Tag: Andy Slaughter

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-12-17.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many magistrates’ courts have been closed in each local justice area in each year since 2010.

Mr Shailesh Vara

The tables below shows magistrates’ courts that have closed since 2010:

2010

Wantage Magistrates Court

2011

Aberdare Magistrates Court

Abertillery Magistrates Court

Acton Magistrates Court

Alnwick Magistrates Court

Amersham Magistrates Court

Ammanford Magistrates Court

Ashford Magistrates Court

Balham Youth Court

Barking & Dagenham Magistrates Court

Barry Magistrates Court

Bingley (Keighley) Magistrates Court

Bishop Auckland Magistrates Court

Blandford Forum Magistrates Court

Blaydon Magistrates Court

Brentford Magistrates Court

Cardigan Magistrates Court

Chepstow Magistrates Court

Cirencester Magistrates Court

Coalville Magistrates Court

Coleford Magistrates Court

Cromer Magistrates Court

Daventry Magistrates Court

Didcot Magistrates Court

Ely Magistrates Court

Epsom Magistrates Court

Flint Magistrates Court

Frome Magistrates Court

Goole Magistrates Court

Gosforth Magistrates Court

Grays Magistrates Court

Guisborough (East Langbaurgh) Magistrates Court

Halesowen Magistrates Court

Harrow Magistrates Court

Hemel Hempstead Magistrates Court

Honiton Magistrates Court

Houghton-Le-Spring Magistrates Court

Ilkeston Magistrates Court

Kingston-upon-Thames Magistrates Court

Knowsley Magistrates Court

Lewes Magistrates Court

Liskeard Magistrates Court

Llandovery Magistrates Court

Llangefni Magistrates Court

Llwynypia Magistrates Court

Ludlow Magistrates Court

Lyndhurst Magistrates Court

Market Drayton Magistrates Court

Market Harborough Magistrates Court

Melton Mowbray Magistrates Court

Newark Magistrates Court

Northwich Magistrates Court

Oswestry Magistrates Court

Penrith Magistrates Court

Penzance Magistrates Court

Pwllheli Magistrates Court

Rawtenstall Magistrates Court

Retford Magistrates Court

Rochdale Magistrates Court

Rugby Magistrates Court

Rutland Magistrates Court

Salford Magistrates Court

Sittingbourne Magistrates Court

Southport (North Sefton) Magistrates Court

Sudbury Magistrates Court

Sutton Coldfield Magistrates Court

Sutton Magistrates Court

Swaffham Magistrates Court

Tamworth Magistrates Court

Thetford Magistrates Court

Totnes Magistrates Court

Towcester Magistrates Court

Tynedale (Hexham) Magistrates Court

West Bromwich Magistrates Court

Whitehaven Magistrates Court

Wimborne Magistrates Court

Wisbech Magistrates Court

Witney Magistrates Court

Woking Magistrates Court

Woolwich Magistrates Court

2012

Batley & Dewsbury Magistrates Court

Bridgwater Magistrates Court

Camborne Magistrates Court

Epping Magistrates Court

Haringey Magistrates Court

Harwich Magistrates Court

Mid-Sussex (Haywards Heath) Magistrates Court

Stoke on Trent Magistrates Court

Witham Magistrates Court

2013

Andover Magistrates Court

Denbigh Magistrates Court

Pontefract Magistrates Court

Selby Magistrates Court

Tower Bridge Magistrates Court

2014

Alton Magistrates Court

Bracknell Magistrates Court

Neath Magistrates Court

North Liverpool Community Justice Centre

Spalding Magistrates Court

2015

Abergavenny Magistrates Court

It is not possible to present the above sites by their local justice areas as many local justice area boundaries change over time.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-01-05.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions he has had with the Home Secretary on proposed legislative steps to protect legally privileged communications from surveillance.

Andrew Selous

Policy responsibility for this area lies with the Home Office. The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) has powers to intercept prisoners’ communications in specific circumstances.

Section 4(4) of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) provides that the interception of communications in prisons is authorised where the conduct is in exercise of a power conferred by the Prison Rules. The Prison Rules allow for interception of a prisoner’s communications if it is necessary on certain specified grounds and proportionate to what is sought to be achieved. The Prison Rules do not permit interception of a prisoner’s communication with the prisoner’s legal adviser, unless the governor of the prison has reasonable cause to believe that the communication is being made with the intention of furthering a criminal purpose and unless authorised by the Chief Executive Officer of NOMS; the director responsible for the national operational services of NOMS; or the duty director of NOMS.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-01-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the recommendations of the Low Commission on formulating a national strategy for advice and legal support in England and Wales in the current Parliament.

Mr Shailesh Vara

The Ministry of Justice welcomes the work done by the Low Commission in producing its reports and recommendations, and we recognise the importance of advice being available in all contexts.

As the Justice Secretary said in June 2015 we want to create a one nation justice system to work better for victims and to deliver faster and fairer justice for all citizens. We are discussing how this can be taken forward.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-01-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department has taken to develop protocols with (a) the Department for Work and Pensions, (b) the Home Office and (c) other government departments and agencies to improve the quality of decision making to reduce the number of assessments overturned on appeal.

Mr Shailesh Vara

Following a successful pilot, the practice in the Social Security and Child Support Tribunal has been for judges to provide a brief summary of reasons for their decision. This is helping the Department for Work and Pensions with decision making. In the Immigration and Asylum Chamber, and in other tribunals, judges routinely give full written reasons for their decisions and Ministry of Justice officials regularly meet with colleagues from the Home Office and other government departments to discuss any underlying reasons that may be contributing to high overturn rates.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-01-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will take steps to implement the Low Commission’s recommendation that legislative proposals should be brought forward to (a) make the Access to Justice Foundation the recipient of unclaimed damages in collective actions and (b) introduce a compulsory Interest on Lawyer Trust Accounts scheme for firms with profits above an agreed threshold with the proceeds of that scheme being paid to the Access to Justice Foundation.

Mr Shailesh Vara

The Government commends those providers of legal services who already use the monies generated from their client accounts to help fund pro bono and charitable work. We would encourage other providers to follow that example. We want to create a one nation justice system to work better for victims and to deliver a faster and fairer justice for all citizens. We are considering how this can be taken forward.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-01-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to his oral evidence to the House of Lords Constitution Committee of 2 December 2015, Question 9, what his definition is of a constitutional long stop.

Dominic Raab

As the Prime Minister said on 10 November, we need to examine the way that Germany and other EU nations uphold their constitution and sovereignty. The issue that the Prime Minister raises requires serious thought, consultation within government and then space afterwards in order to allow proper debate.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-01-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many judges or magistrates have reported receiving threatening correspondence related to hearings they have presided over in the last five years.

Mr Shailesh Vara

There are around 20,000 judges and magistrates in England and Wales. The number of judges or magistrates who have reported receiving threatening correspondence related to hearings is as follows:

Year	Number of Judges or Magistrates
2011	20
2012	12
2013	19
2014	18
2015	31

We have a robust security and safety system in place to protect all court users. Any threats to judges or magistrates are taken extremely seriously and within Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service there is a security team to co-ordinate effective judicial security and incident investigation, working closely with senior judiciary and police agencies to provide the necessary support.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-01-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many knives have been confiscated in prisons in each year since 2010.

Andrew Selous

Historic data on estimates of the number of knives confiscated in prisons is not collected in a form that can be assured to be of sufficient quality for publication. A new enhanced incident reporting system has recently been introduced which does collect this data and assured data will be available at the end of the year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-02-02.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer to the Question 21806 of 19 January 2016, on personal injury: compensation, whether the meeting on 8 December 2015 was the first meeting of Ministers with insurance industry representatives on reform of personal injury claims since May 2015.

Dominic Raab

On 8 December 2015, at a meeting with Ministers, representatives of leading insurers committed to pass on savings to consumers through lower premiums following the implementation of Government reforms. The Government will be monitoring the industry’s reaction to these reforms closely.

The meeting on 8 December 2015 was the first Ministerial meeting with insurers to discuss the reforms announced in the Autumn Statement on 25 November. Lord Faulks subsequently met representatives from the claimant lawyer sector at the end of January 2016. Officials had previously met with both insurers and claimant lawyer representatives to discuss the reforms.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-02-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many fires there have been in each prison and youth facility in each month since May 2010.

Andrew Selous

Information on the number of fires there have been in each prison and youth facility in each month since May 2010 is recorded in attached excel document PQ26250 Annex 1. The reporting of fire incidents has significantly improved, which has led to a greater number being reported in 2015.

The total number of fire incidents recorded in table 1 below refer to those in England and Wales recorded on the NOMS Incident Reporting System. They include accidental and deliberately set fires and those where the cause is unknown.

Total Number of Fires.

	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
Jan	82	100	77	85	114	73	84	78	98	110	102
Feb	76	80	103	92	68	55	73	82	97	70	122
Mar	84	84	93	87	98	62	75	99	83	92	144
Apr	97	89	89	81	72	69	70	81	94	113	159
May	97	89	99	81	65	86	86	84	102	125	150
Jun	108	100	77	82	86	68	91	87	74	94	176
Jul	89	101	84	104	76	84	82	90	123	119	181
Aug	89	99	104	79	75	102	89	80	114	134	195
Sep	73	93	100	83	106	85	72	77	81	82	190
Oct	94	64	87	90	75	73	65	69	98	103	180
Nov	102	91	80	90	92	82	85	114	82	101	156
Dec	75	87	89	76	69	68	86	63	104	93	180
Total	1066	1077	942	1030	946	907	1111	1004	1150	1236	1935