Asked by: Mark Menzies (Independent - Fylde)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to paragraph 3.103 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, when her Department plans to launch the consultation on increasing the small claims limit from £1,000 to £5,000.
Answered by Oliver Heald
Ministers are considering this issue and the Government will bring forward proposals in the coming months.
Asked by: Mark Menzies (Independent - Fylde)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what preparatory work is currently underway in her Department on the consultation on increasing the small claims limit from £1,000 to £5,000.
Answered by Oliver Heald
Ministers are considering this issue and the Government will bring forward proposals in the coming months.
Asked by: Mark Menzies (Independent - Fylde)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to tackle illegitimate and fraudulent activity by claims handling companies.
Answered by Oliver Heald
Tackling bad practices by claims management companies (CMCs) is a priority for the Government. Action already taken includes the removal of over a thousand CMC licenses since 2010 and the issuing of over £2 million in fines.
Collaborative work between the Claims Management Regulation Unit and other regulators has resulted in the successful disruption and prosecution of criminal operations by CMCs engaged in fraudulent and illegitimate claims.
Asked by: Mark Menzies (Independent - Fylde)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans he has to improve the provision of work in prisons; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Andrew Selous
We want prisons to be places of hard work, rigorous education and high ambition, with incentives for prisoners to learn and for prison staff to prioritise education and work. Improvements have been made to increase work but we want to go further. We are looking at the ways in which this might be achieved.
Asked by: Mark Menzies (Independent - Fylde)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent discussions he has had on ensuring that victims of crime are adequately compensated.
Answered by Mike Penning
The Justice Secretary and Home Secretary have regular discussions about a range of matters concerning the criminal justice system which includes the impact of crime on victims.
Compensation orders are available to the courts to require an offender to compensate a victim for personal injury, loss or damage. This Government has strengthened the regime by obliging courts to consider making a compensation order in appropriate cases, and lifting the £5,000 cap on compensation awards in the magistrates’ court.
In September 2014 the Justice Secretary announced the Government’s Commitment to Victims, which includes developing plans and consulting, by December 2014, on options for paying compensation to victims up front to prevent compensation arriving months or years after imposition as and when the offender is able to pay.
Victims of crimes of violence may be eligible for compensation under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme.