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389068

	registered interest
	date	10/07/2015
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Ministry of Justice: Written Questions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to answer Question 3159 tabled on 18 June 2015 by the right hon. Member for Hammersmith.
	tabling member constituency	Hammersmith
	tabling member printed	Andy Slaughter
	uin	6527
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/09/2015 answer text <p>Question 3159 was answered on 14 September 2015.</p> answering member constituency North West Cambridgeshire answering member printed Mr Shailesh Vara question first answered 14/09/2015 14:39:10 answering member 1496 label Biography information for Shailesh Vara
	tabling member	1516 label Biography information for Andy Slaughter

179193

	registered interest
	date	11/02/2015
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Fines
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent progress he has made on proposals to privatise the criminal fine enforcement service.
	tabling member constituency	Hammersmith
	tabling member printed	Mr Andy Slaughter
	uin	224230
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/02/2015 answer text <p /> <p>Final bids were submitted on 5 January 2015 and negotiations commenced on 26 January as planned. The full final business case is currently in the process of being updated with results from the negotiation meetings, which then needs to continue through the usual governance and approvals processes that need to occur before any contract award of this type. Further negotiations may be required over the coming weeks to further refine the proposals.</p><p> </p><p>The investment and technology an external provider can bring will enable the automation of many of the manual administrative processes and in turn decrease the cost of providing fine enforcement and increase the amount of fines that are paid. The innovation will free up staff time to enable them to be more pro-active in pursuing offenders to ensure they comply with their court order.</p> answering member constituency North West Cambridgeshire answering member printed Mr Shailesh Vara question first answered 26/02/2015 14:56:45 answering member 1496 label Biography information for Shailesh Vara
	tabling member	1516 label Biography information for Andy Slaughter

226356

	registered interest
	date	10/03/2015
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Judicial Review: Legal Aid Scheme
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much the Government spent on legal fees in the case of R (Ben Hoare Bell and Others) v Lord Chancellor [2015], case number CO/2770/2014.
	tabling member constituency	Hammersmith
	tabling member printed	Mr Andy Slaughter
	uin	226919
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/03/2015 answer text <p /> <p>Judicial Review is an important way of challenging decisions by public authorities and will remain so. However, the Government considers that limited legal aid resources should be targeted at those judicial review cases where they are needed most if the legal aid system is to command public confidence and credibility.</p><p> </p><p>We are carefully considering the recent judgment in the case of <em>R (Ben Hoare Bell and Others)</em> <em>v Lord Chancellor</em> and our next steps.</p><p> </p><p>As of 11 February 2015, the Ministry of Justice had incurred total legal fees (including fees paid to the litigation team in the Treasury Solicitor’s Department and to Counsel) of £47,555.43 (including VAT) in this case.</p> answering member constituency North West Cambridgeshire answering member printed Mr Shailesh Vara question first answered 16/03/2015 15:49:48 answering member 1496 label Biography information for Shailesh Vara
	tabling member	1516 label Biography information for Andy Slaughter

179037

	registered interest
	date	10/02/2015
	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, whether he plans to impose a residence test for legal aid.
	tabling member constituency	Hammersmith
	tabling member printed	Mr Andy Slaughter
	uin	224002
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/02/2015 answer text <p /> <p>Legal aid is a fundamental part of our justice system, but resources are not limitless.</p><p> </p><p>The Government believe that individuals should have a strong connection to the UK in order to benefit from the civil legal aid scheme. We believe the residence test we proposed is a fair and proportionate way to demonstrate that connection.</p><p> </p><p>The proposed residence test was challenged by way of judicial review brought by the Public Law Project. We are disappointed with the High Court judgement and have been granted permission to appeal. The appeal has been listed for 16 and 17 June 2015 in the Court of Appeal.</p> answering member constituency North West Cambridgeshire answering member printed Mr Shailesh Vara question first answered 23/02/2015 16:16:08 answering member 1496 label Biography information for Shailesh Vara
	tabling member	1516 label Biography information for Andy Slaughter

177567

	registered interest
	date	03/02/2015
	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, if he will passport all (a) children and (b) young people aged from 18 to 24 through the Exceptional Case Funding scheme.
	tabling member constituency	Hammersmith
	tabling member printed	Mr Andy Slaughter
	uin	223067
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/02/2015 answer text <p /> <p>Parliament agreed an exceptional case funding scheme to provide an avenue for providing legal aid to those cases that would normally be out of scope, in order to ensure we meet our obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights and European Union law.</p><p> </p><p>The civil legal aid exceptional funding scheme does not provide a general power to fund cases or individuals that fall outside the scope of legal aid – that is not its purpose. We therefore have no current plans to passport all children and/or young people aged from 18 to 24 through the scheme.</p> answering member constituency North West Cambridgeshire answering member printed Mr Shailesh Vara question first answered 10/02/2015 12:56:51 answering member 1496 label Biography information for Shailesh Vara
	tabling member	1516 label Biography information for Andy Slaughter

177566

	registered interest
	date	03/02/2015
	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 criteria are applied to children and young people applying to the Exceptional Case Funding scheme.
	tabling member constituency	Hammersmith
	tabling member printed	Mr Andy Slaughter
	uin	223066
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/02/2015 answer text <p /> <p>The Government is acutely aware of the importance of ensuring that vulnerable people such as children and young people have access to justice.</p><p> </p><p>The Lord Chancellor’s Guidance on Exceptional Funding sets out some of the points that caseworkers at the Legal Aid Agency should take into account when deciding any application for civil legal aid exceptional funding, including those from children and young people. These factors include the importance of the issues at stake, the complexity of the procedures and the capability of the applicant to present their case effectively. The age of the child or young person applicant is one factor which caseworkers will always consider and the Guidance sets out specific questions which may be relevant in the case of a child applicant.</p> answering member constituency North West Cambridgeshire answering member printed Mr Shailesh Vara question first answered 10/02/2015 12:52:58 answering member 1496 label Biography information for Shailesh Vara
	tabling member	1516 label Biography information for Andy Slaughter

178201

	registered interest
	date	05/02/2015
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Legal Aid Scheme: Children
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department is conducting a review of children's access to legal aid.
	tabling member constituency	Hammersmith
	tabling member printed	Mr Andy Slaughter
	uin	223668
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/02/2015 answer text <p /> <p>The MoJ is not currently conducting a specific review of children’s access to legal aid.</p><p>As the Minister of State for Justice and Civil Liberties set out on 5 February, in his answer to the honourable member’s previous question on this matter, the Government continues at all times to review the operation of the legal aid system. Ministers have considered, and will continue to consider, all representations and evidence about the impact of LASPO on young people.</p><p>The Government plans to undertake a post-implementation review of the legal aid provisions within the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 within 3-5 years of implementation.</p> answering member constituency North West Cambridgeshire answering member printed Mr Shailesh Vara question first answered 10/02/2015 14:14:06 answering member 1496 label Biography information for Shailesh Vara
	tabling member	1516 label Biography information for Andy Slaughter

391880

	registered interest
	date	21/07/2015
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Courts: Buildings
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Written Statement of 16 July 2015 on HM Courts and Tribunals Service, HLWS108, what estimate he has made of job losses arising as a result of his proposals to reduce the cost of the court estate.
	tabling member constituency	Hammersmith
	tabling member printed	Andy Slaughter
	uin	8373
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/09/2015 answer text <p /> <p>The consultation paper on the provision of court and tribunal estate in England and Wales will run for 12 weeks from 16 July 2015 until 8 October 2015.</p><p> </p><p>Any impact on staff arising as a result of these proposals are subject to the outcome of the consultation. No decisions will be made until every response has been considered carefully.</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://consult.justice.gov.uk/digital-communications/proposal-on-the-provision-of-court-and-tribunal-es" target="_blank">https://consult.justice.gov.uk/digital-communications/proposal-on-the-provision-of-court-and-tribunal-es</a></p> answering member constituency North West Cambridgeshire answering member printed Mr Shailesh Vara question first answered 07/09/2015 13:57:49 answering member 1496 label Biography information for Shailesh Vara
	tabling member	1516 label Biography information for Andy Slaughter

391885

	registered interest
	date	21/07/2015
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Courts: Buildings
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Written Statement of 16 July 2015 on HM Courts and Tribunals Service, what criteria will be used to determine which civic and other public buildings can be used for hearings.
	tabling member constituency	Hammersmith
	tabling member printed	Andy Slaughter
	uin	8369
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/09/2015 answer text <p /> <p>The consultation paper on the provision of court and tribunal estate in England and Wales will run for 12 weeks from 16 July 2015 until 8 October 2015.</p><p> </p><p>Costs for any future improvements which might be written off and any savings as a result of reducing the estate that might be re-invested are all subject to the outcome of the consultation. The consultation also asks for views on what types of alternative provision might be appropriate if any sites are closed, including whether civic and other public buildings could be used for hearings. No decisions will be made until every response has been considered carefully.</p><p> </p><p>Information on travel times is included in each regional consultation paper.</p><p><a href="https://consult.justice.gov.uk/digital-communications/proposal-on-the-provision-of-court-and-tribunal-es" target="_blank">https://consult.justice.gov.uk/digital-communications/proposal-on-the-provision-of-court-and-tribunal-es</a>. It will still be the case that over 95% of citizens will be able to reach their required court within an hour by car and the proportion able to reach a tribunal within an hour by car will remain unchanged at 83%.</p> answering member constituency North West Cambridgeshire answering member printed Mr Shailesh Vara grouped question UIN 8370 8371 8372 question first answered 07/09/2015 16:08:01 answering member 1496 label Biography information for Shailesh Vara
	tabling member	1516 label Biography information for Andy Slaughter

389901

	registered interest
	date	14/07/2015
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Unpaid Fines
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the value is of outstanding fines that were written off in each of the last five years; and how many outstanding fines were written off in each such year.
	tabling member constituency	Hammersmith
	tabling member printed	Andy Slaughter
	uin	7006
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/07/2015 answer text <p /> <p>This Government takes recovery and enforcement of financial impositions very seriously and remains committed to finding new ways to ensure impositions are paid and to trace those who do not pay. This is why there has been a year on year increase in the total amount of financial penalties collected over the last four years. The amount of money collected at the end of 2013/14 was £290 million. The amount of money collected reached a record high of £310 million at the end of 2014/15 an increase of £20m (7%) in cash collection of financial impositions (excluding confiscation) compared to that collected in 2013/14.</p><p> </p><p>The table below shows the total value of financial impositions cancelled in England and Wales in each of the last five years.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Year</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Total Value Legally Cancelled regardless of Imposition date</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Total Value Administratively Cancelled regardless of Imposition date</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010/2011</p></td><td><p>£62,263,874</p><p> </p></td><td><p>£50,713,367</p><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011/2012</p></td><td><p>£63,957,203</p><p> </p></td><td><p>£63,135,442</p><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012/2013</p></td><td><p>£62,594,601</p><p> </p></td><td><p>£75,868,426</p><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013/2014</p></td><td><p>£64,312,383</p><p> </p></td><td><p>£96,801,853</p><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014/2015</p></td><td><p>£61,173,156</p></td><td><p>£68,851,118</p><p> </p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>The total amounts cancelled can relate to impositions made in the year stated or any previous year. These figures include fines, compensation orders, victim surcharge orders and prosecution costs orders</p><p> </p><p>Financial impositions are only administratively cancelled after all attempts to collect the amount outstanding have been made, and in accordance with strict cancellation criteria. These impositions can be written back on to the system if more information is found – for instance, a new address for the offender.</p><p> </p><p>Legal cancellations can be applied after the case has been reconsidered by a Judge or Magistrate. Typically, legal cancellations are used where a case has been re-opened and the defendant has been found not guilty, following the presentation of additional information. Legal cancellations can be full or partial remittances of financial impositions.</p><p> </p><p>We do not have information on the number of accounts cancelled; we cannot separate the total number of accounts closed in the period to distinguish between the number that were closed due to payment and those closed due to administrative or legal cancellation.</p> answering member constituency North West Cambridgeshire answering member printed Mr Shailesh Vara question first answered 21/07/2015 14:38:59 answering member 1496 label Biography information for Shailesh Vara
	tabling member	1516 label Biography information for Andy Slaughter