Where a proposed address is assessed as unsuitable women are supported to find alternative accommodation via the HPTs.</p><p>Local Authorities continue to have a duty to try and prevent or relieve homelessness for all eligible homeless households under the Homelessness Reduction Act, irrespective of whether they are a family or single person, what has put them at risk, or if they have a local connection to the area.</p><p>Whilst our immediate concern is to support those individuals released from prison into suitable accommodation, in the long-term we will analyse the lessons learned during this period, to develop how we can improve the accommodation offer for those with a history of offending.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer grouped question UIN 43896 question first answered 15/05/2020 09:39:49 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

1193225

registered interest
date	05/05/2020
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Courts: Closures
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the report entitled Transforming courts and tribunals – a progress update, published by the National Audit Office on 6 September 2019, HC2638, if he will review the proposed closure of 77 more courts by 2025/26.
tabling member constituency	Stockton North
tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
uin	43636
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/05/2020 answer text <p>HM Courts &amp; Tribunals Service keeps its operational estate under review against our three core estates principles of ensuring access to justice for all, delivering value for money and enabling efficiency in the longer term.</p><p> </p><p>The reference in the National Audit Office report to 77 further courts closing by 2025/26 relates to a forecast which was current at the time of their report, and based on analysis of the projected reduction in capacity requirement generated by the Reform Programme. Due to Covid-19 there are no current active consultations on the closure of further courts. Any future proposals for changes to the court and tribunal estate will be announced by the Lord Chancellor and will be consulted on where appropriate, keeping in mind at all times the need to maintain access to Justice.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 11/05/2020 16:36:06 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

1193226

registered interest
date	05/05/2020
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Remote Hearings
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the (a) effectiveness and (b) challenges of operating virtual courts.
tabling member constituency	Stockton North
tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
uin	43637
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/05/2020 answer text <p>In response to the pandemic, we have urgently scaled up our capacity to support hearings to take place using telephone or video technology, enabling hearings to continue remotely and reducing the number of people who need to come to a court or tribunal building. We are clear that audio or video-supported hearings provide another route to justice, but may not be right for everyone. The decision as to how a hearing is conducted is a matter for the judge, magistrates or panel, who will determine how best to uphold the interests of justice.</p><p>While we have rapidly increased the use of video and telephone hearings, they are not new. Audio and video technology has long played a part in the justice system and is now proving crucial to us in maintaining a functioning justice system during the pandemic. However the rapid increase in the use of video and telephone hearings represents significant change, and we are taking the opportunity to carefully monitor and evaluate the use of video and technology in courts, so that we can improve our services and ensure that they are as effective as possible in providing access to justice. In the process of continuous improvement, we are listening to feedback from the judiciary, users, staff and other key stakeholders, such as legal practitioners, to understand the impact and the success of the technology.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 11/05/2020 16:07:42 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

1193227

registered interest
date	05/05/2020
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Criminal Proceedings
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 reduce the time from offence to completion in criminal court cases.
tabling member constituency	Stockton North
tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
uin	43638
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/05/2020 answer text <p>Our courts provide a vital public service and it is important that justice is delivered in a timely fashion wherever possible during the Covid-19 outbreak. We are working closely with the courts and judiciary to ensure that cases are progressed through the system as quickly as possible, including through greater use of audio and video hearings.</p><p>The courts are expediting sentencing hearings and prioritising remand hearings to ensure that public protection remains a core goal. Magistrates’ court trials are now being listed wherever it is safe to do so, and every effort is being made to resume Crown Court jury trials. Representatives from across the criminal justice system are working at pace to agree the best way of doing this safely</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 15/05/2020 09:59:32 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

1193228

registered interest
date	05/05/2020
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Judges and Recorders
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on how many days (a) recorders and (b) judges have sat in each month from February 2019 to 2020.
tabling member constituency	Stockton North
tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
uin	43639
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/05/2020 answer text <p>The official statistics for judge sitting days (tables 5.1, 5.2 and 5.3 of the Civil Justice Statistics Quarterly, January to March 2019) were withdrawn on 5 September 2019, due to data discrepancies that were discovered after publication on 6 June 2019 and deemed potentially misleading to users. These discrepancies remain under independent investigation and, in line with the Code of Practice on Statistics, the Chief Statistician and Head of Profession decided to withdraw these tables until the investigations were complete and a revised set of figures could be compiled.</p><p> </p><p>We plan to publish revised figures on 4 June 2020 that will include annual totals for all judges for 2019. The data for recorders will not be included as corrected figures are not yet available. The monthly data from February 2019 to December 2019 for part (b), for all judges, can be made available after 4 June 2020. The timing for when the equivalent data can be made available for recorders is currently unknown.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 15/05/2020 10:40:06 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

1193229

registered interest
date	05/05/2020
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Remote Hearings: Expenditure
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much Government has spent on developing virtual courts in response to the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Stockton North
tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
uin	43640
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/05/2020 answer text <p>HM Courts and Tribunals Service response to the COVID-19 pandemic is a developing situation, and the forecast of the total cost relating to the development of virtual courts remains subject to change.</p><p>We are determined to keep our courts system running safely and ensure justice is delivered, we estimate that c.£5.85m will be spent in 2020/21 on remote hearings in response to the Covid-19 outbreak.</p><p>This estimate relates only to HM Courts and Tribunals Service, any cost incurred by other government departments is not included.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 15/05/2020 10:44:01 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham