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1216030

registered interest
date	22/06/2020
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Legal Ombudsman
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how his Department ensures that the office of the Legal Ombudsman does not discriminate against people suffering from mental health issues during the decision making process.
tabling member constituency	Coventry South
tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
uin	62649
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/06/2020 answer text <p>The Office for Legal Complaints (OLC) is an arm’s length body – which administers the Legal Ombudsman scheme (LeO) – and makes decisions in relation to cases considered under the scheme independently of, and without influence from, the Ministry of Justice.</p><p>We are aware that LeO staff receive training on reasonable adjustments and have Dedicated Vulnerable Customers Champions to identify customers who may need additional assistance or reasonable adjustments to access its service. This includes adjustments for mental health reasons.</p><p>The OLC also has a service complaints process, of which the last stage is escalation to the Service Complaint Adjudicator who is appointed by the Board and independent of the OLC.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk question first answered 25/06/2020 16:45:59 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1216092

registered interest
date	22/06/2020
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Legal Profession: Disclosure of Information
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 prevalence of use of non-disclosure agreements by legal professionals; and what steps his department is taking to help ensure that non-disclosure agreements are not misused.
tabling member constituency	Coventry South
tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
uin	62650
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/06/2020 answer text <p>The legal profession in England and Wales is independent of Government and legal professionals are regulated by a number of regulators including the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) and the Bar Standards Board (BSB). Legal professionals must comply with a detailed Code of Conduct, which ensures that high standards of conduct are met.</p><p>The SRA has issued guidance via a warning notice to all regulated individuals and entities on the use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs). The SRA warning notice confirms that they consider NDAs to be improperly used if they prevent a person from reporting misconduct, making a protected disclosure, reporting an offence or cooperating with criminal activity. The SRA has also been taking enforcement action against solicitors over the misuse of NDAs.</p><p>The Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy has published its response to views on consultation on confidentiality clauses. This proposes new legislation to further protect consumers in the provision of such legal services and deter rogue practice.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk question first answered 25/06/2020 16:48:25 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1198772

registered interest
date	28/05/2020
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Criminal Legal Aid Review
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of the recommendations of the Law Society's submission to Criminal Legal Aid Review, published in February 2020.
tabling member constituency	Coventry South
tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
uin	52555
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/06/2020 answer text <p>In order to focus on the most pressing issues for practitioners during the COVID-19 pandemic we agreed to temporarily pause our work on the Criminal Legal Aid Review in order to focus on short term sustainability issues. We will return to the review, which has a wider focus on long term sustainability of the criminal legal aid market as quickly as we can, while doing all we can to mitigate the current crisis and support justice recovery.</p><p> </p><p>On 28 February 2020, as part of the review, we launched a consultation on policy proposals for the “Criminal legal Aid Review - An accelerated package of measures amending the criminal legal aid fee schemes”. This consultation remains open and we continue to engage with various stakeholder and representative bodies and value the contributions being made. Once the consultation closes, the Government will publish its response after carefully considering the issues raised by the Law Society and others who respond to the consultation.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk question first answered 09/06/2020 18:00:36 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1178959

registered interest
date	21/02/2020
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Terrorism: Rehabilitation
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps the Government is taking to rehabilitate prisoners convicted of terrorism offences; and which (a) organisations and (b) individuals provide rehabilitation programmes to prisoners convicted of terrorism offences.
tabling member constituency	Coventry South
tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
uin	18871
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/03/2020 answer text <p>Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) use tailored interventions with offenders - psychological, ideological and theological - to support their disengagement and rehabilitation.</p><p>We continue to regularly review Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) intervention programmes to ensure they are informed by the most up to date research on correctional rehabilitation. Interventions are delivered by in-house HMPPS CT specialists or through a range of external providers. We are unable to disclose further information regarding external providers as we are concerned about the adverse impact disclosure will have on national security.</p><p>More widely, we have trained over 29,000 prison staff to recognise, report and challenge extremist behaviour in prison. HMPPS works closely with partners, including with law enforcement, to understand and manage the risks that terrorist offenders present in prison, using a range of control and rehabilitation measures. This is underpinned by a specialist counter terrorism case management process, which is led by HMPPS Counter Terrorism specialists.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 02/03/2020 15:53:40 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1156143

registered interest
date	24/10/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	British Nationals Abroad: Homicide
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure that families whose loved ones are murdered abroad have access to criminal injuries compensation.
tabling member constituency	Coventry South
tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
uin	4922
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/10/2019 answer text <p>The Ministry of Justice is committed to ensuring effective support to families bereaved by murder and manslaughter. To ensure that these families are appropriately supported, whether the homicide takes place at home or abroad, we have provided up to £3.4m per annum in funding to deliver the Homicide Service.</p><p> </p><p>Families bereaved by violent crime can access the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme where the crime was committed in Great Britain, or the Victims of Overseas Terrorism Compensation Scheme where the crime was a terrorist attack committed overseas. Further, where the crime was committed in an EU member state, it may be possible for families to access any compensation scheme that the member state has under the EU Compensation Directive or the Council of Europe Convention on Compensation for Victims of Violent Crime.</p><p> </p><p>A review of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme is underway, looking at its scope, and eligibility rules and requirements. The recommendations of the Victims’ Commissioner in her report on the entitlements and experiences of bereaved families following homicide abroad will be considered carefully as part of this review.</p> answering member constituency Aldridge-Brownhills answering member printed Wendy Morton question first answered 29/10/2019 17:38:11 answering member 4358 label Biography information for Wendy Morton
tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1148187

registered interest
date	03/10/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Probation: Reform
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent progress he has made on plans for probation reform.
tabling member constituency	Coventry South
tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
uin	294094
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/10/2019 answer text <p>In May, we announced plans to strengthen probation by ending Community Rehabilitation Company contracts early and streamlining responsibilities for public, private and voluntary sector partners.</p><p> </p><p>This means the National Probation Service taking on supervision of all offenders, the private sector continuing to drive innovation in interventions, and greater voluntary sector involvement in rehabilitation.</p><p> </p><p>In July we published a Draft Operating Blueprint setting out further detail on our plans. We are continuing to test and refine the design for the future model with partners and stakeholders as plans for the transition take shape. In Wales we are proceeding with plans to move the responsibility for supervision of all offenders into the NPS by the end of 2019. Our experience there will help inform the approach to transition in England.</p><p> </p><p>We continue to drive improvements in service delivery under existing arrangements, including investing £22m per year to support an additional 500 CRC staff in prisons delivering sustained support for offenders to find accommodation and employment on release.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 08/10/2019 15:47:47 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1147874

registered interest
date	02/10/2019
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	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 tackle legal advice deserts.
tabling member constituency	Coventry South
tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
uin	293450
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/10/2019 answer text <p>People across England and Wales should be able to access the right legal support in the right way for them and in February the government set out a range of proposals in the Legal Support Action Plan to ensure this remains the case. The Legal Aid Agency frequently reviews market capacity to make sure there is adequate provision around the country and moves quickly to ensure provision where gaps may appear.</p><p>Wherever you are in England and Wales legal advice remains available through the Civil Legal Advice telephone line. Additionally, we are investing up to £5m to fund innovative new services, and we have recently published a consultation outlining new proposals for the Housing Possession Court Duty Scheme ensuring the sustainability of this vital service for anyone at risk of losing their home</p> answering member constituency Aldridge-Brownhills answering member printed Wendy Morton question first answered 07/10/2019 16:16:12 answering member 4358 label Biography information for Wendy Morton
tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1145862

registered interest
date	25/09/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons: Violence
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 trends in the level of violence in prisons.
tabling member constituency	Coventry South
tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
uin	290639
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/09/2019 answer text <p>The Government publishes quarterly statistics on violence in prison, and a more detailed annual breakdown, and both are available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/safety-in-custody-quarterly-update-to-march-2019. The relevant link is ‘Assaults in prison custody 2000 to 2018’ and the information can be found in table 3.1: Prison assaults summary statistics by calendar year, England and Wales, 2000-2018.</p><p> </p><p>There are clear challenges at many of our prisons, with levels of violence unacceptably high.</p><p> </p><p>That’s why we are investing £100m to bolster security and stability in prisons, in addition to £70 million announced previously. This will fund tough airport-style security, including X-ray scanners and metal detectors to clamp down on the drugs, weapons and mobile phones that increase the risk to our officers and hinder rehabilitation.</p><p> </p><p>It will take time for improvements to be seen across the estate but we remain determined to make progress and will continue to prioritise this important work.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer grouped question UIN 290641 question first answered 30/09/2019 16:57:11 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1145863

registered interest
date	25/09/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prison Officers: Retirement
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the merits of reducing the retirement age for prisons officers.
tabling member constituency	Coventry South
tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
uin	290640
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/09/2019 answer text <p>There has been no assessment undertaken on the merits of reducing the retirement age for prison officers. The retirement age within the Civil Service Pension Scheme (which Prison Officers are members of) is set by Cabinet Office and not the service.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 30/09/2019 16:58:03 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1145870

registered interest
date	25/09/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons: Crimes of Violence
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate she has made of the number of violent incidents against prison officers in prisons in each of last five years.
tabling member constituency	Coventry South
tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
uin	290641
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/09/2019 answer text <p>The Government publishes quarterly statistics on violence in prison, and a more detailed annual breakdown, and both are available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/safety-in-custody-quarterly-update-to-march-2019. The relevant link is ‘Assaults in prison custody 2000 to 2018’ and the information can be found in table 3.1: Prison assaults summary statistics by calendar year, England and Wales, 2000-2018.</p><p> </p><p>There are clear challenges at many of our prisons, with levels of violence unacceptably high.</p><p> </p><p>That’s why we are investing £100m to bolster security and stability in prisons, in addition to £70 million announced previously. This will fund tough airport-style security, including X-ray scanners and metal detectors to clamp down on the drugs, weapons and mobile phones that increase the risk to our officers and hinder rehabilitation.</p><p> </p><p>It will take time for improvements to be seen across the estate but we remain determined to make progress and will continue to prioritise this important work.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer grouped question UIN 290639 question first answered 30/09/2019 16:57:11 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham