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1168902

registered interest
date	06/01/2020
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Magistrates: Retirement
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 potential merits of increasing the retirement age for magistrates to 75 years of age.
tabling member constituency	South Leicestershire
tabling member printed	Alberto Costa
uin	417
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/01/2020 answer text <p>In our response to the Justice Select Committee’s report on the Role of the Magistracy on 30 October 2019, we stated that we were positively considering the implications of raising the mandatory retirement age for judges and magistrates and would consult publicly on this in due course. Any change to the mandatory retirement age will require primary legislation.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 14/01/2020 17:28:59 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4439 label Biography information for Alberto Costa

1168776

registered interest
date	20/12/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Criminal Cases Review Commission
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish the results of any review that has been carried out by the Criminal Cases Review Commission, or other public authority within his responsibility, of criminal cases in which Mr John McCafferty was involved in providing forensic evidence for the prosecution.
tabling member constituency	Folkestone and Hythe
tabling member printed	Damian Collins
uin	281
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/01/2020 answer text <p>Section 23 of the Criminal Appeals Act 1995 prevents the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) from disclosing any information obtained by the Commission in the exercise of any of their functions (specified exceptions do apply).</p><p> </p><p>In line with legislation, following a Case Review the CCRC will provide all applicants with a Statement of Reasons, as to why the case was referred or not referred to the Court of Appeal.</p><p> </p><p>The Ministry of Justice is not aware of any other reviews undertaken by other public authorities that concerned Mr McCafferty. Mr McCafferty previously worked for the Forensic Science Service (FSS). The FSS was a government owned company, sponsored by the Home Office, which was dissolved in 2012.</p> answering member constituency Aldridge-Brownhills answering member printed Wendy Morton question first answered 07/01/2020 16:40:39 answering member 4358 label Biography information for Wendy Morton
tabling member	3986 label Biography information for Damian Collins

1168294

registered interest
date	19/12/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Criminal Proceedings: Interpreters
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether translators in criminal trials are remunerated in cases where the foreign-speaking defendant does not turn up for their trial.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	92
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/01/2020 answer text <p>If an interpreter has attended a booking, but is no longer required to deliver service, at a minimum they will be paid a cancellation fee. Depending on the circumstances the interpreter may also receive a payment for the time spent waiting to provide a service at the venue.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 07/01/2020 12:45:30 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

1168375

registered interest
date	19/12/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Duty Solicitors: West Midlands
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent steps his Department has taken to ensure sufficient numbers of criminal duty solicitors are available in the West Midlands.
tabling member constituency	Sutton Coldfield
tabling member printed	Mr Andrew Mitchell
uin	40
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/01/2020 answer text <p>The Government is clear that there are sufficient solicitors to undertake criminal legal aid-funded cases and will make sure this continues to be the case in the West Midlands. The Government commenced a review of all criminal legal aid fee schemes in December 2018, including the criminal duty solicitor fee scheme.</p><p>In June 2019 the Government took the decision to accelerate certain key areas of the Criminal Legal Aid Review that were highlighted to be of immediate concern to defence practitioners</p><p> </p><p>In addition to monitoring duty solicitor coverage on an ongoing basis where issues are identified, the Government continues to take action to ensure there is ongoing availability of criminal legal advice for the public.</p> answering member constituency Aldridge-Brownhills answering member printed Wendy Morton question first answered 07/01/2020 15:13:40 answering member 4358 label Biography information for Wendy Morton
tabling member	1211 label Biography information for Mr Andrew Mitchell

1168484

registered interest
date	19/12/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Coroners: Perinatal Mortality
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to introduce regulations for empowering coroners to investigate stillbirths under the terms of the Civil Partnerships, Marriage and Deaths (registration etc) Act 2019.
tabling member constituency	East Worthing and Shoreham
tabling member printed	Tim Loughton
uin	21
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/01/2020 answer text <p>The Civil Partnerships, Marriage and Deaths (Registration etc) Act 2019 requires the Secretary of State to publish a report on the question of when and if so how the law should be changed to enable or require coroners to investigate stillbirths before the Lord Chancellor can exercise the power to make regulations to amend the relevant provisions of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009. The Government has consulted on proposals for coroners to investigate stillbirths and a report will be published in due course.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Aldridge-Brownhills answering member printed Wendy Morton question first answered 13/01/2020 13:37:38 answering member 4358 label Biography information for Wendy Morton
tabling member	114 label Biography information for Tim Loughton

1168493

registered interest
date	19/12/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Miscarriages of Justice: Compensation
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on what date the Miscarriage of Justice Service received the application from Mr David Bryant of Christchurch for compensation; what the timeframe is for a decision to be made on that application; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Christchurch
tabling member printed	Sir Christopher Chope
uin	32
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/01/2020 answer text <p>The Miscarriage of Justice Application Service (‘MOJAS’) received Mr Bryant’s application on 8 March 2018.</p><p> </p><p>Each application is necessarily fact specific and enquiries need to be undertaken so that the Secretary of State has all the required information before making a decision. This involves, amongst other matters, contacting external agencies (such as the Crown Court, Court of Appeal or Crown Prosecution Service) to confirm the facts for each application and obtain documentation such as judgments and court files.</p><p> </p><p>Over the past weeks, MOJAS have been carefully reviewing all the requisite material in Mr Bryant’s case in line with the requirements of section 133 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988. We remain hopeful of reaching a decision within the next three months.</p> answering member constituency Aldridge-Brownhills answering member printed Wendy Morton question first answered 07/01/2020 15:18:11 answering member 4358 label Biography information for Wendy Morton
tabling member	242 label Biography information for Sir Christopher Chope

1168494

registered interest
date	19/12/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Television Licences: Non-payment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prosecutions for television licence fee evasion were made by magistrates' courts in (a) Dorset and (b) England in the last 12 months for which information is available; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Christchurch
tabling member printed	Sir Christopher Chope
uin	33
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/01/2020 answer text <p>The Ministry of Justice has published information on prosecutions and court outcomes by police force area, which can be found in the Court Outcome by Police Force Area data tool available here:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/804509/court-outcomes-by-PFA-2018.xlsx" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/804509/court-outcomes-by-PFA-2018.xlsx</a></p><p> </p><p>In the data tool:</p><p> </p><ul><li><p>Use the ‘Court type’ filter and select ’02: Magistrates court’.</p></li><li><p>Use the ‘Offence’ filter to select ‘191A Television licence evasion’.</p></li><li><p>Under the ‘Row Labels’ filter deselect ‘Dyfed-Powys, Gwent, North Wales and South Wales’ to include on the results for England. The number of prosecutions in a) each police force area, and b) the combined total across all areas, will then be visable by year.</p><p> </p><p>Following the introduction of Single Justice Procedure (SJP) offences in the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015, adults tried for summary non-imprisonable offences at the magistrates’ court can be dealt with remotely (the defendant does not need to physically attend court). Caution should be taken when interpreting trends by Police force area as particular courts may be allocated all the SJP offences for the entire region.</p></li></ul> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 07/01/2020 12:44:49 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	242 label Biography information for Sir Christopher Chope

1168496

registered interest
date	19/12/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisoners: Literacy
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent estimate he has made of the proportion of the prison population who are illiterate; and what steps he is taking to tackle illiteracy in the prison population.
tabling member constituency	East Yorkshire
tabling member printed	Sir Greg Knight
uin	35
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/01/2020 answer text <p>The Department for Education publishes data on English &amp; maths screenings undertaken when someone is received into prison. English screening data provides information on the proportion of prisoners who have very low levels of literacy. The most recent data available, for 2017/2018, can be found via the following link:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/fe-data-library-education-and-training" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/fe-data-library-education-and-training</a></p><p>For English, approximately 34% of prisoners were below the level expected of an 11-year-old. These prisoners would be regarded as having a high priority level of need.</p><p> </p><p>We have recently overhauled the prison education system, giving Governors control over the education budget for their prison, and have implemented two new prison education frameworks: the Prison Education Framework (PEF) and the Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS). Governors have the freedom to commission bespoke English education for prisoners with low levels of literacy through the PEF, aimed at addressing their high priority needs. The impact would be improvement in, for example, prisoners’ reading and writing.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 07/01/2020 16:17:58 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	1200 label Biography information for Sir Greg Knight

1168552

registered interest
date	19/12/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisoners: Pregnancy
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken following the disclosure of incidents involving pregnant women prisoners and their children at HMP Bronzefield.
tabling member printed	Lord Beecham
uin	HL10
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/01/2020 answer text <p>The recent incident at HMP Bronzefield is tragic. As there are a number of ongoing investigations, including an investigation by the police, it is not appropriate to comment further on the specific details of the incident.</p><p> </p><p>We are currently undertaking a fundamental review of the Mother and Baby Unit policy and the policy on managing pregnant women in custody. This will conclude in 2020.</p><p> </p><p>In the meantime, all pregnant women are seen by a professional midwife at least fortnightly, or more frequently if required. Healthcare in prisons is provided by specially trained medics and nurses. Medical emergencies are dealt with by 999 calls and prisoners have access to an emergency bell to alert staff at night. Women in prison have access to the same range of services as they would in the community.</p><p> </p><p>Following the events at HMP Bronzefield, we have introduced hourly checks throughout the night for all heavily pregnant women, and fortnightly pregnancy review boards are being held for them, involving a multidisciplinary team, in addition to existing support provisions.</p> answering member printed Lord Keen of Elie question first answered 07/01/2020 17:36:31 answering member 4538 label Biography information for Lord Keen of Elie
tabling member	4181 label Biography information for Lord Beecham

1168565

registered interest
date	19/12/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Marriage: Religion
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made on their commitment in the Integrated Communities Strategy Green Paper to "explore the legal and practical challenges of limited reform relating to the law on marriage and religious weddings."
tabling member printed	Baroness Cox
uin	HL23
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/01/2020 answer text <p>The law has long made provision for couples, including Muslim couples, to marry in their place of worship in a way that gives them legal rights and protections. The Government shares the concern that some people may nonetheless marry in a way that does not, and without appreciating the consequences.</p><p> </p><p>The independent Sharia review has recommended an offence apply to religious celebrants marrying in a ceremonythat is outside the ambit of the Marriage Acts.. Any legislative proposal, including such an offence, must be thoroughly assessed for its fairness to all religious groups and for how far it could achieve the change of practice intended. That is why it is with the greatest care that the Government is continuing the exploration of both limited reform and non-legislative options that it began in detail in the spring.</p><p> </p><p>Separately from this exploration, the Law Commission has begun its weddings project. It will make recommendations for how the wider law on getting married in England and Wales can be systematically reformed in a way that is simple, fair and consistent.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Keen of Elie grouped question UIN HL25 question first answered 07/01/2020 16:09:45 answering member 4538 label Biography information for Lord Keen of Elie
tabling member	3364 label Biography information for Baroness Cox