Tag: Christina Rees

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christina Rees on 2016-01-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the accuracy of the findings of the report by Professor Walton, published in December 2015, that the current insolvency litigation regime returns £480 million a year to creditors, including £115 million a year to HM Revenue and Customs.

Dominic Raab

Since the passage of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act (LASPO) 2012, it has always been the government’s stated intention that the exemption for insolvency cases would be temporary. Commencement of Part 2 of LASPO’s conditional fee (or ‘no win no fee’) arrangement reforms for insolvency, was announced in December and will apply from April this year. The aim of LASPO’s reforms was to control the cost of civil litigation.

Ministry of Justice Officials discussed Professor Walton’s report with him, but the Ministry of Justice did not agree with his conclusions. Officials have also met representatives of insolvency practitioners who use no win no fee arrangements to fund these cases, as well as those who fund them in other ways.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christina Rees on 2016-06-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many employment tribunal claimants withdrew their case due to the requirement to pay fees (a) since 2013, (b) between April 2014 and March 2015 and (c) between April 2015 and March 2016.

Mr Shailesh Vara

HM Courts & Tribunals Service does not record the reasons why claimants withdraw their employment tribunal case.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christina Rees on 2015-11-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, for what reasons the matters within her Department’s responsibility in Schedule 1 of the draft Wales Bill have been designated as reserved.

Karen Bradley

The reservations listed in Schedule 1 to the draft Wales Bill reflect the Government’s view of where the Welsh devolution boundary lies following the devolution of further powers to the Assembly provided for in the draft Bill.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christina Rees on 2016-01-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the costs and benefits of the current funding regime for insolvency litigation between 26 February 2015 and 17 December 2015.

Dominic Raab

Since the passage of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act (LASPO) 2012, it has always been the government’s stated intention that the exemption for insolvency cases would be temporary. Commencement of Part 2 of LASPO’s conditional fee (or ‘no win no fee’) arrangement reforms for insolvency, was announced in December and will apply from April this year. The aim of LASPO’s reforms was to control the cost of civil litigation.

Ministry of Justice Officials discussed Professor Walton’s report with him, but the Ministry of Justice did not agree with his conclusions. Officials have also met representatives of insolvency practitioners who use no win no fee arrangements to fund these cases, as well as those who fund them in other ways.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christina Rees on 2016-06-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the findings of the Law Society’s online survey of individuals’ handling of legal issues in England and Wales 2015, published in May 2016.

Mr Shailesh Vara

The legal profession in England and Wales is independent from government. We want to see an innovative and competitive market that provides people with affordable legal services that they want and need, with regulation that supports the public and consumer interest.

We welcome the Law Society’s survey and will take account of the findings as part of the development of legal services policy.

The legal services regulators have a duty to promote the regulatory objectives set out in the Legal Services Act 2007, including improving access to justice and increasing public understanding of the citizen’s legal rights and duties. The regulators have established the “Legal Choices” website, which provides people with information to help them in deciding whether and how to seek legal advice and the available services they might choose from. The Advicenow website, established by Law for Life, provides information on rights and the law.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christina Rees on 2015-11-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many times she has (a) met and (b) corresponded with a minister of the Welsh Government on the draft Wales Bill in the last 12 months.

Karen Bradley

The Wales Office is the lead Government department on the draft Wales Bill, and is the primary point of contact with the Welsh Government on matters related to the draft Bill.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christina Rees on 2016-01-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, for what reasons he ended the insolvency exemption from the 2012 Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act on 17 December 2015.

Dominic Raab

Since the passage of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act (LASPO) 2012, it has always been the government’s stated intention that the exemption for insolvency cases would be temporary. Commencement of Part 2 of LASPO’s conditional fee (or ‘no win no fee’) arrangement reforms for insolvency, was announced in December and will apply from April this year. The aim of LASPO’s reforms was to control the cost of civil litigation.

Ministry of Justice Officials discussed Professor Walton’s report with him, but the Ministry of Justice did not agree with his conclusions. Officials have also met representatives of insolvency practitioners who use no win no fee arrangements to fund these cases, as well as those who fund them in other ways.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christina Rees on 2016-06-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to improve awareness of available legal advice for the general public.

Mr Shailesh Vara

The legal profession in England and Wales is independent from government. We want to see an innovative and competitive market that provides people with affordable legal services that they want and need, with regulation that supports the public and consumer interest.

We welcome the Law Society’s survey and will take account of the findings as part of the development of legal services policy.

The legal services regulators have a duty to promote the regulatory objectives set out in the Legal Services Act 2007, including improving access to justice and increasing public understanding of the citizen’s legal rights and duties. The regulators have established the “Legal Choices” website, which provides people with information to help them in deciding whether and how to seek legal advice and the available services they might choose from. The Advicenow website, established by Law for Life, provides information on rights and the law.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christina Rees on 2015-11-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many times he has (a) met and (b) corresponded with a minister of the Welsh Government on the draft Wales Bill in the last 12 months.

Dominic Raab

The Wales Office is the lead Government department on the draft Wales Bill, and is the primary point of contact with the Welsh Government on matters related to the draft Bill.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christina Rees on 2016-01-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he had considered the interim findings of the report of Professor Walton on the insolvency litigation landscapes, published on 10 December 2015, before making the announcement on 17 December 2015 to end the insolvency exemption from the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012.

Dominic Raab

Since the passage of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act (LASPO) 2012, it has always been the government’s stated intention that the exemption for insolvency cases would be temporary. Commencement of Part 2 of LASPO’s conditional fee (or ‘no win no fee’) arrangement reforms for insolvency, was announced in December and will apply from April this year. The aim of LASPO’s reforms was to control the cost of civil litigation.

Ministry of Justice Officials discussed Professor Walton’s report with him, but the Ministry of Justice did not agree with his conclusions. Officials have also met representatives of insolvency practitioners who use no win no fee arrangements to fund these cases, as well as those who fund them in other ways.