Asked by: Lord Lester of Herne Hill (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Keen of Elie on 22 November (HL3029), where in the <i>Cabinet Manual </i>criteria or guidance are given about how the Lord Chancellor and other Ministers should perform their duty under section 3 of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 to uphold the independence of the judiciary.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie - Shadow Minister (Justice)
Paragraph 16 of the introduction and Chapter 6 of the Cabinet Manual make clear that it is a long-established constitutional principle that the judiciary is independent of both the government of the day and Parliament. This is to ensure the even-handed administration of justice.
Asked by: Lord Lester of Herne Hill (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government to what criteria or guidance they have regard in performing their duty under section 3 of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 to uphold the independence of the judiciary.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie - Shadow Minister (Justice)
The Cabinet Manual makes clear reference to judicial independence. All ministers have access to legal advice in relation to their statutory duties where necessary, including advice where appropriate from the Law Officers.
Asked by: Lord Lester of Herne Hill (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps the Lord Chancellor intends to take, in relation to public attacks on the judiciary following the judgment of the High Court of Justice on 3 November, to uphold the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie - Shadow Minister (Justice)
The Lord Chancellor has made clear in a number of statements that she considers an independent judiciary to be the cornerstone of the rule of law, and that it is her duty to defend that independence.
Asked by: Lord Lester of Herne Hill (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government why they propose to increase immigration and asylum chamber fees, and what assessment they have made of the likely impact of those increased fees on access to justice.
Answered by Lord Faulks
We’re protecting the most vulnerable from any fee increase, including those who receive asylum support and cases involving children being supported or housed by a local authority. But it is also right that the taxpayer does not subsidise those who choose to challenge a decision made by the Home Office before the Tribunal.
We have a duty to the public to reduce the deficit and ensure sustainable funding for Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunal Service.
We have published a full impact assessment alongside the consultation document published on the Government website.
Asked by: Lord Lester of Herne Hill (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they will publish the report by Ian Acheson into the role of Muslim clerics in prisons in England and Wales.
Answered by Lord Faulks
My Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State for Justice is currently considering the recommendations of the review of Extremism. As the Secretary of State told the House on 26 April, a summary document will be published in due course. The full report cannot be published due to sensitive security issues.
Asked by: Lord Lester of Herne Hill (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government who is responsible for the appointment of prison imams.
Answered by Lord Faulks
Prison Governors are responsible for appointing all Chaplains into prison based roles.
In order to ensure our current practice is as robust and effective as possible in dealing with extremism in prison, the Justice Secretary commissioned a review, supported by external expertise, of the overall approach to dealing with Islamist extremism in prisons, probation and the youth justice system and is currently considering the recommendations.
Asked by: Lord Lester of Herne Hill (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they plan to publish their review of the impact of fees on the tribunal system.
Answered by Lord Faulks
We will announce the conclusions of our review of fees in the Employment Tribunals in due course.
Asked by: Lord Lester of Herne Hill (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in considering the future of the Human Rights Act 1998, what regard they will have to the findings of the Scottish Parliament’s European and External Relations Committee as outlined in the letter of 17 March from the Convener of that Committee to the Lord Chancellor in respect of the relevance of the specific position of Scotland in the devolution settlement and the role of the Sewel Convention.
Answered by Lord Faulks
This Government was elected with a mandate to reform and modernise the UK human rights framework. We will consider the devolution implications of our reforms and will continue to engage fully with stakeholders in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and with the devolved administrations, as we develop our proposals.
Asked by: Lord Lester of Herne Hill (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in considering the future of the Human Rights Act 1998, what regard they will have to the findings of the Scottish Parliament’s European and External Relations Committee as outlined in the letter of 17 March from the Convener of that Committee to the Lord Chancellor on the concept of "mission creep" as a characterisation of the European Court on Human Rights’ jurisprudence.
Answered by Lord Faulks
This Government was elected with a mandate to reform and modernise the UK human rights framework. We will consider the devolution implications of our reforms and will continue to engage fully with stakeholders in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and with the devolved administrations, as we develop our proposals.