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1653731

registered interest
date	17/07/2023
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Legal Profession: Artificial Intelligence
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to introduce regulations to help legal professionals, including those working in both in-house legal teams and law firms, adapt to the influence of generative artificial intelligence in the legal profession.
tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
uin	HL9418
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/07/2023 answer text <p>In March, the Office for Artificial Intelligence (OAI) published a white paper which set out a principles based, pro-innovation approach to regulating AI. This would be delivered through the UK’s established regulators operating in their existing remits and sectors. The OAI have been working with expert stakeholders to develop guidance for businesses on the types of skills and knowledge that non-technical employees need to use to interact with AI. The guidance, which will be published later this year, will enable employers to identify skills gaps and training needs within their business. This will then be developed into a detailed framework for training providers to design courses meeting such business needs.</p><p>Legal Services regulation is independent of Government and overseen by the Legal Services Board (LSB). The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is working closely with the OAI and LSB to support legal regulators to implement the proposed approach. The MoJ sees the adoption of technology in the delivery of legal services as vital to the continuing success of our world-renowned legal sector. We support the growth of the lawtech sector through the LawtechUK programme, in which we are investing £3 million from April 2023 – 2025.</p> answering member printed Lord Bellamy question first answered 26/07/2023 14:17:14 answering member 4941 label Biography information for Lord Bellamy
tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick

1609439

registered interest
date	30/03/2023
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Community Orders
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to increase the use of community sentencing.
tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
uin	HL7093
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/04/2023 answer text <p>Sentencing is a matter for the independent judiciary and it is right that they have a broad range of sentencing powers, including discharges, fines, community sentences, suspended sentences and custodial sentences, to deal effectively and appropriately with offenders based on the circumstances of the case.</p><p>To strengthen the option of community sentences for sentencers, this Government introduced reforms through the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts (PCSC) Act 2022 to make them tougher, better monitored, and more effective for punishing offenders, tackling the underlying drivers of offending, and providing support for those who want to turn their lives around.</p><p>This includes the option for tougher and more flexible use of electronically monitored curfews to better reflect the punishment intended, better support rehabilitation, and better protect victims. The Government is also piloting Problem-Solving Courts (PSC) for specific cohorts with underlying needs through robust supervision and interventions delivered by a multi-agency team with judicial oversight.</p><p>Beyond the Act, we are: increasing the use of community sentence treatment requirements which require offenders to engage with mental health, drug/alcohol treatment as part of their community sentence; investing up to £120m to get more offenders engaged in treatment; completing and evaluating the Pre-Sentence Report (PSR) Pilots to continue the development of higher quality and timely PSRs to support judicial decision making; implementing our refreshed Integrated Offender Management Strategy to align police and probation in rigorous supervision of specific offenders within the community; and exploring options to increase the availability of robust residential requirements for women.</p> answering member printed Lord Bellamy question first answered 12/04/2023 12:25:49 answering member 4941 label Biography information for Lord Bellamy
tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick

1602214

registered interest
date	07/03/2023
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Advisory Services: Finance
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to fund free (1) advice, and (2) law, centres; and how long any such funding will be available.
tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
uin	HL6226
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/03/2023 answer text <p>Since 2015, the Ministry of Justice has invested more than £25 million in support for litigants in person and funding a broad range of free legal support services.</p><p>This week, the Ministry of Justice announced a new £10.4m ‘Improving Outcomes Through Legal Support’ grant. This grant will run from July 2023 until March 2025 and will be administered by the Access to Justice Foundation on behalf of the Ministry of Justice. The grant will continue to help thousands of people get access to early legal support from organisations who provide legal advice.</p><p>More broadly, Legal Aid provides free or low-cost legal advice and representation to people who cannot afford to pay for a lawyer, subject to the relevant means and merits criteria. Legal aid is available for legal advice on criminal, family, housing, immigration and welfare law.</p> answering member printed Lord Bellamy question first answered 16/03/2023 12:06:37 answering member 4941 label Biography information for Lord Bellamy
tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick

1568869

registered interest
date	19/01/2023
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Reparation by Offenders
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government how many restorative justice services they plan to have set up by the end of 2023, broken down by the location of those services.
tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
uin	HL4926
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/02/2023 answer text <p>The Ministry of Justice is more than quadrupling funding for victim and witness support services by 2024/25, up from £41m in 2009/10.</p><p>This includes grant funding for Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) to commission local practical, emotional, and therapeutic support services for victims of all crime types. It is at the PCCs’ discretion to allocate this funding for local services, based on their assessment of local need, which could include Restorative Justice services.</p><p>We collect data and information from PCCs on funding activities and impact on a bi-annual basis, throughout the financial year; we therefore do not yet have any data for 2023.</p> answering member printed Lord Bellamy question first answered 02/02/2023 11:55:32 answering member 4941 label Biography information for Lord Bellamy
tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick

1566220

registered interest
date	11/01/2023
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Courts: Remote Hearings
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to increase the use of online court sittings.
tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
uin	HL4689
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/01/2023 answer text <p>Whether a hearing is held remotely or not is a judicial decision. HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) supports the judiciary to conduct hearings in their preferred method, be that wholly remote, wholly in person or a combination of remote and physically present participants, enabling justice that is unrestricted by physical location. However, it is ultimately a judicial decision. We are facilitating this through continuing investment in audio and video technology to ensure our courtrooms and tribunal buildings are digitally enabled.</p><p>Remote hearings provide additional capacity to ensure cases can be heard quickly, while freeing up space for cases that must be heard in person. Having increased in use during the pandemic, remote hearings are continuing to be used to support court and tribunal recovery.</p> answering member printed Lord Bellamy question first answered 19/01/2023 13:04:47 answering member 4941 label Biography information for Lord Bellamy
tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick

1549731

registered interest
date	07/12/2022
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Offenders: Rehabilitation
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support greater use of early interventions for those in the criminal justice system to prevent recidivism.
tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
uin	HL4127
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/12/2022 answer text <p>The Beating Crime Plan 2021 highlighted the importance of early intervention for all young people; targeted support for those at risk of involvement in criminality; and targeted interventions for those who have started to offend.  Intervening earlier is more effective, and cheaper.</p><p>It is better for children that they do not enter the justice system at all, and that is why my department works with partners across government to support the design, delivery and evaluation of programmes which provide help earlier on. For example, the Supporting Families programme shows a return on investment of £2.28 for every £1 spent, and an 18% reduction in juvenile convictions and 38% reduction in juvenile prison sentences.</p><p>To further build up the evidence base, and support innovative projects targeted at children on the cusp of the justice system, we are also providing £5m for 200 voluntary and community projects. These will engage children at risk of involvement in crime through mentoring and sport activities, with the aim of reducing crime in local communities.</p> answering member printed Lord Bellamy question first answered 21/12/2022 13:03:05 answering member 4941 label Biography information for Lord Bellamy
tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick

1483342

registered interest
date	27/06/2022
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Barristers: Strikes
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure barrister strikes do not delay the administration of justice.
tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
uin	HL1294
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/07/2022 answer text <p>It remains our priority to ensure that justice is served, and we will continue to encourage the Criminal Bar Association to work with us – the decrease in the Crown Court backlog shows what is possible when we work together.</p><p>It is disappointing that the Criminal Bar Association are progressing this type of action, considering less than 50% of CBA members voted in support of the option likely to cause the most disruption.</p><p>On 30 June, Minister Cartlidge announced our commitment to laying a statutory instrument necessary to effect the fee increases by 21 July, alongside an interim government response to the consultation on the Independent Review.</p><p>We are acting to mitigate the impact of the CBA strikes on a daily basis. This includes Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service working closely with the judiciary to ensure that cases are listed in a way which minimises disruption.</p><p>We continue to support the independent judiciary in their efforts to minimise disruption felt as a result of CBA action. Ministers continue to engage regularly with the Senior Presiding Judge to understand the impact in the courts.</p><p>The Public Defender Service is providing advocacy support, where possible, to cases that have been impacted by the CBA action. The Legal Aid Agency has also established a Crown Court Representation Helpline to make the process of identifying higher court advocates easier for providers who may be impacted by barristers declining to accept returns.</p> answering member printed Baroness Scott of Bybrook question first answered 05/07/2022 12:58:17 answering member 4553 label Biography information for Baroness Scott of Bybrook
tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick

1465628

registered interest
date	24/05/2022
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Legal Aid Scheme: Fees and Charges
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce an immediate 25 per cent increase in legal aid fees.
tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
uin	HL510
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/06/2022 answer text <p>The Government is consulting on a package of proposals which includes a 15% uplift on fees across most legal aid fee schemes. This, alongside the longer-term reforms we propose, will increase spend by up to £135m a year - taking expected criminal legal aid spend to £1.2 billion per year.</p> answering member printed Baroness Scott of Bybrook question first answered 07/06/2022 14:52:39 answering member 4553 label Biography information for Baroness Scott of Bybrook
tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick

1464827

registered interest
date	23/05/2022
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	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to prevent people from taking advantage of vulnerable people by obtaining Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs).
tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
uin	HL457
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/06/2022 answer text <p>Lasting powers of attorney (LPA) offer vital protections where someone lacks the mental capacity to make their own decisions. My department recently consulted on how to increase safeguards for vulnerable people during their creation and this is set out in the Government response which was published on 19 May 2022. Copies are available in the House Library.</p><p>Proposals include the introduction of identification checks to deter fraud and improvements to the witnessing and objection processes to protect donors against abuse and undue pressure.</p> answering member printed Baroness Scott of Bybrook question first answered 07/06/2022 14:52:22 answering member 4553 label Biography information for Baroness Scott of Bybrook
tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick

1416181

registered interest
date	24/01/2022
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Solicitors: Assessments
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to close the attainment gap between white students and ethnic minority students who pass the Solicitors Qualifying Exam.
tabling member printed	Lord Taylor of Warwick
uin	HL5651
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/02/2022 answer text <p>The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) introduced the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE), as a new assessment for all individuals seeking to qualify as a solicitor in England and Wales. The first sitting of the first part of the exam (SQE1) was held in November 2021, and the results were published on 20 January 2022.</p><p>In light of experience from the former Legal Practice Course and the SQE pilots, the SRA has commissioned the University of Exeter to look at the possible causes of attainment gap in professional legal assessment. They will look widely at evidence from other regulated professions, from within universities as well as patterns of attainment at earlier stages of education. The SRA is expecting interim findings towards the end of this year and a final report towards the end of 2023. We will continue to engage with the SRA as it monitors performance in the assessments by individuals with certain protected characteristics and addresses any future negative trends in attainment.</p> answering member printed Lord Wolfson of Tredegar question first answered 07/02/2022 17:24:20 answering member 4901 label Biography information for Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
tabling member	1796 label Biography information for Lord Taylor of Warwick