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1524118

	registered interest
	date	19/10/2022
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Rye Hill Prison
	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 help ensure that HMP Rye Hill Independent Monitoring Board has (a) its full complement of members and (b) the support it needs to adequately monitor the welfare of prisoners.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	67230
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/10/2022 answer text <p>The Ministry of Justice values the scrutiny provided by the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) at HMP Rye Hill. The Department recognises the recruitment challenges faced by IMBs and across the wider volunteer sector.</p><p>In response to this, the Department has increased the funding available to IMBs by £440,000 for the financial year 2022-23 and provided an additional £500,000 in capital funding. This additional funding aims to help ensure that IMBs increase their complement of members. The increases will fund structural developments to improve new member recruitment and retention, for example, through the recruitment of Regional Support Leads, who will play a key role in supporting recruitment to Boards through improving local outreach. A Regional Support Lead has been recruited for the region which HMP Rye Hill is located in and is expected to take up post in November 2022. A regional approach to recruitment will also help streamline the recruitment process to ensure that candidates can progress quickly and join the boards they have been recommended to.</p><p>Individual boards have flexibility in how their members work individually and as a collective to ensure that the welfare of prisoners is monitored effectively. In addition, a National Monitoring Framework provides guidance to all boards on how to meet their monitoring requirements. The IMB Secretariat continues to provide support to members and boards through training, guidance and recruitment assistance.</p><p>The additional funding provided by the Department has also increased communications resource to raise the profile of IMBs and improve recruitment advertising to support member recruitment.</p> answering member constituency Aylesbury answering member printed Rob Butler question first answered 24/10/2022 16:34:20 answering member 4745 label Biography information for Rob Butler
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1522728

	registered interest
	date	17/10/2022
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Independent Monitoring Boards
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has made an assessment of (a) the shortfall in and (b) the potential impact of increasing the level funding in the 2022-23 financial year on, recruitment to Independent Monitoring Boards.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	64352
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/10/2022 answer text <p>We value the scrutiny provided by the independent scrutiny bodies, including the Independent Monitoring Boards (IMBs).</p><p>In the 2022-23 financial year, we increased the level of funding for the IMBs by £0.44m and provided an additional £0.5m of capital funding. The increases will fund structural developments to improve new member recruitment and retention, for example, through the recruitment of Regional Support Leads, who will play a key role in supporting recruitment to Boards through improving local outreach.</p><p>Additionally, the development of a new organisational database will provide improvements to member recruitment and retention by replacing the current outdated legacy software and providing better access to member learning and development records, whilst aligning with plans to improve recruitment techniques. We hope this will positively impact the recruitment of board members and we will continue to keep this under review.</p> answering member constituency Aylesbury answering member printed Rob Butler question first answered 20/10/2022 16:18:05 answering member 4745 label Biography information for Rob Butler
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1216092

	registered interest
	date	22/06/2020
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Legal Profession: Disclosure of Information
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the prevalence of use of non-disclosure agreements by legal professionals; and what steps his department is taking to help ensure that non-disclosure agreements are not misused.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	62650
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/06/2020 answer text <p>The legal profession in England and Wales is independent of Government and legal professionals are regulated by a number of regulators including the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) and the Bar Standards Board (BSB). Legal professionals must comply with a detailed Code of Conduct, which ensures that high standards of conduct are met.</p><p>The SRA has issued guidance via a warning notice to all regulated individuals and entities on the use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs). The SRA warning notice confirms that they consider NDAs to be improperly used if they prevent a person from reporting misconduct, making a protected disclosure, reporting an offence or cooperating with criminal activity. The SRA has also been taking enforcement action against solicitors over the misuse of NDAs.</p><p>The Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy has published its response to views on consultation on confidentiality clauses. This proposes new legislation to further protect consumers in the provision of such legal services and deter rogue practice.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk question first answered 25/06/2020 16:48:25 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1216030

	registered interest
	date	22/06/2020
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Legal Ombudsman
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how his Department ensures that the office of the Legal Ombudsman does not discriminate against people suffering from mental health issues during the decision making process.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	62649
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/06/2020 answer text <p>The Office for Legal Complaints (OLC) is an arm’s length body – which administers the Legal Ombudsman scheme (LeO) – and makes decisions in relation to cases considered under the scheme independently of, and without influence from, the Ministry of Justice.</p><p>We are aware that LeO staff receive training on reasonable adjustments and have Dedicated Vulnerable Customers Champions to identify customers who may need additional assistance or reasonable adjustments to access its service. This includes adjustments for mental health reasons.</p><p>The OLC also has a service complaints process, of which the last stage is escalation to the Service Complaint Adjudicator who is appointed by the Board and independent of the OLC.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk question first answered 25/06/2020 16:45:59 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1198772

	registered interest
	date	28/05/2020
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Criminal Legal Aid Review
	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 potential merits of the recommendations of the Law Society's submission to Criminal Legal Aid Review, published in February 2020.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	52555
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/06/2020 answer text <p>In order to focus on the most pressing issues for practitioners during the COVID-19 pandemic we agreed to temporarily pause our work on the Criminal Legal Aid Review in order to focus on short term sustainability issues. We will return to the review, which has a wider focus on long term sustainability of the criminal legal aid market as quickly as we can, while doing all we can to mitigate the current crisis and support justice recovery.</p><p> </p><p>On 28 February 2020, as part of the review, we launched a consultation on policy proposals for the “Criminal legal Aid Review - An accelerated package of measures amending the criminal legal aid fee schemes”. This consultation remains open and we continue to engage with various stakeholder and representative bodies and value the contributions being made. Once the consultation closes, the Government will publish its response after carefully considering the issues raised by the Law Society and others who respond to the consultation.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk question first answered 09/06/2020 18:00:36 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1491362

	registered interest
	date	21/07/2022
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Aiding and Abetting: Autism
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people with autism have been (a) convicted and (b) acquitted under joint enterprise since the Supreme Court judgement of 18 February 2016 in R v Jogee; and how many of those convicted were (i) first and (ii) secondary offenders.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	42251
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/09/2022 answer text <p>The Ministry of Justice does not collect centrally, information on whether a defendant in criminal proceedings has autism or whether a conviction or acquittal related to joint enterprise. Such information may be held on court records but could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.</p> answering member constituency Derbyshire Dales answering member printed Miss Sarah Dines question first answered 06/09/2022 08:24:57 answering member 4816 label Biography information for Miss Sarah Dines
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1343702

	registered interest
	date	05/07/2021
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Marriage: Humanism
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans the Government has to recognise in law humanist marriage ceremonies.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	27341
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/07/2021 answer text <p>A Law Commission project on marriage and civil partnership is due to report later this year and is expected to present recommendations for wholesale reform to the law governing marriage ceremonies, which the Government will consider carefully.</p><p>Options being explored by the Law Commission as part of their review include offering couples greater flexibility over the form of their ceremony, allowing the ceremony to take place in a much broader range of locations and to provide a framework that could allow non-religious belief organisations, such as Humanists and independent celebrants, to conduct legally binding weddings. The Government will decide on provision for non-religious belief marriage in light of the Law Commission's recommendations.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk question first answered 08/07/2021 15:01:59 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1340298

	registered interest
	date	25/06/2021
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Breastfeeding: Public Places
	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 protect breastfeeding mothers from being photographed in public.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	22212
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/06/2021 answer text <p>This behaviour may already be captured by existing offences.</p><p> </p><p>However, we are keenly aware of concerns that have been expressed over the changes in technology, including the misuse of photography, social media, imagery, and the opportunities to abuse and upset others that such developments can bring.</p><p> </p><p>We have therefore asked the Law Commission to review the law in this area to ensure victims are properly protected.</p><p> </p><p>It is important that any changes to the law in such sensitive areas, are thoroughly assessed and fully evidenced.</p><p> </p><p>The review has looked at the question of non-consensual photography in public places, including whether recording and sharing images of breastfeeding should be captured as “intimate” imagery for the purposes of any reformed criminal law.</p><p> </p><p>The Government awaits the Law Commission’s findings with interest and shall consider them carefully.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 30/06/2021 16:49:44 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1663840

	registered interest
	date	13/10/2023
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Police Stations: Solicitors
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the reduction in the number of duty solicitors at police stations since 2017 on access to justice; and if he will take steps to increase the number of duty solicitors at police stations.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	201693
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/10/2023 answer text <p>The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) is satisfied that there continues to be sufficient duty solicitor coverage on the duty schemes operating across England and Wales. Provision under the duty schemes is demand led and so there may be variations in numbers across each local rota or other fluctuations in numbers depending on prevailing market conditions, and other internal factors such as firms merging or other consolidation activity.</p><p> </p><p>The LAA is responsible for commissioning duty solicitor services and the day-to-day administration of the court and police station duty schemes. This includes keeping <a href="https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1aKvrjVm-rwrVWfEgjsABoePccCJyRMyX" target="_blank">membership records</a>, allocating slots and producing and maintaining <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/duty-solicitors-rotas-information-and-guidance#duty-solicitor-rotas-1-april-2023-to-30-september-2023" target="_blank">duty solicitor rotas.</a> The LAA monitors membership across individual duty schemes. Information about duty solicitor volumes broken down by individual scheme is published as part of the LAA’s <a href="https://app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjoiOWYxNmUwOTMtZTJmOC00MWM2LWEyOWUtNmY5ZjY1MDZkNDExIiwidCI6ImM2ODc0NzI4LTcxZTYtNDFmZS1hOWUxLTJlOGMzNjc3NmFkOCIsImMiOjh9" target="_blank">quarterly statistics</a>. Additionally, there are 1,385 accredited police station representatives able to provide advice to individuals at the police station.</p><p> </p><p>At a national level, the LAA monitors capacity across criminal legal aid contracts on an ongoing basis and, where demand is greater than the available supply, takes action to secure additional provision to ensure the continuity of legal aid-funded services.</p><p> </p><p>More generally in relation to criminal legal aid we introduced a 15% uplift across most fee schemes in line with the recommendations made in the Criminal Legal Aid Independent Review, including the police station fee scheme. This funding began to come into effect from the end of September 2022, and we subsequently agreed to extend it to the majority of cases already progressing in the Crown Court. We are investing a further £16m into the police station scheme over 2024-25. Following these reforms, an increase in expenditure of up to £141 million a year will take expected annual criminal legal aid spend to £1.2 billion.</p><p>Overall, our ambitious reforms will deliver a stronger justice system for all who rely on it. They will reinforce a more sustainable market, with publicly funded criminal defence practice seen as a viable long-term career choice befitting of our world-class legal professionals.</p> answering member constituency Finchley and Golders Green answering member printed Mike Freer question first answered 23/10/2023 16:26:24 answering member 4004 label Biography information for Mike Freer
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1178959

	registered interest
	date	21/02/2020
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Terrorism: Rehabilitation
	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 rehabilitate prisoners convicted of terrorism offences; and which (a) organisations and (b) individuals provide rehabilitation programmes to prisoners convicted of terrorism offences.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	18871
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/03/2020 answer text <p>Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) use tailored interventions with offenders - psychological, ideological and theological - to support their disengagement and rehabilitation.</p><p>We continue to regularly review Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) intervention programmes to ensure they are informed by the most up to date research on correctional rehabilitation. Interventions are delivered by in-house HMPPS CT specialists or through a range of external providers. We are unable to disclose further information regarding external providers as we are concerned about the adverse impact disclosure will have on national security.</p><p>More widely, we have trained over 29,000 prison staff to recognise, report and challenge extremist behaviour in prison. HMPPS works closely with partners, including with law enforcement, to understand and manage the risks that terrorist offenders present in prison, using a range of control and rehabilitation measures. This is underpinned by a specialist counter terrorism case management process, which is led by HMPPS Counter Terrorism specialists.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 02/03/2020 15:53:40 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana