Asked by: Jack Lopresti (Conservative - Filton and Bradley Stoke)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what funds he is allocating for legal aid to people who have lost their income as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
Legal aid plays an important role in supporting access to justice; that is why we spent £1.7bn on civil and criminal legal aid in 2019-20. Individual decisions about legal aid funding are taken by the Legal Aid Agency (LAA), which is responsible for administering the legal aid scheme and takes funding decisions independently of the Ministry of Justice.
We are aware that the COVID-19 pandemic has created a range of challenges for the provision of legal aid. The Government is committed to maintaining access to justice during this time. For civil legal aid, individuals who have lost their income (or suffered a reduction in their income) who apply for funding will be assessed on their current circumstances.
Individuals who are claiming Universal Credit or some other means-tested benefits will be deemed to qualify automatically within the income threshold; and will qualify for non-contributory legal aid (subject to passing any capital and merits test). As there is not a capital assessment for criminal legal aid, if an applicant’s income is within the income threshold they will qualify for non-contributory legal aid.
Asked by: Jack Lopresti (Conservative - Filton and Bradley Stoke)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much land (a) his Department, (b) its agencies and (c) its non-departmental public bodies owns in (i) England and (ii) the South West; and how much of that land has been identified as being surplus to requirements.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The UK Government is a significant landowner. The current Government Estate Strategy sets out the Government's vision to create an efficient, fit-for-purpose sustainable estate. As a Government we are delivering this vision, ensuring that the estate is fit for purpose, is frequently reviewed and aligned to the Estate Strategy, and is managed in an efficient and effective way.
The current landholdings of the Ministry of Justice are shown in the table below. This does not include land previously identified as surplus that has now been disposed. The information is correct at time of publication.
| Land Hectares | |
| England | South West |
MoJ(excl. agencies and NDPBs) | 13.5 | 0.0 |
HM Prison & Probation Service* | 2724.7 | 158.0 |
HM Courts & Tribunals Service | 110.6 | 10.9 |
NDPBs | 0.1 | 0.0 |
Total | 2849.0 | 168.9 |
Footnote: * Does not include prison officers’ quarters
Of the total land the Ministry of Justice holds in England, 165.9 hectares is currently declared as surplus, out of which 3.1 hectares are in the South West. These figures include agencies and non-departmental public bodies.
Asked by: Jack Lopresti (Conservative - Filton and Bradley Stoke)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many drivers of emergency vehicles being used for (a) police, (b) fire brigade and (c) medical response duties have been (i) charged, (ii) convicted and (iii) given a custodial or suspended custodial sentence for (A) careless driving and (B) dangerous driving, arising from actions performed as part of their emergency response duties in each of the last five years.
Answered by Rory Stewart
From centrally held data it is not possible to separately identify motoring offences committed by drivers of emergency service vehicles or identify drivers of emergency service vehicles which had their cases against them referred to the Crown Prosecution Service, without incurring disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Jack Lopresti (Conservative - Filton and Bradley Stoke)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many drivers of emergency vehicles being used for (a) police, (b) fire brigade and (c) medical response duties have had cases against them referred to the Crown Prosecution Service in each of the last five years.
Answered by Rory Stewart
From centrally held data it is not possible to separately identify motoring offences committed by drivers of emergency service vehicles or identify drivers of emergency service vehicles which had their cases against them referred to the Crown Prosecution Service, without incurring disproportionate cost.