The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christina Rees on 2016-03-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, in how many and which courts in England and Wales court counters have closed in the last 12 months.
Mr Shailesh Vara
Court counters have closed at the following courts in the last 12 months:
Grantham Magistrates’ Court; and
Skegness Magistrates’ Court.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christina Rees on 2016-10-17.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the reasons are for the proposal to reduce the number of benefit appeal cases in which (a) an appellant can appear in person and (b) the panel includes a member with direct experience of the relevant benefit; and what cost savings are expected to arise from that change.
Sir Oliver Heald
The Government is investing close to £1 billion to reform and digitise our courts and tribunals to deliver swifter and more certain justice.
Technology will be at the forefront of our reforms but specific support will be provided to ensure tribunals remain accessible to all and physical hearings will continue to be used to resolve many cases.
The impact assessment published alongside the Transforming our Justice System consultation paper sets out our estimate of potential savings from tribunal panel composition reform based on possible future scenarios.
The panel composition reforms will ensure that the most appropriate panel is always selected to hear a case. As now, relevant expertise will always be available where needed, regardless of how a case is resolved. The Senior President of Tribunals will continue to determine when panel members are used.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christina Rees on 2015-11-23.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he has taken to consult clinicians on his policy on access to off-patent drugs.
George Freeman
Our policy on generic prescribing has been in place for a number of years. The policy helps ensure that patients can access the medicine that best meets their needs and it has been a key driver in the National Health Service making maximum use of off-patent drugs which are also known as generics. We have the best prescribing rate for these drugs in Europe.
To support clinicians who may want to prescribe a product off-label for a patient to and improve the flow of research evidence into clinical practice, the Department hosted a Roundtable Event in February 2015. Attendees included the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, Breast Cancer Now and other charities and discussions helped determine those non-legislative measures that could be undertaken. The Government is committed to this work and is holding a further roundtable event with charities.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christina Rees on 2016-04-08.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to paragraph 1.143 of the Spending Review and Autumn Statement 2015, how the Government defines the term claims culture.
Dominic Raab
The government remains concerned about the number and cost of whiplash claims which are out of all proportion to any genuine injury suffered. The Autumn Statement referred to the cost to society of the substantial industry that encourages claims through cold calling and other social nuisances and which increases premiums for consumers.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christina Rees on 2015-11-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions his Department has had with the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry on the Off-patent Drugs Bill.
George Freeman
The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry attended and contributed to the Department’s Roundtable Event of February 2015 ‘Translating evidence in to clinical practice’ which gathered key stakeholders including Breast Cancer Now and other charities, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, the British Generic Manufacturers Association, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health and many other NHS organisations.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christina Rees on 2016-04-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on how many occasions court cases have been listed in the same time slot as another case since 2010.
Mr Shailesh Vara
The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christina Rees on 2015-12-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many new criminal offences have been (a) created and (b) proposed since May 2015; and if he will make an assessment of the (i) effect on and (b)cost to the prison estate of the creation of those offences.
Mike Penning
The information requested is not available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
My department has issued guidance on the making of new criminal offences, which is located here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/481126/creating-new-criminal-offences.pdf
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christina Rees on 2016-05-18.
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Justice on the potential effect on Wales of plans to repeal the Human Rights Act 1998.
Guto Bebb
Wales Office Ministers have regular discussions with colleagues in the Ministry of Justice on a range of issues including our plans to reform the UK Human Rights framework.
Revising the Human Rights Act can only be done by the UK Parliament and we will consult fully before bringing forward proposals.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christina Rees on 2015-12-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners were in open prisons (a) in the most recent period for which figures are available and (b) in each of the last five years.
Andrew Selous
Progression to open prisons is never automatic, and prisoners must generally be within two years of release before they can be considered for allocation. Public protection is paramount, only those prisoners who are assessed as low risk of escape/abscond and low risk of causing harm to the public are transferred to an open prison.
The following table shows the number of male and female prisoners held in open prisons as at the last Friday in June in each of the last five years and as at the last Friday in November 2015, which is the most recent period for which figures are available.
The data below does not include the number of male and female prisoners held in category D units in otherwise closed prisons.
Number of male and female prisoners held in dedicated open prisons from June 2011 to November 2015.
|
Date |
Population |
|
June 2011 |
4,808 |
|
June 2012 |
4,953 |
|
June 2013 |
4,981 |
|
June 2014 |
5,087 |
|
June 2015 |
5,020 |
|
November 2015 |
5,137 |
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christina Rees on 2016-06-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans his Department has for training the judiciary on the implementation of problem-solving courts.
Caroline Dinenage
The Working Group has now submitted its findings, which support the case for problem-solving courts.
Training of the judiciary is a matter for the judiciary and the judicial college. We will be working with both, taking learning from approaches nationally and internationally, as we progress our work on problem-solving courts.