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1108786

registered interest
date	01/04/2019
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 his Department has made of the number of solicitors’ firms accepting Criminal Legal Aid cases in the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Cardiff Central
tabling member printed	Jo Stevens
uin	239262
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/04/2019 answer text <p>Based on the most recent data available, the table below shows how many firms (and where a firm has multiple branches, the total number of offices) were active in any given year providing legal aid services in criminal matters.</p><p> </p><p>Numbers of both firms and offices have fluctuated due to a number of factors, including mergers and acquisitions, trends in the rates of criminal offending, and the impact of other policies and market conditions.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Year</p></td><td><p>2010/11</p></td><td><p>2011/12</p></td><td><p>2012/13</p></td><td><p>2013/14</p></td><td><p>2014/15</p></td><td><p>2015/16</p></td><td><p>2016/17</p></td><td><p>2017/18</p></td><td><p>2018/19</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Firms</p></td><td><p>1,861</p></td><td><p>1,722</p></td><td><p>1,656</p></td><td><p>1,603</p></td><td><p>1,517</p></td><td><p>1,512</p></td><td><p>1,388</p></td><td><p>1,314</p></td><td><p>1,271</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Offices</p></td><td><p>2,598</p></td><td><p>2,415</p></td><td><p>2,338</p></td><td><p>2,282</p></td><td><p>2,172</p></td><td><p>2,240</p></td><td><p>1,991</p></td><td><p>1,998</p></td><td><p>1,921</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>The Legal Aid Agency measures capacity according to the type of scheme in question. For criminal legal aid, all Criminal Justice System Areas over England and Wales have firms of solicitors operating under a criminal legal aid contract, in addition to approximately 250 Duty Solicitor schemes providing advice and representation in Police Stations and Magistrates courts. The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) monitors capacity across criminal legal aid contracts on an ongoing basis. Where issues are identified, the LAA takes action to ensure there is ongoing availability of criminal legal advice for the public.</p><p> </p><p>For civil legal aid, there is at least one firm operating in each ‘Procurement Area’ providing services in every category of law, save for the ‘Housing and Debt’ category. Of the 134 Procurement Areas for this category, 4 do not currently have a provider holding a Housing and Debt contract, representing over 97% coverage across England and Wales. The Legal Aid Agency has since undertaken a further tender to secure provision in the remaining areas. In addition to the Civil Legal Advice Telephone Service, offering legal services in a range of issues to those who need it, we are establishing a £5m innovation fund to help people access legal support wherever they are in England and Wales.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer grouped question UIN 239263 question first answered 04/04/2019 16:36:17 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	4425 label Biography information for Jo Stevens

1108787

registered interest
date	01/04/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Administration of Justice: Rural Areas
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 ability of people living in rural areas to access justice.
tabling member constituency	Cardiff Central
tabling member printed	Jo Stevens
uin	239263
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/04/2019 answer text <p>Based on the most recent data available, the table below shows how many firms (and where a firm has multiple branches, the total number of offices) were active in any given year providing legal aid services in criminal matters.</p><p> </p><p>Numbers of both firms and offices have fluctuated due to a number of factors, including mergers and acquisitions, trends in the rates of criminal offending, and the impact of other policies and market conditions.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Year</p></td><td><p>2010/11</p></td><td><p>2011/12</p></td><td><p>2012/13</p></td><td><p>2013/14</p></td><td><p>2014/15</p></td><td><p>2015/16</p></td><td><p>2016/17</p></td><td><p>2017/18</p></td><td><p>2018/19</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Firms</p></td><td><p>1,861</p></td><td><p>1,722</p></td><td><p>1,656</p></td><td><p>1,603</p></td><td><p>1,517</p></td><td><p>1,512</p></td><td><p>1,388</p></td><td><p>1,314</p></td><td><p>1,271</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Offices</p></td><td><p>2,598</p></td><td><p>2,415</p></td><td><p>2,338</p></td><td><p>2,282</p></td><td><p>2,172</p></td><td><p>2,240</p></td><td><p>1,991</p></td><td><p>1,998</p></td><td><p>1,921</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>The Legal Aid Agency measures capacity according to the type of scheme in question. For criminal legal aid, all Criminal Justice System Areas over England and Wales have firms of solicitors operating under a criminal legal aid contract, in addition to approximately 250 Duty Solicitor schemes providing advice and representation in Police Stations and Magistrates courts. The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) monitors capacity across criminal legal aid contracts on an ongoing basis. Where issues are identified, the LAA takes action to ensure there is ongoing availability of criminal legal advice for the public.</p><p> </p><p>For civil legal aid, there is at least one firm operating in each ‘Procurement Area’ providing services in every category of law, save for the ‘Housing and Debt’ category. Of the 134 Procurement Areas for this category, 4 do not currently have a provider holding a Housing and Debt contract, representing over 97% coverage across England and Wales. The Legal Aid Agency has since undertaken a further tender to secure provision in the remaining areas. In addition to the Civil Legal Advice Telephone Service, offering legal services in a range of issues to those who need it, we are establishing a £5m innovation fund to help people access legal support wherever they are in England and Wales.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer grouped question UIN 239262 question first answered 04/04/2019 16:36:17 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	4425 label Biography information for Jo Stevens

1105848

registered interest
date	28/03/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	High Court Enforcement: Standards
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 monitor the timeliness with which High Court Enforcement Ltd reclaim moneys awarded through a court judgment.
tabling member constituency	Bristol West
tabling member printed	Thangam Debbonaire
uin	238385
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/04/2019 answer text <p>While the Ministry of Justice collects statistics about the number of writs that are received and enforced, either in full or in part, by High Court Enforcement Officers, it does not monitor the timeliness with which a High Court Enforcement Officer or company reclaims moneys awarded through a court judgment.</p><p>Complaints about a High Court Enforcement Officer can be made to the company employing the High Court Enforcement Officer or to the High Court Enforcement Officers’ Association. Unfortunately, the court cannot guarantee that a creditor will reclaim the payment of a civil judgment, particularly where a debtor goes to great lengths to evade payment or simply does not have the means to pay.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer grouped question UIN 238386 question first answered 04/04/2019 16:43:02 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	4433 label Biography information for Thangam Debbonaire

1105849

registered interest
date	28/03/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Judgements: Enforcement
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what guidance his Department issued to claimants who wish to make a complaint in the event that moneys owed to them through a court judgment are not reclaimed in full by high court enforcement companies.
tabling member constituency	Bristol West
tabling member printed	Thangam Debbonaire
uin	238386
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/04/2019 answer text <p>While the Ministry of Justice collects statistics about the number of writs that are received and enforced, either in full or in part, by High Court Enforcement Officers, it does not monitor the timeliness with which a High Court Enforcement Officer or company reclaims moneys awarded through a court judgment.</p><p>Complaints about a High Court Enforcement Officer can be made to the company employing the High Court Enforcement Officer or to the High Court Enforcement Officers’ Association. Unfortunately, the court cannot guarantee that a creditor will reclaim the payment of a civil judgment, particularly where a debtor goes to great lengths to evade payment or simply does not have the means to pay.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer grouped question UIN 238385 question first answered 04/04/2019 16:43:02 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	4433 label Biography information for Thangam Debbonaire

1105898

registered interest
date	28/03/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Personal Independence Payment: Appeals
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on the (a) trends in the number of and (b) proportion of personal independence payment appeals that were successful in (a) Brighton and Hove and (b) the UK in the last five years; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Brighton, Pavilion
tabling member printed	Caroline Lucas
uin	238317
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/04/2019 answer text <p>I have had two meetings with the Minister for Disabled People at the Department for Work and Pensions on the importance of getting decisions right first time. Our two Departments are working together on how to bring about improvements, including using feedback from the tribunal judiciary.</p><p>Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service is developing a new digital system which enables 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 progress to an oral hearing.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 03/04/2019 16:43:42 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	3930 label Biography information for Caroline Lucas

1105604

registered interest
date	27/03/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Family Law: Advisory Services
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many family law centres are operating in the UK.
tabling member constituency	Ashfield
tabling member printed	Gloria De Piero
uin	237661
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/04/2019 answer text <p>There are 1,722 solicitor offices throughout England and Wales who are contracted to provide legal services in family law. Of these, 5 are Law Centres. Offices may hold contracts for multiple types of cases, a complete list 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 South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 03/04/2019 16:53:50 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	3915 label Biography information for Gloria De Piero

1105605

registered interest
date	27/03/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Family Courts
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many family courts centres are operating in the UK.
tabling member constituency	Ashfield
tabling member printed	Gloria De Piero
uin	237662
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/04/2019 answer text <p>Her Majesty’s Court and Tribunal Service is responsible for the administration of the family courts in England and Wales only. Detailed information on which courts dealt with family work prior to 2014 and the creation of the Single Family Court is not available. Information from 2014 is below:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Location</p></td><td><p>2014 (from 22<sup>nd</sup> April)</p></td><td><p>2015</p></td><td><p>2016</p></td><td><p>2017</p></td><td><p>2018</p></td><td><p>2019 to date</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>London</p></td><td><p>12</p></td><td><p>12</p></td><td><p>12</p></td><td><p>12</p></td><td><p>12</p></td><td><p>12</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Midlands</p></td><td><p>17</p></td><td><p>17</p></td><td><p>17</p></td><td><p>17</p></td><td><p>17</p></td><td><p>17</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>North East</p></td><td><p>39</p></td><td><p>39</p></td><td><p>39</p></td><td><p>39</p></td><td><p>39</p></td><td><p>39</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>North West</p></td><td><p>20</p></td><td><p>20</p></td><td><p>20</p></td><td><p>19</p></td><td><p>19</p></td><td><p>19</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>South East</p></td><td><p>36</p></td><td><p>36</p></td><td><p>36</p></td><td><p>36</p></td><td><p>36</p></td><td><p>35</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>South West</p></td><td><p>21</p></td><td><p>21</p></td><td><p>21</p></td><td><p>20</p></td><td><p>20</p></td><td><p>20</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Wales</p></td><td><p>17</p></td><td><p>17</p></td><td><p>17</p></td><td><p>17</p></td><td><p>17</p></td><td><p>17</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>National</p></td><td><p>162</p></td><td><p>162</p></td><td><p>162</p></td><td><p>160</p></td><td><p>160</p></td><td><p>159</p></td></tr></tbody></table> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer grouped question UIN 237663 237664 question first answered 03/04/2019 17:00:21 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	3915 label Biography information for Gloria De Piero

1105607

registered interest
date	27/03/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Family Courts
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many family courts centres have been operating in the UK in each year since 2010.
tabling member constituency	Ashfield
tabling member printed	Gloria De Piero
uin	237663
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/04/2019 answer text <p>Her Majesty’s Court and Tribunal Service is responsible for the administration of the family courts in England and Wales only. Detailed information on which courts dealt with family work prior to 2014 and the creation of the Single Family Court is not available. Information from 2014 is below:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Location</p></td><td><p>2014 (from 22<sup>nd</sup> April)</p></td><td><p>2015</p></td><td><p>2016</p></td><td><p>2017</p></td><td><p>2018</p></td><td><p>2019 to date</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>London</p></td><td><p>12</p></td><td><p>12</p></td><td><p>12</p></td><td><p>12</p></td><td><p>12</p></td><td><p>12</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Midlands</p></td><td><p>17</p></td><td><p>17</p></td><td><p>17</p></td><td><p>17</p></td><td><p>17</p></td><td><p>17</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>North East</p></td><td><p>39</p></td><td><p>39</p></td><td><p>39</p></td><td><p>39</p></td><td><p>39</p></td><td><p>39</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>North West</p></td><td><p>20</p></td><td><p>20</p></td><td><p>20</p></td><td><p>19</p></td><td><p>19</p></td><td><p>19</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>South East</p></td><td><p>36</p></td><td><p>36</p></td><td><p>36</p></td><td><p>36</p></td><td><p>36</p></td><td><p>35</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>South West</p></td><td><p>21</p></td><td><p>21</p></td><td><p>21</p></td><td><p>20</p></td><td><p>20</p></td><td><p>20</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Wales</p></td><td><p>17</p></td><td><p>17</p></td><td><p>17</p></td><td><p>17</p></td><td><p>17</p></td><td><p>17</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>National</p></td><td><p>162</p></td><td><p>162</p></td><td><p>162</p></td><td><p>160</p></td><td><p>160</p></td><td><p>159</p></td></tr></tbody></table> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer grouped question UIN 237662 237664 question first answered 03/04/2019 17:00:21 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	3915 label Biography information for Gloria De Piero

1105608

registered interest
date	27/03/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Family Courts
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many family court centres have been operating in each region of the UK in each year since 2010.
tabling member constituency	Ashfield
tabling member printed	Gloria De Piero
uin	237664
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/04/2019 answer text <p>Her Majesty’s Court and Tribunal Service is responsible for the administration of the family courts in England and Wales only. Detailed information on which courts dealt with family work prior to 2014 and the creation of the Single Family Court is not available. Information from 2014 is below:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Location</p></td><td><p>2014 (from 22<sup>nd</sup> April)</p></td><td><p>2015</p></td><td><p>2016</p></td><td><p>2017</p></td><td><p>2018</p></td><td><p>2019 to date</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>London</p></td><td><p>12</p></td><td><p>12</p></td><td><p>12</p></td><td><p>12</p></td><td><p>12</p></td><td><p>12</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Midlands</p></td><td><p>17</p></td><td><p>17</p></td><td><p>17</p></td><td><p>17</p></td><td><p>17</p></td><td><p>17</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>North East</p></td><td><p>39</p></td><td><p>39</p></td><td><p>39</p></td><td><p>39</p></td><td><p>39</p></td><td><p>39</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>North West</p></td><td><p>20</p></td><td><p>20</p></td><td><p>20</p></td><td><p>19</p></td><td><p>19</p></td><td><p>19</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>South East</p></td><td><p>36</p></td><td><p>36</p></td><td><p>36</p></td><td><p>36</p></td><td><p>36</p></td><td><p>35</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>South West</p></td><td><p>21</p></td><td><p>21</p></td><td><p>21</p></td><td><p>20</p></td><td><p>20</p></td><td><p>20</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Wales</p></td><td><p>17</p></td><td><p>17</p></td><td><p>17</p></td><td><p>17</p></td><td><p>17</p></td><td><p>17</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>National</p></td><td><p>162</p></td><td><p>162</p></td><td><p>162</p></td><td><p>160</p></td><td><p>160</p></td><td><p>159</p></td></tr></tbody></table> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer grouped question UIN 237662 237663 question first answered 03/04/2019 17:00:22 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	3915 label Biography information for Gloria De Piero

1105610

registered interest
date	27/03/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Personal Independence Payment: Appeals
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, much money it costs his Department on average to hold a claimant's tribunal relating to personal independence payment.
tabling member constituency	Preston
tabling member printed	Sir Mark Hendrick
uin	237621
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/04/2019 answer text <p>The information requested is not held centrally. The cost of Personal Independence Payment and Employment and Support Allowance hearings is included in the overall cost of the First-tier Tribunal (Social Security and Child Support Appeal).</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 01/04/2019 16:45:22 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	473 label Biography information for Sir Mark Hendrick