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1139761

registered interest
date	17/07/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Ministry of Justice: Working Hours
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much time off in lieu has been taken by staff in his Department in each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Hemsworth
tabling member printed	Jon Trickett
uin	278381
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/07/2019 answer text <p>The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) does not hold any central data on the amount of time off in lieu taken by employees in each of the past five years. Any time of in lieu granted is locally managed and not recorded, in accordance with MoJ’s Flexible Working Policy.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 23/07/2019 17:16:45 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
tabling member	410 label Biography information for Jon Trickett

1139801

registered interest
date	17/07/2019
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, if he will launch an independent inquiry into family courts in England and Wales to establish (a) how victims of domestic violence are treated, (b) whether the process under which parents convicted of domestic violence are given access to children is adequate and (c) whether the courts should be more transparent in their handling of domestic violence cases and the protection of children involved in such cases.
tabling member constituency	Fareham
tabling member printed	Suella Braverman
uin	278552
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/07/2019 answer text <p>On 21 May 2019 the Ministry of Justice announced a public call for evidence to develop our understanding of how the family courts protect children and parents in cases of domestic abuse and other serious offences. Specifically, the call for evidence will focus on the application of Practice Direction 12J, Practice Direction 3AA, The Family Procedure Rules Part 3A, and s.91(14) orders, and will build a more detailed understanding of any harm caused during or following proceedings in the family court where there are allegations of domestic abuse. The written call for evidence was launched on 19 July and will run for 6 weeks.</p><p> </p><p>This call for evidence is coordinated by a panel of experts whose membership includes academics, members of the judiciary, and representatives from third sector bodies which represent or advocate for victims of domestic abuse, all of whom are independent of the Government. The panel will gather and interpret evidence from a full range of interested parties, to enable us to address appropriately any issues with the application of protections available in the family courts.</p><p><br> It is important that the Family Justice System strikes an appropriate balance between rightly protecting the confidentially of the individual children and family members, but also maintaining as open and transparent approach to court decisions as possible in these circumstances.</p> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard question first answered 23/07/2019 17:17:47 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
tabling member	4475 label Biography information for Suella Braverman

1139802

registered interest
date	17/07/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons: Industrial Health and Safety
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 9 July 2019 to Question 270730 on Prisons: Industrial Health and Safety, whether all prison staff who are not directly employed by HMPPS have access to (a) occupational health services, (b) employee assistance programmes, (c) trauma support services and (d) personal well-being zones.
tabling member constituency	West Lancashire
tabling member printed	Rosie Cooper
uin	278444
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2019 answer text <p>HMPPS value the contribution made by external partners to HMPPS and work collaboratively with suppliers to ensure the health and safety of non-directly employed staff in prison and probation sites</p><p>Prison staff not directly employed by HMPPS can have access to the Employee Assistance Programme, trauma support services and personal well-being zones. These arrangements are agreed by officials in consultation with our external partners. However, it is normal practice for most of our external partners to have their own support arrangements in place for their staff.</p><p> </p><p>Prison staff not directly employed by HMPPS do not have access to all occupational health services because occupational health is the responsibility of their employer.</p><p> </p><p>However, contractors and third party supplier staff do have access to a 24 hour body fluid exposure and sharps injury help line, which gives non-directly employed prison staff access to immediate and specialist advice and guidance from a nurse following a suspected and actual body fluid exposure incident. This is part of our commitment to helping to protect staff from the risk of contracting blood borne viruses.</p> answering member constituency South Swindon answering member printed Robert Buckland question first answered 22/07/2019 15:36:49 answering member 4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland
tabling member	1538 label Biography information for Rosie Cooper

1139803

registered interest
date	17/07/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons: Industrial Health and Safety
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 9 July 2019 to Question 270730 on Prisons: Industrial Health and Safety, what assessment he has made of risk to prison staff who are (a) directly employed by HMPPS and (b) contractors of (i) exposure to new psychoactive substances, (ii) assaults with excreta and (iii) other assaults.
tabling member constituency	West Lancashire
tabling member printed	Rosie Cooper
uin	278445
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2019 answer text <p>With regard non HMPPS employees working in prisons, we work closely at all levels with their employers and staff unions. There is a wide range of procedures and systems in place across the estate to control and mitigate their exposures to the risk referred to.</p><p> </p><p>Guidance was issued in 2017 on the control of secondary exposure and scientific research into the risk commenced in May 2018 and is currently focused on post-exposure testing of staff across ten prisons. It has been agreed that the testing programme will be expanded to include a further 10 prisons.</p><p> </p><p>Violence against those working in prisons will never be tolerated. The Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act received Royal Assent on 13 September and came into force on 13 November. This will increase the penalty, from 6 to 12 months, for those who assault emergency workers including prison officers. We provide post-incident care teams, occupational health support and counselling for members of staff who are assaulted while doing their jobs.</p> answering member constituency South Swindon answering member printed Robert Buckland question first answered 22/07/2019 15:55:59 answering member 4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland
tabling member	1538 label Biography information for Rosie Cooper

1139804

registered interest
date	17/07/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons: Industrial Health and Safety
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 9 July 2019 to Question 270730 on Prisons: Industrial Health and Safety, what steps he is taking to support the physical, emotional and social well-being of prison staff who are not directly employed by HMPPS; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	West Lancashire
tabling member printed	Rosie Cooper
uin	278446
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2019 answer text <p>HMPPS value the contribution made by external partners to HMPPS and work collaboratively with suppliers and their staff unions to ensure both the physical health and safety and the emotional well-being of non-directly employed staff in prison and probation sites.</p><p> </p><p>There is a wide range of Health and Safety procedures and systems in place across the estate to control and mitigate exposures to the risks referred to.</p><p> </p><p>HMPPS Health, Safety and Fire conduct workplace inspections to identify any hazards and introduce safety measures within the workplace before such hazards cause harm to all staff (whether employed directly or indirectly), offenders and visitors. This is an integral part of the HMPPS Health, Safety and Fire risk management system</p><p> </p><p>In terms of emotional and social staff support, prison staff not directly employed by HMPPS can have access to the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), trauma support services and personal well-being zones. The EAP 24/7 helpline is accessible confidentially and without the need for line manager referral. The helpline provides access to counselling for work or non-work related issues, legal and consumer advice, as well as support for managers in handling of sensitive situations. These can all aid emotional and social well-being for not directly employed staff in prisons</p><p> </p><p>Violence against those working in prisons will never be tolerated. The Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act received Royal Assent on 13 September and came into force on 13 November. This will increase the penalty, from 6 to 12 months, for those who assault emergency workers including prison officers. We provide post-incident care teams, occupational health support and counselling for members of staff who are assaulted while doing their jobs.</p> answering member constituency South Swindon answering member printed Robert Buckland question first answered 22/07/2019 16:01:44 answering member 4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland
tabling member	1538 label Biography information for Rosie Cooper

1139855

registered interest
date	17/07/2019
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 he has made of the potential merits of uprating the financial thresholds for legal aid eligibility.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle-under-Lyme
tabling member printed	Paul Farrelly
uin	278403
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2019 answer text <p>On 7 February 2019, the Government published its Legal Support Action Plan in which it announced a comprehensive review of the wider legal aid eligibility regime. The review will study the income and capital 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> </p><p>The review 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 22/07/2019 16:47:25 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
tabling member	1436 label Biography information for Paul Farrelly

1139875

registered interest
date	17/07/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Offenders: Electronic Tagging
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 12 July 2019 to Question 273385 on Offenders: Electronic Tagging, when he plans to publish the quantitative process evaluation of the GPS Pilot.
tabling member constituency	Stretford and Urmston
tabling member printed	Kate Green
uin	278484
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/07/2019 answer text <table><tbody><tr><td><p>The quantitative process evaluation of the GPS location monitoring Pilot was published alongside a speech on sentencing by my Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for Justice on Thursday 18 July. The evaluation can be found here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/process-evaluation-of-the-global-positioning-system-electronic-monitoring-pilot-quantitative-findings" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/process-evaluation-of-the-global-positioning-system-electronic-monitoring-pilot-quantitative-findings</a> The Secretary of State also announced in his speech on 18 July that we are planning to roll out a variation of location monitoring to children.</p></td></tr></tbody></table> answering member constituency South Swindon answering member printed Robert Buckland question first answered 23/07/2019 11:03:08 answering member 4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland
tabling member	4120 label Biography information for Kate Green

1139876

registered interest
date	17/07/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Television Licences: Non-payment
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 18 June 2019 to Question 264316 on Television: Licensing, how many (a) men and (b) women were given a prison sentence for failure to pay fines imposed for non-payment of the BBC licence fee in each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Stretford and Urmston
tabling member printed	Kate Green
uin	278485
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/07/2019 answer text <p>The requested information can be viewed in the attached table.</p> answering member constituency South Swindon answering member printed Robert Buckland question first answered 23/07/2019 11:08:48 answering member 4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland attachment 1 file name PQ 278485 Reply.xlsx title Table
tabling member	4120 label Biography information for Kate Green

1139882

registered interest
date	17/07/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prison Sentences: Females
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many women were sentenced to imprisonment for (a) 1 month or less, (b) 3 months or less and (c) 6 months or less for each of the offences listed in the Home Office Offence Code that his Department classifies as (i) non-violent and non-sexual offences and (ii) violent and sexual offences.
tabling member constituency	Leeds East
tabling member printed	Richard Burgon
uin	278553
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2019 answer text <p>The Ministry of Justice has published information on the number of women sentenced to immediate custody for theft from shops offences, and the length of these sentences in the Outcomes by Offence data tool available here: <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/802314/outcomes-by-offence-tool-2018.xlsx" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/802314/outcomes-by-offence-tool-2018.xlsx</a></p><p> </p><p>Select ’46 Theft from Shops’ in the Offence filter</p><p>Select ’02: Female’ in the Sex filter</p><p> </p><p>The total women sentenced to immediate custody can be found in row 36 and custodial sentence lengths can be found in row 56 onwards.</p><p> </p><p>The Ministry of Justice does not have a specific classification for (i) non-violent and non-sexual offences and (ii) violent and sexual offences, as offences are classified by indictable or summary offence groupings and prosecutions are counted for principal offences. Broad indictable groups for ’01: Violence against the person’ and ’02: Sexual offences’ can be displayed using the Offence group filter in the above data tool for violent and sexual offences; all other offence groups would broadly cover non-violent and non-sexual offences. However, note that some offences that would be classified as violence (such as common assault and battery) are counted in the summary offences category.</p><p> </p><p>Please note that the figures given in the pivot table relate to defendants for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar grouped question UIN 278561 question first answered 22/07/2019 16:05:08 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
tabling member	4493 label Biography information for Richard Burgon

1139886

registered interest
date	17/07/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Probate: Software
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the efficacy of the rollout of new software at probate registries across England and Wales.
tabling member constituency	Dwyfor Meirionnydd
tabling member printed	Liz Saville Roberts
uin	278565
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/08/2019 answer text <p>The recent, temporary increase in waiting times was caused by a combination of an increased volume of incoming work and the transition to a new case management system. The move to the new system meant that staff had to spend time being trained and familiarising themselves with it. There were also some initial performance issues which have now been resolved.</p><p> </p><p>At the end of June 2019, 93% of users indicated, from five feedback options, that they were satisfied or very satisfied with the online application service provided.</p><p> </p><p>Urgent action has been taken to address the delays which have been experienced in the probate service. Her Majesty’s Courts &amp; Tribunals Service (HMCTS) is increasing staffing levels and further improving the digital service to help reduce waiting times.</p><p> </p><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 and letters of administration. HMCTS internal management information, which is not subject to the rigorous quality assurance processes of official statistics, has been used to show the following average times from receipt of an application to a grant being issued:</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Month and year </strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Average Weeks to grant issued </strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>January 2018</p></td><td><p>3</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>February 2018</p></td><td><p>3</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>March 2018</p></td><td><p>3</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>April 2018</p></td><td><p>3</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>May 2018</p></td><td><p>3</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>June 2018</p></td><td><p>3</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>July 2018</p></td><td><p>3</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>August 2018</p></td><td><p>3</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>September 2018</p></td><td><p>3</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>October 2018</p></td><td><p>3</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>November 2018</p></td><td><p>3</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>December 2018</p></td><td><p>3</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>January 2019</p></td><td><p>2</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>February 2019</p></td><td><p>2</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>March 2019</p></td><td><p>3</p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p>April 2019</p></td><td><p>2</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>May 2019</p></td><td><p>6</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>June 2019</p></td><td><p>9</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>These figures do not include cases which are waiting for a grant to be issued. The data from April 2019 to June 2019 have been extracted from the HMCTS Reform Core Case Data system, which is a new system in active development, and may not be directly comparable with figures for earlier periods. All figures, especially those for April 2019 to June 2019, are provisional and subject to revision.</p><p> </p><p>Some grants are experiencing delays of between four and six weeks outside of our targets as a result of significant increases in work during March and April and some technology issues which have now been resolved. We have recruited more staff and are now issuing in excess of 1,000 grants a day, which is bringing waiting times down further.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar grouped question UIN 278566 278567 question first answered 02/08/2019 14:39:10 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
tabling member	4521 label Biography information for Liz Saville Roberts