Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what consultation there has been with groups representing transgender and non-binary people on plans to only allow enrolled deed polls to be accepted as proof of name change.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
The Master of the Rolls has established a Judicial Working Group to review and revise the current regulations for the enrolled deed process.
The Group is looking at a number of aspects of the existing regulations, and one of the issues is the current requirement for name changes to be publicly advertised, as part of the process, in the London Gazette.
A proposal under consideration by the Group is that the regulations are reformed so that the court would have a discretion on the need for, or terms of, an advertisement where there are sensitivities about a name change being made public. Examples would be name changes to reflect changes in gender and binary identification, as well as to protect people who wish to change their name following an abusive relationship. Guidance to applicants is also being reviewed as part of the reform process.
The Group is also considering public interest issues where an advertisement would be desirable, for example to place on record a change of name by a registered offender.
Home Office Ministers have written to the Master of Rolls and the Lord Chief Justice requesting that the Group considers criminality in regard to the enrolled deed poll process. Once the Group has completed its work, we will consider whether it is necessary to amend existing Home Office guidance to better protect the public.
Should a change be made to the guidance, we will take careful consideration of the potential impacts of that amendment including for European Convention on Human Rights Article 8 rights and the protection of the people who have changed their name to avoid danger.
Current Home Office Use and Change of Name guidance sets out that where there is a need to protect persons from risk of harm, separate arrangements should be implemented which protect the identity of the person who is seeking to change their name.
In addition, the policy sets out that transgender foreign nationals whose national authorities do not recognise changes to names and/or gender in their passports or national identity cards will be able to obtain a Biometric Residence Permit in their acquired name and gender, providing the person can demonstrate they are using the acquired name and gender for all purposes.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he plans to exempt transgender and non-binary individuals from publication of their former and current first names in The Gazette.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
The Master of the Rolls has established a Judicial Working Group to review and revise the current regulations for the enrolled deed process.
The Group is looking at a number of aspects of the existing regulations, and one of the issues is the current requirement for name changes to be publicly advertised, as part of the process, in the London Gazette.
A proposal under consideration by the Group is that the regulations are reformed so that the court would have a discretion on the need for, or terms of, an advertisement where there are sensitivities about a name change being made public. Examples would be name changes to reflect changes in gender and binary identification, as well as to protect people who wish to change their name following an abusive relationship. Guidance to applicants is also being reviewed as part of the reform process.
The Group is also considering public interest issues where an advertisement would be desirable, for example to place on record a change of name by a registered offender.
Home Office Ministers have written to the Master of Rolls and the Lord Chief Justice requesting that the Group considers criminality in regard to the enrolled deed poll process. Once the Group has completed its work, we will consider whether it is necessary to amend existing Home Office guidance to better protect the public.
Should a change be made to the guidance, we will take careful consideration of the potential impacts of that amendment including for European Convention on Human Rights Article 8 rights and the protection of the people who have changed their name to avoid danger.
Current Home Office Use and Change of Name guidance sets out that where there is a need to protect persons from risk of harm, separate arrangements should be implemented which protect the identity of the person who is seeking to change their name.
In addition, the policy sets out that transgender foreign nationals whose national authorities do not recognise changes to names and/or gender in their passports or national identity cards will be able to obtain a Biometric Residence Permit in their acquired name and gender, providing the person can demonstrate they are using the acquired name and gender for all purposes.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he plans to exempt non-binary and transgender people from plans to only allow enrolled deed polls to be accepted as proof of name change.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
The Master of the Rolls has established a Judicial Working Group to review and revise the current regulations for the enrolled deed process.
The Group is looking at a number of aspects of the existing regulations, and one of the issues is the current requirement for name changes to be publicly advertised, as part of the process, in the London Gazette.
A proposal under consideration by the Group is that the regulations are reformed so that the court would have a discretion on the need for, or terms of, an advertisement where there are sensitivities about a name change being made public. Examples would be name changes to reflect changes in gender and binary identification, as well as to protect people who wish to change their name following an abusive relationship. Guidance to applicants is also being reviewed as part of the reform process.
The Group is also considering public interest issues where an advertisement would be desirable, for example to place on record a change of name by a registered offender.
Home Office Ministers have written to the Master of Rolls and the Lord Chief Justice requesting that the Group considers criminality in regard to the enrolled deed poll process. Once the Group has completed its work, we will consider whether it is necessary to amend existing Home Office guidance to better protect the public.
Should a change be made to the guidance, we will take careful consideration of the potential impacts of that amendment including for European Convention on Human Rights Article 8 rights and the protection of the people who have changed their name to avoid danger.
Current Home Office Use and Change of Name guidance sets out that where there is a need to protect persons from risk of harm, separate arrangements should be implemented which protect the identity of the person who is seeking to change their name.
In addition, the policy sets out that transgender foreign nationals whose national authorities do not recognise changes to names and/or gender in their passports or national identity cards will be able to obtain a Biometric Residence Permit in their acquired name and gender, providing the person can demonstrate they are using the acquired name and gender for all purposes.
Asked by: Charlotte Nichols (Labour - Warrington North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he has taken to facilitate contact between prisoners and their families during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
As of 24 March, social visits in prisons in England and Wales are temporarily suspended to enable us to ensure the safe and secure functioning of our prisons, while enforcing social distancing. These measures are part of the nationwide efforts to fight Covid-19 and we will review the restrictions in line with updates to public health advice.
In recognition of the importance of continued contact with family, we have moved quickly to keep prisoners in touch with their family members. This includes the provision of 900 locked mobile phones to establishments that do not yet have in-cell telephony.
Additionally, on 15 May, we announced that secure video calls will be introduced to some prisons and Young Offender Institutions (YOIs) across England and Wales to maintain vital family contact for prisoners and young offenders during the Covid-19 outbreak.
Following a successful trial at HMP Berwyn, HMPPS is installing the technology at 10 institutions with a wider rollout in the coming weeks.