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1145679

registered interest
date	25/09/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Personal Independence Payment: Appeals
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent steps he has taken to reduce the waiting times for personal independence payments appeals to be heard in the Garston and Halewood constituency.
tabling member constituency	Garston and Halewood
tabling member printed	Maria Eagle
uin	290676
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/10/2019 answer text <p>The Ministry of Justice expects appeal hearings to take place as quickly as possible and is carrying out a series of initiatives to increase capacity which will help reduce waiting times for appellants in Garston and Halewood, whose closest tribunal venue is in Liverpool. Since January 2018, additional panel members have been recruited to hear cases at the Liverpool venue. Four judges, seven medical members and one specialist member have been allocated to Liverpool as their primary venue and a further 13 judges, seven medical members and 4 specialist members have been allocated to Liverpool as their secondary venue. In addition to this, the capacity at the Liverpool venue has recently increased and it is now using five to six hearing rooms on a daily basis.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 02/10/2019 15:12:53 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	483 label Biography information for Maria Eagle

1145680

registered interest
date	25/09/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Personal Independence Payment: Appeals
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average waiting time was for personal independence payments claimants awaiting an appeal on their claim to be heard in the Garston and Halewood constituency in each of the last 12 months.
tabling member constituency	Garston and Halewood
tabling member printed	Maria Eagle
uin	290677
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/09/2019 answer text <p>Waiting times for appeals against decisions made about Personal Independence Payment (PIP) are published at:</p><p>www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics</p><p> </p><p>Average waiting times<sup>1</sup> for PIP<sup>2</sup> appeals in Garston and Halewood<sup>3</sup> between July 2018 to June 2019 (the latest 12 month period for which data are available) are included in the table below:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Month</p></td><td><p>Waiting time (in weeks)<sup>4</sup></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>July 2018</p></td><td><p>34</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>August 2018</p></td><td><p>35</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>September 2018</p></td><td><p>37</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>October 2018</p></td><td><p>38</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>November 2018</p></td><td><p>38</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>December 2018</p></td><td><p>39</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>January 2019</p></td><td><p>37</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>February 2019</p></td><td><p>40</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>March 2019</p></td><td><p>36</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>April 2019<sup> p</sup></p></td><td><p>37</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>May 2019<sup> p</sup></p></td><td><p>35</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>June 2019<sup> p</sup></p></td><td><p>37</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p><sup>1. </sup>Waiting time is interpreted as average clearance time – time taken from appeal receipt to outcome.</p><p><sup>2. </sup>PIP (New Claim Appeals), which is replacing Disability Living Allowance was introduced on 8 April 2013, and also includes Disability Living Allowance Reassessed cases.</p><p><sup>3. </sup>SSCS data are recorded by the office that dealt with the case, and if the case went to oral hearing, the location of the tribunal hearing, which is normally the hearing venue nearest to the appellant’s home address. Cases relating to the Garston and Halewood constituency are attributed to the Liverpool venue.</p><p><sup>4. </sup>Includes all cases cleared both with and without a tribunal hearing, in line with the published statistics.</p><p><sup>p. </sup>Provisional data which are subject to change.</p><p> </p><p>Waiting times are calculated from receipt of an appeal to its final disposal. An appeal is not necessarily disposed of at its first hearing. The final disposal decision on the appeal may be reached after an earlier hearing had been adjourned (which may be directed by the judge for a variety of reasons, such as to seek further evidence), or after an earlier hearing date had been postponed (again, for a variety of reasons, often at the request of the appellant). An appeal may also have been decided at an earlier date by the First-tier Tribunal, only for the case to have gone on to the Upper Tribunal, to be returned once again to the First-tier, for its final disposal.</p><p> </p><p>It is important that appeals are heard as quickly as possible. HMCTS recognises there are delays in the system and it is in the process of recruiting more judicial office holders in order to increase capacity and help to reduce waiting times for appellants. This includes 250 judges across the First-tier Tribunal, 125 disability qualified members and up to 230 medical members.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, HMCTS has recently launched a new digital service with a view to enabling speedier processing of appeals. Information on the new digital service can be found at: www.gov.uk/appeal-benefit-decision/submit-appeal.</p><p> </p><p>HMCTS is also working with the Department for Work and Pensions to understand what could be done to reduce the number of appeals being submitted to the Tribunal, through their focus on improving decision-making and the mandatory reconsideration process.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 30/09/2019 16:48:22 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	483 label Biography information for Maria Eagle

1145870

registered interest
date	25/09/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons: Crimes of Violence
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate she has made of the number of violent incidents against prison officers in prisons in each of last five years.
tabling member constituency	Coventry South
tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
uin	290641
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/09/2019 answer text <p>The Government publishes quarterly statistics on violence in prison, and a more detailed annual breakdown, and both are available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/safety-in-custody-quarterly-update-to-march-2019. The relevant link is ‘Assaults in prison custody 2000 to 2018’ and the information can be found in table 3.1: Prison assaults summary statistics by calendar year, England and Wales, 2000-2018.</p><p> </p><p>There are clear challenges at many of our prisons, with levels of violence unacceptably high.</p><p> </p><p>That’s why we are investing £100m to bolster security and stability in prisons, in addition to £70 million announced previously. This will fund tough airport-style security, including X-ray scanners and metal detectors to clamp down on the drugs, weapons and mobile phones that increase the risk to our officers and hinder rehabilitation.</p><p> </p><p>It will take time for improvements to be seen across the estate but we remain determined to make progress and will continue to prioritise this important work.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer grouped question UIN 290639 question first answered 30/09/2019 16:57:11 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1145892

registered interest
date	25/09/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Parole
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has plans to undertake a review of the Parole Board guidance on remorse shown by an offender following the release of Vanessa George.
tabling member constituency	Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport
tabling member printed	Luke Pollard
uin	291064
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/10/2019 answer text <p>Guidance to Parole Board members is a matter for the independent Parole Board. It would be inappropriate for the Government to review guidance issued by an independent body making judicial decisions.</p><p> </p><p>The Parole Board already provides guidance and training to Parole Board members to enable its members to decide whether a prisoner’s continued imprisonment is necessary for the protection of the public. This is a decision focused on an assessment of future risk and will ordinarily look at: the circumstances of the original offending; whether there is any evidence of change whilst in custody; and an assessment of whether risk can be managed in the community if the prisoner were to be released.</p><p> </p><p>In making decisions parole panels must take account of all the written and oral evidence provided, including whether the prisoner expresses remorse. Whilst remorse, or lack of it, cannot be determinative in a parole decision, in making its decisions a Parole Board panel will take account of a prisoner’s attitude to their original offences; their insight into the impact of their offending on victims; and the extent to which they now take responsibility for their offences.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 03/10/2019 14:44:57 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	4682 label Biography information for Luke Pollard

1145902

registered interest
date	25/09/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Trials: Legal Costs
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what legislation or guidelines determine who should pay the cost of counsel when a court case is adjourned the night before that trial is scheduled to take place.
tabling member constituency	Bolton South East
tabling member printed	Yasmin Qureshi
uin	290849
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/10/2019 answer text <p>For publicly funded criminal legal aid work, payment for the trial advocate (or counsel) in the Crown Court is determined in accordance with fees set out in Schedule 1 of The Criminal Legal Aid (Remuneration) Regulations 2013. The Crown Court Fee Guidance published by the Legal Aid Agency provides further guidance.</p><p> </p><p>Paragraph 16, Schedule 1 of the Remuneration Regulations states that an ineffective trial fixed fee <em>is payable in respect of each day on which the case was listed for trial but did not proceed on the day for which it was listed, for whatever reason.</em> The fee payable is set out at paragraph 24 of Schedule 1 of the Regulations and there are different fees according to the category of advocate instructed in the trial.</p> answering member constituency Aldridge-Brownhills answering member printed Wendy Morton question first answered 03/10/2019 15:03:00 answering member 4358 label Biography information for Wendy Morton
tabling member	3924 label Biography information for Yasmin Qureshi

1145910

registered interest
date	25/09/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Universal Credit: Appeals
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effect of delays in universal credit tribunal hearings on claimants seeking an appeal; and what the average waiting is for an appeal to be heard.
tabling member constituency	Glenrothes
tabling member printed	Peter Grant
uin	290853
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/09/2019 answer text <p>According to the most recent statistics (April to June 2019), the average waiting time for an appeal to be heard by the Social Security and Child Support (SSCS) jurisdiction is 30 weeks.</p><p> </p><p>The Ministry of Justice recognises that there are delays in the system and that there is a need to increase capacity to help reduce waiting times for appellants. The Department is currently in the process of recruiting more judicial office holders to the SSCS jurisdiction. In 2018, 232 medical members and 118 disability-qualified members were additionally appointed to the SSCS jurisdiction and an extra 129 fee-paid judges have recently been appointed. The SSCS jurisdiction will also benefit from 100 salaried judges and 170 fee-paid judges being recruited across tribunals more widely. In addition, HMCTS are also developing a new digital system which enables speedier processing of appeals and a better service for all parties to the proceedings.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 30/09/2019 16:49:37 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	4466 label Biography information for Peter Grant

1146121

registered interest
date	25/09/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Rape: Trials
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the longest waiting time was in weeks for a trial where the defendant entered a not guilty plea for rape in each Crown Court in England and Wales in (a) 2010 and (b) 2018.
tabling member constituency	Leeds East
tabling member printed	Richard Burgon
uin	290940
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/09/2019 answer text <p>The information requested about the longest Crown Court waiting times for a trial where the defendant entered a not guilty plea for rape in 2010 and 2018 can be found in the attached Excel document.</p><p> </p><p>This maximum measure can be unrepresentative of the group, and will be affected by extreme results lying outside the normal range.</p><p> </p><p>Performance, demand and waiting times in the courts are constantly reviewed to balance sitting days with waiting times, disposals and receipts. Resources are adjusted when appropriate. Demand has been falling in recent years and sitting days have been reduced accordingly. The abolition of committal hearings in 2013 transferred the file preparation period from the magistrates’ court to the Crown Court and so comparisons between pre-2013 data and post-2013 data do not compare like with like.</p><p> </p><p>We will continue to review demand and performance in the Crown Courts and will ensure they have the resource they require.</p> answering member constituency Aldridge-Brownhills answering member printed Wendy Morton question first answered 30/09/2019 16:13:40 answering member 4358 label Biography information for Wendy Morton attachment 1 file name Table for PQ 290940.xlsx title Table for PQ 290940
tabling member	4493 label Biography information for Richard Burgon

1146239

registered interest
date	25/09/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Ministry of Justice: Energy Supply
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which provider supplies energy to his Department; how much CO2 was emitted through his Department’s energy consumption in the latest period for which figures are available; whether the criteria his Department uses to select an energy supplier includes how environmentally friendly the supplier is; and what recent steps his Department has taken to reduce CO2 emissions from its energy use.
tabling member constituency	Scunthorpe
tabling member printed	Nic Dakin
uin	291004
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/10/2019 answer text <p>The department is mandated to use the Crown Commercial Services (CCS) Energy frameworks for the supply of gas, electricity and liquid fuels. The CCS competes the frameworks on the open market and selects the energy providers according to a set of award criteria, normally based on price and quality. The current suppliers of each of these services are as follow:</p><ul><li>EDF (Half-Hourly electricity);</li><li>British Gas (Non Half-Hourly electricity);</li><li>Corona (gas); and</li><li>various suppliers (liquid fuels).</li></ul><p>In 2018/19, the department emitted 313,464 t/CO2e through its energy use which represents a 40 % reduction compared to 2009/10. This has been achieved through smarter working, estate rationalisation, and investment in energy and carbon reduction projects such as LED lighting, boiler optimisation controls and renewable or low carbon technologies.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 02/10/2019 15:13:59 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4056 label Biography information for Nic Dakin

1146242

registered interest
date	25/09/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons: Repairs and Maintenance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, to publish the repair completion rate for each prison in each year for which figures are available.
tabling member constituency	Leeds East
tabling member printed	Richard Burgon
uin	291005
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/09/2019 answer text <p>The table attached shows the available information on repair work orders which covers the period of September 2018 to August 2019 by establishment. Some of these tasks cannot be completed in the time period for a variety of reasons which can lead to duplication of a task. The figures provided include these duplicate tasks, which account for part of the apparent 'backlog'.</p><p> </p><p>Performance has improved recently against completion on time and against the number of works which are left outstanding. We ensure that works are completed with close monitoring of performance through regular contract meetings where providers are challenged, and concerns can be escalated. Further to this statutory and mandatory compliance checks are conducted. Where necessary financial penalties are applied to commercial contractors where work orders are not completed on time as per contractual requirements. Action plans to reduce outstanding remedial works have also recently been requested. Our priority is to stabilise and improve service delivery, with an improved focus on cleanliness and decency.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 30/09/2019 16:52:31 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer attachment 1 file name Copy of PQ291005 - Table v2.xlsx title Table
tabling member	4493 label Biography information for Richard Burgon

1146244

registered interest
date	25/09/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prison Officers: Employment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison officers were employed in each high-security prison in each quarter since 2010.
tabling member constituency	Leeds East
tabling member printed	Richard Burgon
uin	291156
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/09/2019 answer text <p>The number of prison officers that were employed in each high-security prison in each quarter from 30 March 2010 to 30 June 2019 is provided in the attached table.</p><p> </p><p>We have recruited more than 4,700 additional prison officers since October 2016 and across the estate staffing levels are now at their highest since 2012.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 30/09/2019 16:54:01 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer attachment 1 file name Copy of Copy of PQ 291156 final file (002).xlsx title Table
tabling member	4493 label Biography information for Richard Burgon