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1187778

registered interest
date	25/03/2020
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Law Centres: 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 is taking to provide additional funding from the public purse to law centres to help them respond to increases in the number of legal enquiries during the covid-19 pandemic; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Harrow West
tabling member printed	Gareth Thomas
uin	34896
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/04/2020 answer text <p>We recognise the valuable role that Law Centres play in local communities across the country, and we support them in this vital work.</p><p> </p><p>It is right that the Government does what it can to help vulnerable people and the charity sector on which they rely during this challenging time. That is why the Government recently announced that it is providing £360m of funding to charities, as well as an additional £370m fund for smaller organisations at the heart of local communities.</p><p> </p><p>MoJ officials continue to meet regularly with representatives of law centres as well as the wider advice sector, to ensure that they are supported during this time and discuss ways in which we can work together to enhance the breadth of legal support available for everyone in society.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk question first answered 21/04/2020 17:05:04 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
tabling member	177 label Biography information for Gareth Thomas

1187895

registered interest
date	25/03/2020
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Cemeteries
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Keen of Elie on 10 March (HL1844), whether private cemeteries should apply the same standards and principles contained in the “framework of regulation and guidance" applying to local authority burial grounds.
tabling member printed	Lord Bassam of Brighton
uin	HL2909
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/04/2020 answer text <p>As indicated in my response to the Noble Lord’s previous questions on the issue of mounding (HL1843, 1844 and 1845), the Government anticipates that those operating private burial grounds will adhere to the standards and principles underpinning the framework of regulation and guidance which applies to local authority burial grounds.</p><p> </p><p>However, I will ensure that the issues raised by the Noble Lord are referred to the Law Commission in the context of its forthcoming consideration of the law governing the disposal of human remains, to which I also referred in my previous response.</p> answering member printed Lord Keen of Elie grouped question UIN HL2910 HL2911 question first answered 07/04/2020 13:18:53 answering member 4538 label Biography information for Lord Keen of Elie
tabling member	3504 label Biography information for Lord Bassam of Brighton

1187896

registered interest
date	25/03/2020
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Cemeteries
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have received any reports of disputes at Tottenham Park Cemetery and Camberwell Old Cemetery on mounding; and what assessment they have made of reports that there are examples of private cemeteries potentially acting in breach of national guidance.
tabling member printed	Lord Bassam of Brighton
uin	HL2910
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/04/2020 answer text <p>As indicated in my response to the Noble Lord’s previous questions on the issue of mounding (HL1843, 1844 and 1845), the Government anticipates that those operating private burial grounds will adhere to the standards and principles underpinning the framework of regulation and guidance which applies to local authority burial grounds.</p><p> </p><p>However, I will ensure that the issues raised by the Noble Lord are referred to the Law Commission in the context of its forthcoming consideration of the law governing the disposal of human remains, to which I also referred in my previous response.</p> answering member printed Lord Keen of Elie grouped question UIN HL2909 HL2911 question first answered 07/04/2020 13:18:53 answering member 4538 label Biography information for Lord Keen of Elie
tabling member	3504 label Biography information for Lord Bassam of Brighton

1187897

registered interest
date	25/03/2020
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Burial
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they can take to enforce the recording of early burials that are 'mounded' over.
tabling member printed	Lord Bassam of Brighton
uin	HL2911
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/04/2020 answer text <p>As indicated in my response to the Noble Lord’s previous questions on the issue of mounding (HL1843, 1844 and 1845), the Government anticipates that those operating private burial grounds will adhere to the standards and principles underpinning the framework of regulation and guidance which applies to local authority burial grounds.</p><p> </p><p>However, I will ensure that the issues raised by the Noble Lord are referred to the Law Commission in the context of its forthcoming consideration of the law governing the disposal of human remains, to which I also referred in my previous response.</p> answering member printed Lord Keen of Elie grouped question UIN HL2909 HL2910 question first answered 07/04/2020 13:18:53 answering member 4538 label Biography information for Lord Keen of Elie
tabling member	3504 label Biography information for Lord Bassam of Brighton

1187477

registered interest
date	24/03/2020
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons: 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 plans to take to ensure security in prisons in the event that prison staff become infected with covid-19.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	34330
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/04/2020 answer text <p>COVID-19 presents a unique set of challenges that we must address in order to maintain the provision of services in custody. As ever, the safety of our staff and those in our care remains of primary concern, and we are doing all that we can to protect them. Prisons have existing, well-developed policies and procedures in place to manage outbreaks of infectious diseases. We have also been working closely with Public Health and NHS services to put robust contingency plans in place in response to the specific risks posed by COVID-19.</p><p>Prisons are currently operating under temporarily restricted regimes so we can implement the Government’s measures to encourage the public to stay at home, protect the NHS and save lives. Staff are being re-deployed, where appropriate, from headquarters into operational roles. The Government also recently announced an extension of testing to prison and probation staff. Staff who had been self-isolating because they or a member of their household have symptoms of coronavirus will be able to return to work where they test negative.</p><p>In recognition of the importance of continued contact with family and to ensure stability in our jails, the Government has moved quickly to keep prisoners in touch with their family members. Around 60% of the prison estate now has access to in-cell telephony and for those that do not, we have rolled out 900 locked mobile phone handsets.</p><p>We have also worked with Prison Education Framework providers and local prison teams to collate distraction packs and in-cell activities.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 27/04/2020 13:14:45 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

1187479

registered interest
date	24/03/2020
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Magistrates' Courts: 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 of the continuation of priority cases in the Magistrates courts on efforts to reduce transmission of covid-19; what steps he is taking to ensure compliance with the two metre social distancing advice for those involved in any continued proceedings; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Brighton, Pavilion
tabling member printed	Caroline Lucas
uin	34322
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/04/2020 answer text <p>The judiciary has agreed that magistrates’ courts should focus on only the highest priority cases for hearings in open court, and on work that can be dealt with remotely. This has greatly reduced the number of people entering what would otherwise be busy magistrates’ courts. Guidance has been issued to courts to make sure that the advice on observing social distance requirements is observed as far as is practicable. The judiciary continue to review the prioritisation of work in the magistrates’ courts, with the need for courts to be able to operate safely being paramount.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 21/04/2020 15:53:04 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	3930 label Biography information for Caroline Lucas

1187570

registered interest
date	24/03/2020
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Probation: Coronavirus
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will provide guidance to probation services on the circumstances in which face-to-face meetings with offenders can be avoided during the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	New Forest West
tabling member printed	Sir Desmond Swayne
uin	34296
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/04/2020 answer text <p>Probation staff are considered key workers but we are encouraging them to work from home when possible. Probation officers will continue supervising in person those who pose the highest risk ensuring the monitoring of high-risk offenders remains as tough as it always is.</p><p> </p><p>Face-to-face contact will remain for terrorists, offenders without a phone and prison leavers reporting for their initial appointment. Guidance has been issued to staff on adherence to government instructions on social distancing when conducting face to face supervision. Additional hygiene products are also being provided to reporting sites.</p><p> </p><p>Doorstep visits will be the default option for all other high-risk offenders and medium-risk offenders with domestic abuse or other safeguarding issues. This will involve a phone call with the offender visible to their probation officer, with a separation of at least 2m. Video and voice calls will be used in addition.</p><p> </p><p>Lower-risk offenders will now be supervised more frequently, via telephone or video messaging rather than face-to-face. If staff believe it is the right thing to do, offenders can always be recalled to prison.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 27/04/2020 13:11:50 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	55 label Biography information for Sir Desmond Swayne

1187655

registered interest
date	24/03/2020
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Personal Independence Payment: Tribunals
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking to address the reported backlog of Personal Independence Payments tribunal claims.
tabling member printed	Baroness Thomas of Winchester
uin	HL2893
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/04/2020 answer text <p>HM Courts &amp; Tribunals Service (HMCTS) has been working with the Tribunal’s judiciary both to appoint additional judges and panel members and to list more Personal Independence Payment (PIP) appeals into each tribunal session. Case-management “triage” sessions have also been introduced, with the aim of reducing the time taken for appeals to reach final determination. In addition, HMCTS has recently launched a new digital service with a view to enabling speedier processing of appeals.</p><p>All these measures have the aim of increasing the capacity of the Tribunal and reducing the time taken to deal with PIP appeals. The number of PIP appeals outstanding in the latest period for which data are available shows a decrease of 13% when compared to the same period in 2018.</p> answering member printed Lord Keen of Elie question first answered 06/04/2020 15:58:29 answering member 4538 label Biography information for Lord Keen of Elie
tabling member	3785 label Biography information for Baroness Thomas of Winchester

1186954

registered interest
date	23/03/2020
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Legal Aid Scheme
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 review the eligibility for legal aid.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	33519
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/03/2020 answer text <p>The Government announced a review of the legal aid means test on 7 February 2019, as part of the Legal Support Action Plan.</p><p> </p><p>The review is in progress, bringing together data, evidence and expertise, and liaising with experts from across the field to explore potential improvements to the system.</p><p> </p><p>The review is considering the full range of means-testing criteria, including the applicable thresholds for legal aid entitlement and their interaction with wider criteria.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk question first answered 31/03/2020 12:37:40 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1186967

registered interest
date	23/03/2020
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Dangerous Driving: Reoffenders
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what was the (a) average and (b) highest number of previous offences for dangerous driving a person committed before being given an immediate custodial sentence for that offence in (i) England and Wales and (ii) West Yorkshire in each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Shipley
tabling member printed	Philip Davies
uin	33458
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/03/2020 answer text <p>Obtaining the necessary information to answer these questions involves accessing the secure Police National Computer (PNC) system, which my relevant officials are unable to do at this time in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. I will write to the Hon Member in due course with the information requested, once my officials are able to safely access the PNC system, and will place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp grouped question UIN 32654 32655 32665 33459 33470 question first answered 26/03/2020 14:45:35 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	1565 label Biography information for Sir Philip Davies