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Written Question
Television Licences: Non-payment
Monday 1st July 2019

Asked by: Paul Sweeney (Labour (Co-op) - Glasgow North East)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Minister for Justice, what support he plans to provide to the courts service to deal with the potential increase in non-payment prosecution for TV licences by vulnerable defendants over the age of 75 who do not pay for a TV licence from June 2020.

Answered by Robert Buckland

TV Licensing prosecutions are dealt with via the Single Justice Procedure, which was introduced in 2015 to allow for more efficient resolution of low-level, summary only-non imprisonable offences in which the offender pleads guilty or does not respond. HMCTS has not made any specific arrangements for any potential increase in non-payment prosecutions for TV licences from June 2020. If required, to meet any emerging demand HMCTS will deploy its planning and allocation processes which allow for resource adjustment or reallocation.


Written Question
Television Licences: Non-payment
Monday 1st July 2019

Asked by: Paul Sweeney (Labour (Co-op) - Glasgow North East)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Minister for Justice, whether he has made an estimate of the potential increase in the number of prosecutions there will be of people over 75 who have not paid for a TV licence from June 2020.

Answered by Robert Buckland

The lead department on TV licencing is the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DDCMS).

The responsibility for TV licence fee concessions will pass from government to the BBC in June 2020, at which time the BBC has taken the decision to end free TV licences for all over 75s.

The Ministry of Justice has reviewed prosecution data between 1992 and 1999 for TV licence fee evasion, prior to the introduction of the concession, and established that there were no prosecutions of defendants over the age of 75 during this period.


Written Question
Refugees: Families
Monday 19th November 2018

Asked by: Paul Sweeney (Labour (Co-op) - Glasgow North East)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the ability of sponsors to meet the legal costs of refugee family reunion (a) applications and (b) subsequent reviews or appeals to those applications.

Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

The Government does not collect data on the private legal costs of individuals to assist with a refugee family reunion application.


Written Question
Legal Aid Scheme: Human Trafficking
Monday 12th November 2018

Asked by: Paul Sweeney (Labour (Co-op) - Glasgow North East)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of providing providing legal aid support to potentially trafficked people to ensure that they are able to make an informed decision on whether to enter the National Referral Mechanism.

Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

The Government has always been clear that publicly-funded immigration legal advice is available for individuals identified as potential victims of trafficking or modern slavery.

There is specific legal aid provision for victims of modern slavery and human trafficking for immigration advice and representation, including assistance with applications for leave to enter or remain, subject to means and merits.

However, advice on whether to enter the National Referral Mechanism, such as that provided by a first responder or local authority, would not be within the scope of legal aid funding.


Written Question
Legal Aid Scheme: Refugees
Monday 12th November 2018

Asked by: Paul Sweeney (Labour (Co-op) - Glasgow North East)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many successful applications for exceptional case funding were made in relation to an application for refugee family reunion in (a) 2016 and (b) 2017.

Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

This information could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.


Written Question
Immigration: Appeals
Wednesday 7th March 2018

Asked by: Paul Sweeney (Labour (Co-op) - Glasgow North East)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average length of time was that it took to process an immigration appeal in the last twelve months; and what targets are set for processing and bringing to a conclusion such appeals.

Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

The average time taken to clear an immigration appeal in the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) between October 2016 and September 2017 was 57 weeks.

HM Courts & Tribunals Service does not routinely publish targets for processing immigration appeals.

Published data is only available up to September 2017.


Written Question
Small Claims
Wednesday 28th February 2018

Asked by: Paul Sweeney (Labour (Co-op) - Glasgow North East)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what provisions are made available for covering the costs of raising a claim at a British court where the person raising the claim is a UK citizen living on nil income and not in receipt of benefits.

Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

Assistance with paying Courts and Tribunals fees is available through Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals’ Services Help with Fees scheme. Legal aid is provided for claimants in cases which fall within scope, subject to means and merits tests


Written Question
European Court Of Human Rights: Legal Costs
Wednesday 28th February 2018

Asked by: Paul Sweeney (Labour (Co-op) - Glasgow North East)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether there is provision for covering the costs of raising a claim at the European Court of Human Rights from the public purse for a person who is a British subject living on a nil income and not in receipt of benefits.

Answered by Phillip Lee

There is no fee for applying to the ECtHR. In England and Wales, legal aid is not available for proceedings before the ECtHR. Legal help may be used to advise a client of their position under England and Wales law and of the options available but may not be used to make an application to ECtHR or for legal aid from that court.

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) administers its own legal aid scheme which may be granted where the Court is satisfied that it is necessary for the proper conduct of the case before the Court; and the applicant has insufficient means to meet all or part of the costs, as set out in rules 100-105 of the Court’s Rules.


Written Question
Immigration: Appeals
Wednesday 28th February 2018

Asked by: Paul Sweeney (Labour (Co-op) - Glasgow North East)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average time taken was for processing immigration appeals in 2016-2017.

Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

The average time taken to clear an immigration appeal in the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) in 2016-2017 was 51 weeks. The average time taken to clear a case in 2015-2016 was 35 weeks.

The average clearance time, which is measured from receipt of an appeal to its conclusion, went up between 2015-16 and 2016-17 because of the Tribunal significantly reducing its outstanding caseload and clearing older cases during that period. Outstanding caseload has now reduced from 64,800 in June 2016 to 35,100 at the end of December 2017.

Immigration includes Managed Migration, Entry Clearance Officer, Human Rights, EEA Free Movement Family Visit Visa, Deportation and Deprivation of Citizenship Appeals.


Written Question
Immigration: Appeals
Wednesday 28th February 2018

Asked by: Paul Sweeney (Labour (Co-op) - Glasgow North East)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average time taken was for processing immigration appeals during 2015-2016.

Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

The average time taken to clear an immigration appeal in the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) in 2016-2017 was 51 weeks. The average time taken to clear a case in 2015-2016 was 35 weeks.

The average clearance time, which is measured from receipt of an appeal to its conclusion, went up between 2015-16 and 2016-17 because of the Tribunal significantly reducing its outstanding caseload and clearing older cases during that period. Outstanding caseload has now reduced from 64,800 in June 2016 to 35,100 at the end of December 2017.

Immigration includes Managed Migration, Entry Clearance Officer, Human Rights, EEA Free Movement Family Visit Visa, Deportation and Deprivation of Citizenship Appeals.

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