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1131835

	registered interest
	date	12/06/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	HM Courts and Tribunals Service: Reform
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the total spending was on (a) academic research and (b) public consultations undertaken by his Department to inform the HMCTS reform programme in each financial year since 2011-12.
	tabling member constituency	Bolton South East
	tabling member printed	Yasmin Qureshi
	uin	263790
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/07/2019 answer text <p>HMCTS and the Ministry of Justice have undertaken a number of formal written consultation exercises since the Reform Programme began in 2016. This included the Ministry of Justice consultation on the Reform Programme entitled Transforming our Justice System, which set out the Government’s broad approach to reform and sought views on three specific sets of proposals: the assisted digital strategy; automatic online conviction and statutory standard penalty; and tribunal panel composition.</p><p> </p><p>HMCTS has spent the following amounts on academic research for evaluation of reform:</p><p> </p><p>2016/17: £220,000 for research on the Citizen user Experience</p><p>2017/18: £50,000 for research on the Professional User Experience</p><p>2017/18: £40,000 for a survey of SSCS appellants digital capability</p><p>2018/19: £49,000 for LSE evaluation of video hearings in tax</p><p>2018/19: £47,976 for research on Flexible Operating Hours</p><p> </p><p>HMCTS undertakes public consultation when reorganising estate or closing a tribunal building. This work is conducted by civil servants alongside other duties and it is not possible to capture an accurate assessment of the time and cost spent on this.</p> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard question first answered 17/07/2019 15:36:55 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
	tabling member	3924 label Biography information for Yasmin Qureshi

1132395

	registered interest
	date	17/06/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Probate
	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 average length of time for probate to be granted in the last (a) three months and (b) financial year.
	tabling member constituency	Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire
	tabling member printed	Simon Hart
	uin	265484
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/07/2019 answer text <p>Official statistics are not published on the average length of time from receipt of the application to the issue of a grant of probate. Internal management information, which is not subject to the rigorous quality assurance processes of official statistics, however shows that in the last financial year (2018/2019) the average time was three weeks.</p><p> </p><p>Whilst timeliness data are not yet available for the last three months, it is clear that waiting times have increased. Urgent action has been taken to address these temporary delays, staffing has been increased and the digital service further improved, and as a result waiting times are starting to reduce.</p><p> </p><p>There are no prescribed target times for dealing with probate applications. The recent increase in waiting times has been caused by a combination of an increased volume of incoming work and the transition to a new case management IT system. The move to the new system meant that staff had to spend time being trained and familiarising themselves with the system – which also had some initial performance issues that have been addressed.</p> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard question first answered 17/07/2019 15:38:49 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
	tabling member	3944 label Biography information for Simon Hart

1134236

	registered interest
	date	24/06/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Offences against Children: Private Prosecutions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 24 June 2019 to Question 266816 on Offences against Children: Compensation, what estimate his Department has made of the number of private prosecutions brought by victims of child sexual abuse in the week commencing 2 January 2017.
	tabling member constituency	Burton
	tabling member printed	Andrew Griffiths
	uin	268452
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/07/2019 answer text <p>Centrally held information does not identify whether or not prosecutions were brought forward privately by victims of child sex abuse. To identify whether the relevant cases would require manual searching of court records, which would be of disproportionate cost.</p><p> </p><p>Officials within my Department would be happy to extend an invitation to my Honourable Friend, the Member for Burton and Uttoxeter, to discuss what data is available and its limitations.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 17/07/2019 17:13:02 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
	tabling member	3936 label Biography information for Andrew Griffiths

1137419

	registered interest
	date	08/07/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government
	answering dept id	7
	answering dept short name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
	answering dept sort name	Housing, Communities and Local Government
	hansard heading	Housing: Fire Prevention
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what guidance his Department has issued on fire safety for the construction of wooden dwellings.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	274543
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/07/2019 answer text <p>The Building Regulations in England set minimum fire safety requirements for new homes and non-domestic buildings. They are couched in functional terms, and the Building Regulation guidance sets performance recommendations rather than prescribing the materials or technologies to be used. Similar provisions exist in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. For example, Building Regulation guidance for fire resistance is provided in terms of ratings , these can be achieved by a range of materials and designs (e.g. steel, concrete, wood) by demonstrating they have met the requirements through recognised test methods and classifications. The Guidance for England has recently been revised in a new clearer format and is available on-line at; <a href="https://gbr01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fpublications%2Ffire-safety-approved-document-b&amp;data=02%7C01%7CBrian.Martin%40communities.gov.uk%7C171a3f8e4e0a4e9b3c2408d709e3b0f1%7Cbf3468109c7d43dea87224a2ef3995a8%7C0%7C0%7C636988745832773114&amp;sdata=rmZXMlv9xsWBMNqx4pNlOP4H3RZHOfb%2BdWMJFwpvMXE%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fire-safety-approved-document-b</a></p> answering member constituency North West Hampshire answering member printed Kit Malthouse question first answered 17/07/2019 15:41:24 answering member 4495 label Biography information for Kit Malthouse
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1137478

	registered interest
	date	08/07/2019
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Pension Credit
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how long on average it takes to (a) agree and (b) allocate pension credit to eligible claimants.
	tabling member constituency	Norwich South
	tabling member printed	Clive Lewis
	uin	274594
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/07/2019 answer text <p>The specific information requested is not available.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 17/07/2019 15:49:35 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	4500 label Biography information for Clive Lewis

1137479

	registered interest
	date	08/07/2019
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Pension Credit and Universal Credit
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps she is taking to improve accessibility to pension credit and universal credit for pensioners.
	tabling member constituency	Norwich South
	tabling member printed	Clive Lewis
	uin	274595
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/07/2019 answer text <p>Pension Credit is an important benefit specifically intended to help the poorest pensioners. There are over 1.6m pensioners already claiming Pension Credit worth over £5billion a year. However, the Government wants to ensure that all pensioners eligible can claim the Pension Credit to which they are rightly entitled.</p><p> </p><p>We also welcome and encourage initiatives to promote take up of Pension Credit by national and local organisations who may often be best placed to understand the local circumstances and needs in the community. For this reason we have developed the Pension Credit toolkit, as an on-line tool for agencies and welfare rights organisations to use in order to encourage Pension Credit take-up. It can be found at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pension-credit-toolkit" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pension-<strong>credit</strong>-toolkit</a></p><p> </p><p>The toolkit contains resources for anyone working with pensioners and includes guides to Pension Credit. It also contains publicity material and guidance designed to help older people understand how they could get Pension Credit and help organisations support someone applying for Pension Credit as well as ideas for encouraging take-up. The toolkit also provides links to information about disability and carers benefits.</p><p> </p><p>Organisations can use the Pension Credit calculator <a href="https://www.gov.uk/pension-credit-calculator" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/pension-credit-calculator</a> to help people check if they are likely to be eligible and get an estimate of what they may receive.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, the DWP targets activity on engaging with people who may be eligible to benefits at pivotal stages, such as when they claim State Pension or report a change in their circumstances. The DWP uses a wide range of channels to communicate information about benefits to potential claimants; including information on <a href="https://gov.uk/" target="_blank">https://gov.uk/</a> but also in leaflets and by telephone. DWP staff in Pension Centres and Jobcentres including visiting officers are able to provide help and advice about entitlement to benefits, as are staff in Local Authorities who administer Housing Benefit.</p><p> </p><p>People can telephone either the Pension Service helpline for general enquiries on 0800 731 0469 or those wishing to claim Pension Credit can do so by calling 0800 99 1234.</p><p> </p><p>Universal Credit is designed to target resources at those that need them most and to provide support for people who cannot work or need help moving towards the labour market.</p><p> </p><p>For those that are unable to access or use digital services, assistance to make and maintain their claim is available via the Freephone Universal Credit helpline on 0800 328 5644 and face-to-face support is available in Jobcentres. In exceptional circumstances, a home visit can be arranged to support a claimant in making and maintaining their claim.</p><p> </p><p>Additionally, claimants can access support with their Universal Credit application through the Citizen’s Advice Help to Claim service which, offers tailored, practical support online, over the phone, and face-to-face. You can contact an adviser through the free national Help to Claim phone service:</p><p>England: 0800 144 8 444</p><p>Wales: 08000 241 220</p><p>Scotland: 0800 023 2581</p><p>We are continuously reviewing and improving the service for people who claim Universal Credit to ensure that it is accessible and responsive to their needs. This includes how they are identified and supported, either from our own staff or via referrals from local services.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 17/07/2019 15:44:28 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
	tabling member	4500 label Biography information for Clive Lewis

1137549

	registered interest
	date	08/07/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Social Security Benefits: Appeals
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the target waiting time is for benefit tribunals; and what the timeframe is for that target to be met.
	tabling member constituency	North Tyneside
	tabling member printed	Mary Glindon
	uin	274534
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/07/2019 answer text <p>The Ministry of Justice has not set a target waiting time for benefit appeals to be heard in the Social Security and Child Support (SSCS) jurisdiction. This is because waiting times fluctuate geographically owing to a number of factors including venue capacity, the volumes of benefit decisions made locally, the complexity of the case and the availability of panel members. Furthermore, the listing of appeals, including consideration of whether a hearing should be expedited, is a function of the Tribunal’s judiciary. There are also no targets for staffing levels for medical members, disability qualified members or judges in the SSCS jurisdiction. Levels are set based on forecast receipts to the SSCS jurisdiction, outstanding workload, and venue capacity.</p><p> </p><p>HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HCMTS) is taking positive steps to reduce the waiting time for appeals to be heard in the SSCS jurisdiction. In 2018, 232 medical members and 118 disability-qualified members were additionally appointed to the SSCS jurisdiction and an extra 129 fee-paid judges have recently been appointed. The SSCS jurisdiction will also benefit from 100 salaried judges and 170 fee-paid judges being recruited across tribunals more widely. In addition, HMCTS is developing a new digital system with a view to enabling speedier processing of appeals and a better service for all parties to the proceedings. Case-management “triage” sessions are also being conducted, with the aim of reducing the number of cases that need to progress to an oral hearing.</p> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard grouped question UIN 274535 question first answered 17/07/2019 17:10:49 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
	tabling member	4126 label Biography information for Mary Glindon

1137550

	registered interest
	date	08/07/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Social Security Benefits: Appeals
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 19 February to Question 221635, what the target staffing levels are for (a) medical members, (b) disability qualified members and (c) judges in the social security and child support jurisdiction.
	tabling member constituency	North Tyneside
	tabling member printed	Mary Glindon
	uin	274535
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/07/2019 answer text <p>The Ministry of Justice has not set a target waiting time for benefit appeals to be heard in the Social Security and Child Support (SSCS) jurisdiction. This is because waiting times fluctuate geographically owing to a number of factors including venue capacity, the volumes of benefit decisions made locally, the complexity of the case and the availability of panel members. Furthermore, the listing of appeals, including consideration of whether a hearing should be expedited, is a function of the Tribunal’s judiciary. There are also no targets for staffing levels for medical members, disability qualified members or judges in the SSCS jurisdiction. Levels are set based on forecast receipts to the SSCS jurisdiction, outstanding workload, and venue capacity.</p><p> </p><p>HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HCMTS) is taking positive steps to reduce the waiting time for appeals to be heard in the SSCS jurisdiction. In 2018, 232 medical members and 118 disability-qualified members were additionally appointed to the SSCS jurisdiction and an extra 129 fee-paid judges have recently been appointed. The SSCS jurisdiction will also benefit from 100 salaried judges and 170 fee-paid judges being recruited across tribunals more widely. In addition, HMCTS is developing a new digital system with a view to enabling speedier processing of appeals and a better service for all parties to the proceedings. Case-management “triage” sessions are also being conducted, with the aim of reducing the number of cases that need to progress to an oral hearing.</p> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard grouped question UIN 274534 question first answered 17/07/2019 17:10:49 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
	tabling member	4126 label Biography information for Mary Glindon

1137725

	registered interest
	date	09/07/2019
	answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
	answering dept id	29
	answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
	answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
	hansard heading	Social Security Benefits
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the extent to which people are excluded from unemployment statistics as a result of not being eligible for social security benefits.
	tabling member constituency	Wansbeck
	tabling member printed	Ian Lavery
	uin	275194
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/07/2019 answer text <p>The UK’s official measure of unemployment is produced by the independent ONS and based on the International Labour Organisation’s long-standing definition of unemployment: persons without work, available for work in the next 2 weeks, and who have actively sought work in the last 4 weeks.</p><p>The latest available statistics were released by the ONS on 11 June 2019 and show an unemployment rate (for ages 16+) of 3.8% - the lowest since 1974. This statistic is estimated using responses to the Labour Force Survey and is unrelated to a person’s eligibility for social security benefits.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Reading West answering member printed Alok Sharma question first answered 17/07/2019 13:35:08 answering member 4014 label Biography information for Sir Alok Sharma
	tabling member	4139 label Biography information for Ian Lavery

1137728

	registered interest
	date	09/07/2019
	answering body	Home Office
	answering dept id	1
	answering dept short name	Home Office
	answering dept sort name	Home Office
	hansard heading	Domestic Abuse and Sexual Offences: Victim Support Schemes
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what support the Government is providing to victims of (a) domestic and (b) sexual abuse.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	275191
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/07/2019 answer text <p>The Government is committed to tackling all forms of violence against women and girls. Since 2016 we have pledged increased funding of £100m to support victims of violence against women and girls (VAWG).</p><p>The funding has been used for specific services for victims and survivors of sexual violence. This includes £12.5m provided by the Ministry of Justice, of which £7.2m was allocated to 97 rape support services across England and Wales and £4.7m to Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) to deliver local support services for victims of Child Sexual Abuse across England and Wales.</p><p>From April 2019, rape and sexual abuse support services received an £800,000 increase in funding, allowing them to help more victims of sexual violence including recent and non-recent child sexual abuse. This funding, now totalling £24 million over the next three years, will help provide advice, support and counselling to victims of these appalling crimes. We have also provided £150,000 per year core grant funding to national third sector organisations who support victims of rape and sexual violence since 2011.</p><p>We are also supporting victims of domestic and sexual abuse through the £17m VAWG Transformation Fund. From 2017 to 2020, the Government is funding 41 local areas to promote early intervention and prevention.</p><p>In addition funding has been allocated across a range of projects focused on supporting those affected by domestic abuse including; £8m specifically for children; £2m for female offenders; and £2m to improve the health service response to domestic abuse.</p><p>In November 2018, we announced £22m to provide over 2,220 new beds in refuges and other safe accommodation – supporting more than 19,000 survivors with a safe space to rebuild their lives.</p><p>There are a range of other Government funding sources which are supporting victims of domestic and sexual abuse including; the £15m Police Transformation Fund; the £9m Tampon Tax Fund; the £16.9m Children’s Social Care Innovation Fund; £27m of funding to support 47 Sexual Assault Referral Centres (SARCs) in England and; £63m of annual funding to PCCs for Victims Services.</p><p>The Government has also recently committed to provide over £1m of funding per year, until 2021/22, for the seven national helplines which provide support to victims of domestic abuse, victims of stalking, perpetrators of abuse, victims of revenge porn and victims of honour-based abuse.</p><p>As part of the Government’s continued commitment to tackle VAWG, this year we have published the draft Domestic Abuse Bill and the VAWG strategy refresh.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 17/07/2019 16:33:14 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon