Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Southgate and Wood Green)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of mass legal claims against publicly funded bodies, such as the Legal Aid Agency, on (a) vulnerable consumers and (b) levels of resource available for frontline services.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Public bodies are expected to identify material risks to vulnerable consumers or levels of resource available for frontline services, including due to any mass legal claims, and are responsible for managing their impact.
The Ministry of Justice has a partnership relationship with each of its funded public bodies that enables the body to escalate new risks as appropriate. The Department carries out an annual risk assessment of each of its public bodies, where significant upcoming risks can be identified and an assessment of the impact made.
Additionally, public bodies that receive funding from the Ministry of Justice are responsible for working collaboratively with the Department as it determines the level of funding that will be provided to them annually. Any pressures that can be predicted due to mass legal claims would be expected to be raised with the Ministry of Justice and levels of resource would be discussed with those bodies on an individual basis through existing financial allocation processes.
Other Government Departments are responsible for the assessment of risks to public bodies sponsored by them.
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Southgate and Wood Green)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential impact on consumers of misleading “no win, no fee” advertising by high-volume claims firms, including instances where hidden fees or complex funding arrangements expose claimants to unexpected financial risk.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Government is aware of concerns that misleading "no win, no fee" advertising can expose consumers to unexpected financial risk, including through unclear information about fees, deductions, and related funding or insurance arrangements. Whether entering into a “no win, no fee” arrangement through a legal services provider or claims management company (CMC), consumers should receive clear and timely information about what they are agreeing to.
The legal and claims management sectors are regulated independently of government. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is responsible for regulating the professional conduct of solicitors and most law firms in England and Wales, including claims management activities they undertake. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regulates specified claims management activities carried out by CMCs.
The Ministry of Justice has been working closely with relevant regulators and partners across the system, including engagement with the SRA and FCA, to understand and support action to address risks to consumers in the high-volume consumer claims market. I met with both organisations recently and impressed upon the regulators the need for tougher, more consistent regulation of conditional fee agreements.
The SRA has, and is, undertaking a range of work in this area, including ongoing investigations, a thematic review and discussion paper, requiring mandatory compliance declarations from firms operating in the high-volume consumer claims sector, consumer research, and guidance and Warning Notices for law firms. This includes action to improve how “no win, no fee” arrangements are explained, including exploring standardised wording and templates to support clearer consumer communications. The SRA will also shortly be reminding firms of their current obligations by publishing a Warning Notice relating to “no win, no fee” claims. Further information on the SRA’s work in relation to high-volume consumer claims is available at: https://www.sra.org.uk/home/hot-topics/high-volume-consumer-claims/.
The FCA has set out clear expectations for CMC marketing and customer communications, including that promotions must be fair, clear and not misleading and that “no win, no fee” advertising must include prominent information about relevant fees and termination charges. The FCA has also intervened to require misleading CMC promotions to be amended or withdrawn, and has recently written to CMCs active in motor finance claims to remind them to review their promotions and ensure compliance with FCA rules and the Consumer Duty.
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Southgate and Wood Green)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department plans to introduce additional safeguards to ensure that third-party litigation funding agreements do not expose consumers to unfair financial outcomes.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
We intend to legislate to introduce proportionate regulation of litigation funding agreements when parliamentary time allows. The new regulatory framework will aim to enhance claimant protection, transparency, and the effectiveness of the litigation funding market.
The Government recognises the critical role third-party litigation funding plays in access to justice. That is why we are committed to ensuring it works fairly for all. We will outline next steps in due course.
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Southgate and Wood Green)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of civil justice processes in providing effective access to justice for claimants; and if he will publish any data on the average percentage of a claimant's compensation award which is taken up by legal and third party costs.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Government is committed to ensuring access to justice, and we welcomed the Justice Committee’s recent inquiry into the Work of the County Court. As the Government acknowledged in its response, the County Court faces substantial challenges. However, performance is beginning to turn a corner with good progress being made towards a more efficient, timely and digitised service; and we expect this to continue.
The Civil Justice Council (CJC) is a statutory body that advises the Lord Chancellor, the judiciary, and the Civil Procedure Rule Committee. Amongst its statutory functions, the CJC keeps the civil justice system under review and makes recommendations on, how to make the civil justice system more accessible, fair, and efficient. The CJC’s recent report into litigation funding has been critical in helping shape Government policy on improving the civil justice system.
Claimants may be able enter into a private agreement with a lawyer using a Conditional Fee Agreement or a Damages Based Agreement, or with a third-party funder using a Litigation Funding Agreement. Such agreements usually mean that a claimant will not have to pay all or part of their own legal costs unless they win their case. This payment would usually be deducted from the compensation awarded, though it could be defined as a percentage of compensation or a multiple of legal base costs, depending on the type of agreement used. Solicitors should inform their clients of any fees, and the circumstances in which their fees, or part of their fees, are payable.
The Ministry of Justice does not hold data on the average percentage of a claimant’s compensation award that is taken up by legal and third-party costs.
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Southgate and Wood Green)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to reduce the crown court backlog.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
We are funding a record allocation of Crown Court sitting days to deliver swifter justice for victims – 110,000 sitting days this year, 4,000 higher than the last Government.
We have launched an independent review into the efficiency of the criminal courts, led by Sir Brian Leveson, to deliver once-in-a-generation reform.
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Southgate and Wood Green)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will update the HM Prison and Probation Service Strategy for Care-Experienced People to include a specific focus on race.
Answered by Edward Argar
We are updating our strategy for people with care experience in the criminal justice system, to ensure we are using care-experienced people’s time in the criminal justice system to support them to lead crime-free lives.
This will include a focus on race and its role in shaping the experiences and outcomes of those with care experience in the criminal justice system, and will link to wider departmental efforts to address racial disproportionality in the criminal justice system.
We are aiming to publish this strategy later this year.
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Southgate and Wood Green)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to help reduce waiting times for grant of probate.
Answered by Mike Freer
The probate service received record levels of applications during 2022 and this has continued to grow with higher levels of receipts during January to June 2023 compared to the same period in 2022.
HMCTS has significantly increased staffing levels in Probate over the past year to help process applications faster. The training and upskilling of those new and existing staff have led to applications taking longer in the short term.
HMCTS have streamlined internal processes to cut down on administrative delay and reduce processing times. We are continuing to invest in improving digital systems and online filing capabilities so users can track progress more easily.
Average waiting times for probate grants are routinely published on gov.uk via Family Court Statistics Quarterly and currently cover the period up to June 2023.
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Southgate and Wood Green)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the level of need for (a) all civil legal aid services and (b) education-related legal aid services as of 14 March 2022.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) keeps market capacity under constant review, ensuring access across England and Wales and taking immediate action where required.
Wherever you are in England and Wales, legal advice is available through the Civil Legal Advice (CLA) telephone service, which provides specialist telephone advice in education as well as on other civil and family matters within the scope of legal aid.
There is currently at least one provider in every procurement area for the education category, contracted to deliver services via face-to-face advice or remote advice according to client preference.
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Southgate and Wood Green)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the impact of civil legal aid capacity on (a) individuals who are entitled to legal aid but cannot access a legal aid provider and (b) the voluntary sector in England; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
The Legal Aid Agency keeps market capacity under constant review, ensuring access across England and Wales and takes immediate action where required. Wherever you are in England and Wales, legal advice is available through the Civil Legal Advice (CLA) telephone service.
We recognise the vital role not-for-profit organisations play in ensuring people can access advice and information and through 2020 and 2021 we provided a total of £7.4m to the not-for-profit sector.
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Southgate and Wood Green)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to help ensure the prompt rectification of errors that are identified in reports submitted in family court proceedings.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
The manner in which errors or alleged errors contained within a report submitted in family court proceedings are rectified is a matter for the court to decide, however in all cases the court will seek for such errors to be dealt with promptly and without undue delay.
Under the Family Procedure Rules 2010 (FPR) Part 1 “the overriding objective” requires the court to deal with cases expeditiously and fairly and for the parties to assist the court in this objective. This general obligation could require the court, or the parties, to act to ensure any issues with a report are rectified.
Depending on the nature of the error contained within a report, if the court considers that the error needs to be rectified in the written report, the court could use its general case management powers (FPR rule 4.1) to direct that an amended or addendum report be submitted to the court.
Where it is alleged by one or more of the parties that a report contains errors, the accuracy and veracity of the information included within the report can be tested during the court hearing, in order for the court to make a determination on this issue.
Proceedings for contempt of court may be brought against anyone who makes, or causes to be made, a false statement in a document verified by a statement of truth without an honest belief in its truth. (FPR, rule 17.6)