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1692381

registered interest
date	28/02/2024
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Offences against Children: Civil Proceedings
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of (a) removing the limitation period for civil claims relating to childhood sexual abuse and (b) bringing forward legislative proposals to align the law in England and Wales with that in Scotland following the introduction of the Limitation (Child Abuse)(Scotland) Act 2017.
tabling member constituency	Dartford
tabling member printed	Gareth Johnson
uin	16085
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/03/2024 answer text <p>The government recognises that it might take years, and in many cases decades, for victims and survivors of child sexual abuse to come forward and feel ready to disclose their trauma. We will shortly consult on strengthening existing judicial guidance, and set out options to reform limitation law in child sexual abuse cases in England and Wales.</p> answering member constituency Newbury answering member printed Laura Farris question first answered 07/03/2024 14:19:01 answering member 4826 label Biography information for Laura Farris
tabling member	3970 label Biography information for Gareth Johnson

1692398

registered interest
date	28/02/2024
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Ministry of Justice: Magazine Press
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much funding his Department (a) allocated for (b) spent on magazine subscriptions in each of the last three financial years.
tabling member constituency	Llanelli
tabling member printed	Dame Nia Griffith
uin	16087
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/03/2024 answer text <p>The Department is unable to answer within the disproportionate cost threshold as the Ministry of Justice does not hold central financial records in relation to magazine subscriptions.</p> answering member constituency Finchley and Golders Green answering member printed Mike Freer question first answered 04/03/2024 13:03:57 answering member 4004 label Biography information for Mike Freer
tabling member	1541 label Biography information for Dame Nia Griffith

1692443

registered interest
date	28/02/2024
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Probate
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average time taken is from submission of application to granting of probate in the last 12 months.
tabling member constituency	Gower
tabling member printed	Tonia Antoniazzi
uin	16212
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/03/2024 answer text <p>HMCTS is focused on increasing outputs to reduce overall timeliness on all types of applications, and the average mean length of time taken for a grant of probate, from submission, is 12.6 weeks in the last 12 months (October 2022 to September 2023) and following receipt of the documents required, is 10.8 weeks. The probate service received record levels of applications during 2022 and this has continued to grow, with higher levels of receipts during January to September 2023 compared to the same period in 2022.</p><p> </p><p>HMCTS has increased staffing levels, streamlined internal processes and continued to invest in further improving the digital service.</p><p> </p><p>As a result, the number of grants issued for recent months has been at record levels, with around 16,000 more grants issued than applications received during the last four months (September to December 2023), using more recent management information published by HMCTS (which does not go through the same level of quality assurance and analysis as the Family Court Statistics Quarterly).</p><p>Average waiting times for probate grants are routinely published on GOV.UK via Family Court Statistics Quarterly, and currently cover the period up to September 2023: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/family-court-statistics-quarterly" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/family-court-statistics-quarterly</a>.</p> answering member constituency Finchley and Golders Green answering member printed Mike Freer grouped question UIN 16213 question first answered 07/03/2024 14:20:58 answering member 4004 label Biography information for Mike Freer
tabling member	4623 label Biography information for Tonia Antoniazzi

1692444

registered interest
date	28/02/2024
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Probate
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 reduce waiting times for the granting of probate.
tabling member constituency	Gower
tabling member printed	Tonia Antoniazzi
uin	16213
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/03/2024 answer text <p>HMCTS is focused on increasing outputs to reduce overall timeliness on all types of applications, and the average mean length of time taken for a grant of probate, from submission, is 12.6 weeks in the last 12 months (October 2022 to September 2023) and following receipt of the documents required, is 10.8 weeks. The probate service received record levels of applications during 2022 and this has continued to grow, with higher levels of receipts during January to September 2023 compared to the same period in 2022.</p><p> </p><p>HMCTS has increased staffing levels, streamlined internal processes and continued to invest in further improving the digital service.</p><p> </p><p>As a result, the number of grants issued for recent months has been at record levels, with around 16,000 more grants issued than applications received during the last four months (September to December 2023), using more recent management information published by HMCTS (which does not go through the same level of quality assurance and analysis as the Family Court Statistics Quarterly).</p><p>Average waiting times for probate grants are routinely published on GOV.UK via Family Court Statistics Quarterly, and currently cover the period up to September 2023: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/family-court-statistics-quarterly" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/family-court-statistics-quarterly</a>.</p> answering member constituency Finchley and Golders Green answering member printed Mike Freer grouped question UIN 16212 question first answered 07/03/2024 14:20:58 answering member 4004 label Biography information for Mike Freer
tabling member	4623 label Biography information for Tonia Antoniazzi

1692446

registered interest
date	28/02/2024
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	HM Courts and Tribunals Service: Complaints
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the (a) average and (b) target response time is from submitting an online complaint to HM Courts and Tribunal Service.
tabling member constituency	Gower
tabling member printed	Tonia Antoniazzi
uin	16215
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/03/2024 answer text <p>In the period July 2023 – December 2023 the average response time for complaints submitted online was 20.3 working days.</p><p>HM Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) acknowledges the complaint on receipt and our aim is to respond within 10 working days.</p><p>All parts of the organisation have processes in place to flag and monitor the progress of complaint responses, but timeliness can sometimes be impacted by the level of enquiry or investigation required to enable substantive response, or by the need for administrative teams to focus temporarily on higher service delivery priorities e.g. order production.</p><p>Where staff capacity or capability is identified as a primary cause of delay, steps will always be taken to address, whether targeted training or recruitment to bring staffing up to funded headcount.</p><p>HMCTS has established a dedicated project to focus on the causes of dissatisfaction/complaints, to identify root cause and improve user experience and therefore reduce the number of, and time taken to respond to complaints.</p> answering member constituency Finchley and Golders Green answering member printed Mike Freer question first answered 07/03/2024 14:22:37 answering member 4004 label Biography information for Mike Freer
tabling member	4623 label Biography information for Tonia Antoniazzi

1692511

registered interest
date	28/02/2024
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Domestic Abuse: Prisoners' Release
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the statutory eligibility criteria in section 4.3.1 of his Department's publication on the home detention curfew (HDC), published on 6 June 2023, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of extending the list of people excluded from eligibility for release under the HDC scheme to include individuals convicted of a domestic abuse offence.
tabling member constituency	Brentford and Isleworth
tabling member printed	Ruth Cadbury
uin	16165
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/03/2024 answer text <p>In June 2023, we introduced further restrictions on which offenders can be released on HDC by adding offences linked to domestic abuse to our presumed unsuitable list. Being presumed unsuitable means an application for HDC will not even be considered unless there are exceptional circumstances for the individual offender. We added offences linked to domestic abuse – including harassment and stalking.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 04/03/2024 13:21:01 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
tabling member	4389 label Biography information for Ruth Cadbury

1692515

registered interest
date	28/02/2024
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Domestic Abuse: Prisoners' Release
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether there is a requirement for the victims of domestic abuse to be informed when the perpetrator of their abuse is released early under the home detention curfew scheme.
tabling member constituency	Brentford and Isleworth
tabling member printed	Ruth Cadbury
uin	16167
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/03/2024 answer text <p>Offenders currently serving a sentence for a domestic abuse offence are extremely unlikely to be released on home detention curfew (HDC). Since June 2023, offenders serving current sentences for specified domestic abuse offences are presumed unsuitable for HDC. This means they will only be considered for release under the scheme where there are highly specific and exceptional circumstances.</p><p>More broadly, victims of specified sexual and violent offences, where the prison sentence is 12 months or more, have a statutory entitlement to the Probation Victim Contact Scheme (VCS). Victims will be updated with key stages in the sentence, including when an offender due to be released on HDC, and have the statutory right to request licence conditions on release, such as a no contact condition and an exclusion zone.</p><p>Also, we have recently introduced a victim notification scheme (VNS) for victims of stalking and harassment where the offences are non-qualifying for the VCS. Victims will be informed of the offender’s release which is more likely to be at their normal automatic release date given the presumption against release on HDC, and will be offered the chance to request licence conditions. The VNS was piloted in a few probation regions but is now being rolled out nationally with the expectation that it will be live in all areas in England and Wales by the spring.</p> answering member constituency Newbury answering member printed Laura Farris question first answered 07/03/2024 07:49:24 answering member 4826 label Biography information for Laura Farris
tabling member	4389 label Biography information for Ruth Cadbury

1692526

registered interest
date	28/02/2024
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Powers of Attorney
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average turnaround time is for access codes to be checked when dealing with enquiries where a claimant is subject to Power of Attorney.
tabling member constituency	Ellesmere Port and Neston
tabling member printed	Justin Madders
uin	16168
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/03/2024 answer text <p>When a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) application is registered and dispatched, the donor and attorneys also receive information containing an activation key. This activation key enables the donor and attorneys to create a gov.uk account for the ‘Use my LPA’ service. Using the service, donors and attorneys can create an access code and share it with third parties (e.g. banks, hospitals, other government departments). Third parties can then use the access code to view the LPA online and check if the LPA is valid or not.</p><p>The access code is valid for 30 days, after which point the donor or attorneys can request a new access code if the third party has not viewed the LPA during that period. The donor and/or attorneys can see online if the third party has viewed the LPA.</p><p>The ‘Use my LPA’ service which donors or attorneys use to create access codes is a live digital service. Third parties then using the code to view LPAs is also a live digital service. There are therefore no average turnaround times for needing to check access codes.</p> answering member constituency Finchley and Golders Green answering member printed Mike Freer question first answered 04/03/2024 13:03:42 answering member 4004 label Biography information for Mike Freer
tabling member	4418 label Biography information for Justin Madders

1692528

registered interest
date	28/02/2024
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Immigration: Appeals
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment has been made of the average waiting time for a First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum); and whether he plans to take steps to reduce this wait.
tabling member constituency	Ellesmere Port and Neston
tabling member printed	Justin Madders
uin	16170
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/03/2024 answer text <p>Information about waiting times for appeals in the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) (IAC) is routinely published at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics" target="_blank">Tribunals statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a> and <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmcts-management-information#2023" target="_blank">HMCTS management information - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a>.</p><p> </p><p>The latest period for which data is available is July to September 2023 (Tribunal Statistics) and December 2023 (HMCTS Management Information). Data for the period October to December 2023 (Tribunal Statistics) will be published on 14 March 2024.</p><p> </p><p>HMCTS continues to invest in improving tribunal productivity through the recruitment of additional Judges, deployment of Legal Officers to actively manage cases, the development of modern case management systems and the use of remote hearing technology.</p><p> </p><p>We continue to monitor and review the demand on the First-tier Tribunal (IAC) and will work with the judiciary and HMCTS on any further actions that may be needed.</p> answering member constituency Finchley and Golders Green answering member printed Mike Freer question first answered 07/03/2024 12:57:50 answering member 4004 label Biography information for Mike Freer
tabling member	4418 label Biography information for Justin Madders

1692537

registered interest
date	28/02/2024
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, how many people were sentenced to prison for non-payment of a TV licence in the last five years.
tabling member constituency	South Holland and The Deepings
tabling member printed	Sir John Hayes
uin	16081
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/03/2024 answer text <p>A person cannot receive a custodial sentence for TV licence evasion, but may be committed to prison for wilfully refusing to pay the fine or culpably neglecting to pay. Imprisonment is only pursued as a matter of last resort.</p><p><br>The number of people admitted to prison for failing to pay fines in respect of the non-payment of a TV licence in England and Wales in 2019 and 2022 was two or fewer (the actual number has not been released in order to protect against personal identification). In 2020 and 2021, there were no admissions into prison associated with failing to pay a fine in respect of the non-payment of a TV licence in England and Wales. The data for 2023 is not yet available.</p> answering member constituency Orpington answering member printed Gareth Bacon question first answered 07/03/2024 12:57:00 answering member 4798 label Biography information for Gareth Bacon
tabling member	350 label Biography information for Sir John Hayes