Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made on the number of families with disabled children are unable to access their child's child trust fund account when that child turns 18 years.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
In order for anyone to make decisions on behalf of an adult who lacks mental capacity in relation to their financial affairs, they must be granted legal powers to do so, either by a Lasting Power of Attorney or by authorisation from the Court of Protection - the specialist court that deals with issues concerning a lack of capacity.
We do not hold data on the proportion of holders of child trust funds who have a disability. However, we are working with the financial institutions to ensure that the parents of young people who do not have the required mental capacity to make the decision to access a Child Trust Fund at age 18, are made aware of Lasting Powers of Attorney and the possible need to make applications to the Court of Protection.
Fees are payable to register Lasting Powers of Attorney and for applications to the Court and we recognise that these fees may be difficult for the families of disabled children to afford. Help with Lasting Power of Attorney registration fees, Court of Protection fees and deputy supervision fees is available, depending upon the financial circumstances of the person who lacks mental capacity, and in some cases a full fee exemption may be available.
We consider that our processes for applying for a Lasting Power of Attorney, court applications, the structure of court fees and the policy around Help with Fees are adequate and we keep these under regular review.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the mechanisms by which parents of children with learning disabilities are able to access their child's child trust fund account when that child turns 18 years.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
In order for anyone to make decisions on behalf of an adult who lacks mental capacity in relation to their financial affairs, they must be granted legal powers to do so, either by a Lasting Power of Attorney or by authorisation from the Court of Protection - the specialist court that deals with issues concerning a lack of capacity.
We do not hold data on the proportion of holders of child trust funds who have a disability. However, we are working with the financial institutions to ensure that the parents of young people who do not have the required mental capacity to make the decision to access a Child Trust Fund at age 18, are made aware of Lasting Powers of Attorney and the possible need to make applications to the Court of Protection.
Fees are payable to register Lasting Powers of Attorney and for applications to the Court and we recognise that these fees may be difficult for the families of disabled children to afford. Help with Lasting Power of Attorney registration fees, Court of Protection fees and deputy supervision fees is available, depending upon the financial circumstances of the person who lacks mental capacity, and in some cases a full fee exemption may be available.
We consider that our processes for applying for a Lasting Power of Attorney, court applications, the structure of court fees and the policy around Help with Fees are adequate and we keep these under regular review.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the financial effect on families of disabled children as a result of being required to apply to the Court of Protection to access their child's child trust fund account.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
In order for anyone to make decisions on behalf of an adult who lacks mental capacity in relation to their financial affairs, they must be granted legal powers to do so, either by a Lasting Power of Attorney or by authorisation from the Court of Protection - the specialist court that deals with issues concerning a lack of capacity.
We do not hold data on the proportion of holders of child trust funds who have a disability. However, we are working with the financial institutions to ensure that the parents of young people who do not have the required mental capacity to make the decision to access a Child Trust Fund at age 18, are made aware of Lasting Powers of Attorney and the possible need to make applications to the Court of Protection.
Fees are payable to register Lasting Powers of Attorney and for applications to the Court and we recognise that these fees may be difficult for the families of disabled children to afford. Help with Lasting Power of Attorney registration fees, Court of Protection fees and deputy supervision fees is available, depending upon the financial circumstances of the person who lacks mental capacity, and in some cases a full fee exemption may be available.
We consider that our processes for applying for a Lasting Power of Attorney, court applications, the structure of court fees and the policy around Help with Fees are adequate and we keep these under regular review.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to provide the option of hearings by video link for all appeal hearings in the Social Entitlement Chamber (First-tier Tribunal (Social Security and Child Support)).
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
HM Courts & Tribunals Service is working hard to keep our justice system functioning during this unprecedented public health emergency. We are focusing on priority cases, changing working practices and introducing new procedures to minimise risks to the judiciary, staff and all those who use our courts and tribunals.
In line with government guidance, face to face hearings in the First-tier Tribunal (Social Security and Child Support) (SSCS) have been replaced with telephone hearings and the use of other remote hearing technology to facilitate as many hearings as possible being held remotely. All parties to the hearings are being contacted directly to confirm new hearing arrangements.
After a number of successful tests, arrangements are currently being made to introduce and make available Cloud Video Platform (CVP) hearings in all SSCS Tribunal regions. The decision as to how a hearing is conducted is a matter for the judge who will determine how best to uphold the interests of justice. In considering the suitability of video/audio, judges will consider issues such as the benefit type under appeal, the nature of the matters at stake during the hearing and any issues the use of video/audio technology may present for participants in the hearing.
The latest period for which official statistics about SSCS appeals are available is up to March 2020. Up until that time no SSCS hearings had taken place by video link due to Covid-19.
www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many appeals in the Social Entitlement Chamber (First-tier Tribunal (Social Security and Child Support)) have been heard by video link during the Covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
HM Courts & Tribunals Service is working hard to keep our justice system functioning during this unprecedented public health emergency. We are focusing on priority cases, changing working practices and introducing new procedures to minimise risks to the judiciary, staff and all those who use our courts and tribunals.
In line with government guidance, face to face hearings in the First-tier Tribunal (Social Security and Child Support) (SSCS) have been replaced with telephone hearings and the use of other remote hearing technology to facilitate as many hearings as possible being held remotely. All parties to the hearings are being contacted directly to confirm new hearing arrangements.
After a number of successful tests, arrangements are currently being made to introduce and make available Cloud Video Platform (CVP) hearings in all SSCS Tribunal regions. The decision as to how a hearing is conducted is a matter for the judge who will determine how best to uphold the interests of justice. In considering the suitability of video/audio, judges will consider issues such as the benefit type under appeal, the nature of the matters at stake during the hearing and any issues the use of video/audio technology may present for participants in the hearing.
The latest period for which official statistics about SSCS appeals are available is up to March 2020. Up until that time no SSCS hearings had taken place by video link due to Covid-19.
www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent discussions she has had with Ministers of the Scottish Government on the progress of devolving administrative responsibilities for (a) employment tribunals and (b) other relevant tribunals to the Scottish Government.
Answered by Phillip Lee
The Government is committed to transferring the functions of relevant reserved tribunals to Scotland under the process set out in the Scotland Act 2016 and my officials are working closely with officials from the Scottish Government to develop the detailed plans to do so. Both the Minister for Small Business, Consumer and Corporate Responsibility at BEIS and I have recently corresponded with Ministers in the Scottish Government, on this matter.Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of claim decisions for Scottish claimants of (a) employment and support allowance and (b) personal independence payments were upheld at appeal in each of the last four quarters for which information is available.
Answered by Shailesh Vara
The First-tier Tribunal (Social Entitlement Chamber) is administered by HM Courts & Tribunals Service. The Tribunal hears appeals against decisions of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) on a range of benefits including employment and support allowance (ESA) and personal independence payment (PIP).
The following table provides information on the number and proportion of ESA and PIP appeals in Scotland where the decision of the DWP was upheld for the four quarters to December 2015 (the latest period for which figures are available).
The number and proportion of Employment Support Allowance and Personal Independence Payment appeals upheld in Scotland | ||||
Quarter | 1 ESA | 2 PIP | ||
3 Number of Decisions Upheld | Percentage of Decisions Upheld | Number of Decisions Upheld | Percentage of Decisions Upheld | |
January –March 2015 | 693 | 43% | 371 | 52% |
April – June 2015 | 754 | 40% | 472 | 50% |
July –September 2015 | 617 | 42% | 772 | 45% |
October – December 2015 | 551 | 44% | 796 | 44% |
Notes | ||||
1 Data include Employment and Support Allowance rolled out from October 2008 and Employment and Support Allowance (Incapacity Benefit Reassessment) rolled out from April 2011. | ||||
2 Data include PIP (New Claims) and PIP (DLA Reassessed). PIP started to replace Disability Living Allowance (DLA) for people aged 16 to 64 from 8 April 2013. | ||||
3 Decision Upheld numbers of cases where the 1st tier decision was upheld. | ||||
Although care is taken when processing and analysing the data, the details are subject to inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale case management system and are the best data that are available
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the implications of the forthcoming Scottish Parliament elections and dissolution of the Scottish Parliament on the consultation period in respect of the Government's proposed repeal of the Human Rights Act 1998 and replacement by a British Bill of Rights.
Answered by Dominic Raab
We are committed to consulting fully on our proposals prior to the introduction of any legislation and will announce further details in due course.
We will adhere to any guidance published by the Cabinet Office in respect of the pre-election periods. We have already sought views and will continue to engage with the devolved administrations to deliver a modernised and reformed human rights framework for the whole of the United Kingdom.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what consultation he has had with the Scottish Parliament on the consultation period on the repeal of the Human Rights Act 1998 and its replacement with a British Bill of Rights.
Answered by Dominic Raab
We have already sought views and will continue to engage with the devolved administrations to deliver a modernised and reformed human rights framework for the whole of the United Kingdom. We are committed to consulting fully on our proposals prior to the introduction of any legislation and will announce further details in due course.
Asked by: Ian Murray (Labour - Edinburgh South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans for the consultation on the repeal of the Human Rights Act and replacement with a British Bill of Rights to (a) begin and (b) end.
Answered by Dominic Raab
This Government was elected with a mandate to reform and modernise the UK human rights framework. We will fully consult on our proposals before introducing legislation for a Bill of Rights and we will set out our proposals in due course.