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  • Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what representations he has recieved from (a) the Law Society, (b) Rights of Women and (c) other organisations on legal aid for victims of domestic violence.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    Ministers and officials maintain a regular dialogue with key stakeholders on matters such as domestic violence. It was as a result of this type of engagement that we made changes last year to make it easier for people to access legal aid in domestic violence cases.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he plans to impose a residence test for legal aid.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    Legal aid is a fundamental part of our justice system, but resources are not limitless.

    The Government believe that individuals should have a strong connection to the UK in order to benefit from the civil legal aid scheme. We believe the residence test we proposed is a fair and proportionate way to demonstrate that connection.

    The proposed residence test was challenged by way of judicial review brought by the Public Law Project. We are disappointed with the High Court judgement and have been granted permission to appeal. The appeal has been listed for 16 and 17 June 2015 in the Court of Appeal.

  • Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions there have been for dog fighting in each of the last five years.

    Mike Penning

    It has not been possible to answer the question within the timeframe as the information is being assembled from a variety of statistical sources, but I will write to the Honourable Member as soon as it is available. A copy of the letter will be placed in the House Library.

  • Mark Hendrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Mark Hendrick – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2015-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many redundancies were (a) planned and (b) made in each (i) magistrates and (ii) Crown court in Lancashire in 2014.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    I refer the honourable member to the answer given on Tuesday 10th February 2015.

    http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2015-02-05/223567/

    “

  • Gerry Sutcliffe – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Gerry Sutcliffe – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gerry Sutcliffe on 2015-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the availability of front-of-house staff within the Courts Service to assist with the completion of official documents.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service administrative staff provide help to courts and tribunals users directly at court buildings and hearing centres. Help is also provided by staff at call centres and through guidance provided on-line. While HMCTS staff cannot provide any legal advice, they are able to provide general help on procedure, including, where appropriate, guidance on the completion of court documents. Depending on the circumstances staff will also signpost users to appropriate advice agencies for this purpose. Through its budgeting and workforce planning processes HMCTS endeavours to ensure all activities are resourced to meet the demands of the service.

    Where a party appears unrepresented in the Magistrates’ Court, the Legal Adviser has a general duty to assist and this includes providing assistance with the completion of court forms.

  • Gerry Sutcliffe – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Gerry Sutcliffe – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gerry Sutcliffe on 2015-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will take steps to simplify the form EX160 for application for fee remission.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    In July 2014 HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) launched a revised fee remission application form and guidance which removed some requirements based on user feedback.

    HMCTS is now developing further reforms to the fee remission process which significantly simplifies the application form and guidance, removing the need for applicants to provide supporting documents in most cases. HMCTS expects these reforms to be in place for users by September 2015.

  • Steve McCabe – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Steve McCabe – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Steve McCabe on 2015-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of existing arrangements for grandparents to have access to their grandchildren following the divorce of the parents of those children.

    Simon Hughes

    When making any decision about a child’s upbringing the court’s paramount consideration will be the welfare of the child.

    The Government believes that the existing arrangements for grandparents to spend time with their grandchildren in cases of parental dispute are effective and do not unfairly disadvantage grandparents.

    Child arrangements orders are able to deal with all the arrangements needed for a child in a single order, and that could include arrangements for spending time with grandparents where the court is considering this as an issue.

  • Andrew Turner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the House of Commons Commission

    Andrew Turner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the House of Commons Commission

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Turner on 2015-02-10.

    To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross representing the House of Commons Commission, what the average daily number of letters sent from the House of Commons to Government departments was in each year since 2000.

    John Thurso

    The number of letters sent from the House of Commons to Government Departments via the Inter-Despatch Service (IDS) over the period for which records are held is listed below. No count was made of individual items before May 2012 and so no information is available prior to this date.

    Number of items
    2012 (May–Dec) 31,849
    2013 42,243
    2014 36,512
    2015 (Jan) 3,426
  • Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to tackle (a) dog theft and (b) dog fighting.

    George Eustice

    Any allegations of criminal behaviour should be reported to the police in the first instance, so that they can decide whether to instigate a criminal investigation.

    We have also been working with the Pet Advertising Advisory Group who have been lobbying operators of internet sites to adopt minimum standards for the advertising of pet animals. This work includes identifying adverts for dogs used in organised dog fighting by spotting certain key or code words and removing the offending notices.

    The introduction of compulsory microchipping for all dogs from April 2016 will help to reduce the chances of dogs being displaced, including through being stolen. It is already best practice for vets, re-homing centres, dog wardens etc. to scan strays and they have a duty of care to do so. Our guidance will emphasise this. But we also recognise that scanning all dogs can have significant costs and practical implications.

  • Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    Philip Davies – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-02-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with the police on (a) dog theft and (b) dog fighting.

    George Eustice

    Defra officials have regular discussions with the police on the operation of law on dog control and welfare. The police are very supportive of the new provisions on compulsory dog microchipping and are fully aware of the measures in the Animal Welfare Act 2006 to tackle dog fighting.