Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to support burial authorities in carrying out memorial safety inspections that protect public safety while ensuring compliance with the Ministry of Justice guidance Managing the Safety of Burial Ground Memorials (2009).
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
While the Department is responsible for burial law and policy, the Government does not have day-to-day operational responsibility for burial grounds, which lies instead with providers.
The Government’s guidance documents Managing the safety of Burial Ground Memorials and Guide for Burial Ground Managers set out best practice for memorial safety inspections, including guidance that laying memorials flat should only occur where necessary and following a risk assessment. The documents also advise burial authorities to make every effort to contact families before taking action, where this does not compromise safety.
Burial authorities are expected to follow this guidance when carrying out inspections. Any concerns or complaints about how inspections have been conducted can be raised directly with the relevant burial authority.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to encourage burial authorities to make every effort to contact families before taking action to lay memorials flat where this can be done safely.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
While the Department is responsible for burial law and policy, the Government does not have day-to-day operational responsibility for burial grounds, which lies instead with providers.
The Government’s guidance documents Managing the safety of Burial Ground Memorials and Guide for Burial Ground Managers set out best practice for memorial safety inspections, including guidance that laying memorials flat should only occur where necessary and following a risk assessment. The documents also advise burial authorities to make every effort to contact families before taking action, where this does not compromise safety.
Burial authorities are expected to follow this guidance when carrying out inspections. Any concerns or complaints about how inspections have been conducted can be raised directly with the relevant burial authority.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of burial authorities’ adherence to the guidance that laying memorials flat should be used only where necessary following a risk assessment.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
While the Department is responsible for burial law and policy, the Government does not have day-to-day operational responsibility for burial grounds, which lies instead with providers.
The Government’s guidance documents Managing the safety of Burial Ground Memorials and Guide for Burial Ground Managers set out best practice for memorial safety inspections, including guidance that laying memorials flat should only occur where necessary and following a risk assessment. The documents also advise burial authorities to make every effort to contact families before taking action, where this does not compromise safety.
Burial authorities are expected to follow this guidance when carrying out inspections. Any concerns or complaints about how inspections have been conducted can be raised directly with the relevant burial authority.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the condition of (a) young offenders institutions and (b) education provision in these institutions.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Vice Chamberlain (HM Household) (Whip, House of Commons)
We recognise that current performance in our public sector young offender institutions (YOIs) is not where we need it to be. This puts staff under pressure and affects the quality of regime, including education opportunities, that we can offer children and young people.
To drive performance improvements, we have developed roadmaps to effective practice which will focus on outcomes in areas such as safety, behaviour management support and education. Where required, action is being taken under the education contracts to require providers to improve performance, but this is a shared challenge, in which the maintenance of good order and discipline in establishments plays a key part.
The Youth Custody Service (YCS) is working closely with education providers in the community, in particular those making provision for children who have experienced school exclusion, children with special educational needs and young people who have previously experienced, or are at risk of, being unemployed without involvement in education or training. These partnerships will be crucial to developing practice in our YOIs, but also in offering some continuity with children’s education on release.
Work is under way to apply new learning frameworks to the current provision. This will create a wider range of pathways for children, and a roadmap will be used to promote these improvements.
I recently met with education providers and the YCS, including governors, to explore the barriers and plans for improvement. Effective engagement with individual children and young people will make a huge difference in improving safety and achieving more positive outcomes for them on release.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to support survivors of domestic abuse and violence against women through the criminal justice system.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government was elected with a landmark mission to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) in the next decade. Ministers from a wide range of relevant Government departments regularly meet to ensure we are using all available levers to achieve this, and we will publish our cross-government strategy this summer.
We are already taking action to improve the experiences of victims of domestic and sexual abuse by:
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment her Department has made of the potential impact of the non-recognition of unmarried partnerships in family law on economic abuse.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The financial difficulties which cohabitants can face when their cohabiting relationships come to an end is a matter of concern. The Government committed in its manifesto to strengthening the rights and protections for women in cohabiting couples within its broader commitment to tackle violence against women and girls.
As part of our work on cohabitation reform, we are carefully considering issues relating to cohabitation and domestic abuse, including economic abuse. We will launch a public consultation later this year to build public consensus on what cohabitation reform should look like.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to introduce legal protections for cohabiting couples to ensure equitable distribution of assets on separation.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The financial difficulties which cohabitants can face when their cohabiting relationships come to an end is a matter of concern. The Government committed in its manifesto to strengthening the rights and protections for women in cohabiting couples within its broader commitment to tackle violence against women and girls.
As part of our work on cohabitation reform, we are carefully considering issues relating to cohabitation and domestic abuse, including economic abuse. We will launch a public consultation later this year to build public consensus on what cohabitation reform should look like.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of reported assaults on NHS staff have resulted in prosecution in the last 12 months.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Assaults can be prosecuted under a range of offences such as common assault, actual bodily harm (ABH) or grievous bodily harm (GBH). The Ministry of Justice does not, however, collate data on the profession of the victim. To do so could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
By way of example, data is collated on defendants who are prosecuted and convicted of an assault against an emergency worker. Data on those convicted of such assaults, up to 30 June 2024, can be found in the principal offence proceedings and ‘Outcomes by Offence’ data tool, available at: Outcomes by Offence data tool: June 2024. In the “Outcomes by Offences” document, select the `Overall volumes’ page, then select the offence filter. Select “8.22 Assault of an emergency worker”. The number of convictions for an assault against an emergency worker for each year can be found in the `Convicted’ row.
Asked by: Manuela Perteghella (Liberal Democrat - Stratford-on-Avon)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to reduce the cost of court transcripts for victims.
Answered by Heidi Alexander - Secretary of State for Transport
We currently offer free transcripts of the judge’s sentencing remarks in some circumstances and are piloting extending this to victims of rape and serious sexual offences.
I understand transcripts may help individuals obtain closure on traumatic events.
Transcripts must be 100% accurate. Anyone who has used voice dictation technology will know mistakes can be made. I will continue to keep this under review but have to balance costs against many other competing priorities within the court budget.