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1145679

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	Personal Independence Payment: Appeals
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent steps he has taken to reduce the waiting times for personal independence payments appeals to be heard in the Garston and Halewood constituency.
tabling member constituency	Garston and Halewood
tabling member printed	Maria Eagle
uin	290676
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/10/2019 answer text <p>The Ministry of Justice expects appeal hearings to take place as quickly as possible and is carrying out a series of initiatives to increase capacity which will help reduce waiting times for appellants in Garston and Halewood, whose closest tribunal venue is in Liverpool. Since January 2018, additional panel members have been recruited to hear cases at the Liverpool venue. Four judges, seven medical members and one specialist member have been allocated to Liverpool as their primary venue and a further 13 judges, seven medical members and 4 specialist members have been allocated to Liverpool as their secondary venue. In addition to this, the capacity at the Liverpool venue has recently increased and it is now using five to six hearing rooms on a daily basis.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 02/10/2019 15:12:53 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	483 label Biography information for Maria Eagle

1145680

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	Personal Independence Payment: Appeals
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average waiting time was for personal independence payments claimants awaiting an appeal on their claim to be heard in the Garston and Halewood constituency in each of the last 12 months.
tabling member constituency	Garston and Halewood
tabling member printed	Maria Eagle
uin	290677
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/09/2019 answer text <p>Waiting times for appeals against decisions made about Personal Independence Payment (PIP) are published at:</p><p>www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics</p><p> </p><p>Average waiting times<sup>1</sup> for PIP<sup>2</sup> appeals in Garston and Halewood<sup>3</sup> between July 2018 to June 2019 (the latest 12 month period for which data are available) are included in the table below:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Month</p></td><td><p>Waiting time (in weeks)<sup>4</sup></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>July 2018</p></td><td><p>34</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>August 2018</p></td><td><p>35</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>September 2018</p></td><td><p>37</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>October 2018</p></td><td><p>38</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>November 2018</p></td><td><p>38</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>December 2018</p></td><td><p>39</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>January 2019</p></td><td><p>37</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>February 2019</p></td><td><p>40</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>March 2019</p></td><td><p>36</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>April 2019<sup> p</sup></p></td><td><p>37</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>May 2019<sup> p</sup></p></td><td><p>35</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>June 2019<sup> p</sup></p></td><td><p>37</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p><sup>1. </sup>Waiting time is interpreted as average clearance time – time taken from appeal receipt to outcome.</p><p><sup>2. </sup>PIP (New Claim Appeals), which is replacing Disability Living Allowance was introduced on 8 April 2013, and also includes Disability Living Allowance Reassessed cases.</p><p><sup>3. </sup>SSCS data are recorded by the office that dealt with the case, and if the case went to oral hearing, the location of the tribunal hearing, which is normally the hearing venue nearest to the appellant’s home address. Cases relating to the Garston and Halewood constituency are attributed to the Liverpool venue.</p><p><sup>4. </sup>Includes all cases cleared both with and without a tribunal hearing, in line with the published statistics.</p><p><sup>p. </sup>Provisional data which are subject to change.</p><p> </p><p>Waiting times are calculated from receipt of an appeal to its final disposal. An appeal is not necessarily disposed of at its first hearing. The final disposal decision on the appeal may be reached after an earlier hearing had been adjourned (which may be directed by the judge for a variety of reasons, such as to seek further evidence), or after an earlier hearing date had been postponed (again, for a variety of reasons, often at the request of the appellant). An appeal may also have been decided at an earlier date by the First-tier Tribunal, only for the case to have gone on to the Upper Tribunal, to be returned once again to the First-tier, for its final disposal.</p><p> </p><p>It is important that appeals are heard as quickly as possible. HMCTS recognises there are delays in the system and it is in the process of recruiting more judicial office holders in order to increase capacity and help to reduce waiting times for appellants. This includes 250 judges across the First-tier Tribunal, 125 disability qualified members and up to 230 medical members.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, HMCTS has recently launched a new digital service with a view to enabling speedier processing of appeals. Information on the new digital service can be found at: www.gov.uk/appeal-benefit-decision/submit-appeal.</p><p> </p><p>HMCTS is also working with the Department for Work and Pensions to understand what could be done to reduce the number of appeals being submitted to the Tribunal, through their focus on improving decision-making and the mandatory reconsideration process.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 30/09/2019 16:48:22 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	483 label Biography information for Maria Eagle

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

1145892

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	Parole
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has plans to undertake a review of the Parole Board guidance on remorse shown by an offender following the release of Vanessa George.
tabling member constituency	Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport
tabling member printed	Luke Pollard
uin	291064
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/10/2019 answer text <p>Guidance to Parole Board members is a matter for the independent Parole Board. It would be inappropriate for the Government to review guidance issued by an independent body making judicial decisions.</p><p> </p><p>The Parole Board already provides guidance and training to Parole Board members to enable its members to decide whether a prisoner’s continued imprisonment is necessary for the protection of the public. This is a decision focused on an assessment of future risk and will ordinarily look at: the circumstances of the original offending; whether there is any evidence of change whilst in custody; and an assessment of whether risk can be managed in the community if the prisoner were to be released.</p><p> </p><p>In making decisions parole panels must take account of all the written and oral evidence provided, including whether the prisoner expresses remorse. Whilst remorse, or lack of it, cannot be determinative in a parole decision, in making its decisions a Parole Board panel will take account of a prisoner’s attitude to their original offences; their insight into the impact of their offending on victims; and the extent to which they now take responsibility for their offences.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 03/10/2019 14:44:57 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	4682 label Biography information for Luke Pollard

1145902

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	Trials: Legal Costs
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what legislation or guidelines determine who should pay the cost of counsel when a court case is adjourned the night before that trial is scheduled to take place.
tabling member constituency	Bolton South East
tabling member printed	Yasmin Qureshi
uin	290849
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/10/2019 answer text <p>For publicly funded criminal legal aid work, payment for the trial advocate (or counsel) in the Crown Court is determined in accordance with fees set out in Schedule 1 of The Criminal Legal Aid (Remuneration) Regulations 2013. The Crown Court Fee Guidance published by the Legal Aid Agency provides further guidance.</p><p> </p><p>Paragraph 16, Schedule 1 of the Remuneration Regulations states that an ineffective trial fixed fee <em>is payable in respect of each day on which the case was listed for trial but did not proceed on the day for which it was listed, for whatever reason.</em> The fee payable is set out at paragraph 24 of Schedule 1 of the Regulations and there are different fees according to the category of advocate instructed in the trial.</p> answering member constituency Aldridge-Brownhills answering member printed Wendy Morton question first answered 03/10/2019 15:03:00 answering member 4358 label Biography information for Wendy Morton
tabling member	3924 label Biography information for Yasmin Qureshi

1145910

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	Universal Credit: Appeals
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 effect of delays in universal credit tribunal hearings on claimants seeking an appeal; and what the average waiting is for an appeal to be heard.
tabling member constituency	Glenrothes
tabling member printed	Peter Grant
uin	290853
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/09/2019 answer text <p>According to the most recent statistics (April to June 2019), the average waiting time for an appeal to be heard by the Social Security and Child Support (SSCS) jurisdiction is 30 weeks.</p><p> </p><p>The Ministry of Justice recognises that there are delays in the system and that there is a need to increase capacity to help reduce waiting times for appellants. The Department is currently in the process of recruiting more judicial office holders to the SSCS jurisdiction. In 2018, 232 medical members and 118 disability-qualified members were additionally appointed to the SSCS jurisdiction and an extra 129 fee-paid judges have recently been appointed. The SSCS jurisdiction will also benefit from 100 salaried judges and 170 fee-paid judges being recruited across tribunals more widely. In addition, HMCTS are also developing a new digital system which enables speedier processing of appeals and a better service for all parties to the proceedings.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 30/09/2019 16:49:37 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	4466 label Biography information for Peter Grant

1145459

registered interest
date	24/09/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Fines: Surcharges
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 17 May 2019 to Question 252551, Answer of 10 July 2019 to Question 273770 and Answer of 29 July 2019 to Question 280263, on fines: surcharges, for what reason there was a £1 million difference between the raised and allocated amounts in the 2016-17 financial year; and where that money has been allocated.
tabling member constituency	Barnsley East
tabling member printed	Stephanie Peacock
uin	290445
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/09/2019 answer text <p>I am sorry to have to inform you that a rounding error was made in our response to PQ252551 and 252552. In checking that figure, we have also noted several other rounding errors. I therefore set out corrected figures relating to the Victim Surcharge provided in response to these PQs and PQ280263.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Financial Year</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Victim Surcharge (VS) Collected* </strong></p></td><td><p><strong>VS contribution to the Victim and Witness Budget* </strong></p></td><td><p><strong>VS contribution to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme*</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010/11</p></td><td><p>£10.5m</p></td><td><p>£10.5m</p></td><td><p>0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011/12</p></td><td><p>£10.2m</p></td><td><p>£10.2m</p></td><td><p>0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012/13</p></td><td><p>£10.5m</p></td><td><p>£10.5m</p></td><td><p>0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013/14</p></td><td><p>£19.5m</p></td><td><p>£19.5m</p></td><td><p>0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014/15</p></td><td><p>£24.6m</p></td><td><p>£24.6m</p></td><td><p>0</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015/16</p></td><td><p>£28.3m</p></td><td><p>£18.3m</p></td><td><p>£10.0m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016/17</p></td><td><p>£31.0m</p></td><td><p>£27.0m</p></td><td><p>£4.0m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017/18</p></td><td><p>£35.0m</p></td><td><p>£31.0m</p></td><td><p>£4.0m</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018/19</p></td><td><p>£33.5m</p></td><td><p>£30.5m</p></td><td><p>£3.0m</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>* Rounded to one decimal place</p> answering member constituency Aldridge-Brownhills answering member printed Wendy Morton question first answered 30/09/2019 16:20:03 answering member 4358 label Biography information for Wendy Morton
tabling member	4607 label Biography information for Stephanie Peacock

1145273

registered interest
date	06/09/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prison Officers: Recruitment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 30 July 2019 to Question 280425, whether funding for the additional prison officers recruited is from (a) existing funding from his Department or (b) additional funding from the public purse.
tabling member constituency	Leeds East
tabling member printed	Richard Burgon
uin	287921
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/09/2019 answer text <p>Additional funding announced by the Secretary of State in November 2016, for an additional 2,500 prison officer posts, was agreed with HM Treasury as part of the Autumn Statement 2016.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 26/09/2019 14:56:47 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	4493 label Biography information for Richard Burgon

1145318

registered interest
date	06/09/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Marriage: Humanism
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans he has to bring forward legislative proposals to amend section 14 of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 to give legal recognition to humanist marriages before waiting for the outcome of the Law Commission’s review.
tabling member constituency	Totnes
tabling member printed	Dr Sarah Wollaston
uin	287918
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/10/2019 answer text <p>The Law Commission review that the Government announced this June is a fundamental review of the law on how and where people can legally marry in England and Wales. As part of that review, the Government invited the Law Commission to make recommendations about how marriage by humanist and other non-religious belief organisations could be incorporated into a revised or new scheme for all marriages that is simple, fair and consistent.</p> answering member constituency Aldridge-Brownhills answering member printed Wendy Morton question first answered 03/10/2019 14:47:41 answering member 4358 label Biography information for Wendy Morton
tabling member	4073 label Biography information for Dr Sarah Wollaston

1145319

registered interest
date	06/09/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Marriage: Humanism
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, for what reasons the Law Commission is undertaking a review into humanist marriages.
tabling member constituency	Totnes
tabling member printed	Dr Sarah Wollaston
uin	287919
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/10/2019 answer text <p>The Law Commission review that the Government announced this June is a fundamental review of the law on how and where people can legally marry in England and Wales. The law has been added to over several centuries without any systematic reform.</p><p> </p><p>As part of that review, the Government invited the Law Commission to make recommendations about how marriage by humanist and other non-religious belief organisations could be incorporated into a revised or new scheme for all marriages that is simple, fair and consistent.</p><p> </p><p>The Law Commission has published the terms of reference for the review at https://www.lawcom.gov.uk/project/weddings/.</p> answering member constituency Aldridge-Brownhills answering member printed Wendy Morton question first answered 03/10/2019 14:47:04 answering member 4358 label Biography information for Wendy Morton
tabling member	4073 label Biography information for Dr Sarah Wollaston