Asked by: Kate Osborne (Labour - Jarrow)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Detained Duty Advice Scheme surgeries took place (a) in total and (b) in person at Derwentside Immigration Removal Centre from (i) 28 December 2021 and 30 June 2022 and (ii) 1 July 2022 to date.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) operates free legal advice surgeries in immigration removal centres (IRCs) in England under the Detained Duty Advice Scheme (DDAS). Individuals who are detained are entitled to receive up to 30 minutes of advice regardless of financial eligibility or the merits of their case. There is no restriction on the number of surgeries an individual may attend. If an individual who is detained requires substantive advice on a matter which is in scope of legal aid, full legal advice can be provided if the statutory legal aid means and merits criteria are met.
From Monday 3 April 2023 all DDAS appointments will be facilitated in-person.
Individuals detained in IRCs can also access privately commissioned legal advice, including legally aided advice provided through means other than the DDAS.
Data on the number of women who have signed up via the legal help scheme following a DDAS surgery, and the proportion of those women who had further in-person appointments with a firm on the DDAS rota following an advice surgery, is not held centrally and therefore cannot be provided.
Asked by: Kate Osborne (Labour - Jarrow)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the answers of 14 July 2022, 26 September 2022 and 9 February 2023 to Questions 32512, 53359 and 138399 on Derwentside Immigration Removal Centre (IRC): Legal Profession, what assessment she has made of the reason for the increase in the number of in-person legal visits at Derwentside IRC between 22 and 30 September 2022 compared with the number between 1 July and 21 September 2022.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) operates free legal advice surgeries in immigration removal centres (IRCs) in England under the Detained Duty Advice Scheme (DDAS). Individuals who are detained are entitled to receive up to 30 minutes of advice regardless of financial eligibility or the merits of their case. There is no restriction on the number of surgeries an individual may attend. If an individual who is detained requires substantive advice on a matter which is in scope of legal aid, full legal advice can be provided if the statutory legal aid means and merits criteria are met.
Individuals detained in IRCs can also access privately commissioned legal advice, including legally aided advice provided through means other than the DDAS.
Access to DDAS legal advice across the immigration removal estate is currently facilitated through both remote means (by telephone and video conferencing) and in-person visits on request. The volume of requests for in-person appointments may vary, with more requests at Derwentside IRC having been made at certain times than at others, and it is currently a matter for the detained individual to decide the means by which their appointment is facilitated.
Previously released data was provisional management information, which is not assured to the standard of Official Statistics and is subject to change. We are working with the LAA to better understand the data.
Asked by: Kate Osborne (Labour - Jarrow)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much the Common Platform (a) has already cost, and (b) is expected to cost.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
I refer the honourable member to the answer given on 5 September 2022 to Question 42140: Written questions and answers - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament.
Asked by: Kate Osborne (Labour - Jarrow)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on which date ministers last met with trade unions to discuss the Common Platform.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Ministers have met with staff to discuss Common Platform.
I have also met with a range of staff users in both Magistrates and Crown Courts in Manchester and Birmingham.
Asked by: Kate Osborne (Labour - Jarrow)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effect of industrial action by the Public and Commercial Services union on court backlogs.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Strike action related to the rollout of the Common Platform continues, with Public and Commercial Services mandates in place across 82 Magistrates courts covering 295 legal advisers and court associates.
There have been 33 days of strike action since October 2022. Thanks to the ongoing work of HMCTS, the on-the-day impacts of these strikes have been minimal and well mitigated through case prioritisation, re-listing and use of non-striking staff to cover absences.
Despite the strikes, disposals have remained high. The magistrates’ courts averaged 103,000 disposals per month between January and September 2022. However, October saw 108,500 disposals and November saw 122,700 disposals.
The outstanding caseload in the Magistrates’ Court stood at 337,800 at the end of November 2022, compared to 348,400 the month before.
Asked by: Kate Osborne (Labour - Jarrow)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many court cases have been rescheduled due to industrial action by the Public and Commercial Services union.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice does not hold information on the number of cases that are rescheduled due to industrial action by the Public and Commercial Services Union. More general information is published on the number of trial cases that are rearranged on the day of trial (ineffective trials) in the Trial effectiveness at the criminal courts tool by reason and court type.
Asked by: Kate Osborne (Labour - Jarrow)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many non-Detained Duty Advice Scheme legal visits took place at Derwentside immigration removal centre between (a) 1 July 2022 and 30 September 2022, (b) 1 October 2022 and 31 December 2022 and (c) 1 January 2023 and 31 January 2023; and how many of those visits took place (i) in person, (ii) by Skype and (iii) by telephone for each of these periods.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) operates free legal advice surgeries in immigration removal centres (IRCs) in England under the Detained Duty Advice Scheme (DDAS). Individuals who are detained are entitled to receive up to 30 minutes of advice regardless of financial eligibility or the merits of their case. There is no restriction on the number of surgeries an individual may attend. If an individual who is detained requires substantive advice on a matter which is in scope of legal aid, full legal advice can be provided if the statutory legal aid means and merits criteria are met.
Individuals detained in IRCs can also access privately commissioned legal advice, including legally aided advice provided through means other than the DDAS.
Access to legal advice across the immigration removal estate is facilitated through remote means (by telephone and video conferencing) as well as in-person visits on request. All people in IRCs are provided with a mobile phone and have access to landline telephones on request, fax machines, email and video calling facilities which can be used to contact legal representatives, family, or friends.
The total number of DDAS and non-DDAS legal visits held at Derwentside IRC, including the means by which they were facilitated, from 1 July 2022 to 31 January 2023 is set out in the table below.
|
| Date | ||
|
| 1 July 2022 – 30 September 2022 | 1 October 2022 – 31 December 2022 | 1 January 2023 – 31 January 2023 |
DDAS Appointments | Total | 93 | 65 | 31 |
In-person | 71 | 57 | 31 | |
Skype | 20 | 7 | 0 | |
Telephone | 2 | 1 | 0 | |
Non-DDAS Appointments | Total | 36 | 56 | 0 |
In-person | 18 | 28 | 0 | |
Skype | 18 | 28 | 0 | |
Telephone | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
The Home Office publishes data on people in detention on the last day of each quarter in the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release’, as well as data on people entering detention during each quarter. The latest data relate to the end of September 2022.
Data on people in detention are published in table Det_D02 of the ‘Detention detailed tables’ and data on people entering detention are published in table Det_D01. The data can be broken down by current place/first place of detention of detention (including Derwentside Immigration Removal Centre), and sex.
Figures relating to people in detention at the end of December 2022 will be published on 23 February 2023.
Asked by: Kate Osborne (Labour - Jarrow)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many women were detained at Derwentside immigration removal centre between (a) 1 July 2022 and 30 September 2022, (b) 1 October 2022 and 31 December 2022 and (c) 1 January 2023 and 31 January 2023.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) operates free legal advice surgeries in immigration removal centres (IRCs) in England under the Detained Duty Advice Scheme (DDAS). Individuals who are detained are entitled to receive up to 30 minutes of advice regardless of financial eligibility or the merits of their case. There is no restriction on the number of surgeries an individual may attend. If an individual who is detained requires substantive advice on a matter which is in scope of legal aid, full legal advice can be provided if the statutory legal aid means and merits criteria are met.
Individuals detained in IRCs can also access privately commissioned legal advice, including legally aided advice provided through means other than the DDAS.
Access to legal advice across the immigration removal estate is facilitated through remote means (by telephone and video conferencing) as well as in-person visits on request. All people in IRCs are provided with a mobile phone and have access to landline telephones on request, fax machines, email and video calling facilities which can be used to contact legal representatives, family, or friends.
The total number of DDAS and non-DDAS legal visits held at Derwentside IRC, including the means by which they were facilitated, from 1 July 2022 to 31 January 2023 is set out in the table below.
|
| Date | ||
|
| 1 July 2022 – 30 September 2022 | 1 October 2022 – 31 December 2022 | 1 January 2023 – 31 January 2023 |
DDAS Appointments | Total | 93 | 65 | 31 |
In-person | 71 | 57 | 31 | |
Skype | 20 | 7 | 0 | |
Telephone | 2 | 1 | 0 | |
Non-DDAS Appointments | Total | 36 | 56 | 0 |
In-person | 18 | 28 | 0 | |
Skype | 18 | 28 | 0 | |
Telephone | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
The Home Office publishes data on people in detention on the last day of each quarter in the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release’, as well as data on people entering detention during each quarter. The latest data relate to the end of September 2022.
Data on people in detention are published in table Det_D02 of the ‘Detention detailed tables’ and data on people entering detention are published in table Det_D01. The data can be broken down by current place/first place of detention of detention (including Derwentside Immigration Removal Centre), and sex.
Figures relating to people in detention at the end of December 2022 will be published on 23 February 2023.
Asked by: Kate Osborne (Labour - Jarrow)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many legal visits took place under the Detained Duty Advice Scheme at Derwentside immigration removal centre between (a) 1 July 2022 and 30 September 2022, (b) 1 October 2022 and 31 December 2022 and (c) 1 January 2023 and 31 January 2023; and how many of those visits took place (i) in person, (ii) by Skype and (iii) by telephone for each of those periods.
Answered by Robert Jenrick
The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) operates free legal advice surgeries in immigration removal centres (IRCs) in England under the Detained Duty Advice Scheme (DDAS). Individuals who are detained are entitled to receive up to 30 minutes of advice regardless of financial eligibility or the merits of their case. There is no restriction on the number of surgeries an individual may attend. If an individual who is detained requires substantive advice on a matter which is in scope of legal aid, full legal advice can be provided if the statutory legal aid means and merits criteria are met.
Individuals detained in IRCs can also access privately commissioned legal advice, including legally aided advice provided through means other than the DDAS.
Access to legal advice across the immigration removal estate is facilitated through remote means (by telephone and video conferencing) as well as in-person visits on request. All people in IRCs are provided with a mobile phone and have access to landline telephones on request, fax machines, email and video calling facilities which can be used to contact legal representatives, family, or friends.
The total number of DDAS and non-DDAS legal visits held at Derwentside IRC, including the means by which they were facilitated, from 1 July 2022 to 31 January 2023 is set out in the table below.
|
| Date | ||
|
| 1 July 2022 – 30 September 2022 | 1 October 2022 – 31 December 2022 | 1 January 2023 – 31 January 2023 |
DDAS Appointments | Total | 93 | 65 | 31 |
In-person | 71 | 57 | 31 | |
Skype | 20 | 7 | 0 | |
Telephone | 2 | 1 | 0 | |
Non-DDAS Appointments | Total | 36 | 56 | 0 |
In-person | 18 | 28 | 0 | |
Skype | 18 | 28 | 0 | |
Telephone | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
The Home Office publishes data on people in detention on the last day of each quarter in the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release’, as well as data on people entering detention during each quarter. The latest data relate to the end of September 2022.
Data on people in detention are published in table Det_D02 of the ‘Detention detailed tables’ and data on people entering detention are published in table Det_D01. The data can be broken down by current place/first place of detention of detention (including Derwentside Immigration Removal Centre), and sex.
Figures relating to people in detention at the end of December 2022 will be published on 23 February 2023.
Asked by: Kate Osborne (Labour - Jarrow)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will take steps to ensure that BT (a) refunds in full late payment charges incurred by customers because of delays caused by postal strikes in full and (b) issues an apology to such customers.
Answered by Julia Lopez - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
BT customers who have incurred late payment charges should contact BT customer service to discuss and resolve any issues that the postal strikes may have caused.
Ofcom, the independent telecoms regulator, requires all communication providers to be members of an approved independent Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) scheme, which can assist in settling complaints. BT has signed up to the Communications Ombudsman service, which is free for consumers: https://www.ombudsman-services.org/sectors/communications