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1150843

registered interest
date	21/10/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Legal Representation: Coroners
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 ensure greater equality between the amount spent on legal representation by (a) families who are publicly funded and (b) mental health trusts at inquests following the death of a relative in a mental health unit.
tabling member constituency	Worsley and Eccles South
tabling member printed	Barbara Keeley
uin	2731
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/10/2019 answer text <p>Legal aid is available for advice and assistance for all inquests, subject to a means and merits test. Inquests follow an inquisitorial process and legal aid support for representation is not typically applicable. Exceptional Case Funding may be available where certain inquests require legal representation. The Government wants to ensure that the bereaved are placed at the heart of the inquisitorial process and is taking forward a number of measures announced in the recent Review of Legal Aid for Inquests to make the inquest process more sympathetic to the needs of bereaved families; the Government also has work underway looking at the prevention of deaths of people who are in the care of the state.</p> answering member constituency Aldridge-Brownhills answering member printed Wendy Morton question first answered 24/10/2019 15:22:26 answering member 4358 label Biography information for Wendy Morton
tabling member	1588 label Biography information for Barbara Keeley

1150691

registered interest
date	18/10/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisoners' Release: Universal Credit
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 proportion of prisoners who leave custody each month who (a) are eligible for universal credit and (b) apply for that benefit at the point of their release from prison.
tabling member constituency	East Hampshire
tabling member printed	Mr Damian Hinds
uin	1902
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/10/2019 answer text <p>We recognise that many prison leavers rely on the benefits system to ensure they are able to pay for accommodation and living costs upon release from custody. We are working with the Department for Work and Pensions to ensure prisoners can access Universal Credit as soon as possible on release.</p><p> </p><p>We do not, however, hold data on the proportion of prisoners who leave custody each month who (a) are eligible for universal credit or (b) apply for that benefit at the point of their release from prison centrally and this information could only be obtained at disproportionate costs.</p><p> </p><p>Although the data is not directly comparable, statistics from the 2013 MoJ/DWP/HMRC data share suggested that demand for out-of-work benefits is high. The report found that over half of offenders released from prison were claiming out-of-work benefits one month after release and that two-thirds of working age offenders claimed at least one out-of-work benefit at some point in the two years following their conviction/caution or release from prison in 2010/2011.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 28/10/2019 17:25:44 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	3969 label Biography information for Damian Hinds

1150692

registered interest
date	18/10/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisoners' Release: Universal Credit
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 the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on arrangements for prisoners to apply for universal credit (a) prior to and (b) no later than their release from custody.
tabling member constituency	East Hampshire
tabling member printed	Mr Damian Hinds
uin	1903
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/10/2019 answer text <p>Ministry of Justice and Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) ministers regularly meet, the last time being in July 2019, and will meet again soon. In the July meeting, both departments were keen to progress work to better prepare prisoners for release, including improving access to Universal Credit.</p><p> </p><p>The DWP has piloted a number of changes that will support offenders making claims prior to release. We are working closely with the DWP to take forward the learning from these pilots. One area that the pilots highlighted was the important role that dedicated DWP Prison Work Coaches play in our prison system to ensure access to Universal Credit. We continue to work with DWP to help support these work coaches, and to ensure they have both the right physical environment and information on and access to prisoners required for efficient working.</p><p> </p><p>In July 2019, we published the National Partnership Agreement with the DWP. This sets out how the departments will collaborate to improve access to Universal Credit for prison leavers to ensure they have timely access to financial support on release.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 28/10/2019 17:26:32 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	3969 label Biography information for Damian Hinds