Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his Department's guidance notes and forms for requesting transcription of Tribunal proceedings requiring appellants to submit an EX105 form to request that a court transcript of proceedings be paid at the public expense, what would qualify a request as not being necessary in the interests of justice for such a transcript to be obtained.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Open justice is a fundamental principle in our Courts and Tribunals system, and we continue to uphold that principle. The decisions of the First-tier and the Upper Tribunal are published on www.gov.uk when they are deemed of legal or public interest.
Whether a transcript should be released in the interests of justice, remains a judicial decision. It is not appropriate for Ministers to comment on how such decisions are made. There are currently no plans to provide transcripts throughout Tribunals at no cost, unless directed by a judge.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to publish the second part of the Government's response to the Reforming the Soft Tissue Injury (whiplash) Claims Process consultation.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
The government announced on 21 April 2020 that work related to the implementation of the whiplash reforms in the Civil Liability Act 2018, and the raising of the small claims limit for road traffic accident claims, has been paused and the implementation timetable moved to April 2021. This will enable the personal injury sector to focus on delivering their response to Covid-19, as well as allowing the government to focus on providing key justice services.
Implementing these reforms in April 2021 will remain the Government’s priority. We are aware of the continued interest in the issues raised in Part 2 of the ‘Reforming the Soft Tissue Injury (whiplash) Claims Process’ consultation paper and will be considering our response to that consultation after the April 2021 implementation.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the timeframe is for the introduction of secondary legislation in relation to the (a) increase in the small claims limit for road traffic accident claims from £1,000 to £5,000 and (b) Government’s proposed tariff structure for minor injury claims.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
The government announced on 21 April 2020, by way of Written Ministerial Statement (WMS), that all work related to the implementation of the whiplash reforms has been paused and the implementation timetable has been moved to April 2021. This will enable the personal injury sector to focus on delivering their response to Covid-19, as well as allowing the government to focus on providing key justice services.
The government will make further announcements, including on the Parliamentary timetable for the relevant Statutory Instruments, in due course. The full WMS can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/update-on-the-implementation-of-the-whiplash-reform-programme
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure that the new small claims portal will not create an incentive for insurers to deny a claims liability as a result of the Government's decision not to establish an alternative dispute resolution mechanism.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
The government announced on 21 April 2020 that all work related to the implementation of the whiplash reforms has been paused and the implementation timetable has been moved to April 2021 because of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Generally, the online whiplash claims service is being designed to be simple and easy to operate for all users. Once we resume work on the whiplash reform programme, the government will continue its work with the Civil Procedure Rule Committee on new and revised Rules, Pre-action Protocol and Practice Direction to underpin the reforms and the system. This will include consideration of incentives and controls for all users of the online claims service where it is appropriate to do so.
Currently, motor insurers accept liability for damages in the majority of whiplash claims and we do not expect insurer behaviour to change after implementation. However, claimants will have the option to go to court to establish liability where this is necessary.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much HM Courts and Tribunals Service has received for the sale of the court estate.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Since the start of the reform programme in 2015/16, approximately £130m has been raised from the sales of surplus buildings. We are reinvesting every penny into modernising the justice system to provide swifter and easier access to justice for all.
The closure of any court is not taken lightly – it only happens following full public consultation and when communities have reasonable access to alternative courts. Courts that have closed were either underused, dilapidated or too close to one another.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much money from the public purse HM Courts & Tribunals Service spent on (a) the common platform and (b) other digital projects in relation to the Crown Court in the financial year 2018-19.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
I can confirm that Her Majesty’s Courts & Tribunals Service spend on (a) the development of the Common Platform was £37.3m (this includes both Crown and Magistrates systems) and (b) £5.2m on other digital projects in relation to the Crown Court in the financial year 2018-19. This excludes ongoing support charges.
The Common Platform is intended to deliver a unified way of digital working for HMCTS and CPS staff and the wider participants in the criminal case management process. Through digital working, we will improve the experience for court users and those working within the criminal justice system, whilst reducing cost and maintaining transparency.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the cost to the public purse was of the maintenance of the court estate in each year since 2015.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
HM Courts and Tribunals Service expenditure on maintenance each year since 2016 is provided below:
£000s | 2016-17 | 2017-18 | 2018-19 | 2019-20₂ |
Maintenance and repairs ₁ | 71,274 | 80,478 | 90,890 | 48,600 |
1 Maintenance and repairs expenditure includes fixed maintenance, variable and planned works.
2 2019-20 figures are actual costs until December 2019 and are not full year maintenance costs for 2019-20.
Information relating to annual maintenance costs for 2015/16 financial year is not available on our current systems and we are unable to extract on a similar basis. Therefore we have not provided here due to the disproportionate cost of doing so.
HM Courts & Tribunals Service seeks to make sure that the court and tribunal estate is in the best possible condition to provide appropriate court and hearing room facilities.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what legal aid will be available for (a) applications and (b) appeals in relation to the EU settlement scheme.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
For the majority of cases, the application and review process in relation to the EU Settlement Scheme will be straightforward. However, the Government recognises that not every case will be straightforward and, as with all cases outside the scope of legal aid, exceptional funding may be available where the requisite criteria are met.
It is worth noting that the Home Office have introduced an employer toolkit which equips employers with the right tools and information to support EU citizens and their families to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what bids were received for the sale of Hammersmith Magistrates’ Court; and whether those bids were based on the planning brief recommending the site for residential use.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
A total of 30 initial bids were received for the purchase of Hammersmith Magistrates’ Court.
A shortlist of viable bids was considered against evaluation criteria that included an assessment of the deliverability of housing units.
Asked by: Andy Slaughter (Labour - Hammersmith)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much money his Department spent on the (a) planning brief, (b) marketing and (c) tendering process for Hammersmith Magistrates’ Court.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Details of HM Courts & Tribunals Service spend on (a) and (b) are as follows:
Planning Brief £96,600
Marketing £9,913.20
Spending on the planning brief relates to the initial feasibility and design work in preparation for the pre-planning meeting.
On (c) no money was spent on a tendering process for Hammersmith Magistrates’ Court.