Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the allowances permitted for those undertaking jury duty for (a) loss of earnings, (b) cost of any care or childcare, (c) food and drink and (d) travel and parking costs.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Jury service is an important civic duty, and we want to help jurors feel supported as they undertake this important job. The support provided to jurors includes measures to assist those who may suffer financial hardship. People who are not paid by their employer whilst they are on jury service can claim a loss of earnings allowance from the court, and jurors can apply for a deferral or excusal based upon financial hardship. The Government will keep under review all support provided to jurors throughout their service.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how their Department defines strategy.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The definition is detailed in the Functional Standards Common Glossary, which is published on the gov.uk website.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 22 November 2024 to Question 14161, what her Department's timetable is for its consideration of marriage law in England and Wales.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Marriage law is an issue of great importance and one which therefore requires careful consideration. The Law Commission’s report on weddings raises a number of issues around weddings law, and as a new Government we need to take the time to consider these carefully before setting out our position, which we will do in due course.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps they are taking to use (a) artificial intelligence and (b) data to help increase their Department's productivity.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Vice Chamberlain (HM Household) (Whip, House of Commons)
The Ministry of Justice is committed to improving its productivity, including through artificial intelligence and effective use of data.
For example, our Prison Network App built by our Data Science and AI teams link up multiple sources of administrative data to help detect prisoners involved with drug smuggling, gang violence and organised crime. This has reduced administrative burdens for more than 500 intelligence staff who use the app to identify connections between individuals in the prison population.
Better Outcomes through Linked Data (BOLD) is an ambitious data-linking project, joining data from the Ministry of Justice, the Department of Health and Social Care, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, among others. BOLD has produced a tool for probation staff which cuts down the duplication of data entry and significantly reduces the need for probation officers to search for data, freeing up their time to allow more offender management to reduce reoffending.
Additionally, we have worked in partnership with the Alan Turing Institute to develop a framework for the Department to build and embed our ethical approach to the use of AI and data science, so that we can be confident that we understand the choices we make are ethically sound, with principles we can stand by as this area develops quickly. Most recently, the Ministry of Justice, in partnership with the Department for Work and Pensions, ran a unique collaboration between government and businesses to co-create innovative AI solutions to tackle some of the most complex challenges facing citizens today. The result of these collaborations will be communicated in due course.
Additionally, we are developing guidance, training and learning opportunities for our staff to safely use AI tools. We draw on a range of resources, published on GOV.UK, to inform our AI and data usage. For example, the Generative AI Framework, the Data Maturity Assessment, the Ethics, Transparency and Accountability Framework, the Data Ethics Framework, and the Algorithmic Transparency Recording Standard.
We will continue to regularly review our usage of AI and data to maximise productivity benefits for staff and the public.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people were (a) prosecuted and (b) convicted for making hoax calls to the emergency services in each of the last five years.
Answered by Heidi Alexander - Secretary of State for Transport
The Ministry of Justice publishes data on the number of defendants prosecuted and convicted, including for ‘Improper use of public electronic communications network’ which will include hoax calls. This can be obtained by using HO offence code 19607 in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, which can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2023.
However, it is not possible to identify only those offences that involved making hoax calls to the emergency services. This information may be held on court records but to examine individual court records would be of disproportionate costs.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what criteria are used to determine the eligibility of prisoners for early release under the overcrowding alleviation scheme.
Answered by Edward Argar
There is no such thing as the overcrowding alleviation scheme. HMPPS uses crowding where necessary and appropriate to ensure there is sufficient prison capacity to lock up offenders.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison officers have been investigated for drug smuggling in the last five years.
Answered by Edward Argar
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what data his Department holds on the number of criminal legal aid firms that have ceased operations in each of the last 15 years.
Answered by Mike Freer
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether she has made a recent assessment of the adequacy of legal aid provision for immigration cases.
Answered by Mike Freer
Legal aid is available for asylum cases, for immigration matters for victims of domestic abuse and modern slavery, for separated migrant children and for immigration detention cases.
Once commenced, individuals who receive a removal notice under the Illegal Migration Act (IMA) will have access to merits and means free legal advice in relation to the removal notice.
We have taken action to increase access to legal aid for immigration and asylum cases, by:
Setting fees for IMA work at 15% above the usual hourly rate;
Providing up to £1.4 million of funding in 2024 for accreditation and re-accreditation of senior caseworkers to conduct immigration and asylum legal aid work;
Allowing Detained Duty Advice Scheme (DDAS) providers to give guidance remotely, at the discretion of providers and subject to their professional judgement and their obligations towards vulnerable persons; and
Introducing payment for travel time between Immigration Removal Centres (IRCs) and DDAS surgeries.
The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) monitors supply across its legal aid contracts on an ongoing basis and, where demand is greater than the available supply, takes action within its operational powers to secure additional provision to ensure the continuity of legal aid-funded services.
The LAA regularly engages with provider representative groups, including on the provision of immigration and asylum services, via forums such as the Civil Contract Consultative Group.
The ongoing Review of Civil Legal Aid is considering the broader economic context of the civil legal aid market as a whole, including for immigration cases, so that it can operate sustainably in the long-term; the Green Paper consultation is expected in July 2024.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of funding for criminal defence solicitors.
Answered by Mike Freer
In responding to the Criminal Legal Aid Independent Review (CLAIR), we boosted the system with upfront investment to address the most urgent concerns.
On 29 January, we published a consultation on proposed reforms to the Police Station Fee Scheme and the Youth Court, for which we propose an additional £16 million for police station work and £5.1 million for the Youth Court of funding per year. The consultation has now closed, and we are in the process of analysing the responses and considering the next steps. The government response will be published in due course.
We expect our reforms to criminal legal aid will increase investment in the solicitor profession by up to £85 million every year, including a 30% increase in funding for solicitors’ work in police stations and a 20% increase for their work in magistrates’ courts, once we introduce the additional £21 million per year allocated to these areas (subject to the consultation).