Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his department has assessed the extent to which water companies, as statutory undertakers with statutory monopolies, will fall within the scope of the Public Office (Accountability) Bill.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The legal framework for the provision of water and sewage services varies significantly across the UK. In England and Wales, services are delivered by private companies (including not-for-profit organisations), whilst in Scotland and Northern Ireland services are delivered by publicly owned companies. The Bill is drafted so that the duty of candour and offence of misleading the public apply to all water companies when they exercise public functions. The Code of Conduct provisions would apply to the publicly owned water companies in Scotland and Northern Ireland and their workers, but not private companies in England and Wales.
In relation to the Misconduct in Public Office offences at Part 3 of the Bill, Schedule 4 sets out a definitive list of roles which make someone a “public office holder” for the purposes of these offences. Most roles are listed specifically in the Schedule, paragraph 22 is more general. It captures “Other public bodies and offices” who fulfil three criteria: (a) the body or office is established by statute, a Minister, government department, or under the Royal Prerogative; (b) appointments to the office are made by the Crown, a Minister, or government department, or (in the case of a body) appointments to the body are wholly or mainly made in that way; and (c) in that office or body they are exercising functions of a public nature.
Asked by: Suella Braverman (Reform UK - Fareham and Waterlooville)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what evaluation his Department has undertaken of the effectiveness of digital court reform programmes in ensuring timely, fair and transparent case management for small claims.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Department published its evaluation of the Online Civil Money Claims service on 11 September 2025, available on GOV.UK at: HM Courts & Tribunals Service Reform: Digital Services Evaluation - GOV.UK. This evaluation included assessments of case timeliness, equality outcomes and perceptions of fairness, and user experiences of and trust in case management.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the level of access small rural communities have to legal advice services.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Supporting access to justice for everyone in England and Wales is a key objective for this Government.
We recognise that accessing legal services can be more challenging in some areas than others, and that some people are digitally excluded and will require access to in-person provision. We support a mix of legal aid service provision including face-to-face, telephone and remote support for eligible people. People can use the ‘Find a legal aid adviser’ tool on GOV.UK to locate nearby solicitors or call the Civil Legal Advice helpline for advice on housing, debt, education and discrimination. Where local provision is limited, we signpost users to providers able to support clients remotely. Through our legal support grants and online advice services such as Advice Now, the Ministry of Justice is supporting delivery of in-person and online legal support for people with social welfare problems in England and Wales.
We are taking steps to improve access to and availability of legal support and legal aid. We have announced nearly £20 million of multi-year grant funding up to March 2029, for the delivery of legal support. In December 2025, we announced uplifts to immigration and housing legal aid fees in civil legal aid – the first major uplift since 1996. This will inject an additional £20 million into the civil legal aid sector each year once fully implemented. We are also providing additional funding of up to £34 million a year for criminal legal aid advocates, alongside a commitment to match-fund a number of criminal barrister pupillages. This is on top of the £92 million a year of additional funding for solicitors which we have recently introduced.
Asked by: Suella Braverman (Reform UK - Fareham and Waterlooville)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many instances of lost or unprocessed documents have been recorded by County Courts in the last 12 months; and what steps his Department is taking to reduce administrative errors in civil claims.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
There were more than 1.9 million civil claims issued in the County Court in 2025. County Court claims can be made via HMCTS’ modern digital services (Online Civil Money Claims and Damages Claims services), older digital services (Money Claims Online and Possession Claims Online) or on paper.
HMCTS keeps the Online Civil Money Claims (OCMC) service under routine operational monitoring.
No assessment has been undertaken specifically on the reliability of recording and processing defendants’ submissions. Issues identified through live running have been limited in number and resolved promptly and have not indicated a need for a wider assessment.
In 2025, of incidents and complaints received by HMCTS relating to civil claims, 342 complaints were classified as ‘documents or information went missing’, 222 complaints classified as ‘my documents were not filed’; 92 data incidents recorded as ‘loss or theft of paper documents inside HMCTS premises’ and 31 data incidents recorded as ‘loss or theft of paper documents outside HMCTS premises’. There will be further instances of lost or unprocessed documents which have not been recorded, for example because they have not caused a complaint or data incident.
HMCTS is reducing the risk of administrative errors in civil claims though work to digitalise processes. The OCMC and Damages Claims services enable parties to manage a civil claim digitally from start to finish, including the ability to upload evidence, make applications and view judicial orders online. A digital Possession Service is being developed. The Deputy Prime Minister has announced further modernisation of the Civil Courts with an over £50 million investment to continue digitalising the County Court. HMCTS is also improving internal electronic document management and replacing paper-based and email processes with a digital, centrally stored case file, reducing reliance on manual handling and physical transfer of documents between teams and courts.
HMCTS has processes to reduce the risk of default judgment being entered where a defence has been submitted but not yet processed. Defences provided by paper are prioritised and judgment requests returned; Money Claims Online (MCOL) applies a buffer to check for paper responses; and responses provided on paper to claims made via OCMC are processed on receipt, with functionality to set aside judgments where a response and judgment request coincide.
“Properly processed” means received and recorded by the court. Where a defence has not been received, default judgment cannot be prevented, but urgent set-aside processes are in place where court error is identified.
Asked by: Suella Braverman (Reform UK - Fareham and Waterlooville)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment has he made of the reliability of the Online Civil Money Claims system in recording and processing defendants’ submissions, including defences and responses to court directions.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
There were more than 1.9 million civil claims issued in the County Court in 2025. County Court claims can be made via HMCTS’ modern digital services (Online Civil Money Claims and Damages Claims services), older digital services (Money Claims Online and Possession Claims Online) or on paper.
HMCTS keeps the Online Civil Money Claims (OCMC) service under routine operational monitoring.
No assessment has been undertaken specifically on the reliability of recording and processing defendants’ submissions. Issues identified through live running have been limited in number and resolved promptly and have not indicated a need for a wider assessment.
In 2025, of incidents and complaints received by HMCTS relating to civil claims, 342 complaints were classified as ‘documents or information went missing’, 222 complaints classified as ‘my documents were not filed’; 92 data incidents recorded as ‘loss or theft of paper documents inside HMCTS premises’ and 31 data incidents recorded as ‘loss or theft of paper documents outside HMCTS premises’. There will be further instances of lost or unprocessed documents which have not been recorded, for example because they have not caused a complaint or data incident.
HMCTS is reducing the risk of administrative errors in civil claims though work to digitalise processes. The OCMC and Damages Claims services enable parties to manage a civil claim digitally from start to finish, including the ability to upload evidence, make applications and view judicial orders online. A digital Possession Service is being developed. The Deputy Prime Minister has announced further modernisation of the Civil Courts with an over £50 million investment to continue digitalising the County Court. HMCTS is also improving internal electronic document management and replacing paper-based and email processes with a digital, centrally stored case file, reducing reliance on manual handling and physical transfer of documents between teams and courts.
HMCTS has processes to reduce the risk of default judgment being entered where a defence has been submitted but not yet processed. Defences provided by paper are prioritised and judgment requests returned; Money Claims Online (MCOL) applies a buffer to check for paper responses; and responses provided on paper to claims made via OCMC are processed on receipt, with functionality to set aside judgments where a response and judgment request coincide.
“Properly processed” means received and recorded by the court. Where a defence has not been received, default judgment cannot be prevented, but urgent set-aside processes are in place where court error is identified.
Asked by: Suella Braverman (Reform UK - Fareham and Waterlooville)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what safeguards are in place to prevent default judgments being issued where a defendant has submitted a defence that has not been properly processed by the court.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
There were more than 1.9 million civil claims issued in the County Court in 2025. County Court claims can be made via HMCTS’ modern digital services (Online Civil Money Claims and Damages Claims services), older digital services (Money Claims Online and Possession Claims Online) or on paper.
HMCTS keeps the Online Civil Money Claims (OCMC) service under routine operational monitoring.
No assessment has been undertaken specifically on the reliability of recording and processing defendants’ submissions. Issues identified through live running have been limited in number and resolved promptly and have not indicated a need for a wider assessment.
In 2025, of incidents and complaints received by HMCTS relating to civil claims, 342 complaints were classified as ‘documents or information went missing’, 222 complaints classified as ‘my documents were not filed’; 92 data incidents recorded as ‘loss or theft of paper documents inside HMCTS premises’ and 31 data incidents recorded as ‘loss or theft of paper documents outside HMCTS premises’. There will be further instances of lost or unprocessed documents which have not been recorded, for example because they have not caused a complaint or data incident.
HMCTS is reducing the risk of administrative errors in civil claims though work to digitalise processes. The OCMC and Damages Claims services enable parties to manage a civil claim digitally from start to finish, including the ability to upload evidence, make applications and view judicial orders online. A digital Possession Service is being developed. The Deputy Prime Minister has announced further modernisation of the Civil Courts with an over £50 million investment to continue digitalising the County Court. HMCTS is also improving internal electronic document management and replacing paper-based and email processes with a digital, centrally stored case file, reducing reliance on manual handling and physical transfer of documents between teams and courts.
HMCTS has processes to reduce the risk of default judgment being entered where a defence has been submitted but not yet processed. Defences provided by paper are prioritised and judgment requests returned; Money Claims Online (MCOL) applies a buffer to check for paper responses; and responses provided on paper to claims made via OCMC are processed on receipt, with functionality to set aside judgments where a response and judgment request coincide.
“Properly processed” means received and recorded by the court. Where a defence has not been received, default judgment cannot be prevented, but urgent set-aside processes are in place where court error is identified.
Asked by: Suella Braverman (Reform UK - Fareham and Waterlooville)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what mechanisms exist for individuals or businesses to seek redress or compensation when court administrative errors result in financial loss or procedural disadvantage.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
When administrative errors result in financial loss or procedural disadvantage, individuals or businesses can seek redress through the HMCTS administrative complaints process. The aim of the complaints process is to put the complainant back to the position they were in before any error occurred. HMCTS will consider making goodwill (ex-gratia) offers to cover any direct financial losses that have occurred, and to recognise the impact the error has had.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department issues guidance to coroners on investigating potential cardiac causes in unexplained deaths of young people.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Coroners are independent judges and the Chief Coroner is responsible for providing national guidance and training. In 2014, the Chief Coroner issued joint guidance for coroners regarding investigations into potential cardiac causes of deaths in young people: https://www.judiciary.uk/guidance-and-resources/joint-guidance-for-coroners-and-coroners-officers-sudden-cardiac-death-inherited-heart-conditions/.
This guidance was developed in conjunction with the British Heart Foundation, Cardiac Risk in the Young, the Department for Health and Social Care and NHS England.
Asked by: Lord Jackson of Peterborough (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government further to the Written Answer from Baroness Levitt on 24 March (HL15657), for what reason the Independent Monitoring Authority for the Citizens’ Rights Agreements does not record the cost of individual inquiries.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Independent Monitoring Authority (IMA) is operationally independent from the Ministry of Justice. The IMA’s inquiry work is, like its other functions, delivered within its overall allocated budget.
This means that, unlike a stand-alone statutory or public inquiry which is established with dedicated funding and resource, no additional or dedicated funds are allocated to individual IMA inquiries.
The IMA does not charge inspection fees to any relevant public authority involved in an inquiry. As a result, unit costs for individual inquiries have not been developed.
The overall costs of the IMA are published in its Annual Report and Accounts, which details all staffing costs and administrative costs.
Asked by: Baroness Thornhill (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the reply by Baroness Taylor of Stevenage on 24 March (HL Deb col 1357), what data they hold on the caseload of the First-tier Tribunal regarding rent appeals specifically; and what plans they have to make it publicly accessible.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Currently, HM Courts and Tribunals Services (HMCTS) publishes quarterly data on the Residential Property Chamber. The latest data is attached but can also be found via the following link: Tribunals statistics quarterly: January to March 2025 - GOV.UK.
HMCTS is reviewing the data captured, drawn and published from the supporting systems for the Tribunal as part of preparations for the Renters’ Rights Act.