Asked by: Sara Britcliffe (Conservative - Hyndburn)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many communications operators have received a summary conviction under Schedule 1, Part 75(5) of the Digital Economy Act 2017 in each year since the commencement of that Act.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice publishes data on the number of convictions for criminal offences covering the time period requested. The latest data available, until year ending June 2023, can be obtained in the following published tool: Outcomes by Offence tool: June 2023.
No convictions specifically for an offence under Schedule 1, Part 11, Paragraph 75(5) of the Digital Economy Act 2017 have been recorded within the court proceedings database held centrally.
Asked by: Julian Knight (Independent - Solihull)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many single justice procedure notices have been issued by the Television Licensing Authority in each year since 2015.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The requirement to hold, and pay for, a television license is set out in the Communications Act 2003 and the Communications (Television Licensing) Regulations 2004. Under the Communications Act 2003, the BBC is responsible for the collection and enforcement of the TV licensing system.
The BBC prosecutes most TV license evasion cases using the Single Justice Procedure (SJP). The SJP is a more proportionate way of dealing with straightforward, uncontested, summary-only non-imprisonable offences which almost exclusively result in a financial penalty.
The data we hold shows the number of defendants prosecuted by the Television Licensing Authority and dealt with via SJP for TV license evasion cases each year since 2015. This can be found in the table below:
Television Licence Evasion | |||||||||
Year | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 |
Defendants dealt with | 0 | 67,473 | 136,793 | 126,571 | 121,020 | 53,227 | 48,495 | 43,504 | 33,460 |
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the condition of crown court (a) buildings and (b) other infrastructure.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The general condition of Crown Court buildings and other infrastructure is adequate, but I recognise that improvements are needed in some locations.
That is why we are investing £220 million in the two years to March 2025 for essential modernisation and repair work across the court and tribunal estate. This will minimise disruptions, retain the heritage of the estate, and ensure it is fit for the future.
We are working to ensure that those buildings most in need of investment are prioritised, providing a step forward in improving the quality of the court estate.
Asked by: Andrew Bridgen (Independent - North West Leicestershire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) babies, (b) stillborn and (c) miscarriages were cremated in each year between 2020 and 2023.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Data on how many (a) babies, (b) stillborn and (c) miscarriages are cremated each year in England and Wales is not held centrally.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to reduce delays in the family courts.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
In the Spring Budget, we announced an additional £55 million to improve productivity, support earlier resolution of family disputes and reduce the number of cases coming to court. This includes creating a digital advice tool for separating couples, piloting early legal advice and supporting the expansion of the private law Pathfinder model.
We are also investing up to £23.6 million in the family mediation voucher scheme, which we intend will allow for its continuation up to March 2025. As of March 2024, over 26,000 families have successfully used the scheme to attempt to resolve their private law disputes outside of court.
In addition, we are working with the Department for Education and other partners on the Family Justice Board to tackle the longest running cases and increase the proportion of public law proceedings that conclude within the 26-week timeline. The Department for Education is also investing an extra £10 million to deliver new initiatives to address the longest delays in public law.
Asked by: Helen Morgan (Liberal Democrat - North Shropshire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to reduce family court waiting times for domestic abuse victims seeking to divorce abusive partners.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
In April 2022, the Government implemented the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act (“DDSA”) 2020. The DDSA provides a minimum period of 26 weeks to obtain a divorce, and benefits victims of domestic abuse by making it no longer possible for abusive respondents to exercise control by ‘defending’ a divorce and prolonging proceedings. The DDSA did not provide an exemption for domestic abuse victims from the 26-week minimum period because to do so would require a victim to set out allegations, risking further abuse by a perpetrator.
The Government is working with the Family Procedure Rule Committee to consider whether a pilot can be established to test a new, fast-track procedure for contested financial cases on divorce under a certain value threshold. The pilot will aim to provide swifter outcomes for litigants, including victims of domestic abuse.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of the adequacy of the accessibility of the official injury claim small claims portal.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Official Injury Claim (OIC) service is a free, easy-to-use online system owned and operated by the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB) on behalf of the Ministry of Justice. OIC was built to be usable and accessible including to those with access needs or who prefer or require assistive or adaptive technologies.
On-screen guidance leads both represented and unrepresented claimants through the claims process, supported by an online help-hub and additional written guidance. There is also a dedicated telephone Portal Support Centre who can assist claimants who need to make a paper-based claim. The OIC also provides translation services in multiple foreign languages.
Ministry of Justice officials continue to work with MIB to increase awareness and improve the visibility of the OIC through identifying and implementing appropriate web optimisation. Regularly updated useful information on making a claim via the OIC is also available on GOV.UK.
Asked by: Harriet Harman (Labour - Camberwell and Peckham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the answer of 21 March 2024 to Question 18951 on Crown Court: Snaresbrook, to what proportion of email correspondence Snaresbrook Crown Court responds within five-working days of receipt.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
We do not hold the information requested regarding what proportion of email correspondence is responded to within five-working days of receipts at Snaresbrook Crown Court. HMCTS does not collect data on response times.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to paragraph 4 of Practice Direction 1A - Participation of Vulnerable Parties or Witnesses, how many civil cases involve each of the vulnerability factors listed.
Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)
The information requested is not held centrally.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of young offender institutions; and whether he has made a comparative assessment with secure children's homes.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The secure estate for children and young people is composed of different types of establishment, in order to provide for the differing needs and risks of individual children and young people remanded or sentenced to custody. The effectiveness of all establishments in the estate is continually assessed through internal and external quality audits and performance metrics, which are published regularly.
Our Children and Young People Strategy, which is in development, will be based on an assessment of the range of provision currently and potentially available. It will set out our longer-term goals for the future of the youth estate, and delivery of services and support to children. These aims include investing in smaller settings, such as the secure children’s home sector, and the new secure school.