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106054

	registered interest
	date	03/11/2014
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Pay
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many Instant Rewards of what value were given to his Department's officials in (a) 2013 and (b) 2014 to date.
	tabling member constituency	Barrow and Furness
	tabling member printed	John Woodcock
	uin	213071
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/11/2014 answer text The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) rewards individuals for exceptional contributions which further the aims and objectives of the department or meet an exceptional shorter-term operational challenge. The MoJ currently offers two types of reward and recognition: cash awards and voucher awards. Cash awards are payments of non-consolidated performance pay for amounts of up to £100 for a once-off contribution or payments of £100 - £500 for sustained outstanding contribution. Voucher awards are vouchers up to the value of £50 to recognise outstanding once-off contributions, or contributions which a benchmarking panel considers deserve recognition but do not warrant a higher payment. For the financial year April 2013 to March 2014 4,555 cash awards were made, the total value of which was £968,751. 21,898 vouchers were awarded, the total value of which was £639,260. Information on reward and recognition is collated on an annual basis so the data for March 2014 to date is not currently available. Like other organisations, we use a full range of pay and reward mechanisms which will reward exceptional performance from our staff both in year and for a sustained level of performance over the year. Both ensure responsible use of public money. Since 2010 we have reduced our spend on instant rewards by almost 30%, with significant saving for the taxpayer. answering member constituency Bermondsey and Old Southwark answering member printed Simon Hughes question first answered 10/11/2014 16:37:09 answering member 194 label Biography information for Simon Hughes
	tabling member	3917 label Biography information for Lord Walney

62961

	registered interest
	date	19/06/2014
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Marriage: Islam
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she has taken to raise awareness amongst Muslim couples that Islamic marriages without a legal component are not recognised in England and Wales.
	tabling member constituency	Washington and Sunderland West
	tabling member printed	Mrs Sharon Hodgson
	uin	201474
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/07/2014 answer text A small working group of internal and external stakeholders was established by the MoJ in 2012 to consider why so few mosques are registered for the purpose of conducting marriages. The working group has been exploring what more could be done in communications and guidance within the existing legal framework. The group is also examining how community led approaches could raise awareness of religious marriages which are not recognised by the state and the potential legal consequences. answering member constituency Bermondsey and Old Southwark answering member printed Simon Hughes question first answered 03/07/2014 16:53:02 answering member 194 label Biography information for Simon Hughes
	tabling member	1521 label Biography information for Mrs Sharon Hodgson

93044

	registered interest
	date	13/10/2014
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Grandparents
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many injunctions have been issued that prevent grandparents from having contact with their grandchildren in the last five years.
	tabling member constituency	Bristol North West
	tabling member printed	Charlotte Leslie
	uin	210139
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/11/2014 answer text <p>When making any decision about a child’s upbringing the court’s paramount consideration will be the welfare of the child. Under the provisions of the Children Act 1989, grandparents are required to seek the permission of the court before making an application for a child arrangements order for them to spend time with or have contact with their grandchildren or have their grandchildren live with them.</p><p> </p><p>The Government believes that the requirements for grandparents, and other family members who are not parents, to seek permission from the court to apply for an order are proportionate and do not unfairly disadvantage grandparents.</p><p> </p><p>Information on the number of cases where grandparents are not granted an order to have contact with or spend time with their grandchildren are not collected centrally.</p> answering member constituency Bermondsey and Old Southwark answering member printed Simon Hughes grouped question UIN 210136 210138 question first answered 18/11/2014 13:46:46 answering member 194 label Biography information for Simon Hughes
	tabling member	3933 label Biography information for Charlotte Leslie

93046

	registered interest
	date	13/10/2014
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Grandparents
	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 suitability of provisions for grandparents to have access to their grandchildren in the case of family breakdown involving the children's parents.
	tabling member constituency	Bristol North West
	tabling member printed	Charlotte Leslie
	uin	210138
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/11/2014 answer text <p>When making any decision about a child’s upbringing the court’s paramount consideration will be the welfare of the child. Under the provisions of the Children Act 1989, grandparents are required to seek the permission of the court before making an application for a child arrangements order for them to spend time with or have contact with their grandchildren or have their grandchildren live with them.</p><p> </p><p>The Government believes that the requirements for grandparents, and other family members who are not parents, to seek permission from the court to apply for an order are proportionate and do not unfairly disadvantage grandparents.</p><p> </p><p>Information on the number of cases where grandparents are not granted an order to have contact with or spend time with their grandchildren are not collected centrally.</p> answering member constituency Bermondsey and Old Southwark answering member printed Simon Hughes grouped question UIN 210136 210139 question first answered 18/11/2014 13:46:46 answering member 194 label Biography information for Simon Hughes
	tabling member	3933 label Biography information for Charlotte Leslie

223676

	registered interest
	date	25/02/2015
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Coroners
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress he has made on implementation of a 24 hour coroners system.
	tabling member constituency	Holborn and St Pancras
	tabling member printed	Frank Dobson
	uin	225340
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/03/2015 answer text <p>We want to make sure that grieving families receive the highest level of service when they are most in need, which is why we are determined that inquests are conducted quickly and consistently right across the country.</p><p> </p><p>It is important that coroners are flexible and accessible in the service they provide. The Government will do everything it can to encourage all coroners to make an out of hours service available and also to direct a less-invasive post-mortem where this is suitable and desired by the family.</p><p> </p><p>The Chief Coroner and I recently met senior figures from London local authorities and from the Metropolitan and City of London Police. We have secured their agreement to developing a pan-London out of hours coroner service which will share workloads and services and be in place as soon as possible after 31st March 2015. <br></p> answering member constituency Bermondsey and Old Southwark answering member printed Simon Hughes question first answered 02/03/2015 16:43:39 answering member 194 label Biography information for Simon Hughes
	tabling member	180 label Biography information for Frank Dobson

171668

	registered interest
	date	18/12/2014
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Kidnapping: Children
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many UK parents have applied for the return of their child from another country under the 1980 Hague Convention in each of the last five years.
	tabling member constituency	Hendon
	tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
	uin	219489
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/01/2015 answer text <p>We take every case of international parental child abduction very seriously and the Government works with other countries to help resolve cases in the best interests of the children involved as quickly as possible.</p><p>The table below shows the number of applications for return received from parents by the Central Authorities for England and Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland in each of the last five years. The Central Authorities do not record the nationality of the applicant. Figures for 2014 have not yet been finalised.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Calendar year</p></td><td><p>England and Wales</p></td><td><p>Northern Ireland</p></td><td><p>Scotland</p></td><td><p>Total</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2009</p></td><td><p>214</p></td><td><p>7</p></td><td><p>15</p></td><td><p>236</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010</p></td><td><p>150</p></td><td><p>7</p></td><td><p>10</p></td><td><p>167</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011</p></td><td><p>200</p></td><td><p>6</p></td><td><p>8</p></td><td><p>214</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012</p></td><td><p>220</p></td><td><p>9</p></td><td><p>17</p></td><td><p>246</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013</p></td><td><p>222</p></td><td><p>6</p></td><td><p>15</p></td><td><p>243</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>The Central Authorities are the International Child Abduction and Contact Unit for England and Wales, the Central Business Unit of the Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service for Northern Ireland, and the Scottish Government for Scotland.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Bermondsey and Old Southwark answering member printed Simon Hughes question first answered 05/01/2015 13:55:33 answering member 194 label Biography information for Simon Hughes
	tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

65165

	registered interest
	date	01/07/2014
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Mediation
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps the Government is taking to reverse the fall in take-up of family mediation for separating and divorcing couples.
	tabling member constituency	Exeter
	tabling member printed	Mr Ben Bradshaw
	uin	203498
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/07/2014 answer text <p>We have changed the law to require people to consider mediation before applying to the Family Court. This will encourage people to resolve their issues through mediation rather than court, where appropriate.</p><p> </p><p>We are delivering a wide-ranging programme of activity to improve public awareness about family mediation and to make sure that advice agencies are providing the right information about it. This includes being very clear that legal aid is still available for mediation and for legal support for mediation.</p><p> </p><p>I have taken the opportunity to engage directly with mediation and legal practitioners about the issues facing them at the moment. I have hosted a webchat for people to come forward and offer ideas to encourage people to use family mediation and launched an online tool called Dialogue where people can post their ideas.</p><p> </p><p>I have hosted two roundtable meetings to discuss increasing the take-up of family mediation with key figures in the mediation profession. The ideas from these events were considered by the Family Mediation Task Force, which was chaired by David Norgrove. The ‘Report of the Family Mediation Task Force' has been published on the mediation Dialogue webpage at: <a title="http://bit.ly/1o7roWW" href="http://bit.ly/1o7roWW" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/1o7roWW</a>. The report makes recommendations about increasing the uptake of family mediation. The Government will respond in due course.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Bermondsey and Old Southwark answering member printed Simon Hughes question first answered 07/07/2014 08:57:15 answering member 194 label Biography information for Simon Hughes
	tabling member	230 label Biography information for Mr Ben Bradshaw

156062

	registered interest
	date	17/11/2014
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Contempt of Court: Sentencing
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, in how many cases of imprisonment for contempt of court in January 2014 there has been no published judgment on Bailii.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Yardley
	tabling member printed	John Hemming
	uin	214742
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/11/2014 answer text <p>We have been clear that there needs to be more openness in the Family Courts and are grateful to the President of the Family Division for his ongoing work on this issue. On contempt, the Guidance issued in 2013 by the Lord Chief Justice and President of the Family Division made clear that contempt decisions must be announced in public. Where a hearing for committal is exceptionally held in private, the judge must set out the reasons for doing so in public. Judgments are posted on the British and Irish Legal Information Institute’s website. Information on the courts who commit people to prison for contempt is already collected and recorded where supplied, and this guidance will result in greater consistency in the information which can be collected. The Ministry of Justice does not hold information on cases of imprisonment for contempt of court where there has been no published judgment on BAILII. BAILII is not a Government publication.</p> answering member constituency Bermondsey and Old Southwark answering member printed Simon Hughes grouped question UIN 214743 question first answered 24/11/2014 17:41:52 answering member 194 label Biography information for Simon Hughes
	tabling member	1483 label Biography information for John Hemming

142284

	registered interest
	date	06/11/2014
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Family Proceedings: Wales
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many parents involved in family court cases relating to children had no legal representation in (a) Wales and (b) Newport East.
	tabling member constituency	Newport East
	tabling member printed	Jessica Morden
	uin	213760
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/11/2014 answer text <p>We do not hold information on the representation of parents in the family court. Family cases showing applicants and respondents who represent themselves are published quarterly. Not all applicants and respondents will be parents.</p><p> </p><p>Applicants who represent themselves have the field 'legal representation' in the Ministry of Justice administrative database left blank. This is only a proxy measure and parties without a recorded representative are not necessarily litigants in person.</p><p> </p><p>Information on the representation of parties is available for family courts at a national level in table 2.4 of Court Statistics Quarterly and it is available at this link:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/court-statistics-quarterly-april-to-june-2014" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/court-statistics-quarterly-april-to-june-2014</a></p><p> </p><p>Parties with no legal representation are not a new phenomenon in our courts. We have taken steps to help people who either want to represent themselves in court or have to do so. The new package of support announced on 23 October is aimed at keeping disputes away from court, and those who end up in court will be provided with better support.</p> answering member constituency Bermondsey and Old Southwark answering member printed Simon Hughes question first answered 17/11/2014 11:36:26 answering member 194 label Biography information for Simon Hughes
	tabling member	1548 label Biography information for Jessica Morden

63946

	registered interest
	date	25/06/2014
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Mediation
	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 cases in which compulsory mediation and information meetings would have been appropriate in 2013-14; and what funding is being made available in 2014-15 to provide that service.
	tabling member constituency	Exeter
	tabling member printed	Mr Ben Bradshaw
	uin	202292
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/07/2014 answer text <p>We do not have the data to allow us to assess how many family court applications filed in 2013-14 might have been appropriate for a Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting (MIAM) in comparison with the number of MIAMs actually attended. In 2013/14 13,354 couples attended a publicly funded MIAM (that is, where at least one of the parties was legally aided).</p><p> </p><p>Implementation of the Children and Families Act 2014 on 22 April 2014 means that attendance at a MIAM is now compulsory for the potential applicant.</p><p> </p><p>Public funding (legal aid) remains in scope for family mediation for those who qualify on means and merits<em>, and the budget for legal aid for mediation is uncapped. In 2013/14, the LAA spent £9m on mediation.</em> If one party is funded the other will be covered for the MIAM as well. Legal help with mediation is also available for the funded party and includes help from a lawyer with applying to the court for a consent order based on the agreement reached in mediation.</p> answering member constituency Bermondsey and Old Southwark answering member printed Simon Hughes question first answered 02/07/2014 16:44:18 answering member 194 label Biography information for Simon Hughes
	tabling member	230 label Biography information for Mr Ben Bradshaw