Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will make it her policy to prevent (a) AFPS 05 injury enhancements and (b) other injury related Armed Forces payments from being treated as divisible marital assets in (i) divorce and (ii) financial remedy proceedings.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Injury-related payments are not currently excluded from the division of assets by the court. Instead, the court’s approach to whether such payments are treated as ‘matrimonial’ or ‘non-matrimonial’ will depend on the circumstances of the case.
As part of its 2024 scoping report on financial remedies, the Law Commission considered the court’s wide discretion in dividing assets in financial remedy proceedings, including the treatment of matrimonial and non-matrimonial property.
By Spring, the Government will be consulting on the challenges raised by the Law Commission in its report on financial remedies. The Government will carefully consider these issues as it prepares for consultation.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to (a) financially and (b) emotionally support victims of domestic abuse (i) when seeking a non-molestation order and (ii) in other circumstances, in the context of seeking a non-molestation order.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
It is incredibly important that victims of domestic abuse get the support they need to apply for protective orders. The Ministry of Justice funds FLOWS (Finding Legal Options for Women Survivors), a free and confidential service delivered by RCJ Advice, which helps survivors apply for a non-molestation order in the family court. Legal aid is also available to eligible victims of domestic abuse for the new Domestic Abuse Protection Orders (DAPOs) currently piloted in selected areas, and for non-molestation orders.
It is equally important that victims of domestic abuse receive emotional and practical support to recover from abuse and rebuild their lives. The 42 Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) in England and Wales receive annual grant funding from the Ministry of Justice to commission local practical, emotional, and therapeutic support services for victims of all crime types. This includes ring-fenced funding for sexual violence and domestic abuse community-based services and Independent Sexual Violence and Domestic Abuse Advisers. In addition, the Home Office runs the Flexible Fund, administered by Women’s Aid Federation, which can offer financial support to victims in specific circumstances.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many computers use the (a) Windows XP and (b) Windows 7 operating system in his Department.
Answered by Edward Argar
To release any information may assist in determining the effectiveness of a future cyber attack and could compromise measures to protect government systems. If those systems are attacked it could lead to the loss of confidentiality, integrity and availability of government information and/or personal data.
Providing information which could lead to a crime being committed and/or the disruption to the delivery of justice services is not in the public interest.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prosecutions there were for anti-social behaviour in Leigh constituency in each of the last five years.
Answered by Robert Buckland
The Ministry of Justice publishes data on prosecutions for England and Wales by Police Force Area but does not hold data for parliamentary constituencies. Anti-social behaviour can span a wide range of offences, for which there is not a definitive list. The number of defendants prosecuted for breaching an Anti-Social Behaviour Order (ASBO) or a Criminal Behaviour Order (which replaced the ASBO in 2014) by police force area can be found in the Court outcomes by Police Force Area data tool found here:
When using the data tool, ensure ’02: Magistrates’ Court’ is selected in the Court Type filter for prosecutions.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have been prosecuted for failing to register on the electoral register; and what the average level was of the fine imposed; in each of the last five years.
Answered by Rory Stewart
The Ministry of Justice holds data on the number of people prosecuted and fined for failing to provide required information to an electoral registration officer, which can be seen in the table below:
| 2013 | 2014 | |
| Prosecuted | 111 | 5 |
| Received a fine | 45 | 2 |
| Average fine | £242 | £600 |
Figures on criminal prosecutions are not available beyond 2014 because a change in legislation saw failing to register on the electoral register become a civil (rather than criminal) matter.
For years following 2013, failing to register on the electoral register was dealt with as a standard fine, where local councils can send letters requesting the fine rather than beginning a civil case. Only if the offender refuses to pay, and the council believes it is worth pursuing, would the case be sent to county court and recorded as a ‘specified money claim’. However, centrally held information does not separately identify ‘failing to register on the electoral register’.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many mandatory cyber security training sessions civil servants working in his Department are required to undertake.
Answered by Edward Argar
There are no mandated cyber security training requirements of civil servants within the Ministry of Justice.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has plans to hold tribunals in venues other than courtrooms.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) already uses a range of non-HMCTS venues, such as community centres, town halls and council offices. dedicated tribunal venues and court buildings to hear First-tier Tribunal (Social Security and Child Support) hearings. While there are no specific plans to alter the venues used for these hearings, HMCTS will continue to keep its tribunal estate under review to make sure future operational needs are met.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prosecutions there have been in (a) Greater Manchester and (b) the UK under the Emergency Workers (Obstruction) Act 2006.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
The number of defendants proceeded against in Greater Manchester and in England and Wales under the Emergency Workers (Obstruction) Act 2006, from 2008 to 2017, can be viewed in the attached table.
Court proceedings data for 2018 is planned for publication in May 2019.
Asked by: Jo Platt (Labour (Co-op) - Leigh and Atherton)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the increase in the small claims limit from £1,000 to £2,000 on the ability of victims of workplace accidents to bring forward a claim.
Answered by Rory Stewart
We are increasing the small claims limit for employers and public liability claims to £2,000. This is both in line with inflation, using the RPI measure, and consistent with the way that increases to the Judicial College Guidelines are calculated. This will lead to a similar number and type of claims being covered as were when the limit was set at £1,000 in 1991. The Government’s consultation response outlining its assessment and decision on this issue is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/reforming-the-soft-tissue-injury-whiplash-claims-process.