Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much his Department spent on social media advertising in (a) 2019, (b) 2020, (c) 2021 and (d) 2022 up to and including 28 February; and on which platforms that money was spent.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Publicly available transparency data that includes the spend information can be found on gov.uk: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cabinet-office-spend-data
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many staff in his Department are managing ministerial social media accounts as either (a) their primary responsibility or (b) as part of their role.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
We are now in a digital age, where social media and digital communications are an essential part of government, helping inform the public directly about matters which may affect their lives or interests.
In addition to the Civil Service Code, the Government Communications Service offers propriety in digital and social media guidance and is available to discuss questions relating to social media when working with ministers.
The Ministry of Justice employs an in-house social media team to use digital channels and create content to communicate departmental policies online. It is often appropriate for content relating to Government policies, guidance and announcements, created by civil servants, to be amplified or posted on other channels including ministers' own social media accounts where this helps drive wider engagement from the public.
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether any social events took place between three or more people within his Departmental buildings between (a) 5 November 2020 and 1 December 2020 and (b) 16 December 2020 and 22 February 2021.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
This information is not collected. At the time, staff were expected to work from home and undertake meetings remotely, wherever possible.
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effect of reforms to the judicial review system on the numbers of legal cases brought against the Government on illegal levels of air pollution.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
I refer the Hon. Member to the answer given to PQ97451 on 9th October 2020. Further to that answer the Government has also committed to undertaking a review of the Environmental Costs Protection Regime, and will set out further details in due course.
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans he has to develop a consistent pathway for (a) prison staff and (b) Departmental officials to refer young people in the justice system to speech and language therapy.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
To ensure consistent referral pathways throughout the youth justice system, the Youth Justice Board have developed a screening tool which provides a holistic assessment and intervention plan that can be used in a variety of settings. In custody, NHS England screen and assess every child for neurodisabilities using the Comprehensive Health Assessment Tool (CHAT) and put in place an individual care plan.
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans he has to develop a consistent pathway for justice professionals to be able to refer a young person to speech and language therapy.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
To ensure consistent referral pathways throughout the youth justice system, the Youth Justice Board have developed a screening tool which provides a holistic assessment and intervention plan that can be used in a variety of settings. In custody, NHS England screen and assess every child for neurodisabilities using the Comprehensive Health Assessment Tool (CHAT) and put in place an individual care plan.
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what speech and language therapy representation there is on the group working on revision of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 Code of Practice.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Review Working Group is made up of professionals with expertise on mental capacity from across Government, the health, social care, legal and charity sectors. While there is no specialist expertise on speech and language therapy within the group, the Review has received responses from the profession as part of a Call for Evidence. These views are being fully considered as we begin to update the Code of Practice.
There will be further opportunities for all those with an interest in the Code of Practice to provide feedback when we consult on the updated Code of Practice.
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress has he made on implementing the recommendations contained in A Voice for the Voiceless: The Victims’ Commissioner’s Review into the Provision of Registered Intermediaries for Children and Vulnerable Victims and Witnesses, published in January 2018.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The Ministry of Justice responded to the Victims’ Commissioner’s comprehensive review of the provision of Registered Intermediaries, making these commitments: to review governance of the Witness Intermediary Scheme; to consider whether to appoint a National Lead Registered Intermediary; to publish an annual report; and to promote the role of Registered Intermediaries.
The department have delivered on these commitments and introduced improvements to governance, including the introduction of Regional Coordinator roles for exceptional Registered Intermediaries – which are more appropriate for the scheme than a National Lead. An annual report is due to be published in the summer, the scheme now has a page on Gov.uk and work is ongoing to promote the role of Registered Intermediaries.
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of a case being taken to the First-tier Special Educational Needs and Disability tribunal .
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
In the financial year 2017/18, the cost of the First Tier Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Tribunal (SENDIST) was £5,038,000. During that same period, 5,049 appeals lodged with the Tribunal, of which 1,492 appeals proceeded to hearing and 3,557 appeals did not. The average cost per appeal lodged is therefore £998.
Further details are published on page 6 of the document link provided:
Asked by: Geraint Davies (Independent - Swansea West)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans does he have to increase the number of Registered Intermediaries.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Registered Intermediaries play a vital role in helping vulnerable victims and witnesses give evidence. Demand for their services has increased rapidly over recent years and to meet this a rolling regional recruitment campaign has been ongoing since 2017. We recruited and trained 41 Registered Intermediaries in 2018, which represents a further 25% compared to the number that were active at the beginning of the year, meeting our commitment in the Victims’ Strategy. Recruitment activities are continuing; the most recent campaign in Wales closed in December and the next is due to be launched imminently. Recruitment will continue throughout 2019.