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1440651

registered interest
date	14/03/2022
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Probate
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of delays in granting probate on the wills of deceased persons in (1) England, and (2) Wales, due to the COVID-19 pandemic; and what steps they are taking to clear the backlog of cases caused by such delays.
tabling member printed	Lord Wigley
uin	HL6960
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/03/2022 answer text <p>The administration of probate applications is dealt with as a national service, covering England and Wales.</p><p>Average waiting times for probate grants, from July 2019 to September 2021, are published on gov.uk via Family Court Statistics Quarterly (Table 25):</p><p><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><p>Information for the period up to December 2021 will be published on 31 March.</p><p>More recent management information published by HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS), which does not go through the same level of quality assurance and analysis as the Family Court Statistics Quarterly, provides waiting time information up to December 2021: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/hmcts-management-information-december-2021" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/hmcts-management-information-december-2021</a>.</p><p>Despite the unprecedented challenges faced by the probate service during the Covid 19 pandemic, and as a result of HMCTS increasing resources to meet demand, the average length of time taken for a grant of probate following receipt of the documents required is between five and seven weeks.</p><p>The improvement of the online probate system remains a priority for HMCTS, to ensure more applications can be issued first time and resources can be focused on reducing waiting times. HMCTS continues to collaborate with its users to enhance the service and the latest information on this can be found at: <a href="https://insidehmcts.blog.gov.uk/2022/02/28/working-together-to-avoid-delays-to-probate-applications/" target="_blank">https://insidehmcts.blog.gov.uk/2022/02/28/working-together-to-avoid-delays-to-probate-applications/</a> .</p> answering member printed Lord Wolfson of Tredegar question first answered 28/03/2022 16:18:16 answering member 4901 label Biography information for Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
tabling member	547 label Biography information for Lord Wigley

1440874

registered interest
date	14/03/2022
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Jeremy Bamber
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on what (a) public interest grounds and (b) risk assessment evidence Jeremy Bamber has remained a category A prisoner for 36 years.
tabling member constituency	Haltemprice and Howden
tabling member printed	Mr David Davis
uin	139274
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/03/2022 answer text <p>HMPPS has an obligation to protect the public by preventing escape of the most dangerous offenders. All category A prisoners must be held within a high security prison.</p><p>Offenders are required to undertake work to address their risk reduction; only when this work has been sufficiently completed, and the risk of harm to the public is significantly reduced, can a prisoner have his security category reduced.</p><p>All category A prisoners are subject to regular reviews of their status.</p><p>Mr Bamber was convicted of five counts of Murder and sentenced at Chelmsford Crown Court on the 28 June 1986 with a whole life tariff imposed.</p> answering member constituency South Suffolk answering member printed James Cartlidge grouped question UIN 139275 139277 question first answered 18/03/2022 14:09:33 answering member 4519 label Biography information for James Cartlidge
tabling member	373 label Biography information for Sir David Davis

1440877

registered interest
date	14/03/2022
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Jeremy Bamber
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on what (a) public interest grounds and (b) risk assessment evidence Jeremy Bamber has been denied transfer to a lower category prison status.
tabling member constituency	Haltemprice and Howden
tabling member printed	Mr David Davis
uin	139275
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/03/2022 answer text <p>HMPPS has an obligation to protect the public by preventing escape of the most dangerous offenders. All category A prisoners must be held within a high security prison.</p><p>Offenders are required to undertake work to address their risk reduction; only when this work has been sufficiently completed, and the risk of harm to the public is significantly reduced, can a prisoner have his security category reduced.</p><p>All category A prisoners are subject to regular reviews of their status.</p><p>Mr Bamber was convicted of five counts of Murder and sentenced at Chelmsford Crown Court on the 28 June 1986 with a whole life tariff imposed.</p> answering member constituency South Suffolk answering member printed James Cartlidge grouped question UIN 139274 139277 question first answered 18/03/2022 14:09:33 answering member 4519 label Biography information for James Cartlidge
tabling member	373 label Biography information for Sir David Davis

1440878

registered interest
date	14/03/2022
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Jeremy Bamber
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on what (a) public interest grounds and (b) risk assessment evidence Jeremy Bamber was given a whole life tariff.
tabling member constituency	Haltemprice and Howden
tabling member printed	Mr David Davis
uin	139276
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/03/2022 answer text <p>Jeremy Bamber was given a whole life order in 1986 for the murder of five members of his family. Prior to the introduction of legislative guidelines in 2003, the minimum period to be served in custody by those given a mandatory life sentence for murder was set by the Home Secretary. This included whether a whole life order should be imposed.</p><p> </p><p>The Home Secretary’s decision to impose a whole life order on Jeremy Bamber would have reflected the exceptionally high seriousness of his offending and would have taken into account all the relevant circumstances of the case.</p> answering member constituency South Suffolk answering member printed James Cartlidge question first answered 18/03/2022 11:20:07 answering member 4519 label Biography information for James Cartlidge
tabling member	373 label Biography information for Sir David Davis

1440879

registered interest
date	14/03/2022
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Jeremy Bamber
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on what (a) public interest grounds and (b) risk assessment evidence Jeremy Bamber remains in prison, in the context of his sentence in 1986 to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 25 years.
tabling member constituency	Haltemprice and Howden
tabling member printed	Mr David Davis
uin	139277
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/03/2022 answer text <p>HMPPS has an obligation to protect the public by preventing escape of the most dangerous offenders. All category A prisoners must be held within a high security prison.</p><p>Offenders are required to undertake work to address their risk reduction; only when this work has been sufficiently completed, and the risk of harm to the public is significantly reduced, can a prisoner have his security category reduced.</p><p>All category A prisoners are subject to regular reviews of their status.</p><p>Mr Bamber was convicted of five counts of Murder and sentenced at Chelmsford Crown Court on the 28 June 1986 with a whole life tariff imposed.</p> answering member constituency South Suffolk answering member printed James Cartlidge grouped question UIN 139274 139275 question first answered 18/03/2022 14:09:33 answering member 4519 label Biography information for James Cartlidge
tabling member	373 label Biography information for Sir David Davis

1440885

registered interest
date	14/03/2022
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prison and Probation Service: Staff
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent equality analysis his Department has made of the HMPPS staff fitness test.
tabling member constituency	Ellesmere Port and Neston
tabling member printed	Justin Madders
uin	139389
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/03/2022 answer text <p>There are many factors which determine a person’s ability to pass a fitness test which are often not determined by age, sex or gender alone. Prison officers need to be capable of performing specific tasks to a certain standard to ensure their safety and the safety of everyone else, including prisoners and work colleagues. No adjustment to the fitness test is made based on age, sex or gender because they are not the determining factor on passing the test and fitness levels between employees of either sex or gender at all ages can vary. Adjustments are considered and may be offered on the advice of an occupational health practitioner.</p><p> </p><p>From the restart of fitness testing on 26/07/2021 to 28/02/2022 there have been a total of 502 test fails:</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>1st test fails</p></td><td><p>2nd test fails</p></td><td><p>3rd test fails</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Male</p></td><td><p>202</p></td><td><p>10</p></td><td><p>0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Female</p></td><td><p>265</p></td><td><p>25</p></td><td><p>0</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>From the restart of fitness testing on 26/07/2021 to 28/02/2022 there have been a total of 14,488 fitness tests undertaken:</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>Number of tests</p></td><td><p>%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Male</p></td><td><p>11,170</p></td><td><p>77</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Female</p></td><td><p>3,318</p></td><td><p>23</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Staff who do not meet the annual fitness test standard will be provided with advice and support by a fitness assessor on achieving and maintaining the required fitness level to pass their fitness test. The new HMPPS policy allows employees suffering from any specific side effects related to the menopause an opportunity to postpone the test for a limited period whilst the side effects subside. The deferred test would need to be completed within a 3-6-month period of the originally scheduled test and the employee would be expected to take the test at the next opportunity. If they are still unable to take the test due to significant medical symptoms, a referral to Occupational Health (OH) should be made to advise on adjustments if appropriate and a GP referral may be required. HMPPS is commissioning further specialist medical advice to ensure the Equality Assessment for Fitness Testing remains valid, and to consider what further support can be offered to menopausal staff in general and specifically in relation to the fitness test.</p> answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove grouped question UIN 139390 139391 139392 question first answered 17/03/2022 15:29:15 answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove
tabling member	4418 label Biography information for Justin Madders

1440886

registered interest
date	14/03/2022
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prison Officers
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of prison staff who failed the prison staff fitness test on the (a) first, (b) second and (c) third attempt during the most recent period for which figures are available were (i) male and (ii) female.
tabling member constituency	Ellesmere Port and Neston
tabling member printed	Justin Madders
uin	139390
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/03/2022 answer text <p>There are many factors which determine a person’s ability to pass a fitness test which are often not determined by age, sex or gender alone. Prison officers need to be capable of performing specific tasks to a certain standard to ensure their safety and the safety of everyone else, including prisoners and work colleagues. No adjustment to the fitness test is made based on age, sex or gender because they are not the determining factor on passing the test and fitness levels between employees of either sex or gender at all ages can vary. Adjustments are considered and may be offered on the advice of an occupational health practitioner.</p><p> </p><p>From the restart of fitness testing on 26/07/2021 to 28/02/2022 there have been a total of 502 test fails:</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>1st test fails</p></td><td><p>2nd test fails</p></td><td><p>3rd test fails</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Male</p></td><td><p>202</p></td><td><p>10</p></td><td><p>0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Female</p></td><td><p>265</p></td><td><p>25</p></td><td><p>0</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>From the restart of fitness testing on 26/07/2021 to 28/02/2022 there have been a total of 14,488 fitness tests undertaken:</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>Number of tests</p></td><td><p>%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Male</p></td><td><p>11,170</p></td><td><p>77</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Female</p></td><td><p>3,318</p></td><td><p>23</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Staff who do not meet the annual fitness test standard will be provided with advice and support by a fitness assessor on achieving and maintaining the required fitness level to pass their fitness test. The new HMPPS policy allows employees suffering from any specific side effects related to the menopause an opportunity to postpone the test for a limited period whilst the side effects subside. The deferred test would need to be completed within a 3-6-month period of the originally scheduled test and the employee would be expected to take the test at the next opportunity. If they are still unable to take the test due to significant medical symptoms, a referral to Occupational Health (OH) should be made to advise on adjustments if appropriate and a GP referral may be required. HMPPS is commissioning further specialist medical advice to ensure the Equality Assessment for Fitness Testing remains valid, and to consider what further support can be offered to menopausal staff in general and specifically in relation to the fitness test.</p> answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove grouped question UIN 139389 139391 139392 question first answered 17/03/2022 15:29:15 answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove
tabling member	4418 label Biography information for Justin Madders

1440887

registered interest
date	14/03/2022
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prison Officers
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of prison staff who took the fitness test during the most recent period for which figures are available were (a) male, and (b) female.
tabling member constituency	Ellesmere Port and Neston
tabling member printed	Justin Madders
uin	139391
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/03/2022 answer text <p>There are many factors which determine a person’s ability to pass a fitness test which are often not determined by age, sex or gender alone. Prison officers need to be capable of performing specific tasks to a certain standard to ensure their safety and the safety of everyone else, including prisoners and work colleagues. No adjustment to the fitness test is made based on age, sex or gender because they are not the determining factor on passing the test and fitness levels between employees of either sex or gender at all ages can vary. Adjustments are considered and may be offered on the advice of an occupational health practitioner.</p><p> </p><p>From the restart of fitness testing on 26/07/2021 to 28/02/2022 there have been a total of 502 test fails:</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>1st test fails</p></td><td><p>2nd test fails</p></td><td><p>3rd test fails</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Male</p></td><td><p>202</p></td><td><p>10</p></td><td><p>0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Female</p></td><td><p>265</p></td><td><p>25</p></td><td><p>0</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>From the restart of fitness testing on 26/07/2021 to 28/02/2022 there have been a total of 14,488 fitness tests undertaken:</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>Number of tests</p></td><td><p>%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Male</p></td><td><p>11,170</p></td><td><p>77</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Female</p></td><td><p>3,318</p></td><td><p>23</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Staff who do not meet the annual fitness test standard will be provided with advice and support by a fitness assessor on achieving and maintaining the required fitness level to pass their fitness test. The new HMPPS policy allows employees suffering from any specific side effects related to the menopause an opportunity to postpone the test for a limited period whilst the side effects subside. The deferred test would need to be completed within a 3-6-month period of the originally scheduled test and the employee would be expected to take the test at the next opportunity. If they are still unable to take the test due to significant medical symptoms, a referral to Occupational Health (OH) should be made to advise on adjustments if appropriate and a GP referral may be required. HMPPS is commissioning further specialist medical advice to ensure the Equality Assessment for Fitness Testing remains valid, and to consider what further support can be offered to menopausal staff in general and specifically in relation to the fitness test.</p> answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove grouped question UIN 139389 139390 139392 question first answered 17/03/2022 15:29:15 answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove
tabling member	4418 label Biography information for Justin Madders

1440888

registered interest
date	14/03/2022
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prison Officers
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment his Department has made of data on female prison employees failing the prison staff fitness test.
tabling member constituency	Ellesmere Port and Neston
tabling member printed	Justin Madders
uin	139392
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/03/2022 answer text <p>There are many factors which determine a person’s ability to pass a fitness test which are often not determined by age, sex or gender alone. Prison officers need to be capable of performing specific tasks to a certain standard to ensure their safety and the safety of everyone else, including prisoners and work colleagues. No adjustment to the fitness test is made based on age, sex or gender because they are not the determining factor on passing the test and fitness levels between employees of either sex or gender at all ages can vary. Adjustments are considered and may be offered on the advice of an occupational health practitioner.</p><p> </p><p>From the restart of fitness testing on 26/07/2021 to 28/02/2022 there have been a total of 502 test fails:</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>1st test fails</p></td><td><p>2nd test fails</p></td><td><p>3rd test fails</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Male</p></td><td><p>202</p></td><td><p>10</p></td><td><p>0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Female</p></td><td><p>265</p></td><td><p>25</p></td><td><p>0</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>From the restart of fitness testing on 26/07/2021 to 28/02/2022 there have been a total of 14,488 fitness tests undertaken:</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>Number of tests</p></td><td><p>%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Male</p></td><td><p>11,170</p></td><td><p>77</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Female</p></td><td><p>3,318</p></td><td><p>23</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Staff who do not meet the annual fitness test standard will be provided with advice and support by a fitness assessor on achieving and maintaining the required fitness level to pass their fitness test. The new HMPPS policy allows employees suffering from any specific side effects related to the menopause an opportunity to postpone the test for a limited period whilst the side effects subside. The deferred test would need to be completed within a 3-6-month period of the originally scheduled test and the employee would be expected to take the test at the next opportunity. If they are still unable to take the test due to significant medical symptoms, a referral to Occupational Health (OH) should be made to advise on adjustments if appropriate and a GP referral may be required. HMPPS is commissioning further specialist medical advice to ensure the Equality Assessment for Fitness Testing remains valid, and to consider what further support can be offered to menopausal staff in general and specifically in relation to the fitness test.</p> answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove grouped question UIN 139389 139390 139391 question first answered 17/03/2022 15:29:15 answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove
tabling member	4418 label Biography information for Justin Madders

1440889

registered interest
date	14/03/2022
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 data his Department holds on the delays experienced by people seeking to gain powers of attorney.
tabling member constituency	Croydon North
tabling member printed	Steve Reed
uin	139368
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/03/2022 answer text <p>OPG have had staff in the office throughout the COVID pandemic, but the registration of Powers of Attorney is a paper-based process and, as a consequence of the pandemic impacting on the number of staff who can be present in the office, it has taken longer for LPAs to be registered.</p><p> </p><p>OPG have allocated extra staff to process Powers of Attorney and have used overtime and an additional night shift in order to process LPAs as quickly as possible.</p><p> </p><p>OPG hope to see a reduction in processing times over the coming months.</p> answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove question first answered 17/03/2022 13:52:58 answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove
tabling member	4268 label Biography information for Steve Reed