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1129419

	registered interest
	date	04/06/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Civil Proceedings
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	What steps he is taking to improve access to the judicial system for litigants bringing civil money claims.
	tabling member constituency	Stevenage
	tabling member printed	Stephen McPartland
	uin	911119
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/06/2019 answer text <p>This Government is investing over £1bn to modernise our courts and tribunals, including investment to improve the civil justice system.</p><p> </p><p>The Online Civil Money Claims pilot, is a new service which went live in March 2018, and allows people to resolve money disputes online, for claims of up to £10,000. The digital service allows the public to simply and swiftly make their claim and the system is designed to be clear and easy to use. To date, the overall user satisfaction rate is 87% with over 68,000 claims made.</p> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard question first answered 04/06/2019 16:25:56 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
	tabling member	4093 label Biography information for Stephen McPartland

1129824

	registered interest
	date	04/06/2019
	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 recent assessment she has made of the accessibility of legal aid by claimants of universal credit.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Ladywood
	tabling member printed	Shabana Mahmood
	uin	259938
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/06/2019 answer text <p>The Government passports all recipients of Universal Credit through the criminal legal aid means test as well as the income test applied under the civil legal aid scheme, and will continue to do so whilst the review of legal aid means testing is ongoing. The review, announced in the Government’s Legal Support Action Plan on 7 February 2019, is studying the thresholds for legal aid entitlement and will assess the effectiveness with which the means testing arrangements appropriately protect access to justice. The review will particularly focus on those who are vulnerable.</p><p> </p><p>The Legal Aid Agency regularly monitors access to legal aid-funded services by undertaking capacity reviews. A list of law firms offering legal aid, showing location and type of advice, each can provide, is published at <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/directory-of-legal-aid-providers" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/directory-of-legal-aid-providers</a>.</p> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard grouped question UIN 259939 question first answered 12/06/2019 16:31:44 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
	tabling member	3914 label Biography information for Shabana Mahmood

1129825

	registered interest
	date	04/06/2019
	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 assessment she has made of the adequacy of access to legal aid by claimants of universal credit.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Ladywood
	tabling member printed	Shabana Mahmood
	uin	259939
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/06/2019 answer text <p>The Government passports all recipients of Universal Credit through the criminal legal aid means test as well as the income test applied under the civil legal aid scheme, and will continue to do so whilst the review of legal aid means testing is ongoing. The review, announced in the Government’s Legal Support Action Plan on 7 February 2019, is studying the thresholds for legal aid entitlement and will assess the effectiveness with which the means testing arrangements appropriately protect access to justice. The review will particularly focus on those who are vulnerable.</p><p> </p><p>The Legal Aid Agency regularly monitors access to legal aid-funded services by undertaking capacity reviews. A list of law firms offering legal aid, showing location and type of advice, each can provide, is published at <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/directory-of-legal-aid-providers" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/directory-of-legal-aid-providers</a>.</p> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard grouped question UIN 259938 question first answered 12/06/2019 16:31:44 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
	tabling member	3914 label Biography information for Shabana Mahmood

1129868

	registered interest
	date	04/06/2019
	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, whether the Government has plans to review the means testing aspect of legal aid funding.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	260000
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/06/2019 answer text <p>The Government announced that it will be conducting a review into Legal Aid Means Testing in its legal Support Action Plan, published on 7 February 2019. The review of the legal aid eligibility regime will study the thresholds for legal aid entitlement and assess the effectiveness with which the means testing arrangements appropriately protect access to justice, particularly with respect to those who are vulnerable.</p><p>The comprehensive review of the legal aid eligibility regime is expected to conclude by Summer 2020.</p> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard question first answered 10/06/2019 16:20:44 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1129087

	registered interest
	date	03/06/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Courts: Opening Hours
	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 days (a) crown courts and (b) magistrates courts in England (i) sat in 2018 and (ii) are expected to sit 2019.
	tabling member constituency	Bolton South East
	tabling member printed	Yasmin Qureshi
	uin	259164
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/06/2019 answer text <p>The number of days sat in the Crown Court in England in the calendar year 2018 was 97,431 days.</p><p> </p><p>The number of sessions sat in magistrates’ courts in England in the calendar year 2018 was 208,711. We don’t count days sat in the magistrates’ court and instead count sessions. A session is usually half a day in length.</p><p> </p><p>We estimate that we will sit around 79,000 days in the Crown Court and around 215,000 sessions in the magistrates’ courts in England in the financial year 2019/20. These estimates are based on how much resource is required to deal with the number of cases expected to be received in 2019/20 and reflect demand in the Crown Court.</p><p> </p><p>We will continue to review demand and performance in the Crown Court and magistrates’ court and will ensure they have the resources they require.</p><p> </p><p>Waiting times for trials in 2018 were the lowest since 2014, despite the challenge of increasingly complex cases</p> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard question first answered 10/06/2019 16:18:15 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
	tabling member	3924 label Biography information for Yasmin Qureshi

1129174

	registered interest
	date	03/06/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Family Courts: Domestic Abuse
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what information his Department holds on the proportion of cases where domestic abuse was alleged or proven in initial safeguarding where (a) a Cafcass Early Intervention Team phone call did not take place before a First Hearing and Dispute Resolution Appointment, (b) children were not interviewed and (c) a risk assessment was not completed in the most recent period for which figures are available.
	tabling member constituency	Sheffield, Heeley
	tabling member printed	Louise Haigh
	uin	259322
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/06/2019 answer text <p>Cafcass undertakes safeguarding checks in every case where an application is made to the court for a child arrangements order and reports relevant information to the court in a safeguarding letter prior to the first hearing. As part of that process, Cafcass will attempt to contact each party separately by telephone to elicit any concerns about any risks of harm, either to the child or to an adult party. Cafcass conducts checks of police records and makes enquiries of the local authority and will include in its safeguarding letter any relevant convictions or cautions or prior local authority involvement.</p><p> </p><p>Cafcass undertakes direct work with the child when directed to do so by the court, in cases that continue after the first hearing. This includes interviewing children in order to ascertain their wishes and feelings to produce a section 7 welfare report into the child’s welfare needs. Any information disclosed by the child about domestic or other abuse will be reported to the court. In 2018-19 Cafcass produced 19,236 s7 welfare reports.</p><p> </p><p>Cafcass does not record data on the contents of individual safeguarding letters. However, a file analysis of 216 private law cases undertaken in 2017 found that domestic abuse was alleged in 62% of cases. Practice Direction 12J sets out the factors the court must consider when domestic abuse is raised within the proceedings, including whether a fact-finding hearing should be held. Data is not collected centrally on the number of fact finding hearings and could only be obtained through an analysis of case files at disproportionate cost. Whether or not domestic abuse is alleged or admitted by either party, Cafcass has a statutory duty to report to the court at any stage in the proceedings any concerns it has about the risk of harm to the child.</p><p> </p><p>Data is not available on specific recommendations made by Cafcass to the court about child arrangements in individual cases nor on the detailed content of any child arrangements order subsequently made by the court. Such information could only be obtained from a case file analysis at disproportionate cost.</p><p> </p><p>Data is not collected on the use by the court of its power under section 91(14) of the Children Act 1989 to prevent a named person from applying from a specified kind of order without its permission. Such provision may form part of a child arrangements or other order under made under the 1989 Act.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is determined to improve the family justice response to vulnerable people, including victims of domestic abuse. We are committed to giving the family courts the power to stop unrepresented perpetrators of abuse from cross-examining their victims in person in family proceedings, and we have included measures to prevent this in the draft Domestic Abuse Bill.</p><p> </p><p>On 21 May we also announced the establishment of a panel of experts to consider how the family courts protect children and parents in cases of domestic abuse and other serious offences.</p> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard grouped question UIN 259323 259324 question first answered 06/06/2019 14:13:42 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
	tabling member	4473 label Biography information for Louise Haigh

1129175

	registered interest
	date	03/06/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Family Courts: Domestic Abuse
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what information his Department holds on the proportion of cases where domestic abuse was alleged or proven in family court proceedings where (a) a Finding of Fact hearing was not part of proceeding, (b) contact was not recommended but was ordered, (c) Cafcass vetoed a court order on safeguarding grounds, (d) no contact was ordered, (e) domestic abuse was found and some form of contact was ordered in the most recent period for which figures are available.
	tabling member constituency	Sheffield, Heeley
	tabling member printed	Louise Haigh
	uin	259323
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/06/2019 answer text <p>Cafcass undertakes safeguarding checks in every case where an application is made to the court for a child arrangements order and reports relevant information to the court in a safeguarding letter prior to the first hearing. As part of that process, Cafcass will attempt to contact each party separately by telephone to elicit any concerns about any risks of harm, either to the child or to an adult party. Cafcass conducts checks of police records and makes enquiries of the local authority and will include in its safeguarding letter any relevant convictions or cautions or prior local authority involvement.</p><p> </p><p>Cafcass undertakes direct work with the child when directed to do so by the court, in cases that continue after the first hearing. This includes interviewing children in order to ascertain their wishes and feelings to produce a section 7 welfare report into the child’s welfare needs. Any information disclosed by the child about domestic or other abuse will be reported to the court. In 2018-19 Cafcass produced 19,236 s7 welfare reports.</p><p> </p><p>Cafcass does not record data on the contents of individual safeguarding letters. However, a file analysis of 216 private law cases undertaken in 2017 found that domestic abuse was alleged in 62% of cases. Practice Direction 12J sets out the factors the court must consider when domestic abuse is raised within the proceedings, including whether a fact-finding hearing should be held. Data is not collected centrally on the number of fact finding hearings and could only be obtained through an analysis of case files at disproportionate cost. Whether or not domestic abuse is alleged or admitted by either party, Cafcass has a statutory duty to report to the court at any stage in the proceedings any concerns it has about the risk of harm to the child.</p><p> </p><p>Data is not available on specific recommendations made by Cafcass to the court about child arrangements in individual cases nor on the detailed content of any child arrangements order subsequently made by the court. Such information could only be obtained from a case file analysis at disproportionate cost.</p><p> </p><p>Data is not collected on the use by the court of its power under section 91(14) of the Children Act 1989 to prevent a named person from applying from a specified kind of order without its permission. Such provision may form part of a child arrangements or other order under made under the 1989 Act.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is determined to improve the family justice response to vulnerable people, including victims of domestic abuse. We are committed to giving the family courts the power to stop unrepresented perpetrators of abuse from cross-examining their victims in person in family proceedings, and we have included measures to prevent this in the draft Domestic Abuse Bill.</p><p> </p><p>On 21 May we also announced the establishment of a panel of experts to consider how the family courts protect children and parents in cases of domestic abuse and other serious offences.</p> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard grouped question UIN 259322 259324 question first answered 06/06/2019 14:13:42 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
	tabling member	4473 label Biography information for Louise Haigh

1129176

	registered interest
	date	03/06/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Family Courts: Domestic Abuse
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what information his Department holds on cases where domestic abuse was alleged or proven in return hearings in the family court on the proportion of cases (a) returning on safeguarding grounds and (b) judges used their powers to prevent a party bringing the case back to court to prevent abuse in the most recent period for which figures are available.
	tabling member constituency	Sheffield, Heeley
	tabling member printed	Louise Haigh
	uin	259324
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/06/2019 answer text <p>Cafcass undertakes safeguarding checks in every case where an application is made to the court for a child arrangements order and reports relevant information to the court in a safeguarding letter prior to the first hearing. As part of that process, Cafcass will attempt to contact each party separately by telephone to elicit any concerns about any risks of harm, either to the child or to an adult party. Cafcass conducts checks of police records and makes enquiries of the local authority and will include in its safeguarding letter any relevant convictions or cautions or prior local authority involvement.</p><p> </p><p>Cafcass undertakes direct work with the child when directed to do so by the court, in cases that continue after the first hearing. This includes interviewing children in order to ascertain their wishes and feelings to produce a section 7 welfare report into the child’s welfare needs. Any information disclosed by the child about domestic or other abuse will be reported to the court. In 2018-19 Cafcass produced 19,236 s7 welfare reports.</p><p> </p><p>Cafcass does not record data on the contents of individual safeguarding letters. However, a file analysis of 216 private law cases undertaken in 2017 found that domestic abuse was alleged in 62% of cases. Practice Direction 12J sets out the factors the court must consider when domestic abuse is raised within the proceedings, including whether a fact-finding hearing should be held. Data is not collected centrally on the number of fact finding hearings and could only be obtained through an analysis of case files at disproportionate cost. Whether or not domestic abuse is alleged or admitted by either party, Cafcass has a statutory duty to report to the court at any stage in the proceedings any concerns it has about the risk of harm to the child.</p><p> </p><p>Data is not available on specific recommendations made by Cafcass to the court about child arrangements in individual cases nor on the detailed content of any child arrangements order subsequently made by the court. Such information could only be obtained from a case file analysis at disproportionate cost.</p><p> </p><p>Data is not collected on the use by the court of its power under section 91(14) of the Children Act 1989 to prevent a named person from applying from a specified kind of order without its permission. Such provision may form part of a child arrangements or other order under made under the 1989 Act.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is determined to improve the family justice response to vulnerable people, including victims of domestic abuse. We are committed to giving the family courts the power to stop unrepresented perpetrators of abuse from cross-examining their victims in person in family proceedings, and we have included measures to prevent this in the draft Domestic Abuse Bill.</p><p> </p><p>On 21 May we also announced the establishment of a panel of experts to consider how the family courts protect children and parents in cases of domestic abuse and other serious offences.</p> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard grouped question UIN 259322 259323 question first answered 06/06/2019 14:13:42 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
	tabling member	4473 label Biography information for Louise Haigh

1129223

	registered interest
	date	03/06/2019
	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, if he will exempt back payments of employment support allowance from the capital means test for legal aid eligibility.
	tabling member constituency	Hove
	tabling member printed	Peter Kyle
	uin	259350
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/06/2019 answer text <p>As part of its review of the legal aid eligibility regime, the Government will study the income and capital thresholds for legal aid entitlement, including the range of exemptions and disregards which apply to both the civil and criminal legal aid means assessments.</p><p> </p><p>The review of the legal aid eligibility regime will bring together data, evidence and expertise from both within and outside of government, liaising with experts from across the field to explore improvements to the system</p> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard question first answered 06/06/2019 11:01:18 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
	tabling member	4505 label Biography information for Peter Kyle

1129224

	registered interest
	date	03/06/2019
	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 the timescale is for the Government review of the thresholds for legal aid entitlement.
	tabling member constituency	Hove
	tabling member printed	Peter Kyle
	uin	259351
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/06/2019 answer text <p>The comprehensive review of the legal aid eligibility regime is expected to conclude by Summer 2020 after which we will publish a full consultation paper setting out our future policy proposals in this area. We will seek to implement any final recommendations as soon as practicable following public consultation.</p> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard question first answered 06/06/2019 10:41:15 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
	tabling member	4505 label Biography information for Peter Kyle