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1128277

	registered interest
	date	22/05/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Probate: Reform
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of his Department's reform of probate regulations.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff Central
	tabling member printed	Jo Stevens
	uin	257539
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/06/2019 answer text <p>The 2018 amendments to the non-contentious probate rules enabled personal applications to be submitted online. This service is assessed through a range of measures, such as user feedback and user satisfaction. Of 4,995 responses from users who submitted their application online 93% indicated from five feedback options that they were satisfied or very satisfied with the online application service provided. The online system is being continually improved and developed as a result of the feedback provided.</p> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard question first answered 05/06/2019 15:57:26 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
	tabling member	4425 label Biography information for Jo Stevens

1128471

	registered interest
	date	23/05/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Coroners: Legal Representation
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much his Department has spent from the public purse on legal representation for the Government at Inquests for each year since 2010.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff Central
	tabling member printed	Jo Stevens
	uin	257762
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/06/2019 answer text <p>The sums my Department has spent on legal representation for the Government at inquests in each of the last ten calendar years are set out below.</p><p>2009 £2,742,878.88</p><p>2010 £2,454,272.31</p><p>2011 £2,573,967.95</p><p>2012 £2,292,076.76</p><p>2013 £2,861,681.67</p><p>2014 £2,806,249.30</p><p>2015 £2,947,851.78</p><p>2016 £3,568,044.30</p><p>2017 £4,198,893.32</p><p>2018 £3,720,373.41</p><p> </p><p>These are the costs of representation for the Ministry of Justice, Her Majesty's Prison &amp; Probation Service and the Youth Justice Board, and for their staff. In the vast majority of cases the legal representatives are acting for both the body and all members of its staff called as witnesses, and the respective costs cannot therefore be separated. In a very small number of cases separate representation is provided for one or more members of staff.</p><p> </p><p>The costs of representation for contracted prisons and their staff are met by the provider. Before the National Probation Service was created in April 2014 each Probation Trust met its own representation costs, and since then each Community Rehabilitation Company has done likewise. In addition, in 2009 and 2010 £17,770.07 was incurred on representation for prison Independent Monitoring Boards.</p> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard question first answered 05/06/2019 16:13:24 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
	tabling member	4425 label Biography information for Jo Stevens

1130157

	registered interest
	date	05/06/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Probation
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate his Department has made of the cost inclusive of staff hours of (a) planning, (b) implementing and (c) reversing parts of the Transforming Rehabilitation programme over that programme's lifetime.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff Central
	tabling member printed	Jo Stevens
	uin	260668
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/06/2019 answer text <p>Due to the way in which cost information is recorded it is not possible to breakdown the costs associated with planning and implementing the Transforming Rehabilitation Programme in this way. The Ministry of Justice has produced an initial indicative assessment of the cost of bringing the case supervision component of services delivered by Community Rehabilitation Companies under the supervision of the National Probation Service. These costs include one off exit costs for current Community Rehabilitation Company contracts which are subject to change as the commercial framework and negotiations are not yet finalised with providers. Releasing these figures may compromise that negotiation so we cannot do so at this time.</p><p> </p><p>We believe that the continuation of the mixed market through our revised model offers the most sustainable approach for probation, and is the best option to build on the positive changes made under Transforming Rehabilitation.</p> answering member constituency South Swindon answering member printed Robert Buckland question first answered 10/06/2019 16:39:57 answering member 4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland
	tabling member	4425 label Biography information for Jo Stevens

1130159

	registered interest
	date	05/06/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Prisoners' Discharge Grants
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the Discharge Grant for prisoners in respect of (a) inflation and (b) the five week waiting period for universal credit.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff Central
	tabling member printed	Jo Stevens
	uin	260669
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/06/2019 answer text <p>We are committed to ensuring that prisoners have sufficient financial support upon release from custody.</p><p>We have recently explored the current use of the Discharge Grant. This will help inform future Discharge policy direction, and help to ensure that Discharge policy contributes to ensuring the immediate basic needs of prisoners are met when they return to the community. We are currently analysing findings.</p><p>The purpose of the Discharge Grant is not to provide for all the prisoner’s needs after release; it is intended solely to assist them in the first few days after release and before they might reasonably be able to get a job or an appointment at a jobcentre and/or begin to access state benefits</p><p>We also are working with the Department for Work and Pensions to improve access to Universal Credit and ensure that they have the relevant identification documents. Offenders are able to access a DWP Work Coach prior to release, who can make an appointment as early as the day of release to complete their claim, and can receive an advance of a full month’s benefit, including the housing element where appropriate, within hours.</p> answering member constituency South Swindon answering member printed Robert Buckland question first answered 10/06/2019 16:48:22 answering member 4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland
	tabling member	4425 label Biography information for Jo Stevens

1132967

	registered interest
	date	18/06/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Young Offender Institutions: Crimes of Violence
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many recorded violent incidents per head of population in young offender institutions there have been in each year for which figures are available.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff Central
	tabling member printed	Jo Stevens
	uin	266258
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/06/2019 answer text <p>Incidents of assault by children and young people in Young Offender Institutions (YOIs) is published as part of the annual Youth Justice Statistics, the latest of which can be found at <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/youth-justice-statistics-2017-to-2018" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/youth-justice-statistics-2017-to-2018</a>. The following has been taken from supplementary table 8.14:</p><p> </p><p><strong>Incidents of proven assault by children and young people (YOIs) years ending March 2012 to 2018</strong></p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p><strong>Average number of children and young people per month<sup>(1)</sup></strong></p></td><td colspan="2"><p><strong>Average number of proven assaults by children and young people per month</strong></p></td><td colspan="2"><p><strong>Average number of children and young people involved per month as perpetrators</strong></p></td><td colspan="2"><p><strong>Proportion of children and young people involved as perpetrators</strong></p></td><td colspan="2"><p><strong>Number of proven assaults per 100 children and young people in custody per month</strong></p></td><td colspan="2"><p><strong>Number of proven assaults per children and young people involved</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Year ending March</strong></p></td><td colspan="11"><p><strong>Young Offender Institutions</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>2,209</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>143</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>133</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>6%</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>6.5</p></td><td><p>1.1</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>1,738</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>124</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>120</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>7%</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>7.1</p></td><td><p>1.0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>1,163</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>133</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>132</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>11%</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>11.4</p></td><td><p>1.0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>1,000</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>117</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>118</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>12%</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>11.7</p></td><td><p>1.0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>904</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>137</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>129</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>14%</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>15.2</p></td><td><p>1.1</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>861</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>82</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>85</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>10%</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>9.5</p></td><td><p>1.0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018<sup>(2)</sup></p></td><td colspan="2"><p>853</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>99</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>113</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>13%</p></td><td colspan="2"><p>11.6</p></td><td><p>0.9</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p><em>(1) This is based on the number of children and young people in the month, which is the population in custody at the beginning of the month plus new admissions during the month. This figure includes 18 year olds.</em></p><p><em>(2) The counting rules for assaults were updated from April 2017 onwards and are therefore not directly comparable with previous years. Please see the Guide to Youth Justice Statistics for more information.</em></p><p> </p><p>The safety and welfare of young people held in custody is our highest priority and we are committed to improving their safety and life chances. That is why we began a youth justice reform programme in 2017, investing in staff, education and psychology services. We are making progress delivering these reforms, but we are clear that there is still much more to do. We are also expanding frontline staff capacity in public-sector YOIs. At the end of March this year, the Youth Custody Service had 348 more frontline officers than at the start of the reform programme – an increase of 40%.</p><p> </p><p>The Youth Custody Service have started implementing a new evidence-based behaviour management strategy aimed at incentivising good behaviour and building positive relationships. This will sit alongside a new wrap-around approach to mental health provision developed by NHS England.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 24/06/2019 14:48:25 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
	tabling member	4425 label Biography information for Jo Stevens

1135301

	registered interest
	date	27/06/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Divorce
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many applications for decrees nisi there were in 2018 in which the grounds for divorce was two years separation.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff Central
	tabling member printed	Jo Stevens
	uin	270426
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/07/2019 answer text <p>A decree nisi is the provisional decree of divorce pronounced when the court is satisfied that a person has met the legal and procedural requirements to obtain a divorce. The sole ground for divorce is that the marriage has broken down irretrievably. Currently, the law requires a person seeking a divorce to satisfy the court of one of five ‘facts’. One fact requires that the parties of the marriage have lived apart for a continuous period of at least two years immediately preceding the presentation of the petition for divorce, and that the respondent consents to a decree being granted.</p><p> </p><p>In 2018 there were 118,355 divorce petitions, of which 32,297 (27%) cited the two-year separation fact. Following a divorce petition, further applications are required for the decree nisi to be granted and then for it to be made absolute, bringing a legal end to the marriage.</p> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard question first answered 02/07/2019 16:18:38 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
	tabling member	4425 label Biography information for Jo Stevens

1136562

	registered interest
	date	03/07/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Ministry of Justice: G4S
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many contracts his Department has awarded to G4S since July 2013; and what the value was of each of those contracts.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff Central
	tabling member printed	Jo Stevens
	uin	272874
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/07/2019 answer text <p>The information requested is included in the attached annex.</p> answering member constituency South Swindon answering member printed Robert Buckland question first answered 08/07/2019 15:41:26 answering member 4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland attachment 1 file name Copy of 190704 G4S Contracts (PQ272874).xlsx title Annex
	tabling member	4425 label Biography information for Jo Stevens

1136905

	registered interest
	date	04/07/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Ministry of Justice: Serco
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many contracts his Department has awarded to Serco since July 2013; and what the value is of those contracts.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff Central
	tabling member printed	Jo Stevens
	uin	273402
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/07/2019 answer text <p>The Ministry of Justice has awarded no contracts to Serco since July 2013.</p><p> </p><p>Serco has however been successful in its bid to be a supplier on the Prison Operator Services Framework which was executed on the 4<sup>th</sup> July 2019. There is no financial value nor commitment of work to the Framework itself. The first competition on this Framework will be for the contract to provide custodial services at HMP Wellingborough. Serco will be entitled to bid for this contract.</p> answering member constituency South Swindon answering member printed Robert Buckland question first answered 09/07/2019 16:17:53 answering member 4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland
	tabling member	4425 label Biography information for Jo Stevens

1138105

	registered interest
	date	10/07/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Legal Aid Scheme: Solicitors
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of the reform of legal aid on average annual earnings of legal aid solicitors.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff Central
	tabling member printed	Jo Stevens
	uin	275783
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/07/2019 answer text <p>On 7 February 2019, the Government published the Post Implementation Review (PIR) of Part 1 of The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/post-implementation-review-of-part-1-of-laspo" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/post-implementation-review-of-part-1-of-laspo</a></p><p> </p><p>The review did not look at the earnings of individual solicitors, but reported instead on the impact on legal aid providers, including solicitors firms and individual barristers.</p> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard question first answered 15/07/2019 16:01:05 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
	tabling member	4425 label Biography information for Jo Stevens

1138106

	registered interest
	date	10/07/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Criminal Proceedings: Legal Aid Scheme
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the financial impact on defendants of the introduction of an upper limit on disposable income for people claiming legal aid for Crown Court representation.
	tabling member constituency	Cardiff Central
	tabling member printed	Jo Stevens
	uin	275784
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/07/2019 answer text <table><tbody><tr><td><p>On 7 February 2019, the Government published the Post Implementation Review (PIR) of Part 1 of The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 which included an assessment of the impact of the £37,500 disposable income threshold introduced at the Crown Court: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/post-implementation-review-of-part-1-of-laspo" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/post-implementation-review-of-part-1-of-laspo</a></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Alongside the PIR, the Government also published its Legal Support Action Plan in which it announced a comprehensive review of the wider legal aid eligibility regime; this will include the Crown Court thresholds. The review is expected to conclude by Summer 2020 after which 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 constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard question first answered 15/07/2019 16:26:26 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
	tabling member	4425 label Biography information for Jo Stevens