Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners released on a Home Detention Curfew in Devon broke their curfew conditions between 2011 and 2014.
Answered by Andrew Selous - Second Church Estates Commissioner
The number of prisoners released on Home Detention Curfew (HDC) in England and Wales has fallen in recent years. This is principally due to the reduction in the number of prisoners eligible for the scheme.
The Ministry of Justice only collates data on the number of prisoners released on HDC who are then recalled to prison for breach of their curfew conditions and this data is only available for England and Wales as a whole. It would incur disproportionate cost to isolate from this overall data those recalled prisoners who had been released on HDC from prisons in Devon.
This data is published and can be located at the following link (table A3.5 details HDC recalls):
Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners released under a Home Detention Curfew in Devon were returned to prison after breaking the conditions of such a curfew between 2011 and 2014.
Answered by Andrew Selous - Second Church Estates Commissioner
The number of prisoners released on Home Detention Curfew (HDC) in England and Wales has fallen in recent years. This is principally due to the reduction in the number of prisoners eligible for the scheme.
The Ministry of Justice only collates data on the number of prisoners released on HDC who are then recalled to prison for breach of their curfew conditions and this data is only available for England and Wales as a whole. It would incur disproportionate cost to isolate from this overall data those recalled prisoners who had been released on HDC from prisons in Devon.
This data is published and can be located at the following link (table A3.5 details HDC recalls):
Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress the sentencing council has made on producing guidelines for sentencing serious motoring offences; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Andrew Selous - Second Church Estates Commissioner
Driving offences can have devastating consequences for victims and their loved ones, which is why tough sentences are available to the courts. Further information about the driving review will be available in due course.
As a result of this review, the independent Sentencing Council have paused their review of sentencing guidelines.
Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he expects the consultation on the review of driving offences will be launched.
Answered by Andrew Selous - Second Church Estates Commissioner
Driving offences can have devastating consequences for victims and their loved ones, which is why tough sentences are available to the courts. Further information about the driving review will be available in due course.
As a result of this review, the independent Sentencing Council have paused their review of sentencing guidelines.
Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department plans to take to increase the take-up of mediation for family disputes.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
We have taken a number of steps to increase the take-up of family mediation. From 3 November last year the first single session of mediation is publicly funded in all cases where one of the people involved is already legally aided. The ‘First Stop: Family Mediation’ campaign which ran between January and March this year was designed to raise awareness of the benefits of family mediation. The campaign saw an increase of 340% in the number of visitors to the Family Mediation Council (FMC) website and a 45% increase to the ‘find a mediator’ page on their website. We will continue to look at ways in which family mediation can be promoted as a quicker, cheaper and more effective ways for parties to resolve disputes over an application through the court.
We are working with the mediation sector and regulators to investigate how we can strengthen out of court agreements (or ‘memorandum of understandings’) to encourage people to mediate. .
We will also consult with all relevant stakeholders to look at ways in which new family mediation contracts can be improved to help encourage more parties to participate in family mediation.
Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to encourage the judiciary to make greater use of its existing powers in family procedure rules to refer people to family mediation at any stage in proceedings.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
We continue to support mediation as a more effective way of resolving disputes. Mediation allows both parties to reach a decision together, instead of the court making an order which one party – or neither party – may not want
Where private family cases come to court, if there is a dispute over arrangements for children, the Child Arrangements Programme will apply.
http://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/family-justice-reform/pd-12b-cap.pdf
This sets out the framework for resolving disputes and is clear that during the court process the judge should consider all options available including referring parties to mediation where this is suitable.
The family judiciary has received training on the Child Arrangements Programme and they are aware of their powers to refer parties to family mediation during court proceedings. How and when judges use these powers is a matter for their discretion based on the facts of an individual case and the suitability for the dispute to be resolved through mediation.
We will continue to work with the judiciary and the mediation sector to raise awareness of the benefits of mediation so that it remains an option to resolve disputes even where cases have come to court.
Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effect of the provision in the Children and Families Act 2014 making it compulsory for families to attend a mediation information and assessment meeting before being able to apply for a court order.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
From 22 April 2014 it became a legislative requirement that anyone considering applying to court for an order about their children or finances is legally obliged to attend a Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting (MIAM) first, unless specific exemptions apply (for example domestic violence).
Following this legislative change, attendance at MIAMs has increased, as published at
.
We are pleased that the number of couples attending MIAM and, more importantly, the number of mediation starts are increasing and we continue to look at ways in which mediation can be promoted as a more effective way of resolving disputes than an application through the court.
Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what his policy is on retaining legal aid for family mediation.
Answered by Shailesh Vara
We are committed to making sure that more people make use of mediation services to resolve family disputes arising from separation or divorce. Legal aid remains available for family mediation, and for legal advice to support such mediation, for those who satisfy the eligibility criteria. To further promote mediation as a method of dispute resolution the government has, from November 2014, provided funding for the first single session of family mediation in all cases where one of the participants qualifies for legal aid.
Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the performance of the scheme which allows both parties in a family dispute to receive one free mediation session where just one party qualifies for legal aid.
Answered by Caroline Dinenage
In the first full quarter since the first session of mediation was free to eligible parties, the number of mediation starts increased by 339 to 2336, the highest levels since April-June 2013. In parallel to these changes the Ministry of Justice undertook work to promote the benefits of mediation through the ‘First Stop: Family Mediation’ communications campaign. I refer the hon. Member for Exeter, Ben Bradshaw MP to my response to parliamentary question 6861 in which I summarise the success of this campaign.
Mediation starts have now increased in four consecutive quarters and we continue to look at ways in which we can promote family mediation over an application through the court. We will also continue to monitor the number of couples attending a Mediation Information and Assessment Meeting (MIAM) and – more importantly – the number of people starting mediation.
Asked by: Ben Bradshaw (Labour - Exeter)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much was paid in fines for television licensing offences in the (a) 2012-13 and (b) 2013-14 financial year.
Answered by Shailesh Vara
This question can only be answered at disproportionate cost as it would require a manual search of all live and closed fine accounts to identify the information requested.