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1583398

	registered interest
	date	02/02/2023
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Administration of Justice
	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 people have prompt access to justice.
	tabling member constituency	Slough
	tabling member printed	Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi
	uin	138443
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/02/2023 answer text <p>Access to justice is a fundamental right, and this Government is committed to ensuring that everyone can get the timely support they need to access the justice system. In 2021/22, the Department spent just over £1.6 billion on legal aid to ensure this vital support is accessible.</p><p> </p><p>We are also enhancing the breadth of legal support available to people to resolve their legal problems beyond legal aid. Since 2014 we have channelled over £25m of grant funding through not-for-profit organisations who provide advice and support to people facing social welfare legal issues. This funding allowed organisations to invest in remote delivery of support during Covid and hire staff to deal with increases in demand.</p><p> </p><p>The government currently funds the Help Accessing Legal Support Grant which is injecting £4.8m into the legal advice sector by July 2023. This is being complemented by a further £1m towards a Cost of Living Fund, administered by the Community Justice Fund.</p><p> </p><p>At the end of last year we announced £12m in grant funding for the next two years. This provides clarity and certainty to advice organisations enabling them to plan and resource their services, meaning more people can access the support they need.</p> answering member constituency Finchley and Golders Green answering member printed Mike Freer question first answered 09/02/2023 14:16:25 answering member 4004 label Biography information for Mike Freer
	tabling member	4638 label Biography information for Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi

1583422

	registered interest
	date	02/02/2023
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Administration of Justice
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has a definition of (a) justice and (b) the qualities that the administration of justice should possess in order to be effective.
	tabling member constituency	Slough
	tabling member printed	Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi
	uin	138456
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/02/2023 answer text <p>Justice is an essential public service, relied upon by millions of victims, families and businesses across our country to deliver the justice outcomes that matter; protecting the public, reduce reoffending and deliver swift access to justice. The department’s delivery of these priorities is laid out in the publicly available Outcome Delivery Plan.</p> answering member constituency Finchley and Golders Green answering member printed Mike Freer question first answered 09/02/2023 14:19:54 answering member 4004 label Biography information for Mike Freer
	tabling member	4638 label Biography information for Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi

1694460

	registered interest
	date	07/03/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Barristers: Pay and Stress
	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 help tackle (a) poor pay and (b) high stress among barristers working on sexual violence cases; and what other steps he is taking to help increase the retention of such barristers.
	tabling member constituency	Slough
	tabling member printed	Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi
	uin	17612
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/03/2024 answer text <p>In September 2022, following the conclusion of the Criminal Legal Aid Independent Review, we uplifted fees for all defence advocates by 15%, which we expect will see a typical criminal barrister earn nearly £7,000 more a year. Fees for prosecution advocates were subject to 15% increase by the CPS in May 2023.</p><p> </p><p>We also increased the fee for advocates who undertake s.28 cases (which provides for a special measure enabling certain vulnerable victims and witnesses to have their cross-examination and re-examination pre-recorded and played at trial) from £670 (exc. VAT) to £1,000 (exc. VAT). The s.28 fees and special and wasted preparation fees brought the overall increase for barrister fees from 15% to 17%.</p><p> </p><p>The CPS recognise that barristers’ wellbeing should be supported and therefore have provided CPS Advocate Panel members dealing with potentially distressing casework access to their Employee Assistance Programme since September 2023.</p><p> </p><p>I am hopeful that our latest funding increase for s.28 cases will help to retain Rape and Serious Sexual Offences barristers and ensure these cases continue to be prioritised. The Lord Chancellor is holding a roundtable on Wednesday 13 March to discuss this issue further.</p> answering member constituency Finchley and Golders Green answering member printed Mike Freer grouped question UIN 17613 question first answered 15/03/2024 15:39:53 answering member 4004 label Biography information for Mike Freer
	tabling member	4638 label Biography information for Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi

1643456

	registered interest
	date	09/06/2023
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Children: Custody
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the support his Department provides to parents whose contact with their children is hindered by another parent or guardian.
	tabling member constituency	Slough
	tabling member printed	Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi
	uin	188772
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/06/2023 answer text <p>The Government is aware of the difficulties that some parents can face in continuing their relationship with their child following parental divorce or separation.</p><p> </p><p>Under the current legal framework, a parent can apply for a child arrangements order for the child to live with or spend time with them. The welfare of the child is paramount in any decision regarding child arrangements, including decisions about the nature and extent of parental involvement.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is committed to helping more parents resolve their issues earlier without coming to court where it is safe to do so. In March 2021 the Government launched the Mediation Voucher Scheme providing separating couples with children up to £500 towards the cost of mediation. As of 4 June 2023, the scheme has helped over 18,250 families to access mediation and resolve their issues away from the family court. In March 2023 the government announced on an additional £15m to allow the scheme to continue for a further two years. We expect this will support around a further 28,500 families.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is currently consulting on how we can best support families resolve their disputes earlier and in the best interests of their children. Our proposals include fully funded pre-court co-parenting programmes and a requirement, in appropriate cases, to make a reasonable attempt to mediate before applying to court.</p> answering member constituency Finchley and Golders Green answering member printed Mike Freer question first answered 19/06/2023 14:05:22 answering member 4004 label Biography information for Mike Freer
	tabling member	4638 label Biography information for Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi

1311503

	registered interest
	date	22/04/2021
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Children: Domestic Abuse
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he has taken to help ensure that (a) the Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service and (b) social service officers have the necessary (i) experience, (ii) qualifications, (iii) time and (iv) authority to investigate allegations of (A) violence and (B) abuse.
	tabling member constituency	Slough
	tabling member printed	Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi
	uin	185999
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/04/2021 answer text <p>While it is not the role of Cafcass staff to investigate the truth of allegations of violence and abuse, Cafcass officers will identify when domestic abuse is alleged, assess the impact on the child’s welfare and make recommendations to the court, which may include the court holding a finding of fact hearing to determine any allegations of abuse.</p><p> </p><p>All Cafcass practitioners are qualified social workers with at least three years’ post-qualification experience. Every practitioner receives training in assessing domestic abuse and has access to learning packages and programmes developed in collaboration with organisations with specialist knowledge of domestic abuse, including a learning package on coercive and controlling behaviours.</p><p> </p><p>Cafcass has a domestic abuse practice pathway which brings together the range of tools practitioners use for identifying domestic abuse, assessing its impact and making recommendations to the court about programmes to address perpetrator behaviour. Cafcass has recently reviewed the pathway, working alongside partners including organisations that work with parents with lived experience of the family courts, and will roll out updated training for all its staff in the next year. This training will take account of recommendations from Cafcass’ Learning and Improvement Board, which draws on the findings of the MoJ Expert Panel on Harm in the Family Courts.</p><p> </p><p>The timetable for court proceedings is set by the court. This usually allows around three weeks to complete a safeguarding letter for the first court hearing, and around three months to complete a Section 7 assessment report. The proportion of Section 7 reports that are filed on time is one of Cafcass’ Key Performance Indicators. For the period 2019-20, 98.7% of reports were filed by the agreed date.</p><p> </p><p>Social services officers are employed by local authorities and are not the responsibility of the Ministry of Justice.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 29/04/2021 10:43:08 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
	tabling member	4638 label Biography information for Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi

1248968

	registered interest
	date	04/11/2020
	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 his planned timescale is for rolling out problem-solving courts in England and Wales if the trial of those courts is judged to be effective.
	tabling member constituency	Slough
	tabling member printed	Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi
	uin	111602
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/11/2020 answer text <p>We have committed to creating pilots for problem-solving courts that will focus on individuals where their offending is related to drug or alcohol misuse, mental health issues or domestic abuse, where their offence could have been punished with up to two years custody. We will also pilot a problem-solving court for women. Legislation to enable this will be brought forward in the near future. The location of the pilots, the timing of their commencement and the criteria against which they will be evaluated are currently being developed. Any further roll out of problem-solving courts will be decided based on the evaluation of the pilots.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 09/11/2020 17:46:46 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
	tabling member	4638 label Biography information for Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi

1583405

	registered interest
	date	02/02/2023
	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, whether he has made any recent assessment of whether people have unhindered access to the courts of criminal or civil jurisdiction for the determination of disputes as to their legal rights and liabilities.
	tabling member constituency	Slough
	tabling member printed	Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi
	uin	138445
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/02/2023 answer text <p>Accessible courts and tribunals are an essential part of the justice system. There will always be outstanding cases in the courts as the figures include cases that are being prepared to be heard in the courts.</p><p> </p><p>We have removed the limit on sitting days, extended 30 Nightingale courtrooms, and we are extending our plans for judicial recruitment to increase sitting capacity and improve waiting times for victims. To provide additional capacity in the Crown Court, magistrates’ sentencing powers have been extended from 6 to 12 months for a single Triable Either Way offence allowing more cases to be heard in the magistrates' court.</p><p> </p><p>We are also taking steps to ensure people receive appropriate support when attending a court or tribunal. In March we published a detailed consultation on legal aid means-testing arrangements. This consultation has now closed, and we are considering responses. We plan to publish a response in early 2023 to set out our final proposals, which will significantly increase income thresholds for all types of legal aid.</p><p>The Government keeps the scope of civil and family legal aid under constant review. We recently announced expansions in housing and family legal aid, investing £23m to support vulnerable people needing legal assistance.</p> answering member constituency Finchley and Golders Green answering member printed Mike Freer question first answered 09/02/2023 14:17:42 answering member 4004 label Biography information for Mike Freer
	tabling member	4638 label Biography information for Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi

1583412

	registered interest
	date	02/02/2023
	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 steps his Department takes to ensure that people on low incomes are not denied access to the courts for financial reasons.
	tabling member constituency	Slough
	tabling member printed	Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi
	uin	138449
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/02/2023 answer text <p>The Ministry of Justice has a fee remission scheme in place called Help with Fees for court or tribunal users who are on low incomes and cannot afford a court fee. This scheme considers several factors including the applicant’s income, savings, the size of the fee and whether they are receiving any benefits. Successful applicants may receive a partial or total remission. Additionally, if the applicant doesn’t qualify for Help with Fees they may ask court staff to exercise the Lord Chancellor's exceptional power to remit fees. This ensures no one is denied access to justice because they can’t afford a court or tribunal fee.</p><p> </p><p>Furthermore, we have consulted on changes to the Legal Aid Means Test. The consultation proposed a broad suite of changes to the civil and criminal legal aid means test, with the aim of ensuring access to justice. These included uprating the income and capital thresholds for legal aid eligibility. In particula, we have proposed increasing the lower disposable income threshold for civil legal aid by 97%from £315 to £622 per month – this will particularly help legal aid applicants with the lowest incomes, who are unable to contribute towards their legal aid. Our proposals will significantly increase income thresholds for all types of legal aid. This will ensure that legal aid is accessible to all who need it.</p> answering member constituency Finchley and Golders Green answering member printed Mike Freer question first answered 09/02/2023 14:18:27 answering member 4004 label Biography information for Mike Freer
	tabling member	4638 label Biography information for Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi

1657757

	registered interest
	date	04/09/2023
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Courts: Attendance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many defendants facing allegations of (a) rape and (b) other sexual crimes received a postal requisition to appear at court.
	tabling member constituency	Slough
	tabling member printed	Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi
	uin	197495
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/09/2023 answer text <p>The data presented in the table below shows the number of Defendants dealt with for (a) rape and (b) other sexual crimes cases where they received a postal requisition to appear at the magistrates’ courts, England and Wales, Q1 2014 - Q1 2023 held by HM Courts and Tribunals Service.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Year</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Quarter</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>All Rape</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Other Sexual Crimes</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014</p></td><td><p>Q1</p></td><td><p>51</p></td><td><p>174</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014</p></td><td><p>Q2</p></td><td><p>55</p></td><td><p>209</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014</p></td><td><p>Q3</p></td><td><p>69</p></td><td><p>215</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014</p></td><td><p>Q4</p></td><td><p>81</p></td><td><p>279</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015</p></td><td><p>Q1</p></td><td><p>78</p></td><td><p>260</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015</p></td><td><p>Q2</p></td><td><p>85</p></td><td><p>265</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015</p></td><td><p>Q3</p></td><td><p>97</p></td><td><p>310</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015</p></td><td><p>Q4</p></td><td><p>134</p></td><td><p>372</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016</p></td><td><p>Q1</p></td><td><p>110</p></td><td><p>350</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016</p></td><td><p>Q2</p></td><td><p>145</p></td><td><p>464</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016</p></td><td><p>Q3</p></td><td><p>149</p></td><td><p>454</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016</p></td><td><p>Q4</p></td><td><p>138</p></td><td><p>472</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017</p></td><td><p>Q1</p></td><td><p>146</p></td><td><p>485</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017</p></td><td><p>Q2</p></td><td><p>137</p></td><td><p>504</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017</p></td><td><p>Q3</p></td><td><p>176</p></td><td><p>623</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017</p></td><td><p>Q4</p></td><td><p>233</p></td><td><p>811</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018</p></td><td><p>Q1</p></td><td><p>184</p></td><td><p>748</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018</p></td><td><p>Q2</p></td><td><p>143</p></td><td><p>677</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018</p></td><td><p>Q3</p></td><td><p>163</p></td><td><p>754</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018</p></td><td><p>Q4</p></td><td><p>187</p></td><td><p>788</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2019</p></td><td><p>Q1</p></td><td><p>223</p></td><td><p>868</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2019</p></td><td><p>Q2</p></td><td><p>201</p></td><td><p>860</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2019</p></td><td><p>Q3</p></td><td><p>202</p></td><td><p>836</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2019</p></td><td><p>Q4</p></td><td><p>214</p></td><td><p>979</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2020</p></td><td><p>Q1</p></td><td><p>231</p></td><td><p>916</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2020</p></td><td><p>Q2</p></td><td><p>173</p></td><td><p>339</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2020</p></td><td><p>Q3</p></td><td><p>353</p></td><td><p>1194</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2020</p></td><td><p>Q4</p></td><td><p>317</p></td><td><p>1231</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2021</p></td><td><p>Q1</p></td><td><p>319</p></td><td><p>1060</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2021</p></td><td><p>Q2</p></td><td><p>343</p></td><td><p>929</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2021</p></td><td><p>Q3</p></td><td><p>216</p></td><td><p>686</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2021</p></td><td><p>Q4</p></td><td><p>187</p></td><td><p>571</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2022</p></td><td><p>Q1</p></td><td><p>183</p></td><td><p>643</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2022</p></td><td><p>Q2</p></td><td><p>209</p></td><td><p>595</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2022</p></td><td><p>Q3</p></td><td><p>197</p></td><td><p>565</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2022</p></td><td><p>Q4</p></td><td><p>154</p></td><td><p>398</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2023</p></td><td><p>Q1</p></td><td><p>119</p></td><td><p>289</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>To Note:</p><p>1) Excludes a small number of cases with identified data quality issues and breaches.</p><p>2) Only one offence is counted for each defendant. If there is more than one offence per defendant that complete on the same day, a set of validation rules applies to select one offence only and these relate to the longest duration, seriousness and the lowest sequence number of the offence.</p><p>3) Includes cases completed in the magistrates' courts during the specified time period, where no further action is required by the magistrates' courts, as well as those who go on to the Crown Court.</p> answering member constituency Finchley and Golders Green answering member printed Mike Freer question first answered 12/09/2023 16:54:08 answering member 4004 label Biography information for Mike Freer
	tabling member	4638 label Biography information for Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi

1649343

	registered interest
	date	30/06/2023
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Courts: Buildings
	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 adequacy of the physical condition of court buildings.
	tabling member constituency	Slough
	tabling member printed	Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi
	uin	191941
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/07/2023 answer text <p>The condition of the HMCTS estate is kept under review to make sure court and tribunal buildings are safe, secure and meet statutory obligations.</p><p> </p><p>We have spent over £185 million on court maintenance and repairs in the two years to April 2023, to enhance the resilience of the estate and maintain court capacity. An extra £38m was also spent in 2022/23 on additional minor repairs and replacement items.</p><p> </p><p>We have a planned pipeline of future works to improve the resilience and quality of the court estate, and we will continue to work closely with local judiciary and staff to identify and address areas of the highest maintenance priority.</p> answering member constituency Finchley and Golders Green answering member printed Mike Freer question first answered 10/07/2023 09:04:22 answering member 4004 label Biography information for Mike Freer
	tabling member	4638 label Biography information for Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi