Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Review of the Taking Control of Goods (Fees), published on 17 July 2023, when she plans to (a) (i) consult on the proposals and (ii) bring forward the legislative proposals outlined in that review and (b) bring forward legislative proposals to increase the fixed fees for High Court and non-High Court Fees.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Government is committed to ensuring that there are fair and sustainable enforcement processes available to judgment creditors for the enforcement of judgment debts and fines. We also want to ensure that those facing enforcement action, particularly the most vulnerable in society, are treated fairly.
The Government notes the findings of the 2023 review of the Taking Control of Goods (Fees) Regulations 2014 and will set out the way forward shortly.
The Government supports the important work undertaken by the Enforcement Conduct Board to ensure that people facing enforcement action are treated fairly. We are actively considering whether further legislation is required to ensure appropriate oversight of enforcement firms and enforcement agents using the Taking Control of Goods procedure.
The Government will set out its approach in due course.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will make her policy that local authorities that employ an internal team of certificated enforcement agents to collect fees under the (a) Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2014 and (b) Taking Control of Goods (Fees) Regulations 2014 must be accredited by the Enforcement Conduct Board.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Government is committed to ensuring that there are fair and sustainable enforcement processes available to judgment creditors for the enforcement of judgment debts and fines. We also want to ensure that those facing enforcement action, particularly the most vulnerable in society, are treated fairly.
The Government notes the findings of the 2023 review of the Taking Control of Goods (Fees) Regulations 2014 and will set out the way forward shortly.
The Government supports the important work undertaken by the Enforcement Conduct Board to ensure that people facing enforcement action are treated fairly. We are actively considering whether further legislation is required to ensure appropriate oversight of enforcement firms and enforcement agents using the Taking Control of Goods procedure.
The Government will set out its approach in due course.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Answer of 23 September 2022 to Question 51944 on Enforcement Conduct Board, if she will make it her policy to review the legal status of the Enforcement Conduct Board within two years of its operation.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Government is committed to ensuring that there are fair and sustainable enforcement processes available to judgment creditors for the enforcement of judgment debts and fines. We also want to ensure that those facing enforcement action, particularly the most vulnerable in society, are treated fairly.
The Government notes the findings of the 2023 review of the Taking Control of Goods (Fees) Regulations 2014 and will set out the way forward shortly.
The Government supports the important work undertaken by the Enforcement Conduct Board to ensure that people facing enforcement action are treated fairly. We are actively considering whether further legislation is required to ensure appropriate oversight of enforcement firms and enforcement agents using the Taking Control of Goods procedure.
The Government will set out its approach in due course.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to support legal professionals reliant on legal aid fees.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
This Government is committed to ensuring the long-term sustainability of both the civil and criminal legal aid sectors and we are keen to work closely with practitioners and their representative bodies to look at how best we can address this.
Regarding criminal legal aid, in November 2024 we announced our response to the Crime Lower consultation. We confirmed an uplift to the lowest police station fees, introduced a new Youth Court fee scheme, and subsidised for travel time in certain circumstances. Together, these changes amount to a £24 million investment for criminal legal aid providers.
In addition, in December 2024, we announced that criminal legal aid solicitors will receive up to £92 million more a year to help address the ongoing challenges in the criminal justice system. The precise allocation of this funding is subject to consultation. We are committed to continuing to work with the criminal legal aid profession on further opportunities for reform this Parliament and to support the overall sustainability, diversity, and efficiency of the system.
In respect of civil legal aid, the Ministry of Justice has recently undertaken a comprehensive review of civil legal aid and concluded a consultation on uplifts to housing & debt and immigration & asylum legal aid fees, which will inject an additional £20 million into the sector each year once fully implemented. We are currently reviewing consultation responses and will publish our response. We will continue to consider the fees paid in other categories of civil legal aid, and the wider themes from the Review, in order to support the long-term sustainability of the civil legal aid sector.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to work with faith groups to support victims of violent crime.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
All forms of violent crime, including religiously aggravated violent crime, are completely unacceptable, which is why the Government is committed to making sure that victims of these crimes are properly supported, and this Department continues to engage with faith groups.
Under the Victims’ Code (the Code), all victims are entitled to be referred to support services when they report a crime. However, the Code also explicitly acknowledges that victims of hate crime are more likely to require specialised assistance, and this means they are entitled to enhanced support under the Code.
The Ministry of Justice also provides funding for victim and witness support services, to help victims cope and recover from the impact of crime, through a mix of local and nationally commissioned services. At a national level, the Department provides Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) with annual grant funding to commission local practical, emotional, and therapeutic support services for victims of all crime types.
More broadly, the Government continues to work with police and community partners to monitor and combat racially and religiously motivated hatred. The Government is working with the police to fund True Vision, an online hate crime reporting portal, designed so that victims of hate crime do not have to visit a police station to report.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her polices of recent trends in the number of bailiffs.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government is committed to ensuring that there are effective and sustainable enforcement processes available to judgment creditors for the enforcement of judgment debts and fines. We also want to ensure that those facing enforcement action, particularly the most vulnerable in society, are treated fairly. We continue to monitor trends in the number of bailiffs as part of our overall consideration of policies in this area.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many illegal migrants from Albania have been imprisoned in the last 12 months.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Vice Chamberlain (HM Household) (Whip, House of Commons)
Prison population data showing the number of Albanian nationals in custody in England and Wales (based on the prison population as of 31 December 2024; latest available published data) can be found at Table 1_Q_12 in the attached link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6799631cd4f0d327e77071ae/prison-population-31-Dec-2024.ods
The Ministry of Justice does not hold data on the immigration status of prisoners. We refer all Albanian nationals sentenced to prison to the Home Office to consider deportation.
Foreign nationals who commit crime should be in no doubt that the law will be enforced, and the Ministry of Justice will work with the Home Office to pursue their deportation. Under this Government, 21% more foreign national offenders were removed during the period July 2024 to January 2025 compared with the equivalent period, under the previous administration in 2023-24.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to support those accused of serious offences and unable to afford private representation.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Criminal legal aid, where needed, is essential for those accused of a crime to defend themselves and to uphold their right to a fair trial.
The scope of legal aid is set out under the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO). For criminal proceedings at the magistrates’ court, legal aid is available, subject to the 'interests of justice' test and the financial eligibility means test. Nearly all defendants appearing before the Crown Court are eligible for legal aid, although some may be required to pay an income contribution towards their legal aid costs. If convicted, a defendant may be liable to pay any outstanding legal aid costs through capital contributions.
In December 2024, this Government announced that criminal legal aid solicitors will receive up to £92 million more a year to help address the ongoing challenges in the criminal justice system. This is in addition to the £24 million increase we announced in November 2024 for criminal solicitors, in response to the Crime Lower consultation.
This is a significant investment to reflect the valuable and tough work that is undertaken by those who work in the criminal justice system, helping them to make sure justice is served.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to reduce the backlog in the administration of warrants for possession.
Answered by Heidi Alexander - Secretary of State for Transport
To ensure increased and ongoing efficiency of County Court bailiff resources, HMCTS has introduced dedicated regional teams alongside an automated payment line to reduce the need for enforcement visits. This enables bailiffs to focus on priority work, including evictions. HMCTS continues to carry out recruitment and retention activities to ensure sufficient bailiff resources are available.
Asked by: Andrew Rosindell (Reform UK - Romford)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans her Department has to increase the number of daily sitting hours by Crown Court judges.
Answered by Heidi Alexander - Secretary of State for Transport
There are no current plans to extend the standard sitting hours of the Crown Court.
The Lord Chancellor has a statutory duty to ensure there is an effective and efficient system to support the carrying on of the businesses of the courts, and that appropriate services are provided for those courts.
Alongside this, the way in which an individual sitting day is used with regards to the scheduling and sequencing of cases at the Crown Court is at the discretion of the independent judiciary. In addition to time spent hearing cases in the court room, at either end of the day judges will spend time on other judicial business including reading case files in preparation for the hearing and other aspects of case management. As a result, the hours of a given sitting day can vary from day to day.
We recognise that the Crown Court outstanding caseload remains one of the biggest challenges facing the Criminal Justice System and we are committed to reducing the caseload and bringing waiting times down.
This Government has increased the number of Crown Court sitting days to 106,500, more than in six out of the last seven years. And we will soon extend magistrates’ sentencing powers from 6 to 12 months, freeing up 2,000 days in the Crown Courts to handle the most serious cases.
Alongside this, we invest consistently in the recruitment of c.1,000 judges and tribunal members across all jurisdictions annually. Crown Court recruitment has been a particular priority and we have successfully increased the number of Circuit judges and Recorders in recent years.