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  • Sarah Champion – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Sarah Champion – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Sarah Champion on 2014-06-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much his Department has spent on independent adjudicators in each public and private prisons and young offender institution in each month since January 2013.

    Jeremy Wright

    Independent Adjudicators are District Judges or Deputy District Judges who attend establishments when necessary to hear more serious cases. Where a replacement Judge needs to sit in court to replace one attending a prison the cost of the replacement Judge is charged on a quarterly basis by HM Courts Service to the National Offender Management Service. The charge varies according to time involved.

    The information in the table below shows the monthly charges paid for the use of independent adjudicators in all prisons in England and Wales including Young Offenders Institutions for the period January 2013 to March 2014. Details for the months April 2014 to present are not yet available.

    The cost per visit can vary due to several factors, including distance travelled, overnight accommodation where necessary, and the number of establishments visited on a single journey. Charges are made on the basis of visits and not adjudications, so a single visit may include several adjudications taking place at the same establishment.

    The cost of annual Adjudication charges in 2013/14 was 22% lower than the cost in 2009/10.

  • Nicholas Soames – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Nicholas Soames – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Nicholas Soames on 2014-06-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions there have been in relation to offences under section 57 of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 in each of the last 10 years.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    Data for offences under Section 57 of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991 are not reported centrally to the Ministry of Justice. This information may be held by the individual courts in England and Wales and as such it can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

  • Paul Flynn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Paul Flynn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2014-06-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish all impact assessments his Department has made on privatising the Ministry of Justice Shared Services in Newport.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    The Ministry of Justice are entering into detailed discussions with Shared Services Connected Limited (SSCL) regarding the future delivery of their back office services, with the intention of awarding a contract in August 2014. We expect this to bringincreased savings and efficiency in back-office functions, provide further benefits across wider Government and offer better value for money to the tax payer.

    Prior to this decision, the two private sector options were compared against the option to remain a standalone organisation and assessed using evaluation criteria that considered IT, cost, staff impacts and the service to our customers. The assessments will not be published as they are commercially sensitive documents.

    We will continue to work with staff, trade unions and other stakeholders to assess any impacts on staff.

  • Paul Flynn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Paul Flynn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2014-06-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make it his policy to regularly provide details on private sector bodies who collaborate with public sector bodies on projects which are subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

    Simon Hughes

    The Government already provides details of private sector bodies who work under contract with the Government. Since January 2011, as part of the Government’s transparency programme, details of contracts above the value of £10,000 are published on Contracts Finder:

    https://www.gov.uk/contracts-finder

    “

  • Dan Jarvis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Dan Jarvis – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2014-06-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many remote sites for giving evidence in court are open in each region of England and Wales.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    We must do everything we can to support vulnerable witnesses and help them give their best possible evidence to bring offenders to justice. That’s why we are trialling pre recorded cross-examination to allow young and vulnerable witnesses to give evidence away from what can be an aggressive court room atmosphere. This is on top of a range of measures to help reduce the anxiety of attending court, including giving evidence behind a screen. We will continue to explore ways we can use remote links and new technology to help witnesses give evidence from outside the court building.

    The list below sets out the number of courthouses in each of the seven HMCTS Regions in England & Wales. These facilities enable any victim or witness to appear by video link from a different court location to that of the trial court; it is also possible for third party users to access the court system through a secure bridge.

    HMCTS Region

    Number of courthouses enabled for remote video link.

    Wales

    22

    London

    32

    South East

    52

    South West

    35

    Midlands

    40

    North West

    31

    North East

    37

    Total

    249
  • Paul Flynn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Paul Flynn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2014-06-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions on potential job losses in Newport took place between his Department, the Home Office and Steria prior to the decision to privatise the Ministry of Justice Shared Services.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    The Ministry of Justice are entering into detailed discussions with Shared Services Connected Limited (SSCL) regarding the future delivery of their back office services, with the intention of awarding a contract in August 2014. We expect this to bring increased savings and efficiency in back-office functions, provide further benefits across wider Government and offer better value for money to the tax payer.

    SSCL have stated their intention of providing 12 months job protection for all transferring staff from the point of transfer in October 2014. This means that there will be no compulsory redundancies during this period. No decisions have been made to close buildings and we expect all sites to remain open during this period.

    Following the transfer of staff, services and IT, there will be a stabilisation stage during which SSCL will look at how the service is currently delivered. No decisions will be made until SSCL has had the opportunity to fully understand the operation.

    We will continue to work with staff, trade unions and other stakeholders to assess any impacts on staff.

  • Thérèse Coffey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Thérèse Coffey – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Thérèse Coffey on 2014-06-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make it his policy that civil partnerships can be dissolved at any county court.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    As of 22nd April 2014, the County Court no longer has the jurisdiction to consider divorce or civil partnership dissolution applications. These are now considered by the Family Court.

    Hearings in divorce and civil partnership dissolution cases are rare, but from April 2015 if a hearing is required then it can be accommodated at any Family Court venue with the appropriate judicial expertise.

  • Philip Hollobone – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Philip Hollobone – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Hollobone on 2014-06-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the annual cost of imprisoning foreign national offenders in UK prisons has been in each of the last three years.

    Jeremy Wright

    The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) does not calculate separately the annual cost of imprisoning foreign nationals in England and Wales. NOMS does not analyse cost by prisoner nationality, as costs recorded on the NOMS central accounting system do not allow identification of costs attributable to holding individual prisoners.

    All prison costs for Scotland and Northern Ireland are a devolved matter and the responsibility of the relevant Minister.

  • Naomi Long – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    Naomi Long – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Northern Ireland Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Naomi Long on 2014-06-25.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, if she will commission an independent assessment of the effect of changes to funding levels of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission and its compliance with the Paris Principles.

    Mrs Theresa Villiers

    I refer the hon Member to the answer I gave to her question of 26 June 2014, Official Report, Column 260W. My officials will study the Commission’s impact statement closely and work with it to ensure it is able to continue to meet its statutory and international obligations.

  • David T. C. Davies – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    David T. C. Davies – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Prime Minister

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David T. C. Davies on 2014-06-25.

    To ask the Prime Minister, if he will take steps to establish a Cabinet Committee chaired by the Chancellor of the Exchequer to direct and co-ordinate policy on the development of shale gas.

    Mr David Cameron

    Issues relating to shale gas are considered at a number of Cabinet Committees including the Economic Affairs and Growth and Enterprise Committees.