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62961

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

62963

registered interest
date	19/06/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Marriage: Islam
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to encourage mosques to register with the General Registry Office to perform civil marriages and partnerships.
tabling member constituency	Washington and Sunderland West
tabling member printed	Mrs Sharon Hodgson
uin	201462
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/07/2014 answer text <p> </p><p>A small working group of internal and external stakeholders was established by the Ministry of Justice in 2012 to consider the reasons why so few mosques are registered for the purpose of conducting marriages, and explore what more might be done by Government and others to raise awareness of registration and its benefits. The group is also exploring how community-led approaches could raise awareness of ‘marriages which are not recognised by the state and the potential legal consequences.</p><p> </p><p>The General Register Office is content to work with interested parties to see what might be done in the area of communications and guidance within the existing legal framework . The group is also raising awareness of religious marriages not recognised by the state and the potential legal consequences.</p> answering member constituency Bermondsey and Old Southwark answering member printed Simon Hughes question first answered 03/07/2014 16:54:15 answering member 194 label Biography information for Simon Hughes
tabling member	1521 label Biography information for Mrs Sharon Hodgson

62980

registered interest
date	19/06/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Marriage: Islam
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to provide support for and protect the rights of Muslim women in unrecognised marriages in England and Wales.
tabling member constituency	Washington and Sunderland West
tabling member printed	Mrs Sharon Hodgson
uin	201476
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/06/2014 answer text <p>The Government is committed to the protection and promotion of the rights of women, families and children. This includes raising awareness of the legal consequences of 'religious only' marriages and encouraging mosques to register in order to be able to carry out legally recognised marriages in their various facilities.</p> answering member constituency Bermondsey and Old Southwark answering member printed Simon Hughes question first answered 25/06/2014 14:42:51 answering member 194 label Biography information for Simon Hughes
tabling member	1521 label Biography information for Mrs Sharon Hodgson

62981

registered interest
date	19/06/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Marriage: Islam
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent discussions he has had with (a) the Muslim Institute, (b) the Muslim Council of Great Britain and (c) the Muslim Parliament of Great Britain on the legal status of Islamic marriages in England and Wales.
tabling member constituency	Washington and Sunderland West
tabling member printed	Mrs Sharon Hodgson
uin	201473
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/06/2014 answer text <p>I have not discussed the legal status of Islamic marriages with any of the organisations listed.</p><p> </p><p>There are no plans to change the law to recognise in English law Muslim marriages and divorces which do not conform to the Marriage Act 1949.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Bermondsey and Old Southwark answering member printed Simon Hughes question first answered 25/06/2014 14:45:57 answering member 194 label Biography information for Simon Hughes
tabling member	1521 label Biography information for Mrs Sharon Hodgson

60945

registered interest
date	10/06/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Equality
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what consideration his Department gives to the diversity policies and records of businesses or other organisations when considering their bid for commercial contracts or grants.
tabling member constituency	Washington and Sunderland West
tabling member printed	Mrs Sharon Hodgson
uin	199954
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/06/2014 answer text <p>The Ministry of Justice is committed to promoting equality and diversity in its procurements. Section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 outlines the Public Sector Equality Duty. The following three duties which form the basis of Departments' policy and to which due regard must be given during the procurement process:</p><p> </p><p>1. Eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct prohibited by the Act;</p><p>2. Advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it.</p><p>3. Foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it.</p><p> </p><p>The level of due regard given to the three duties will vary depending on their relevance to each individual procurement. There will be greater significance for example where the procurement involves direct contact with the public or employees of the Department or where services are to be carried out in the Department's premises.</p><p> </p><p>Where a need to consider equality has been identified at the beginning of a procurement process, consideration to this is given at every stage of the process as detailed below:</p><p> </p><p>· Planning and preparation includes the consideration of whether the duties are relevant to the procurement.</p><p>· The Pre-Qualification stage of the tender process contains mandatory fields including questions to make sure that the bid is in line with legislation. Suppliers that do not pass these questions are not progressed onto the next stage.</p><p>· The Request for Information and Request for Quotation contain questions in line with legislation. These question are proportionate so as not to disadvantage smaller suppliers.</p><p>· The evaluation of tenders can include equality criteria if it formed part of the specification. However, if included, the criteria are given proportionate consideration to the bid as a whole.</p><p>· Contract award where the specification set out equality criteria can be used to determine the most economically advantageous tender</p><p>· Ongoing consideration is given to the equality duties in every review meeting for those relevant contracts.</p><p> </p><p>In addition to these processes implemented during the procurement process, the Department reports annually its obligations to the Cabinet Office. All procurement staff within the Department are required to undertake mandatory Equality and Diversity Training which makes sure that the duty can be considered and applied correctly.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Bermondsey and Old Southwark answering member printed Simon Hughes question first answered 16/06/2014 14:25:11 answering member 194 label Biography information for Simon Hughes
tabling member	1521 label Biography information for Mrs Sharon Hodgson

60946

registered interest
date	10/06/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Equality
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what targets his Department has for increasing diversity; and what progress has been made on meeting those targets in the last year.
tabling member constituency	Washington and Sunderland West
tabling member printed	Mrs Sharon Hodgson
uin	199933
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/06/2014 answer text <p /> <p /> <p>The MoJ has a longstanding commitment to promoting equality of opportunity and making sure that we are representative of the society we serve. The principle of appointment on merit is the foundation of Civil Service recruitment and enshrined in law.</p><p> </p><p>The MoJ does not have any published targets but we annually review and publish the demographics of our workforce - <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/diversity-report-2012-13" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/diversity-report-2012-13</a></p><p>This information is used to inform policy of action in the future and set out in the MoJ Equality Objectives-<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/209087/moj-equality-objectives.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/209087/moj-equality-objectives.pdf</a>#</p><p>We have made good progress in making the MoJ a more diverse place to work. For example, the MoJ's management board has an equal mix of women and men at Executive (50%) and Non-Executive level (50%) levels, and we are led by a female Permanent Secretary, Ursula Brennan.</p><p> </p><p>17% of MoJ staff members promoted last year were not white. This is an increase of 2% on the previous year. 10% more women were promoted in 2012/2013 than in 2011/2012.</p> answering member constituency Bermondsey and Old Southwark answering member printed Simon Hughes question first answered 17/06/2014 16:37:28 answering member 194 label Biography information for Simon Hughes
tabling member	1521 label Biography information for Mrs Sharon Hodgson

60947

registered interest
date	10/06/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Disciplinary Proceedings
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of staff within his Department who have been subject to formal disciplinary proceedings in each of the last five financial years classed themselves as white British.
tabling member constituency	Washington and Sunderland West
tabling member printed	Mrs Sharon Hodgson
uin	199890
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/06/2014 answer text <p /> <p /> <p>Staff within the Ministry of Justice (MoJ HQ), HM Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS), National Offender Management Service (NOMS), Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) and Legal Aid Agency (LAA) can, but are not compelled to, declare their ethnicity. Consequently, definitive figures for the proportion of white British staff who have been dismissed or subject to formal disciplinary proceedings over the last five financial years cannot be provided.</p><p> </p><p>The MoJ Diversity report for 2012/2013 provides an overview of information on staff grievances, investigations, conduct and discipline. This can be found at the following link: <em><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/279638/moj-diversity-data-report-2012-13.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/279638/moj-diversity-data-report-2012-13.pdf</a></em></p><p> </p><p>This information has not been collated or published in respect of earlier financial years.</p> answering member constituency Bermondsey and Old Southwark answering member printed Simon Hughes grouped question UIN 199912 question first answered 17/06/2014 16:41:55 answering member 194 label Biography information for Simon Hughes
tabling member	1521 label Biography information for Mrs Sharon Hodgson

60948

registered interest
date	10/06/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Disciplinary Proceedings
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of staff within his Department who have been dismissed following formal disciplinary proceedings in each of the last five financial years classed themselves as white British.
tabling member constituency	Washington and Sunderland West
tabling member printed	Mrs Sharon Hodgson
uin	199912
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/06/2014 answer text <p /> <p /> <p>Staff within the Ministry of Justice (MoJ HQ), HM Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS), National Offender Management Service (NOMS), Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) and Legal Aid Agency (LAA) can, but are not compelled to, declare their ethnicity. Consequently, definitive figures for the proportion of white British staff who have been dismissed or subject to formal disciplinary proceedings over the last five financial years cannot be provided.</p><p> </p><p>The MoJ Diversity report for 2012/2013 provides an overview of information on staff grievances, investigations, conduct and discipline. This can be found at the following link: <em><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/279638/moj-diversity-data-report-2012-13.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/279638/moj-diversity-data-report-2012-13.pdf</a></em></p><p> </p><p>This information has not been collated or published in respect of earlier financial years.</p> answering member constituency Bermondsey and Old Southwark answering member printed Simon Hughes grouped question UIN 199890 question first answered 17/06/2014 16:41:55 answering member 194 label Biography information for Simon Hughes
tabling member	1521 label Biography information for Mrs Sharon Hodgson

49556

registered interest
date	02/05/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
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 levels of satisfaction with Cafcass among younger children who do not complete formal feedback forms.
tabling member constituency	Washington and Sunderland West
tabling member printed	Mrs Sharon Hodgson
uin	197639
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/05/2014 answer text <p> </p><p> </p><p>While complaints made to Cafcass by children and young people are monitored nationally, it collects, monitors and acts on feedback at a local level. Cafcass has commissioned the Family Justice Young People's Board to review how children and young people provide feedback to Cafcass and advise on ways to encourage more feedback both via formal and informal routes. Cafcass now has various methods of obtaining feedback from the children and young people it works with which include more formal methods such as feedback forms and more informal and child-friendly methods such as ‘feedback trees'. Feedback trees encourage children to write out or draw their feelings on how Cafcass has worked with them, allowing Cafcass practitioners to build on this feedback. There is no central or national monitoring of this informal feedback.</p> answering member constituency Bermondsey and Old Southwark answering member printed Simon Hughes question first answered 13/05/2014 12:00:00 answering member 194 label Biography information for Simon Hughes
tabling member	1521 label Biography information for Mrs Sharon Hodgson

48492

registered interest
date	25/04/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to improve the rate of return of Children and Families Court Advisory and Support Service satisfaction surveys by children between the ages of five and eight.
tabling member constituency	Washington and Sunderland West
tabling member printed	Mrs Sharon Hodgson
uin	196593
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/05/2014 answer text <p> </p><p> </p><p>Cafcass does not carry out satisfaction surveys with the children it works with. They have other child-friendly ways of gaining feedback from children, which does include a feedback form. They have different versions of the form for children and young people. One encourages young people to write out their feedback to Cafcass in response to various questions, while the feedback form for younger children asks them to circle the feelings and emotions they have about Cafcass. These are therefore qualitative rather than quantitative. This feedback is collected and acted on at a local level rather than a national one. Complaints are monitored at a national level but addressed at the local level.</p><p> </p><p>Cafcass does not provide a return to the UK Statistics Authority; however they have published anonymised comments from feedback forms as part of their Annual Reports to draw out their direct work with children.</p><p> </p><p>Cafcass commissioned the Family Justice Young People's Board to review the means by which Cafcass encourages feedback from the children and young people it works with. This review resulted in four recommendations which Cafcass has taken forward including ‘feedback trees' and changes to the feedback forms.</p> answering member constituency Bermondsey and Old Southwark answering member printed Simon Hughes grouped question UIN 196588 question first answered 12/05/2014 12:00:00 answering member 194 label Biography information for Simon Hughes
tabling member	1521 label Biography information for Mrs Sharon Hodgson