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1348197

registered interest
date	19/07/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Legal Aid Scheme: Special Guardianship Orders
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 extending the eligibility criteria for legal aid for (a) special guardians and (b) prospective special guardians, including the removal of means testing; and if he will publish any economic modelling undertaken in relation to that assessment.
tabling member constituency	Denton and Reddish
tabling member printed	Andrew Gwynne
uin	35563
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/07/2021 answer text <p>In February 2019 as part of the Legal Support Action Plan, we committed to bringing special guardianship orders into scope of legal aid.</p><p>Although work was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic response, we are intending to look into the role of special guardians and at the scope for extending legal aid to special guardians in private law proceedings as part of wider consideration of the civil legal aid scheme more generally.</p><p>We are currently conducting a review of the means test for legal aid. We plan to conclude the review in later 2021, at which point we will publish a full consultation paper setting out our future policy proposals in this area which will include a full impact assessment. We will take these proposals into consideration for the approach to means testing when looking into special guardianship orders.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk question first answered 22/07/2021 14:47:56 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
tabling member	1506 label Biography information for Andrew Gwynne

1347750

registered interest
date	16/07/2021
answering body	Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept id	13
answering dept short name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
answering dept sort name	Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
hansard heading	Export Health Certificates
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to (a) simplify the application process for Animal Health Certificates for pet owners wishing to bring pets into the EU and (b) incentivise vets to take the requisite courses to issue Animal Health Certificates.
tabling member constituency	Denton and Reddish
tabling member printed	Andrew Gwynne
uin	34467
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/07/2021 answer text <p>The United Kingdom (UK) has now been formally ‘listed’ as a ‘Part 2’ third country for the purposes of the EU pet travel regulations, which means that new rules now apply to pet movements from Great Britain (GB) to the EU and Northern Ireland (NI). These rules are governed by the EU Pet Travel Scheme, including those relating to certification for travel to the EU and NI.</p><p> </p><p>Defra has been clear that there are no animal health or biosecurity justifications for these additional rules to travel to the EU or NI. We will continue to press the EU Commission in relation to securing ‘Part 1’ listed status, recognising that achieving this would alleviate some of the new requirements for pet owners and assistance dog users travelling, including the requirement for an Animal Health Certificate (AHC).</p><p> </p><p>Our advice for pet owners and users of assistance dogs travelling is that they should continue to contact their vet at least one month in advance to ensure their pet has the correct vaccinations and paperwork to travel abroad. The costs of completing and issuing an AHC are commercial decisions, set by individual veterinary practices.</p><p> </p><p>APHA has publicised the availability of the required training course and has made it easily available on-line. As of 13 July 2021, there are 7,387 Official Veterinarians in Great Britain authorised by APHA to issue Animal Health Certificates. COVID travel restrictions have previously decreased demand for AHCs to allow pets to travel with their owners from January this year; however, we are not aware of any concerns about there being insufficient numbers of authorised OVs to meet expected demand for AHCs in the future as travel restrictions continue to lift.</p> answering member constituency Banbury answering member printed Victoria Prentis question first answered 21/07/2021 14:44:59 answering member 4401 label Biography information for Victoria Prentis
tabling member	1506 label Biography information for Andrew Gwynne

1345818

registered interest
date	12/07/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Special Guardianship Orders: Legal Aid Scheme
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the February 2019 Legal Support Action Plan, when he plans to bring forward proposals to expand the scope of legal aid to cover special guardianship orders in private law.
tabling member constituency	Denton and Reddish
tabling member printed	Andrew Gwynne
uin	31346
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/07/2021 answer text <p>In February 2019 as part of the Legal Support Action Plan, we agreed to remove the means test for those with parental responsibility to oppose placement or adoption orders in family law proceedings and we committed to bringing special guardianship orders into scope of legal aid.</p><p>Over the past year many elements of the Action Plan are up and running and work is proceeding on other. For example, the Civil Legal Aid Means Test Review is currently underway and is due to consult in the Autumn of this year, £3.1m has been provided for legal support for litigants in person, and changes have been made to the Civil Legal Aid telephone service, making it easier for people to get face to face advice. Furthermore, we’ve widened the scope of legal aid to cover immigration matters for separated migrant children.</p><p>Work onthis specific action has been delayed, most recently due to the focus on the ongoing response to the Covid 19 pandemic and the prioritisation of Covid recovery. However, we still intend to undertake this work and will communicate revised timelines to stakeholders in due course.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk grouped question UIN 31347 question first answered 15/07/2021 16:28:16 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
tabling member	1506 label Biography information for Andrew Gwynne

1345819

registered interest
date	12/07/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Adoption: Legal Aid Scheme
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the February 2019 Legal Support Action Plan, when he plans to bring forward proposals to extend eligibility for non‑means tested legal aid for parents, or those with parental responsibility, who wish to oppose applications for placement orders or adoption orders in public family law proceedings.
tabling member constituency	Denton and Reddish
tabling member printed	Andrew Gwynne
uin	31347
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/07/2021 answer text <p>In February 2019 as part of the Legal Support Action Plan, we agreed to remove the means test for those with parental responsibility to oppose placement or adoption orders in family law proceedings and we committed to bringing special guardianship orders into scope of legal aid.</p><p>Over the past year many elements of the Action Plan are up and running and work is proceeding on other. For example, the Civil Legal Aid Means Test Review is currently underway and is due to consult in the Autumn of this year, £3.1m has been provided for legal support for litigants in person, and changes have been made to the Civil Legal Aid telephone service, making it easier for people to get face to face advice. Furthermore, we’ve widened the scope of legal aid to cover immigration matters for separated migrant children.</p><p>Work onthis specific action has been delayed, most recently due to the focus on the ongoing response to the Covid 19 pandemic and the prioritisation of Covid recovery. However, we still intend to undertake this work and will communicate revised timelines to stakeholders in due course.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk grouped question UIN 31346 question first answered 15/07/2021 16:28:16 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
tabling member	1506 label Biography information for Andrew Gwynne

1345820

registered interest
date	12/07/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Special Guardianship Orders: Legal Aid Scheme
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to applications for legal aid by prospective special guardians in private law proceedings, (a) how many and what proportion of those applications were granted and (b) what the average award was, in each year since 2016.
tabling member constituency	Denton and Reddish
tabling member printed	Andrew Gwynne
uin	31348
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/07/2021 answer text <p>Applications for legal aid by prospective special guardians in private law proceedings:</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Financial year</p></td><td><p>Certificates Granted</p></td><td><p>% Granted</p></td><td><p>Average Costs (£)</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016-17</p></td><td><p>131</p></td><td><p>71%</p></td><td><p>1,830</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017-18</p></td><td><p>145</p></td><td><p>77%</p></td><td><p>1,874</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018-19</p></td><td><p>125</p></td><td><p>70%</p></td><td><p>2,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2019-20</p></td><td><p>183</p></td><td><p>79%</p></td><td><p>2,887</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2020-21</p></td><td><p>165</p></td><td><p>73%</p></td><td><p>2,754</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Please note that average costs are based on those cases which have billed in this period. Cases may conclude and bill in a different period from that which they were granted in.</p><p>Figures relate to applications for legal aid certificates submitted to the Legal Aid Agency. Equivalent figures for advice and assistance provided under the Legal Help scheme are not available, as the decision to grant funding at that tier rests with the solicitor providing the legal services.</p><p>Applications may not be granted for a variety of reasons, including being rejected for administrative reasons, with withdrawn or abandoned by the applicant, or not satisfying one or more of the requisite eligibility criteria.</p><p>Legal aid to obtain a special guardianship order is available, subject to means and merits tests, and evidence of either domestic violence or a risk of child abuse.</p><p> </p><p>Information on applications for legal aid from non-parent parties in care proceedings for the purposes of pursuing placement of the subject child with them, or prospective kinship carers joined as parties to care proceedings, is only available at disproportionate cost.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp grouped question UIN 31349 31350 question first answered 15/07/2021 17:19:29 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	1506 label Biography information for Andrew Gwynne

1345821

registered interest
date	12/07/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Care Proceedings: Legal Aid Scheme
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to applications for legal aid from non-parent parties in care proceedings for the purposes of pursuing placement of the subject child with them, (a) how many and what proportion of those applications were granted and (b) what the average award was, in each year since 2016.
tabling member constituency	Denton and Reddish
tabling member printed	Andrew Gwynne
uin	31349
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/07/2021 answer text <p>Applications for legal aid by prospective special guardians in private law proceedings:</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Financial year</p></td><td><p>Certificates Granted</p></td><td><p>% Granted</p></td><td><p>Average Costs (£)</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016-17</p></td><td><p>131</p></td><td><p>71%</p></td><td><p>1,830</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017-18</p></td><td><p>145</p></td><td><p>77%</p></td><td><p>1,874</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018-19</p></td><td><p>125</p></td><td><p>70%</p></td><td><p>2,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2019-20</p></td><td><p>183</p></td><td><p>79%</p></td><td><p>2,887</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2020-21</p></td><td><p>165</p></td><td><p>73%</p></td><td><p>2,754</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Please note that average costs are based on those cases which have billed in this period. Cases may conclude and bill in a different period from that which they were granted in.</p><p>Figures relate to applications for legal aid certificates submitted to the Legal Aid Agency. Equivalent figures for advice and assistance provided under the Legal Help scheme are not available, as the decision to grant funding at that tier rests with the solicitor providing the legal services.</p><p>Applications may not be granted for a variety of reasons, including being rejected for administrative reasons, with withdrawn or abandoned by the applicant, or not satisfying one or more of the requisite eligibility criteria.</p><p>Legal aid to obtain a special guardianship order is available, subject to means and merits tests, and evidence of either domestic violence or a risk of child abuse.</p><p> </p><p>Information on applications for legal aid from non-parent parties in care proceedings for the purposes of pursuing placement of the subject child with them, or prospective kinship carers joined as parties to care proceedings, is only available at disproportionate cost.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp grouped question UIN 31348 31350 question first answered 15/07/2021 17:19:29 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	1506 label Biography information for Andrew Gwynne

1345822

registered interest
date	12/07/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Care Proceedings: Legal Aid Scheme
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of prospective kinship carers joined as parties to care proceedings were granted legal aid, in each year since 2016.
tabling member constituency	Denton and Reddish
tabling member printed	Andrew Gwynne
uin	31350
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/07/2021 answer text <p>Applications for legal aid by prospective special guardians in private law proceedings:</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Financial year</p></td><td><p>Certificates Granted</p></td><td><p>% Granted</p></td><td><p>Average Costs (£)</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016-17</p></td><td><p>131</p></td><td><p>71%</p></td><td><p>1,830</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017-18</p></td><td><p>145</p></td><td><p>77%</p></td><td><p>1,874</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018-19</p></td><td><p>125</p></td><td><p>70%</p></td><td><p>2,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2019-20</p></td><td><p>183</p></td><td><p>79%</p></td><td><p>2,887</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2020-21</p></td><td><p>165</p></td><td><p>73%</p></td><td><p>2,754</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Please note that average costs are based on those cases which have billed in this period. Cases may conclude and bill in a different period from that which they were granted in.</p><p>Figures relate to applications for legal aid certificates submitted to the Legal Aid Agency. Equivalent figures for advice and assistance provided under the Legal Help scheme are not available, as the decision to grant funding at that tier rests with the solicitor providing the legal services.</p><p>Applications may not be granted for a variety of reasons, including being rejected for administrative reasons, with withdrawn or abandoned by the applicant, or not satisfying one or more of the requisite eligibility criteria.</p><p>Legal aid to obtain a special guardianship order is available, subject to means and merits tests, and evidence of either domestic violence or a risk of child abuse.</p><p> </p><p>Information on applications for legal aid from non-parent parties in care proceedings for the purposes of pursuing placement of the subject child with them, or prospective kinship carers joined as parties to care proceedings, is only available at disproportionate cost.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp grouped question UIN 31348 31349 question first answered 15/07/2021 17:19:29 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	1506 label Biography information for Andrew Gwynne

1344688

registered interest
date	07/07/2021
answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept id	208
answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
hansard heading	Integrated Activity Fund
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the Answer of 23 October 2020 to Question 106362 and with reference to his Department’s management of the Integrated Activity Fund (IAF) from 2016-18, how many projects delivered through the IAF) (a) were and (b) were not subject to an Overseas Security and Justice Assistance assessment in each of the (i) 2016-17 and (ii) 2017-18 financial years.
tabling member constituency	Denton and Reddish
tabling member printed	Andrew Gwynne
uin	28991
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/07/2021 answer text <p>I refer the Honourable Member to my response to question 113154 on 12 November 2020.</p> answering member constituency Braintree answering member printed James Cleverly question first answered 12/07/2021 15:46:29 answering member 4366 label Biography information for James Cleverly
tabling member	1506 label Biography information for Andrew Gwynne

1341326

registered interest
date	28/06/2021
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Hezbollah
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of fully proscribing Hezbollah in 2019.
tabling member constituency	Denton and Reddish
tabling member printed	Andrew Gwynne
uin	23107
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/07/2021 answer text <p>The Government assesses proscription is a powerful tool within the counter-terrorism toolkit. In addition to the criminal offences associated with proscription, the tool can have a powerful impact on behaviour and disincentivise people from becoming members or supporters of a proscribed organisation, as well as supporting other forms of disruptive activity, including asset freezing and the take down of online content.</p><p>Since the extension of Hizballah’s proscription in 2019, the Government has also extended the UK’s domestic asset freeze to cover the group in its entirety.</p><p>Investigations into the activities of proscribed organisations, or individuals who may be members or supporters of proscribed organisations, are an operational matter for the police and intelligence agencies. It would not be appropriate to publish data on intelligence related matters.</p><p>The Government does not routinely comment on intelligence matters, including whether groups are, or are not, being considered for proscription.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster grouped question UIN 23108 23109 23110 question first answered 02/07/2021 08:11:25 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster previous answer version 10892 answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
tabling member	1506 label Biography information for Andrew Gwynne

1341327

registered interest
date	28/06/2021
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Hezbollah
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has taken steps to use the expanded law enforcement authority following Hezbollah's proscription.
tabling member constituency	Denton and Reddish
tabling member printed	Andrew Gwynne
uin	23108
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/07/2021 answer text <p>The Government assesses proscription is a powerful tool within the counter-terrorism toolkit. In addition to the criminal offences associated with proscription, the tool can have a powerful impact on behaviour and disincentivise people from becoming members or supporters of a proscribed organisation, as well as supporting other forms of disruptive activity, including asset freezing and the take down of online content.</p><p>Since the extension of Hizballah’s proscription in 2019, the Government has also extended the UK’s domestic asset freeze to cover the group in its entirety.</p><p>Investigations into the activities of proscribed organisations, or individuals who may be members or supporters of proscribed organisations, are an operational matter for the police and intelligence agencies. It would not be appropriate to publish data on intelligence related matters.</p><p>The Government does not routinely comment on intelligence matters, including whether groups are, or are not, being considered for proscription.</p> answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster grouped question UIN 23107 23109 23110 question first answered 02/07/2021 08:11:25 answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster previous answer version 10917 answering member constituency Torbay answering member printed Kevin Foster answering member 4451 label Biography information for Kevin Foster
tabling member	1506 label Biography information for Andrew Gwynne