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 - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
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 - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
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 - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
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 - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
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
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
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
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.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of food served in English prisons is (a) organic, and (b) locally sourced; and what plans they have, if any, to increase that percentage.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie
Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) purchase food commodities for prisoner and staff meals from a national food contract currently held by Bidfood UK.
HMPPS does not require its supplier to provide figures relating to the percentage of organic and locally produced products provided to prisons through this contract. However, the contract was one of the first to adopt and implement the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA)’s Plan for Public Procurement: Food & Catering. Regular scrutiny and reporting of the contract shows that the level of UK sourced commodities purchased is 52% (Country of Origin) and the level of small and medium sized enterprises (SME) provision is over 60%. Bidfood UK are committed to increasing the percentage of UK sourced products.