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 Answer by Lord Faulks on 18 November (HL Deb, col 133), what is their assessment of whether they have the power under section 26 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 to give direction to the devolved institutions in Northern Ireland to secure their compliance with the European Human Rights Conventions; and whether the Secretary of State has considered exercising any such power to secure full compliance in Northern Ireland with its obligations under the Convention in relation to equal marriage, blasphemy and defamation.
Answered by Lord Faulks
Under section 26 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 (NIA) the Secretary of State may by order direct that action be taken by a Northern Ireland Minister or department if required for the purpose of giving effect to international obligations. However, international obligations in this context are defined as “any international obligations of the United Kingdom other than obligations to observe and implement EU law or the Convention rights” (Section 98 of the NIA). As such, the power under section 26 cannot be used for the purpose of bringing about action in Northern Ireland to comply with the European Convention on Human Rights.
Asked by: Lord Lester of Herne Hill (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the research on maternity discrimination, <i>Pregnancy and Maternity – Related Discrimination and Disadvantage: First Findings</i>, estimating that up to 54,000 mothers leave their jobs each year because of maternity discrimination, what plans they have to exempt maternity discrimination cases from employment tribunal fees.
Answered by Lord Faulks
For those who bring discrimination cases, we have made sure fee waivers are available for those who cannot afford to pay. The Government is currently carrying out a post-implementation review of the introduction of fees in the Employment Tribunals. The review will report in due course and we will consult on any proposals for change in the usual way.
Asked by: Lord Lester of Herne Hill (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what role the Secretary of State has in ensuring that the law of defamation in Northern Ireland is compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights.
Answered by Lord Faulks
As set out in my Written Answer HL2680 on 30 October 2015, under the Human Rights Act 1998 (section 6), all public authorities are under a duty to act in compliance with the Convention rights set out in that Act. As the law on defamation in Northern Ireland is a devolved matter, it is for the Northern Ireland Executive, in considering its policy on the subject, to reach a view on whether the policy under consideration is compatible with the Convention rights.
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 Faulks on 2 November (HL2703), what duty they have, if any, to enable First Tier Tribunals to deal with asylum and immigration cases fairly and within a reasonable time.
Answered by Lord Faulks
The Lord Chancellor has responsibility for ensuring an effective and efficient system of tribunal administration. This duty encompasses the First-tier Tribunal. The Lord Chancellor must also uphold the continued independence of the judiciary and in doing so have regard to their need to have the support necessary to enable them to exercise their functions.
HM Courts & Tribunals Service has allocated additional court time in place between December 2015 and June 2016 to ensure current waiting times do not increase for the tribunal user.
Asked by: Lord Lester of Herne Hill (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what was the financial cost of cancelling the contract with Saudi Arabia on justice, security and policing.
Answered by Baroness Evans of Bowes Park
The Ministry of Justice has not entered into, or withdrawn from, a contract with Saudi Arabia concerning justice, security and policing. Earlier this year Just Solutions international (JSi), the commercial arm of the National Offender Management Service (NOMS), submitted a bid to undertake a training needs analysis for the Saudi Arabian prison service. On 13 October 2015, the Secretary of State for Justice announced that this bid would be withdrawn, and so no contract was signed. I refer the honourable member to the Justice Secretary’s statement to the House of Commons which can be found in House of Commons Hansard Debates, 13 Oct 2015: Column 180.
No direct cost was incurred as a result of withdrawing the bid from the competition process.
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 cancelled the contract with Saudi Arabia on justice, security and policing.
Answered by Baroness Evans of Bowes Park
The Ministry of Justice has not entered into, or withdrawn from, a contract with Saudi Arabia concerning justice, security and policing. Earlier this year Just Solutions international (JSi), the commercial arm of the National Offender Management Service (NOMS), submitted a bid to undertake a training needs analysis for the Saudi Arabian prison service. On 13 October 2015, the Secretary of State for Justice announced that this bid would be withdrawn, and so no contract was signed. I refer the honourable member to the Justice Secretary’s statement to the House of Commons which can be found in House of Commons Hansard Debates, 13 Oct 2015: Column 180.
No direct cost was incurred as a result of withdrawing the bid from the competition process.