Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 14 June 2018 to Question 152051, and with reference to the fifth annual Report to Parliament on the use of closed material procedures published in December 2018, what steps he has taken to establish the review of the operation of sections 6 to 11 of the Justice and Security Act 2013; and when that review is scheduled to begin.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
A reviewer has not been appointed yet. Discussions between officials are ongoing and an announcement will be made in due course.
Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will ensure better provision of public legal education to ensure people understand and can effectively claim their rights, and to provide parallel education to practitioners.
Answered by Oliver Heald
As one of their regulatory objectives the legal services regulators have a duty to promote public understanding of citizens’ legal rights and duties. The regulators have established the Legal Choices website, which provides information to help with decisions on whether and how to seek legal advice and the available services the public might choose. There is also easy to understand information to help the public to be aware of their rights and the law on the ‘crime, justice and the law’ section of the GOV.UK website. Finally, independent advice is also provided at the Advicenow website, established by Law for Life, which provides information on rights and the law.
Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will ensure that in any review of civil legal aid children and young people's entitlement to legal aid will be considered.
Answered by Oliver Heald
We are committed to reviewing Parts 1 and 2 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 within three to five years of its implementation.
Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will review the effect on access to justice and protection of human rights of civil legal aid reforms introduced under the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012.
Answered by Oliver Heald
We are committed to reviewing Parts 1 and 2 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 within three to five years of its implementation.
Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to Amnesty International's report, Cuts that hurt, published on 10 October 2016, if she will review the effect of reforms introduced by the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012.
Answered by Oliver Heald
We are committed to reviewing Parts 1 and 2 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 within three to five years of its implementation.
Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will review the effect on access to justice and protection of human rights of civil legal aid reforms introduced by the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012.
Answered by Oliver Heald
We are committed to reviewing Parts 1 and 2 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 within three to five years of its implementation.
Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he expects the Parole Board to complete its review of the rules on releasing convicted murderers from prison if they refuse to reveal the locations of their victims' bodies.
Answered by Andrew Selous - Second Church Estates Commissioner
When assessing an offender’s continuing risk for the purposes of deciding whether he or she is eligible for possible release, the independent Parole Board already takes into account any wilful failure on the part of the offender to disclose the whereabouts of their victim’s body. The Parole Board has at my request, agreed to review its guidance on this particular issue as part of a review of all its guidance in 2016.
Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent discussions he has had with the National Offender Management Service on the implementation of guidelines on the care and management of transsexual prisoners.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
As I informed the Women and Equalities Committee, the National Offender Management Service is currently reviewing the policy document on transgender prisoners to ensure that this continues to provide the most appropriate support for transgender people in custody, as well as extending it to address the needs of transgender people serving community sentences. I will be taking a close personal interest in this to ensure that transgender offenders continue to be appropriately cared for and supported. The intention is to implement the revised guidance in due course.
Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will bring forward proposals to amend the Gender Recognition Act 2004 to remove the requirement for a diagnosis of gender dysphoria as a pre-requisite for obtaining legal gender recognition.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The Government takes transgender equality issues very seriously and has actively contributed towards the Women and Equalities Select Committee's inquiry into transgender equality. There are no current plans to review the Gender Recognition Act, however the Government will consider the recommendations of the inquiry once they become available.
Asked by: Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat - Orkney and Shetland)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will bring forward proposals to speed up the process for obtaining a Gender Recognition Certificate.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
The Government takes transgender equality issues very seriously and has actively contributed towards the Women and Equalities Select Committee's inquiry into transgender equality. There are no current plans to review the Gender Recognition Act, however the Government will consider the recommendations of the inquiry once they become available.