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Written Question
Courts
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to tackle the backlog in the courts.

Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

We remain committed to tackling the outstanding caseloads across our courts and tribunals and have introduced a range of measures to achieve this aim.

Over 90% of all criminal cases are heard at the magistrates’ court, where we heard 100,000 cases a month on average across 2023. While the outstanding caseload in the magistrates’ courts has slightly increased in recent months due to an increase in the number of cases coming to court, the caseload remains well below its pandemic peak and stood at 353,900 at the end of September 2023, and cases continue to be progressed quickly. To aid our efforts in the magistrates’ courts, we invested £1 million in a programme of work to support the recruitment of more magistrates. We aim to recruit 2,000 new magistrates this year, and similar numbers for each of the next couple of years.

At the Crown Court, we remain committed to reducing the outstanding caseload. Last financial year we sat over 100,000 days and this financial year, we plan to deliver around 107,000 sitting days and recruit more than 1,000 judges across all jurisdictions. Judges have worked tirelessly to complete more cases, with disposals up by 9% during Q3 in 2023 compared to Q4 in 2022 (25,700 compared to 23,700).

We are also investing in our criminal courts. In August 2023, we announced we are investing £220 million for essential modernisation and repair work of our court buildings across the next two years, up to March 2025. We have also continued the use of 20 Nightingale courtrooms into the 2024/25 financial year, to allow courts to work at full capacity.

In the Family Court, we are working with the Department for Education and other partners on the Family Justice Board to tackle the longest running cases and increase the proportion of public law cases that conclude within the 26-week timeline. The Department for Education are also investing an extra £10m to develop new initiatives to address the longest delays in public law proceedings.

We announced in the Spring Budget an additional £55m to improve productivity, support earlier resolution of family disputes and reduce the number of cases coming to court. This includes creating a digital advice tool for separating couples, piloting early legal advice and supporting the expansion of the private law Pathfinder model. We are also investing up to £23.6m in the family mediation voucher scheme, which we intend will allow for its continuation up to March 2025. As of March 2024, over 26,000 families have successfully used the scheme to attempt to resolve their private law disputes outside of court.

With regards to civil cases, we are taking action to ensure those that do need to go to trial are dealt with quickly. We have launched the biggest ever judicial recruitment drive for District Judges, are digitising court processes and holding more remote hearings, and are increasing the use of mediation. The requirement for small claims in the county court to attend a mediation session with the Small Claims Mediation Service will start this spring and is expected to help parties resolve their dispute swiftly and consensually without the need for a judicial hearing.

With regards to tribunals, we continue to work with the Department for Business and Trade on further measures to address caseloads in the Employment Tribunal, where the deployment of legal officers, recruitment of additional judges and a new electronic case management system have helped the Tribunal to manage its caseload which remains below its pandemic peak.


Written Question
Jobcentres: Broadland
Monday 5th February 2024

Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to expand the support available through Jobcentres in Broadland constituency.

Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

The local Jobcentre team are collaborating with a range of partners to support people into work and help employers fill vacancies. In addition to hosting jobs fairs and delivering sector-based work academy programmes (SWAPs), they are working with Breckland, Kings Lynn & West Norfolk and North Norfolk District Councils, Duke of Lancaster Academy and Fakenham Academy to provide an employment and skills offer to help meet the recruitment needs of local employers.


Written Question
Employment and Unemployment
Thursday 18th January 2024

Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland)

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the total rate of (a) employment and (b) unemployment was of people aged 16 to 64 between February and April 2010.

Answered by Jo Churchill - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)

  • The ONS headline measure of the UK employment rate is for people aged 16-64.
  • The ONS headline measure of the UK unemployment rate is for people aged 16+.

The 16-64 UK employment rate was 70.2% between February and April 2010. The 16-64 UK unemployment rate between February and April 2010 was 8.1%.

Employment and unemployment data is published and available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/datasets/summaryoflabourmarketstatistics


Written Question
Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery
Wednesday 22nd November 2023

Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland)

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what recent discussions he has had with the Irish Government on the establishment of the Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery.

Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

The Government engages regularly with the Irish Government on a range of matters that benefit from partnership between our two countries.

Most recently, I met with the Tánaiste, Micheál Martin, on 12 October. A range of issues were discussed, including the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act. I encouraged the Irish Government to engage with the ICRIR in the coming months to understand its plans for implementation of the Act.


Written Question
Financial Services: Secondary Education
Monday 23rd October 2023

Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland)

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to improve financial education in secondary schools.

Answered by Nick Gibb

Financial education forms a compulsory part of the National Curriculum for mathematics (at Key Stages 1 to 4) and citizenship (at Key stages 3 and 4), which together cover important financial topics including personal budgeting, saving for the future, managing credit and debt, and calculating interest. The National Curriculum is compulsory for maintained schools but academies must teach a broad and balanced curriculum, including mathematics. The National Curriculum can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-curriculum.

The Prime Minister recently announced more investment in secondary mathematics, and that mathematics will be studied by all 16 to 18 year olds as part of the new Advanced British Standard qualification.

As with all aspects of the curriculum, schools have flexibility over how they deliver financial education, so they can develop an approach that is sensitive to the needs and background of their pupils.

There is a wide range of support for financial education. For example, the Money and Pensions Service has published guidance, setting out how schools can improve the financial education they deliver, and signposting to services and resources that can help. The guidance can be found here: https://maps.org.uk/en/publications/research/2021/financial-education-guidance-for-primary-and-secondary-schools-in-england.

The Department’s national network of 40 Maths Hubs also supports schools to improve their mathematics teaching, including financial content in the mathematics curriculum, based on best practice from East Asia.

The Oak National Academy, which became an independent Arm’s Length Body in September 2022, will provide adaptable, optional and free support for schools, reducing teacher workload and enabling pupils to access a high quality curriculum. New Oak curriculum materials, including for mathematics, will start be available from autumn 2023, with full curriculum packages available by summer 2024. Oak’s next phase of procurement of curriculum resources is expected to launch in late 2023 and will include citizenship.


Written Question
A47
Monday 4th September 2023

Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland)

Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the costs to the dualling of the A47 between Blofield and North Burlingham and Easton to North Tuddenham of the judicial review process.

Answered by Richard Holden - Minister without Portfolio (Cabinet Office)

National Highways’ estimated legal costs associated with the judicial review process for the A47 Blofield to North Burlingham and A47 Easton to North Tuddenham schemes is £50,000 to £75,000. The judicial review process has not yet completed, so further legal costs could be incurred.

It is not yet possible to assess the full impact of the legal action on the project itself. However, it has meant that the schemes have missed their scheduled start of works dates of March 2023 and their construction costs will face additional inflationary pressures, potentially into the millions of pounds.


Written Question
Help to Grow Schemes
Tuesday 18th July 2023

Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland)

Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what progress she has made on the Help to Grow scheme; what plans she has for the future rollout of this scheme to (a) SMEs and (b) other businesses; and which businesses in Broadland constituency are participating in the scheme.

Answered by Kevin Hollinrake - Minister of State (Department for Business and Trade)

Up to the end of February 2023, the Help to Grow: Management (HTG:M) programme has had 5,395 enrolments, including 295 businesses from the East of England. Our Year One evaluation findings show that 90% of SME leaders surveyed say they would recommend the programme to another business leader. It is not possible to disclose individual business information due to data protection. The programme will run until 2025.


Written Question
Transport: Scotland
Wednesday 17th May 2023

Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland)

Question to the Scotland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what recent discussions he has had with (a) Cabinet colleagues and (b) the Scottish Government on improving transport connectivity between the mainland of Scotland and the islands.

Answered by John Lamont - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Scotland Office)

Connectivity between the Scottish mainland and islands is essential to the livelihoods and well-being of our island communities.

The Scotland Office routinely engages with stakeholders on this and other matters impacting our islands. Indeed, my Ministerial colleague, Lord Offord, attended the first Islands Forum last year.

I am confident that continued collaboration will help island communities tackle shared challenges and unlock their full potential.


Written Question
Windsor Framework
Thursday 23rd March 2023

Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland)

Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of the Windsor Framework on Northern Ireland's place in the Union.

Answered by Chris Heaton-Harris - Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

The Windsor Framework protects and strengthens Northern Ireland’s place in our Union and this will be reinforced by the changes we are making to domestic legislation.

As well as ensuring goods available on the shelves in Great Britain are able to move freely to Northern Ireland, the agreement safeguards Northern Ireland’s place in the UK internal market through agreements on medicines, VAT and State aid.

The agreement ensures that Northern Ireland will benefit from the same VAT and alcohol taxes as apply in the rest of the United Kingdom.

With the agreement, we have restored sovereignty by putting the people of Northern Ireland in charge and eliminating the democratic deficit.

Northern Ireland’s businesses have access not only to the UK market, but also to the European single market and the agreement provides Northern Ireland with excellent opportunities for economic growth. In so doing it supports the prosperity of both Northern Ireland and the whole of the UK.

As Tony Blair recently noted, political stability is the best way to protect the union between Northern Ireland and Great Britain and by fixing the problems with the Protocol and restoring the delicate balance inherent in the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement, we have provided a sound basis for Northern Ireland to move forward economically and politically as an integral and prosperous part of the United Kingdom.


Written Question
Windsor Framework
Tuesday 14th March 2023

Asked by: Jerome Mayhew (Conservative - Broadland)

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Windsor Framework on peace and prosperity in Northern Ireland.

Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)

The new approach, set out in the Windsor Framework, restores the balance needed to uphold the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement in all its dimensions. It restores the smooth flow of trade within the UK; protects Northern Ireland's place in the Union; and addresses the democratic deficit. These changes ensure that Northern Ireland's place in the United Kingdom is fully respected. The Framework therefore provides a new basis for future stability and prosperity in Northern Ireland, as we look ahead to the 25th anniversary of the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement.