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1137713

	registered interest
	date	09/07/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Youth Offending Teams: Finance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	Whether he plans to allocate additional funding to youth offending teams.
	tabling member constituency	Stockton North
	tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
	uin	911816
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/07/2019 answer text <table><tbody><tr><td><p>We value the vital work Youth Offending Teams do with children who have offended, and the work they do to prevent offending. The Youth Justice Board’s total funding this year for frontline services including Youth Offending Teams is £72.2m. This is greater than last year’s funding, which was £71.6m.</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Of the £72.2m, £70.7m has been allocated to the core grant for Youth Offending Teams and £1.5m to frontline service improvement.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 09/07/2019 16:01:26 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
	tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

1610249

	registered interest
	date	14/04/2023
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Family Courts: Training
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the suggestion from the expert panel in the report entitled Assessing Risk of Harm to Children and Parents in Private Law Children Cases, published in June 2020, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing training on a multi-disciplinary basis across all professions and agencies within the family justice system to ensure a consistent approach; and if he will take steps to (a) resource and (b) coordinate such training.
	tabling member constituency	Stockton North
	tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
	uin	180382
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/04/2023 answer text <p>Since the Assessing Risk of Harm to Children and Parents in Private Law Children Cases report was published in June 2020, good progress has been made on delivering the commitments taken forward in the Government’s Implementation Plan, with the majority of these completed or well under way.</p><p>We have designed and are piloting a more investigative – and less adversarial - approach for private law proceedings in Dorset and North Wales, in particular for survivors of domestic abuse. At the heart of this model is closer multiagency working which has led to improved communication, greater consistency in information and multi-disciplinary training. The pilot courts work closely with the specialist domestic abuse sector including Independent Domestic Abuse Advisers to ensure that adequate domestic abuse risk assessments and support is in place. Alongside this, the Judicial College has launched new domestic abuse digital training packages for the judiciary and has rolled out a programme of compulsory domestic abuse training for family and civil judges. Monitoring and evaluation of the pilots is ongoing and will inform any decision on rolling out the process further, we anticipate this will be concluded in early 2024.</p><p>In April 2023, Family Procedure Rule Committee amended the Family Procedure Rules and Practice Directions to allow Independent Domestic Violence Advisers and Independent Sexual Violence Advisers to accompany parties in the courtroom.</p><p>My Department will shortly publish a full update on all Harm Panel commitments.</p> answering member constituency Finchley and Golders Green answering member printed Mike Freer grouped question UIN 180383 180384 question first answered 19/04/2023 16:27:24 answering member 4004 label Biography information for Mike Freer
	tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

1193225

	registered interest
	date	05/05/2020
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Courts: Closures
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the report entitled Transforming courts and tribunals – a progress update, published by the National Audit Office on 6 September 2019, HC2638, if he will review the proposed closure of 77 more courts by 2025/26.
	tabling member constituency	Stockton North
	tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
	uin	43636
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/05/2020 answer text <p>HM Courts &amp; Tribunals Service keeps its operational estate under review against our three core estates principles of ensuring access to justice for all, delivering value for money and enabling efficiency in the longer term.</p><p> </p><p>The reference in the National Audit Office report to 77 further courts closing by 2025/26 relates to a forecast which was current at the time of their report, and based on analysis of the projected reduction in capacity requirement generated by the Reform Programme. Due to Covid-19 there are no current active consultations on the closure of further courts. Any future proposals for changes to the court and tribunal estate will be announced by the Lord Chancellor and will be consulted on where appropriate, keeping in mind at all times the need to maintain access to Justice.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 11/05/2020 16:36:06 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
	tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

1610250

	registered interest
	date	14/04/2023
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Family Courts: Cooperation
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the report entitled Assessing Risk of Harm to Children and Parents in Private Law Children Cases: Final Report, published on 6 October 2020, what recent progress his Department has made on implementing mechanisms for communication, coordination and consistency between family courts and (a) criminal courts, (b) the police, (c) multi-agency risk assessment conferences, (d) children’s services, (e) family support and therapeutic services and (f) specialist domestic abuse services.
	tabling member constituency	Stockton North
	tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
	uin	180383
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/04/2023 answer text <p>Since the Assessing Risk of Harm to Children and Parents in Private Law Children Cases report was published in June 2020, good progress has been made on delivering the commitments taken forward in the Government’s Implementation Plan, with the majority of these completed or well under way.</p><p>We have designed and are piloting a more investigative – and less adversarial - approach for private law proceedings in Dorset and North Wales, in particular for survivors of domestic abuse. At the heart of this model is closer multiagency working which has led to improved communication, greater consistency in information and multi-disciplinary training. The pilot courts work closely with the specialist domestic abuse sector including Independent Domestic Abuse Advisers to ensure that adequate domestic abuse risk assessments and support is in place. Alongside this, the Judicial College has launched new domestic abuse digital training packages for the judiciary and has rolled out a programme of compulsory domestic abuse training for family and civil judges. Monitoring and evaluation of the pilots is ongoing and will inform any decision on rolling out the process further, we anticipate this will be concluded in early 2024.</p><p>In April 2023, Family Procedure Rule Committee amended the Family Procedure Rules and Practice Directions to allow Independent Domestic Violence Advisers and Independent Sexual Violence Advisers to accompany parties in the courtroom.</p><p>My Department will shortly publish a full update on all Harm Panel commitments.</p> answering member constituency Finchley and Golders Green answering member printed Mike Freer grouped question UIN 180382 180384 question first answered 19/04/2023 16:27:24 answering member 4004 label Biography information for Mike Freer
	tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

1610251

	registered interest
	date	14/04/2023
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Family Courts: Domestic Abuse
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the report entitled Assessing Risk of Harm to Children and Parents in Private Law Children Cases: Final Report, published on 6 October 2020, what recent assessment he has made of the (a) cost-effectiveness of and (b) optimal model for the delivery of the provision of specialist support services for both survivors and perpetrators of domestic abuse.
	tabling member constituency	Stockton North
	tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
	uin	180384
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/04/2023 answer text <p>Since the Assessing Risk of Harm to Children and Parents in Private Law Children Cases report was published in June 2020, good progress has been made on delivering the commitments taken forward in the Government’s Implementation Plan, with the majority of these completed or well under way.</p><p>We have designed and are piloting a more investigative – and less adversarial - approach for private law proceedings in Dorset and North Wales, in particular for survivors of domestic abuse. At the heart of this model is closer multiagency working which has led to improved communication, greater consistency in information and multi-disciplinary training. The pilot courts work closely with the specialist domestic abuse sector including Independent Domestic Abuse Advisers to ensure that adequate domestic abuse risk assessments and support is in place. Alongside this, the Judicial College has launched new domestic abuse digital training packages for the judiciary and has rolled out a programme of compulsory domestic abuse training for family and civil judges. Monitoring and evaluation of the pilots is ongoing and will inform any decision on rolling out the process further, we anticipate this will be concluded in early 2024.</p><p>In April 2023, Family Procedure Rule Committee amended the Family Procedure Rules and Practice Directions to allow Independent Domestic Violence Advisers and Independent Sexual Violence Advisers to accompany parties in the courtroom.</p><p>My Department will shortly publish a full update on all Harm Panel commitments.</p> answering member constituency Finchley and Golders Green answering member printed Mike Freer grouped question UIN 180382 180383 question first answered 19/04/2023 16:27:24 answering member 4004 label Biography information for Mike Freer
	tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

1680447

	registered interest
	date	08/01/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Legal Profession: Racial Discrimination
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the report by the University of Manchester entitled Racial Bias and the Bench, published in November 2022, whether his Department has made a recent assessment of the implications for its policies of the findings on the adequacy of the level of take-up of race training by legal professionals; and if he will take steps with the (a) Lady Chief Justice and (b) Chief Coroner to increase the take-up of this training.
	tabling member constituency	Stockton North
	tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
	uin	8426
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/01/2024 answer text <p>Everyone has a right to be confident in the justice system, regardless of their background. In 2023, the government published an update to the Inclusive Britain Strategy – our ambitious response to the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities Report – which included the important work we are doing to improve diversity in the judiciary and magistracy.</p><p> </p><p>To preserve the independence of the judiciary, the Lady Chief Justice, the Senior President of the Tribunals, and the Chief Coroner have statutory responsibility for judicial training, under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007, and Coroners and Justice Act 2009 respectively, exercised through the Judicial College.</p><p> </p><p>The legal profession in England and Wales is independent of Government. Legal professional training and statutory responsibility for encouraging a diverse legal profession sits with the approved regulators, overseen by the oversight regulator, the Legal Services Board.</p> answering member constituency Finchley and Golders Green answering member printed Mike Freer question first answered 11/01/2024 16:44:02 answering member 4004 label Biography information for Mike Freer
	tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

1680446

	registered interest
	date	08/01/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Judiciary: Conduct
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the report by the University of Manchester entitled Racial Bias and the Bench, published in November 2022, whether he has had recent discussions with the Lady Chief Justice on the recommendation to (a) publish the Judicial Executive Board report into judicial bullying and racism and (b) make the judiciary more (i) transparent and (ii) accountable.
	tabling member constituency	Stockton North
	tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
	uin	8425
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/01/2024 answer text <p>It is standard practice not to comment on discussions between Ministers and the judiciary.</p><p> </p><p>To protect the independence of the judiciary, it is a matter for the judiciary to determine which judiciary commissioned reports are published. Under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, the Lady Chief Justice (LCJ), as Head of the Judiciary of England and Wales, has responsibility for the maintenance of appropriate arrangements for the welfare, training and guidance of the Judiciary of England and Wales. The LCJ carries out these responsibilities through the Judicial Executive Board (JEB) and the Judges’ Council. Successive LCJs have laid annual reports before Parliament. The report published by the previous LCJ in September 2023 reported on training, welfare and related matters.</p> answering member constituency Finchley and Golders Green answering member printed Mike Freer question first answered 11/01/2024 16:43:02 answering member 4004 label Biography information for Mike Freer
	tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

1362276

	registered interest
	date	21/10/2021
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Remote Hearings: Children
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the participation by child defendants in virtual proceedings during the covid-19 outbreak, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that the (a) needs of those children, including learning and communication needs, are accurately assessed and (b) provisions necessary to ensure their effective participation are in place.
	tabling member constituency	Stockton North
	tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
	uin	60409
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/10/2021 answer text <p>In deciding whether a live video and audio link is appropriate, and in operating these, we have ensured clear support and guidance are in place. This sets out that courts must have regard to the welfare of the child, must be satisfied that the mode of a hearing is compatible with the defendant’s right to a fair trial, and that the child is able to participate effectively. This is set out in criminal procedure rules and criminal practice directions. Effective use of virtual proceedings is also covered in ‘Good Practice for Remote Hearings’ guidance issued by the Judicial College, in the Equal Treatment Bench Book, as well as guidance by HM Court and Tribunal Service (HMCTS). The ways in which video technology is used in criminal proceedings are also kept under regular review by HMCTS.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 26/10/2021 17:03:46 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
	tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

1201877

	registered interest
	date	09/06/2020
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Courts
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the oral evidence of the Lord Chief Justice to the Justice Select Committee on 14 May 2020, whether he plans to reopen all courts by the end of June 2020.
	tabling member constituency	Stockton North
	tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
	uin	57200
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/06/2020 answer text <p>During oral evidence given to the Justice Select Committee on 14 May, the Lord Chief Justice advised the panel of an intention to reopen sites by the end of June, subject to a number of logistical issues.</p><p> </p><p>We continue to work closely with the judiciary to reopen courts when it is safe to do so, and in line with public health guidance. Plans for the reopening of each court are subject to the necessary assessment of operational readiness, which is available here:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-courts-and-tribunals-planning-and-preparation#assessing-and-managing-coronavirus-risk" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-courts-and-tribunals-planning-and-preparation#assessing-and-managing-coronavirus-risk</a></p><p> </p><p>Since the beginning of June 2020, HM Courts and Tribunals (HMCTS) has reopened over 20 sites and we will continue to work with the judiciary and public health bodies to reopen more in the coming weeks.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 15/06/2020 15:48:40 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
	tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

1203331

	registered interest
	date	12/06/2020
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Administration of Justice: Disability
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the finding of the recent report by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, entitled Inclusive justice: a system designed for all, that there are gaps in the collection, monitoring and analysis of disability data for defendants, what steps his Department is taking to tackle those gaps.
	tabling member constituency	Stockton North
	tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
	uin	59215
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/06/2020 answer text <p>HMCTS welcomes the Equality and Human Rights Commission report on Inclusive Justice which brings the opportunity to review the report recommendations alongside the work already being progressed for supporting vulnerable defendants.</p><p>Under the HMCTS Reform Programme new systems are being developed to improve accuracy and consistency of data across the Magistrates’ and Crown Court jurisdictions, including data on disability.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 17/06/2020 14:15:28 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
	tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham