Asked by: Lord Morris of Aberavon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Judge Advocates sit in civilian courts; and how many are licensed to try (1) murder, and (2) rape cases.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie - Shadow Minister (Justice)
All six currently serving Judge Advocates are eligible to sit in the Crown Court and do so regularly. The Judge Advocate General is a Senior Circuit Judge and the Vice-Judge Advocate General and one Assistant-Judge Advocate General also hold appointments as Recorders. The other three Assistant-Judge Advocate Generals are entitled to sit under the Armed Forces Act 2011 s26.
The Judge Advocate General is ticketed to try murder cases in the Crown Court. The Judge Advocate General, the Vice-Judge Advocate General and one Assistant-Judge Advocate General are ticketed to try rape cases.
Judge Advocates attend the same training as a Circuit Judge sitting in the Crown Court.
Asked by: Lord Morris of Aberavon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answers by Lord Keen of Elie (HL Deb, col 706) and the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Justice (HC Deb, col 248) on 23 January, whether there are penalty clauses in the contractual arrangements with their IT system supplier; and if so, what are the effects of such clauses.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie - Shadow Minister (Justice)
There are penalty clauses within the contract in question, these penalties are financial and are based on contractually agreed performance criteria.
Dependent on the nature of the incident or contractual breach, additional commercial remedies exist, these include rights of step-in or termination.
Asked by: Lord Morris of Aberavon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they intend to consult the Chief Coroner about extending the remit of coroners to cover unusual numbers of deaths certified by individual GPs or in specific medical establishments.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie - Shadow Minister (Justice)
There are no plans to extend the coroner’s remit in this way. By April 2019 the Government is planning to introduce a system of medical examiners in England who will review the certification of deaths not referred to the coroner. They will also report matters of a clinical governance nature which will support local learning and help to determine changes to practice and procedures.