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1417291

registered interest
date	27/01/2022
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Legal Aid Scheme
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what guidance and training is given to Legal Aid Agency call handlers to ensure that legal aid applicants with trapped capital such as low income homeowners, are made aware of the discretion set out in (a) Regulation 31(b) of the Lord Chancellor’s guidance on determining financial eligibility for certificated work and (b) section 5.3 of the Legal Aid Agency Means Assessment Guidance when they ask legal aid applicants about eligibility.
tabling member constituency	Manchester, Gorton
tabling member printed	Afzal Khan
uin	113256
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/02/2022 answer text <p>The statutory role of Director of Legal Aid Casework was created under section 4 of the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO). The primary role of the Director is to make determinations about eligibility for legal aid funding in individual cases. In making individual determinations the Director must act independently of Ministers, applying the relevant statutory framework.</p><p>Under s.5(3) of LASPO the functions of the Director may be exercised by employees of, or a person authorised by, the Director for that purpose. This would include civil servants employed by the Legal Aid Agency (LAA) for the purposes of determining applications for funding.</p><p>Determinations about eligibility for legal aid, including whether to exercise discretion under Regulation 31(b) of the Civil Legal Aid (Financial Resources and Payment for Services) Regulations 2013, are generally made by LAA staff under delegated authority from the Director, applying the guidance set out in the Lord Chancellor’s Guidance on determining financial eligibility for certificated work.</p><p>Any decision to refer a determination about eligibility for legal aid upwards to the Director is taken by caseworkers and managers based on the information in individual applications.</p><p>Typically, applications for civil legal aid are submitted to the LAA on behalf of applicants by a legal representative using the LAA’s Client and Cost Management System (CCMS). The legal representative would provide initial advice regarding financial eligibility and would include any submissions regarding the exercise of discretion under s.31(b) of the Civil Legal Aid (Financial Resources and Payment for Services) Regulations 2013 within the application submitted to the LAA, where applicable.</p><p>LAA call handlers would not generally be expected, or required, to ask legal aid applicants about their financial eligibility. Call handlers are not responsible for determining financial eligibility for legal aid. Financial eligibility for legal aid can only be determined by the Director or LAA staff upon submission of a fully completed application for legal aid.</p><p>However, LAA call handlers are aware of the guidance regarding the Director’s discretion under s.31(b) of the Civil Legal Aid (Financial Resources and Payment for Services) Regulations 2013, as set out at section 6.3 of the Lord Chancellor’s guidance on determining financial eligibility for certificated work. In particular, section 6.3 makes clear the outcome of the judgment in the case of R(GR) v DLAC [2020] EWHC 3140 (Admin) and how this should be applied when determining financial eligibility. Call handlers will direct individuals to this published guidance where they receive calls enquiring about financial eligibility. Call handlers undertake regular training in all areas of legal aid work and any changes to regulations and guidance are cascaded to LAA staff, including call handlers.</p><p>Under s.4 of LASPO the Lord Chancellor may provide directions or guidance about the carrying out of the Director’s functions. The Director must comply with the directions given by the Lord Chancellor and must have regard to guidance given by the Lord Chancellor about the carrying out of those functions.</p><p>However, the Lord Chancellor must not give a direction or guidance about the carrying out of the Director’s functions in relation to an individual legal aid application. In addition, the Lord Chancellor must ensure the Director acts independently of the Lord Chancellor when applying a direction or guidance to an individual case.</p><p>Any directions or guidance given by the Lord Chancellor must be published. In this case the Lord Chancellor has, following the judgment in R(GR) v DLAC [2020] EWHC 3140 (Admin), published guidance regarding the exercise of discretion under s.31(b) of the Civil Legal Aid (Financial Resources and Payment for Services) Regulations 2013, at section 6.3 of the Lord Chancellor’s guidance on determining financial eligibility for certificated work.</p><p>Any steps to disseminate guidance to LAA staff, including call handlers and means assessors, or to organise relevant training, is properly the responsibility of the LAA’s Chief Executive (currently the role of Chief Executive and the Director are held by the same individual) and not the Lord Chancellor.</p><p>However, I understand all LAA staff who are responsible for making determinations on financial eligibility undertake comprehensive training, are provided with relevant guidance materials, and follow defined processes to ensure they are able to make reasonable and consistent decisions.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency South Suffolk answering member printed James Cartlidge grouped question UIN 113255 113257 113258 question first answered 01/02/2022 17:59:25 answering member 4519 label Biography information for James Cartlidge
tabling member	4671 label Biography information for Afzal Khan

1417480

registered interest
date	27/01/2022
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Coronavirus: Disease Control
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many fines have been issued to people in Ellesmere Port and Neston constituency for breaches of covid-19 regulations.
tabling member constituency	Ellesmere Port and Neston
tabling member printed	Justin Madders
uin	113155
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/02/2022 answer text <p>The Ministry of Justice has published prosecutions, convictions and sentencing outcomes in England &amp; Wales up to the year ending December 2020 and is available in the ‘Principal offence proceedings and outcomes by Home Office offence code data tool’, available at the following link:</p><p><a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/987731/HO-code-tool-principal-offence-2020.xlsx" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/987731/HO-code-tool-principal-offence-2020.xlsx</a>.</p><p>The Ministry of Justice does not hold information broken down by constituency, but by police force area or court. <br> <br> The pivot table linked above provides annual/quarterly figures for fines given for COVID-19 offences by Police Force Area. Ellesmere Port and Neston comes under the Cheshire Police Force Area. To find the number of fines given for COVID-19 offences for Cheshire, filter by the following in the above data tool:</p><ul><li>Select ‘16857’, ‘16858’, ‘16859’, ‘16860’ and ‘16861’ in the ‘offence code’ filter.</li><li>Select ‘Cheshire’ in the ‘Police Force Area’ filter.</li></ul><p>The number of fines issued for these offences in the Cheshire Police Force Area can be found in the resulting pivot table on row 37.</p> answering member constituency South Suffolk answering member printed James Cartlidge question first answered 04/02/2022 10:17:20 answering member 4519 label Biography information for James Cartlidge
tabling member	4418 label Biography information for Justin Madders

1417488

registered interest
date	27/01/2022
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisoners: Death
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many male prisoners died while in prisons in England and Wales in each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Harrow West
tabling member printed	Gareth Thomas
uin	113054
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/02/2022 answer text <p>The Department publishes statistics concerning deaths in prison custody in England and Wales in the quarterly Safety in Custody statistics. A spreadsheet containing statistics on all deaths in custody, up to December 2021, broken down by category including gender is available, in addition to quarterly bulletins outlining trends at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/safety-in-custody-quarterly-update-to-september-2021" target="_blank">Safety in custody: quarterly update to September 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a></p><p> </p><p>The Department also publishes figures concerning the rate of deaths per 1,000 prisoners (based on the average prison population at the end of each month within the 12-month period). Please see section 1.1 of the <em>Deaths in Custody 1978-2021</em> table.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins grouped question UIN 113055 113056 question first answered 04/02/2022 10:20:40 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
tabling member	177 label Biography information for Gareth Thomas

1417489

registered interest
date	27/01/2022
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisoners: Death
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many female prisoners died while in prisons in England and Wales in each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Harrow West
tabling member printed	Gareth Thomas
uin	113055
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/02/2022 answer text <p>The Department publishes statistics concerning deaths in prison custody in England and Wales in the quarterly Safety in Custody statistics. A spreadsheet containing statistics on all deaths in custody, up to December 2021, broken down by category including gender is available, in addition to quarterly bulletins outlining trends at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/safety-in-custody-quarterly-update-to-september-2021" target="_blank">Safety in custody: quarterly update to September 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a></p><p> </p><p>The Department also publishes figures concerning the rate of deaths per 1,000 prisoners (based on the average prison population at the end of each month within the 12-month period). Please see section 1.1 of the <em>Deaths in Custody 1978-2021</em> table.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins grouped question UIN 113054 113056 question first answered 04/02/2022 10:20:40 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
tabling member	177 label Biography information for Gareth Thomas

1417490

registered interest
date	27/01/2022
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisoners: Death
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners died while in prisons in England and Wales as a percentage of the total prison population in each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Harrow West
tabling member printed	Gareth Thomas
uin	113056
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/02/2022 answer text <p>The Department publishes statistics concerning deaths in prison custody in England and Wales in the quarterly Safety in Custody statistics. A spreadsheet containing statistics on all deaths in custody, up to December 2021, broken down by category including gender is available, in addition to quarterly bulletins outlining trends at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/safety-in-custody-quarterly-update-to-september-2021" target="_blank">Safety in custody: quarterly update to September 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a></p><p> </p><p>The Department also publishes figures concerning the rate of deaths per 1,000 prisoners (based on the average prison population at the end of each month within the 12-month period). Please see section 1.1 of the <em>Deaths in Custody 1978-2021</em> table.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins grouped question UIN 113054 113055 question first answered 04/02/2022 10:20:40 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
tabling member	177 label Biography information for Gareth Thomas

1417491

registered interest
date	27/01/2022
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisoners: Death
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what were the 10 principal causes of death of those prisoners who died while in men's prisons in England and Wales in each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Harrow West
tabling member printed	Gareth Thomas
uin	113057
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/02/2022 answer text <p>The Department publishes statistics concerning deaths in prison custody in England and Wales in the quarterly Safety in Custody statistics. A spreadsheet containing statistics on all deaths in custody up to December 2021 is available, in addition to quarterly bulletins outlining trends, at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/safety-in-custody-quarterly-update-to-september-2021" target="_blank">Safety in custody: quarterly update to September 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a>.</p><p> </p><p>Those statistics are broken down by whether the death was self-inflicted, from natural causes, or from other non-natural causes, or by homicide. They also show the number of ‘awaiting further information’ cases where the cause of death cannot yet be ascertained and remains under investigation by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman or a coroner.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins grouped question UIN 113058 question first answered 04/02/2022 10:28:22 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
tabling member	177 label Biography information for Gareth Thomas

1417492

registered interest
date	27/01/2022
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisoners: Death
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what were the 10 principal causes of death of those prisoners who died while in women's prisons in England and Wales in each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Harrow West
tabling member printed	Gareth Thomas
uin	113058
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/02/2022 answer text <p>The Department publishes statistics concerning deaths in prison custody in England and Wales in the quarterly Safety in Custody statistics. A spreadsheet containing statistics on all deaths in custody up to December 2021 is available, in addition to quarterly bulletins outlining trends, at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/safety-in-custody-quarterly-update-to-september-2021" target="_blank">Safety in custody: quarterly update to September 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a>.</p><p> </p><p>Those statistics are broken down by whether the death was self-inflicted, from natural causes, or from other non-natural causes, or by homicide. They also show the number of ‘awaiting further information’ cases where the cause of death cannot yet be ascertained and remains under investigation by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman or a coroner.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins grouped question UIN 113057 question first answered 04/02/2022 10:28:22 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
tabling member	177 label Biography information for Gareth Thomas

1416768

registered interest
date	26/01/2022
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Bounce Back Loan Scheme: Fraud
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of cases in which a fraud conviction has been secured involving the coronavirus Bounce Back Loan scheme and in which individuals have created a fake company in order to secure a coronavirus Bounce Back Loan.
tabling member constituency	Croydon North
tabling member printed	Steve Reed
uin	112565
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/01/2022 answer text <p>The number of prosecutions and convictions for Bounce Back Loan fraud offences where individuals created a fake company is not centrally held in the court proceedings database, as the Bounce Back Loan scheme is not separately identified from wider fraud offences in legislation. Identifying these offences separately would require a manual search of court records, which would be at disproportionate costs.</p><p>Published figures provide the number of prosecutions and convictions for the following offences may include offences of fraud involving the Bounce Back Loan scheme:</p><ul><li>False Accounting,</li><li>Fraud by false representation: other frauds,</li><li>Fraud by failing to disclose information,</li><li>Fraud by abuse of position,</li><li>Conspiracy to defraud,</li><li>Money Laundering,</li><li>Disclosure, obstruction, false or misleading statements.</li></ul><p> </p><p>The number of prosecutions and convictions can be found by searching for the above offences in the ‘Offence’ filter in the ‘<a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/987715/outcomes-by-offence-2020.xlsx" target="_blank">Outcomes by offence data tool</a>’ available here:</p><p><a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/987715/outcomes-by-offence-2020.xlsx" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/987715/outcomes-by-offence-2020.xlsx</a>.</p><p>As reported in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy’s 2020-21 Annual Report and Accounts, the latest estimate of the rate of fraud and error in Bounce Back Loan Scheme (BBLS) is 11.15%. This estimate is based on a sampling exercise which involved assessing a small proportion of BBLS facilities against potential fraud risk indicators. Such indicators included whether a business was trading at the point of application or prior to 1 March 2020. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy will continue to refine these estimates as more data becomes available.</p> answering member constituency South Suffolk answering member printed James Cartlidge question first answered 31/01/2022 16:29:27 answering member 4519 label Biography information for James Cartlidge
tabling member	4268 label Biography information for Steve Reed

1416801

registered interest
date	26/01/2022
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Residential Women's Centres: Wales
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress he has made on establishing women's residential centres in Wales as part of his Department's Female Offender Strategy.
tabling member constituency	Dwyfor Meirionnydd
tabling member printed	Liz Saville Roberts
uin	112647
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/02/2022 answer text <p>On 5 May 2020, the Government announced the first Residential Women’s Centre will be in Wales. Working closely with partners, including the Welsh Government and local authorities, we are making good progress towards the purchase of a site which, if successful, would then be submitted into a planning application process.</p><p>We have developed a specification for the service delivery and building design in partnership with providers, probation staff and women with lived experience amongst others.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 01/02/2022 16:17:09 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
tabling member	4521 label Biography information for Liz Saville Roberts

1416840

registered interest
date	26/01/2022
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Legal Aid Scheme: Wales
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many legal aid providers there were in (a) Gwent and (b) Wales in (i) 2019 (ii) 2020 and (iii) 2021.
tabling member constituency	Newport East
tabling member printed	Jessica Morden
uin	112502
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/01/2022 answer text <p>The information requested can be found in the tables below:</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Providers</strong></p></td><td><p>Mar-19</p></td><td><p>Mar-20</p></td><td><p>Mar-21</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Gwent (Newport)</p></td><td><p>25</p></td><td><p>26</p></td><td><p>25</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Rest of Wales</p></td><td><p>142</p></td><td><p>131</p></td><td><p>129</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Total Provider in Wales</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>159</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>149</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>146</strong></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Offices</strong></p></td><td><p>Mar-19</p></td><td><p>Mar-20</p></td><td><p>Mar-21</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Gwent (Newport)</p></td><td><p>32</p></td><td><p>33</p></td><td><p>31</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Rest of Wales</p></td><td><p>235</p></td><td><p>223</p></td><td><p>219</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Total Offices in Wales</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>267</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>256</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>250</strong></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>The data above shows both the total number of organisations with a presence in Gwent and Wales and the number of provider offices based in Gwent and Wales as at 31 March for each year. The term provider refers to a particular firm or organisation who holds a contract with the Legal Aid Agency (LAA). The LAA only tracks the number of contracted providers, not the number of individual practitioners who work provide legal aid services.</p><p> </p><p>Providers may have one or more office and may hold a contract to provide civil legal aid, criminal legal or both civil and criminal legal aid services.</p><p>The LAA frequently reviews market capacity to make sure there is adequate provision around the country and moves quickly to secure additional provision where necessary.</p> answering member constituency South Suffolk answering member printed James Cartlidge question first answered 31/01/2022 16:28:09 answering member 4519 label Biography information for James Cartlidge
tabling member	1548 label Biography information for Jessica Morden