Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that community-based legal advice on employment issues, including sexual harassment, is available to workers.
Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede
Legal aid is available for advice in relation to breaches of the Equality Act 2010 or previous discrimination legislation (including in employment cases), subject to means and merits tests. Legal aid is also available in employment cases where the applicant is a victim of trafficking or modern slavery. Where an issue falls outside the scope of legal aid, individuals can apply for Exceptional Case Funding.
In 2025/26, the Ministry of Justice will continue to provide nearly £6 million of funding to 60 frontline organisations to help improve access to legal support and advice, including for vulnerable individuals with employment issues.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they will respond to the UN Committee for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights "List of issues in relation to the seventh periodic report of United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland"; and what other related actions are planned.
Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede
The Government is currently preparing its response to the United Nations Committee for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights’ List of Issues Report, in relation to the Seventh Periodic Report of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and will provide it to the UN shortly. We have had regular contact with the secretariat to the Committee on the timetable for our response.
The Government will then prepare for the interactive dialogue with the Committee which is expected to take place in 2025.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what records they keep on the number of (1) suicides, and (2) attempted suicides, in prisons in England and Wales; whether, and if so where, those records are published; and how they utilise those records to track health and well-being outcomes in each prison where such records are kept.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The data on self-inflicted deaths and self-harm across the prison estates is recorded in our published Safety in Custody Statistics. The number and rates of deaths and self-harm across the estate is published quarterly in the Safety in Custody Summary Tables, the latest version of which can be found at: Safety-in-custody-summary-q1-2024_final_table.xlsx (live.com).
HMPPS does not produce official statistics on suicides or attempted suicides, because it is not always known whether a person engaging in self-harming behaviour intends or intended to die by suicide. We therefore collect data on self-inflicted deaths (a term that we use to refer to any death of a person who has apparently taken his or her own life irrespective of intent) and on incidents of self-harm.
This national data informs the development of the prison safety programme, and governors use local data to understand their populations and their safety risks and to inform their safety strategies. Each prison holds a regular safety meeting that includes discussion of the local self-harm data and learning from any self-inflicted deaths that have occurred there.
Individuals assessed as at risk of suicide and self-harm are given individualised support through our case management process. This approach places a strong emphasis on having effective care plans in place to record, address and mitigate risks.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that funeral services remain affordable for all.
Answered by Lord Bellamy
The Competition and Markets Authority continues to monitor the funerals market following its recent investigation, publishing annual reviews on developments in the market. The first review, published in January 2023, set out evidence that since the introduction of transparency rules (part of the Competition and Markets Authority’s Funerals Market Investigation Order 2021) funeral prices are flat after many years of real-terms rises. This means that costs paid by UK consumers for funeral services are likely to be lower as a result of the Competition and Markets Authority’s intervention.
The Competition and Markets Authority will continue its work to ensure that all consumers are able to benefit from the measures introduced in the Order and it has the information required to monitor consumer outcomes.
Additionally, the Government helps with the cost of funeral services for many bereaved families through the Funeral Expenses Payment scheme and the Children’s Funeral Fund.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to the findings of a study by Royal Holloway, University of London of religious bias in jury outcomes with regard to different choices of oath; and whether they have any plans to update existing rules or guidance.
Answered by Lord Bellamy
Trial by jury is a fundamental part of our justice system, and the Government is committed to ensuring juries are as representative as possible of the public at large. Juries are selected completely at random in order to ensure that a cross-section of society is reflected in their make-up. Successive academic studies have shown that juries deliver fair and impartial results.
We continually monitor proceedings in the criminal courts to ensure fair trials for defendants. There are currently no plans to change the rules or guidance around swearing an oath or making an affirmation in court.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many writs of summons were sent to Peers in (1) 2016, (2) 2017, (3) 2018, (4) 2019, and (5) 2020; and how many of those writs were sent to Peers in (a) each region of England, (b) Scotland, (c) Wales, and (d) Northern Ireland.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Shadow Minister (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The information on the number of writs of summons issued to Peers is set out below:
(1) 2016 - 17
(2) 2017 - 823
(3) 2018 - 20
(4) 2019 - 814
(5) 2020 - 43
Following the dissolution of Parliament for General Elections in 2017 and 2019, writs of summons were sent to all eligible Peers in the UK and Northern Ireland. In 2016, 2018 and 2020, writs of summons were only issued to newly created, or newly elected, Peers.
Information on writs issued by region is no longer held by the Crown Office, which is responsible for issuing the writs. Writs are issued to contact addresses provided by Peers to the House of Lords.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to provide extra support to legal aid practitioners to address additional (1) pressures from remote working, (2) demands from vulnerable clients, and (3) workload from domestic violence cases, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Shadow Minister (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We are aware that the COVID-19 pandemic has created a range of challenges for the legal profession. We have been working closely with legal aid providers across the justice system throughout the pandemic and will continue to do so, monitoring any impact and understanding their concerns.
In April the Legal Aid Agency published operational guidance, including guidance on working remotely and working with clients during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A range of measures have been introduced to support providers during the pandemic while maintaining access to justice for the most vulnerable in society. These include:
HMT have introduced and recently extended a range of measures to support individuals and businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, including the furlough scheme, Self-Employed Income Support Scheme, Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan and Bounce Back Loan, to provide some financial stability. We encourage the professions to continue to take advantage of this support where appropriate.
We will continue to closely monitor the situation, working with providers to keep these measures under review.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many prisons are currently using the Security Categorisation Policy Framework; and when they expect all prisons in England and Wales to be using this framework.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie - Shadow Minister (Justice)
Nine establishments are using the Security Categorisation Policy Framework, all of which were involved in the live pilot of the revised procedures and use of the Digital Categorisation Service. Implementation of the framework across the adult male and young adult male estates was due to have begun in March but paused due to Covid-19. It is currently expected that implementation will start in the autumn with all male establishments using the framework by spring 2021. There are no immediate plans for implementation in the women’s estate.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their policy on the (1) provision, and (2) use, of facemasks in (a) prisons, and (b) juvenile detention facilities, by (i) staff, and (ii) prisoners and detainees.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie - Shadow Minister (Justice)
Social distancing and hygiene are the most effective controls to reduce transmission.
Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service follows the public health advice on the use of medical face masks alongside other items of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) where close contact is sustained, essential and unavoidable.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to legislate to tackle predatory marriage.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie - Shadow Minister (Justice)
The Government has no current legislative plans to change the existing safeguards.
A registration official has a duty to stop proceedings if they are of opinion that either of the parties to a marriage does not have the capacity to marry.
The Law Commission is currently reviewing how and where weddings take place, including the formalities and safeguarding checks required before a marriage is conducted. We will carefully consider any recommendations made in the final report.