Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, for what reasons the legal cases relating to the closure of the Prospero House Nightingale Court on Borough High Street have been delayed.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The closure of Prospero House will not cause cases to be delayed. Those cases listed to be heard after the closure will now take place at Southwark Crown.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of the financial effect on the criminal legal aid sector of the time taken to implement recommendations of Sir Christopher Bellamy’s Independent review of criminal legal aid.
Answered by Sarah Dines
My predecessor, James Cartlidge MP, met representatives from the Criminal Bar Association (CBA) in May and I met them in July. These meetings gave us the chance to discuss the positive changes proposed by CLAIR and the benefits of engaging with government constructively to ensure the sustainability of the sector. Senior officials continue to meet the chair of the CBA on a regular basis to discuss issues of mutual concern.
On 30 June, the Government announced via a Written Ministerial Statement that it would introduce secondary legislation to increase criminal legal aid fees. On 20 July, the Government laid a statutory instrument to implement a 15% uplift to most fee schemes. This statutory instrument will come into force for new representation orders that begin from 30 September 2022 onwards. Criminal legal aid practitioners will start to receive the pay increase from October 2022 onwards for their work on these cases.
Whilst we recognise the importance of remuneration in delivering long term sustainability of the market, Sir Christopher’s review was not just about providers’ remuneration, but also about the effectiveness of the Criminal Justice System for all who use it. That is why alongside greater investment in criminal legal aid fees, we have consulted on a range of non-financial measures to improve the functioning of the criminal justice system.
Sir Christopher Bellamy undertook a financial assessment and recommended that funding for criminal legal aid should be increased overall for both solicitors and barristers as soon as possible to an annual level, in a steady state, of at least 15% above present levels. On 15 March, we published our interim response to Sir Christopher Bellamy’s report together with a consultation on related policy proposals. This was followed by a 12-week consultation period, and then a further 12 weeks to deliver requisite operational and legal changes. The next phase will involve consideration of the options for longer term reform we set out in the consultation, with a full response being published in the autumn. Notwithstanding the time constraints, we have worked as quickly as possible to deliver the funding increase, with the new fees due to come into force on 30 September. There is provision for interim and hardship payments to be made to criminal barristers and solicitors in certain circumstances, which are set out in Regulations and administered by the Legal Aid Agency.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, by when his Department expects to respond to all the recommendations of the Bellamy Review into legal aid; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Sarah Dines
My predecessor, James Cartlidge MP, met representatives from the Criminal Bar Association (CBA) in May and I met them in July. These meetings gave us the chance to discuss the positive changes proposed by CLAIR and the benefits of engaging with government constructively to ensure the sustainability of the sector. Senior officials continue to meet the chair of the CBA on a regular basis to discuss issues of mutual concern.
On 30 June, the Government announced via a Written Ministerial Statement that it would introduce secondary legislation to increase criminal legal aid fees. On 20 July, the Government laid a statutory instrument to implement a 15% uplift to most fee schemes. This statutory instrument will come into force for new representation orders that begin from 30 September 2022 onwards. Criminal legal aid practitioners will start to receive the pay increase from October 2022 onwards for their work on these cases.
Whilst we recognise the importance of remuneration in delivering long term sustainability of the market, Sir Christopher’s review was not just about providers’ remuneration, but also about the effectiveness of the Criminal Justice System for all who use it. That is why alongside greater investment in criminal legal aid fees, we have consulted on a range of non-financial measures to improve the functioning of the criminal justice system.
Sir Christopher Bellamy undertook a financial assessment and recommended that funding for criminal legal aid should be increased overall for both solicitors and barristers as soon as possible to an annual level, in a steady state, of at least 15% above present levels. On 15 March, we published our interim response to Sir Christopher Bellamy’s report together with a consultation on related policy proposals. This was followed by a 12-week consultation period, and then a further 12 weeks to deliver requisite operational and legal changes. The next phase will involve consideration of the options for longer term reform we set out in the consultation, with a full response being published in the autumn. Notwithstanding the time constraints, we have worked as quickly as possible to deliver the funding increase, with the new fees due to come into force on 30 September. There is provision for interim and hardship payments to be made to criminal barristers and solicitors in certain circumstances, which are set out in Regulations and administered by the Legal Aid Agency.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will meet with the Criminal Bar Association and representatives of striking legal professional barristers to help prevent further delays to cases.
Answered by Sarah Dines
My predecessor, James Cartlidge MP, met representatives from the Criminal Bar Association (CBA) in May and I met them in July. These meetings gave us the chance to discuss the positive changes proposed by CLAIR and the benefits of engaging with government constructively to ensure the sustainability of the sector. Senior officials continue to meet the chair of the CBA on a regular basis to discuss issues of mutual concern.
On 30 June, the Government announced via a Written Ministerial Statement that it would introduce secondary legislation to increase criminal legal aid fees. On 20 July, the Government laid a statutory instrument to implement a 15% uplift to most fee schemes. This statutory instrument will come into force for new representation orders that begin from 30 September 2022 onwards. Criminal legal aid practitioners will start to receive the pay increase from October 2022 onwards for their work on these cases.
Whilst we recognise the importance of remuneration in delivering long term sustainability of the market, Sir Christopher’s review was not just about providers’ remuneration, but also about the effectiveness of the Criminal Justice System for all who use it. That is why alongside greater investment in criminal legal aid fees, we have consulted on a range of non-financial measures to improve the functioning of the criminal justice system.
Sir Christopher Bellamy undertook a financial assessment and recommended that funding for criminal legal aid should be increased overall for both solicitors and barristers as soon as possible to an annual level, in a steady state, of at least 15% above present levels. On 15 March, we published our interim response to Sir Christopher Bellamy’s report together with a consultation on related policy proposals. This was followed by a 12-week consultation period, and then a further 12 weeks to deliver requisite operational and legal changes. The next phase will involve consideration of the options for longer term reform we set out in the consultation, with a full response being published in the autumn. Notwithstanding the time constraints, we have worked as quickly as possible to deliver the funding increase, with the new fees due to come into force on 30 September. There is provision for interim and hardship payments to be made to criminal barristers and solicitors in certain circumstances, which are set out in Regulations and administered by the Legal Aid Agency.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans his Department has to extend access to legal aid.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
In the 2019 Legal Support Action Plan, we announced a comprehensive review of the legal aid means test. The review is assessing the effectiveness with which the means test protects access to justice, by bringing together data, evidence and expertise from across government, and engaging with legal practitioners, representative organisations and third sector bodies. A central issue is the income and capital thresholds, but we are also reviewing other areas, such as the passporting provisions for people receiving certain benefits and the level of contributions individuals are required to pay towards their legal costs. We hope to publish the review alongside a public consultation shortly.
We have also recently made changes to ensure that legal aid remains accessible to those who need it. In May 2020, we removed the mandatory element of the Civil Legal Advice telephone gateway. In December 2020, we removed the £100,000 cap on the amount of mortgage debt which can be considered in the civil means test, which means an individual’s whole mortgage debt is now deducted from their property’s value when assessing eligibility for civil legal aid. This legislation also disregarded some compensation and ex-gratia payments for the purposes of assessing legal aid eligibility.
In September 2021, we announced that we will remove the legal aid means test for applicants for Exceptional Case Funding (ECF) in relation to legal representation at inquests. This change will extend access to legal aid for the bereaved and simplify the ECF process.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many appeals to EU Settlement Scheme decisions have (a) been made and (b) been successful in reversing a decision made by his Department.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
The EU Settlement Scheme is administered by the Home Office with a statutory right of appeal to the First-tier Tribunal - Immigration and Asylum Chamber (FtTIAC).
From commencement of the statutory appeal right on 31 January 2020 to 30 June 2020, the most recent date for published tribunal statistics, there have been 57 appeals lodged with the FtTIAC against decisions made under the EU Settlement Scheme.
Seven appeals have been rejected, with the remainder awaiting determination by the tribunal.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps the Government is taking to support the (a) independence of the judiciary in Hong Kong and (b) British judges who serve within that judicial system.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The UK Government is monitoring developments closely and remain committed to supporting the principles of the independence of the judiciary and the rule of law in Hong Kong in accordance with the obligations undertaken by the UK and China in the Joint Declaration.
Each country should uphold its own rule of law and we expect British judges who get invited to sit in Hong Kong’s courts to apply law in accordance with legislation and guidance in place in that country without interference from the Executive.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of deferring or postponing ongoing trials for non-violent offences for the duration of the covid-19 pandemic.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
As of 23 March 2020, the Lord Chief Justice suspended all jury trials in the Crown Court. In the Magistrates’ Courts, trials are being selected for listing by the Judiciary where the Judge is satisfied that the case can be safely heard, having regard to all the particulars of the case management and the status and condition of the court in which it will be heard.
Our courts provide a vital public service and it is important that justice is delivered wherever possible. We are working closely with the judiciary and using the technology available to progress cases through the system as quickly as possible. Public safety is our priority and we are keeping the situation under constant review.