Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure the adequate provision of magistrates in the UK justice system.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie - Shadow Minister (Justice)
We work with the judiciary to analyse both current and future judicial, including magistrates, supply and demand across our courts and tribunals, factoring in planned recruitment, retirements and other departures.
Recruitment of magistrates in England and Wales is reviewed annually and in 2018/19 we plan to have recruited 1,018 new magistrates. We are developing a three-year strategy, focusing on increasing diversity and social mobility, to support the recruitment of sufficient numbers to manage workloads.
We are continuing to analyse the net impact of current and future reform on the requirement for magistrates in the longer term.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Statement by the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Justice on 5 November (HCWS1066), what assessment they have made of the estimate by the Institute for Legacy Management that the proposed rise in probate fees could cost charities £10 million a year in lost legacy income.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie - Shadow Minister (Justice)
We acknowledge the benefit of assessing this impact and we are already aware of the assessment made by the Institute for Legacy Management. As far as we are aware, the Institute for Legacy Management have not shared the detail behind their data with us. However, we would be very happy to carefully consider any detail behind the assessment should they be open to sharing this with the department.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to leave the European Convention on Human Rights after Brexit.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie - Shadow Minister (Justice)
The Government has no plans to withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment, if any, they have made of the extent to which cuts to legal aid provision were a factor in the Windrush immigration issue.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie - Shadow Minister (Justice)
While an assessment has not been made, the Government is reviewing the impact of legal aid changes made under the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO), assessing the changes against their legislative objectives. This review will include changes made to provision of legal aid for advice on immigration matters.
The Home Office are putting in place a dedicated Windrush case-working team which will help those affected through the system. The Home Office is ensuring that the process will not require anyone to seek legal advice.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to reinstate legal aid for those seeking to challenge their immigration status; and what safeguards they will put in place to prevent wrongful prosecutions by the Home Office.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie - Shadow Minister (Justice)
Early legal advice is available for all legal cases within the scope of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO), subject to means and merits tests.
Legal aid remains available for individuals seeking advice on claiming asylum or challenging their detention under immigration powers. This includes applications and appeals against asylum decisions, and judicial review of certain immigration issues, subject to the applicant passing the statutory means and merits tests.
The changes made to LASPO are currently being reviewed as part of a post-implementation review. This will include the changes made to the scope of early legal advice and legal representation. The results of this review will be published later this year.
The Home Office are putting in place a dedicated Windrush case-working team which will help those affected through the system. The Home Office is ensuring that the process will not require anyone to seek legal advice.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that the UK remains competitive as a provider of international commercial law services following Brexit.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie - Shadow Minister (Justice)
The UK is a world leading centre for legal services. To reflect this, we launched our international ‘Legal Services are GREAT’ campaign overseas last year. This campaign showcases the expertise of our legal services, the integrity and experience of our judiciary and the benefits of using English Common Law to a global audience that will help us build stronger links with both emerging and established markets.
We intend to provide continuity and certainty for businesses, families and individuals by seeking continued civil judicial cooperation between the EU and UK. Such cooperation underpins the resolution of international commercial disputes. In publishing our position on future civil judicial cooperation in August 2017, we made clear our desire to continue this cooperation.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to support women and ethnic minorities to reach senior positions in the legal sector.
Answered by Lord Faulks
The Government is keen to see a diverse legal profession. Regulation of the legal profession is independent of Government. The Legal Services Board (LSB) and Approved Regulators are responsible for setting the requirements for entry to the profession as well as for continued professional development. These bodies have a duty to promote competition in the provision of regulated legal services, and encourage an independent, strong, diverse and effective legal profession.
There are a number of initiatives being taken forward on education and training by the three largest frontline regulators for the legal profession, the Solicitors Regulation Authority, the Bar Standards Board and CILEx Regulation, to widen opportunities for a more diverse pool of people to enter the profession through more flexible routes to qualification. These are published on each of the frontline regulators' website.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how they plan to comply with the High Court ruling that the ban on sending books to prisoners in England and Wales is unlawful.
Answered by Lord Faulks
We need to await the terms of the Court Order before we can decide how best to fulfil the ruling of the Court.
The judgment in this case was surprising, as there was never a specific ban on books. The restrictions on parcels have been in existence across most of the prison estate for many years and for very good reasons. Prisoners have access to the same library service as the rest of us, and can buy books through the prison shop.