Asked by: Lord Young of Cookham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they will respond to the consultation on the Mental Capacity Act: Small Payments Scheme, which closed on 22 January.
Answered by Lord Bellamy
I refer my noble Friend to the answer I gave Baroness Altmann on 14 November 2022 to question HL3027.
Asked by: Lord Young of Cookham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they plan to publish a response to their consultation Mental Capacity Act: Small Payments Scheme, which closed on 12 January.
Answered by Lord Bellamy
The consultation exposed a number of issues that required further consideration. We have continued working with relevant stakeholders to unpack these further to test the feasibility and design of any scheme, in particular the safeguards required and practical considerations to meet the aims of simplicity.
We have also been working with the Court of Protection to consider operational improvements. We are preparing the Government response to the consultation and will provide the House with a further update in the autumn.
Asked by: Lord Young of Cookham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they plan to respond to the consultation on Mental Capacity Act: Small Payments Scheme.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Shadow Minister (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We received over 200 responses to the consultation and have been carefully examining the views submitted. This is a complex area and responses have raised a number of issues that require more detailed consideration, including the security and simplicity of the scheme, how it would be delivered and the role and operation of the Court of Protection.
We are currently working with the relevant departments and stakeholders to prepare the Government response to the consultation and will provide the House with a further update in due course.
Asked by: Lord Young of Cookham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many responses were received to the Mental Capacity Act: Small Payments Scheme consultation, which ran from 16 November 2021 to 12 January 2022.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar - Shadow Attorney General
I refer my noble Friend to the answer I gave on 27 January 2022 to his question HL5408.
Asked by: Lord Young of Cookham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many responses the Ministry of Justice have received to their recent consultation on the Mental Capacity Small Payments Scheme.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar - Shadow Attorney General
We received 228 responses to the consultation on the Mental Capacity Small Payments Scheme. Officials are currently analysing the responses with the aim of publishing the Government response in the Spring.
Asked by: Lord Young of Cookham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many successful prosecutions there have been in the last 12 months for smuggling illegal substances into prisons in England.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar - Shadow Attorney General
The Ministry of Justice does not hold information on the number of successful prosecutions for the smuggling of illegal substances into prisons. These offences are dealt with under section 40 of the Prison Act 1952 which deals with someone who brings, throws or otherwise conveys a List A article into or out of a prison. List A includes controlled drugs, but it also includes other articles including offensive weapons, explosives and firearms or ammunition. The offence code used by HM Courts and Tribunals Service is not specific enough to establish the number of offences that are related only to conveying illegal substances.
The most up to date 12 month data held for List A conveyance successful prosecutions is for 12 months up to December 2020 and there were 345 successful prosecutions in this timeframe.
Asked by: Lord Young of Cookham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when they will publish a consultation paper on reforming the Mental Capacity Act 2005 to facilitate small payments by people who lack capacity.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar - Shadow Attorney General
The proposals for consultation are being considered and I hope we will be able to update imminently.
Asked by: Lord Young of Cookham (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many associated Fee Waivers the Court of Protection has received in respect of Child Trust Fund applications; and how many have been granted.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar - Shadow Attorney General
The Court of Protection has received fifteen applications since August 2020 where the assets included a Child Trust Fund. Of the fifteen applications received, thirteen have resulted in a deputy being appointed. The remaining two applications resulted in ‘one off’ orders. In four cases, a Child Trust Fund was the sole asset and the court fees were waived.