Show Search Form

Search Results

registered interest	true false
date	exactly: or between: and
answering body
answering dept id
answering dept short name
answering dept sort name
hansard heading
house id
legislature	pref label
question text
tabling member constituency
tabling member printed
uin
answer	is ministerial correction true false date of answer exactly: or between: and answer text answering member constituency answering member printed grouped question UIN question first answered answering member label
tabling member	label

Search

1077565

registered interest
date	26/02/2019
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Knives: Crime
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions his Department has had with social media companies to encourage them to prevent the display of knife crimes on their platforms.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	226086
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/03/2019 answer text <p>The Home Office chairs a Social Media Action Group which brings together Government, social media companies, police and community groups to discuss and take action against violence related content online.</p><p>We are also providing £1.4m to support a new national police capability to tackle gang related activity on social media. The new social media hub will be established within MPS, transforming the current capability and will take action against online material, focusing on investigative, disruption and enforcement work against specific gang targets, as well as making referrals to social media companies so illegal and harmful content can be taken down. It will be fully operational this spring.</p><p>We recognise though that more needs to be done to tackle online harms and we are committed to further legislation. A joint DCMS-Home Office White Paper will be published shortly. This will set out a range of legislative and non-legislative measures, detailing how we tackle online harms, setting clear responsibilities for technology firms to keep UK citizens safe.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins grouped question UIN 226088 question first answered 12/03/2019 16:48:41 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

1077573

registered interest
date	26/02/2019
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Knives: Crime
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits on bringing forward legislative proposals for the regulation of social media platforms in relation to the removal of knife crime content.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	226088
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/03/2019 answer text <p>The Home Office chairs a Social Media Action Group which brings together Government, social media companies, police and community groups to discuss and take action against violence related content online.</p><p>We are also providing £1.4m to support a new national police capability to tackle gang related activity on social media. The new social media hub will be established within MPS, transforming the current capability and will take action against online material, focusing on investigative, disruption and enforcement work against specific gang targets, as well as making referrals to social media companies so illegal and harmful content can be taken down. It will be fully operational this spring.</p><p>We recognise though that more needs to be done to tackle online harms and we are committed to further legislation. A joint DCMS-Home Office White Paper will be published shortly. This will set out a range of legislative and non-legislative measures, detailing how we tackle online harms, setting clear responsibilities for technology firms to keep UK citizens safe.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins grouped question UIN 226086 question first answered 12/03/2019 16:48:41 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

1077652

registered interest
date	26/02/2019
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Independent Sexual Violence Advisers
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many independent sexual violence advisers there are in each region of England and Wales.
tabling member constituency	Rotherham
tabling member printed	Sarah Champion
uin	226116
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/03/2019 answer text <p>The Government does not hold information on the number of Independent Sexual Violence Advisers (ISVAs) employed across England and Wales, nor does it have targets on the number of ISVAs.</p><p>The cross-government Violence against Women and Girls Strategy, published in March 2016, set out that from April 2017, local services would be supported through a new VAWG Transformation Fund. This moved from a model of direct national match-funding for individual domestic and sexual violence adviser posts to funding local programmes which encourage partnership working and early intervention and prevention.</p><p>In September 2017 the Home Office published guidance setting out the expectations of the role of an ISVA, and we also published a National Statement of Expectations and Commissioning Toolkit in December 2016, which provided a national blueprint for effective local commissioning of VAWG services.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins grouped question UIN 226117 question first answered 12/03/2019 16:58:19 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
tabling member	4267 label Biography information for Sarah Champion

1077654

registered interest
date	26/02/2019
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Independent Sexual Violence Advisers
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether he has targets for the number of independent sexual violence advisers in England and Wales per head of the population; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Rotherham
tabling member printed	Sarah Champion
uin	226117
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/03/2019 answer text <p>The Government does not hold information on the number of Independent Sexual Violence Advisers (ISVAs) employed across England and Wales, nor does it have targets on the number of ISVAs.</p><p>The cross-government Violence against Women and Girls Strategy, published in March 2016, set out that from April 2017, local services would be supported through a new VAWG Transformation Fund. This moved from a model of direct national match-funding for individual domestic and sexual violence adviser posts to funding local programmes which encourage partnership working and early intervention and prevention.</p><p>In September 2017 the Home Office published guidance setting out the expectations of the role of an ISVA, and we also published a National Statement of Expectations and Commissioning Toolkit in December 2016, which provided a national blueprint for effective local commissioning of VAWG services.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins grouped question UIN 226116 question first answered 12/03/2019 16:58:19 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
tabling member	4267 label Biography information for Sarah Champion

1078272

registered interest
date	26/02/2019
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	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what form the review into thresholds for legal aid and entitlement will take, as refererred to in Legal Support: The Way Ahead (CP 40); and what is the expected timescale for the completion and publication of the review and its recommendations.
tabling member printed	Lord Beecham
uin	HL14044
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/03/2019 answer text <p>The legal aid means test review will bring together data, evidence and expertise from across Government to assess the effectiveness with which the means testing arrangements appropriately protect access to justice, particularly with respect to those who are vulnerable. We are keen to work with experts from across the field to explore any improvements to the system.</p><p> </p><p>Upon conclusion of the review, expected by summer 2020, we will publish a full consultation paper setting out our future policy proposals in this area. We will seek to implement any final recommendations as soon as practicable following public consultation.</p> answering member printed Lord Keen of Elie question first answered 12/03/2019 17:24:06 answering member 4538 label Biography information for Lord Keen of Elie
tabling member	4181 label Biography information for Lord Beecham

1078273

registered interest
date	26/02/2019
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	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that most people are aware of their entitlement to legal support; and what estimate they have made of the number of people likely to be eligible for support by way of (1) legal advice and (2) legal representation.
tabling member printed	Lord Beecham
uin	HL14045
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/03/2019 answer text <p>On 7 February 2019 the Government published the Legal Support Action Plan, which outlines our vision to deliver quicker and easier access to a broad spectrum of complimentary legal support services. This includes launching a campaign to improve awareness of how people can access legal support, including legal aid, by Autumn 2019.</p><p> </p><p>The Legal Support Action Plan builds on the evidence gathered as part of the Post-Implementation Review of Part 1 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012. The review found that further consideration of the eligibility criteria for legal aid is required and the Action Plan commits to carrying out a comprehensive legal aid means test review.</p><p> </p><p>Whilst it is not currently possible to identify the proportion of the population that is eligible for legal aid advice and/or representation, analysis as part of the legal aid means test review is expected to provide an estimate for this figure.</p> answering member printed Lord Keen of Elie question first answered 12/03/2019 17:27:52 answering member 4538 label Biography information for Lord Keen of Elie
tabling member	4181 label Biography information for Lord Beecham

1078274

registered interest
date	26/02/2019
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	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government to what extent the number of exceptional cases in which legal aid has been granted has risen in recent years.
tabling member printed	Lord Beecham
uin	HL14046
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/03/2019 answer text <p>Both the number of applications made through the Exceptional Case Funding scheme and the proportion of these that have been granted have increased in recent years, as illustrated below. The MoJ publishes information on the operation of the ECF scheme and this can be accessed at Table 8.2 of the ‘Main Tables’ under the following link: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/legal-aid-statistics" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/legal-aid-statistics</a>.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Financial Year</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Applications Received</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Applications Determined</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Applications Granted</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>% of determined applications granted</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013-14</p></td><td><p>1,516</p></td><td><p>1,516</p></td><td><p>72</p></td><td><p>5%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014-15</p></td><td><p>1,172</p></td><td><p>1,172</p></td><td><p>231</p></td><td><p>20%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015-16</p></td><td><p>1,344</p></td><td><p>1,344</p></td><td><p>668</p></td><td><p>50%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016-17</p></td><td><p>1,879</p></td><td><p>1,879</p></td><td><p>995</p></td><td><p>53%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017-18</p></td><td><p>2,625</p></td><td><p>2,623</p></td><td><p>1,481</p></td><td><p>56%</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>The Legal Aid Agency monitors access to legal aid-funded services by geographic location using ‘Procurement Areas’. These are boundaries defined by the LAA according to the respective categories of law they cover. All types of procurement area have at least two providers undertaking work in their respective categories, save for Housing and Debt matters, where over 97% of procurement areas for this category have at least one provider contracted for Housing and Debt services. The LAA has opened a further tender to secure provision in these remaining areas for the Housing and Debt category. A list of law firms offering legal aid, showing location and type of advice each can provide, is published at <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/directory-of-legal-aid-providers" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/directory-of-legal-aid-providers</a>. Advice can also be accessed by telephone through the Civil Legal Advice service.</p> answering member printed Lord Keen of Elie grouped question UIN HL14048 question first answered 12/03/2019 17:25:44 answering member 4538 label Biography information for Lord Keen of Elie
tabling member	4181 label Biography information for Lord Beecham

1078275

registered interest
date	26/02/2019
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	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government why the mandatory requirements from the telephone gateway for debt, discrimination and special educational needs cases will not be removed until spring 2020.
tabling member printed	Lord Beecham
uin	HL14047
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/03/2019 answer text <p>The Government believes that providing legal advice over the telephone remains an invaluable way of delivering legal aid, especially to individuals who are geographically or otherwise isolated.</p><p> </p><p>However, we have listened to the views of the stakeholders who have engaged with us during the Post-Implementation Review of the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, and we agree that for those for whom it is not appropriate remote advice should not be mandated. We will, therefore, reinstate access to face to face advice for debt, discrimination and special educational needs.</p><p> </p><p>We have stated this will be done by Spring 2020. This will give the Ministry of Justice and the Legal Aid Agency sufficient time to make the necessary legislative and operational changes.</p> answering member printed Lord Keen of Elie question first answered 12/03/2019 17:27:07 answering member 4538 label Biography information for Lord Keen of Elie
tabling member	4181 label Biography information for Lord Beecham

1078276

registered interest
date	26/02/2019
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	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the current availability of (1) legal advice and (2) legal representation through the legal aid system for different categories of case and geographical location.
tabling member printed	Lord Beecham
uin	HL14048
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/03/2019 answer text <p>Both the number of applications made through the Exceptional Case Funding scheme and the proportion of these that have been granted have increased in recent years, as illustrated below. The MoJ publishes information on the operation of the ECF scheme and this can be accessed at Table 8.2 of the ‘Main Tables’ under the following link: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/legal-aid-statistics" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/legal-aid-statistics</a>.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Financial Year</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Applications Received</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Applications Determined</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Applications Granted</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>% of determined applications granted</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013-14</p></td><td><p>1,516</p></td><td><p>1,516</p></td><td><p>72</p></td><td><p>5%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014-15</p></td><td><p>1,172</p></td><td><p>1,172</p></td><td><p>231</p></td><td><p>20%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015-16</p></td><td><p>1,344</p></td><td><p>1,344</p></td><td><p>668</p></td><td><p>50%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016-17</p></td><td><p>1,879</p></td><td><p>1,879</p></td><td><p>995</p></td><td><p>53%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017-18</p></td><td><p>2,625</p></td><td><p>2,623</p></td><td><p>1,481</p></td><td><p>56%</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>The Legal Aid Agency monitors access to legal aid-funded services by geographic location using ‘Procurement Areas’. These are boundaries defined by the LAA according to the respective categories of law they cover. All types of procurement area have at least two providers undertaking work in their respective categories, save for Housing and Debt matters, where over 97% of procurement areas for this category have at least one provider contracted for Housing and Debt services. The LAA has opened a further tender to secure provision in these remaining areas for the Housing and Debt category. A list of law firms offering legal aid, showing location and type of advice each can provide, is published at <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/directory-of-legal-aid-providers" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/directory-of-legal-aid-providers</a>. Advice can also be accessed by telephone through the Civil Legal Advice service.</p> answering member printed Lord Keen of Elie grouped question UIN HL14046 question first answered 12/03/2019 17:25:44 answering member 4538 label Biography information for Lord Keen of Elie
tabling member	4181 label Biography information for Lord Beecham

1078286

registered interest
date	26/02/2019
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Crime: Rural Areas
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of trends in the level of unsolved crime in rural areas across the United Kingdom.
tabling member printed	Lord Hay of Ballyore
uin	HL14058
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/03/2019 answer text <p>Justice and policing is devolved to Northern Ireland and Scotland. The Government does not hold relevant data on levels of unsolved crime in rural areas across England and Wales.</p><p>Across England and Wales, it is the responsibility of Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners to make sure criminal cases are investigated properly. Together with the Crown Prosecution Service they must make sure cases are charged where there is sufficient evidence, and it is in the public interest to do so.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 12/03/2019 17:21:02 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
tabling member	4352 label Biography information for Lord Hay of Ballyore