Tag: Liz Saville Roberts

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Saville Roberts on 2016-05-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the effect of reform of access to legal aid in cases of domestic violence on children; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Shailesh Vara

When reforming legal aid the government was careful to protect legal aid for the highest priority cases, including those relating to domestic violence and child abuse.

The government is committed to undertaking a post-implementation review of the reforms within 3 to 5 years of their implementation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Saville Roberts on 2016-10-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the powers are of the Victims’ Commissioner.

Dr Phillip Lee

The role of the Commissioner for Victims and Witnesses is defined in the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004. It is to promote the interests of victims and witnesses, encourage good practice in their treatment, and regularly review the operation of the Code of Practice for Victims.

The Commissioner can make proposals to the Secretary of State for amending the Code, may report to the Secretary of State in connection with her duties, may provide advice in relation to victims or witnesses as requested, and may make recommendations to authorities which fall within her remit.

The Commissioner has no power to investigate individual cases or make recommendations on specific complaints. In line with the process set out in the Code, a victim is entitled to make a complaint to the service provider. If they remain dissatisfied they can refer their complaint to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman via their member of Parliament.

We know there is more to do to further increase the rights of victims. We will announce our plans in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Saville Roberts on 2016-10-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what the terms of reference are for the S4C review.

Matt Hancock

The Government committed to a comprehensive review of S4C in 2017 covering remit, funding and governance. Further details including the Terms of Reference, timetable and process will be announced in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Saville Roberts on 2016-02-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many applications for Exceptional Case Funding there were in 2015; and how many of those applications were successful.

Mr Shailesh Vara

The Legal Aid Agency publishes this information as part of its official statistics, the most recent edition of which can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/legal-aid-statistics-quarterly-july-to-september-2015.

Statistics covering the final quarter of 2015 will be published in due course.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Saville Roberts on 2016-05-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on applicants for legal aid in cases of domestic violence of the requirement that victims provide substantial written evidence; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Shailesh Vara

The Government is absolutely clear that victims of domestic violence must have access to the help that they need, including access to legal aid.

As I updated the House on 21 April, the Ministry of Justice has begun work with domestic violence support groups, legal representative bodies and colleagues across government to gather data and further develop our understanding of the issues facing victims of domestic violence when applying for legal aid. The findings will be used to inform an evidence-based and sustainable solution, with the aim of drawing up replacement regulations.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Saville Roberts on 2016-10-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether any amendments will be made to the Victims’ Code as a result of the (a) coming into force of the EU Directive on victims’ rights and (b) result of the EU membership referendum.

Dr Phillip Lee

As the PM told the House on 7 September, it would not be right for this Government to give a running commentary on EU negotiations.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Saville Roberts on 2016-02-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, whether the Government plans to make available to the Welsh Government funds received as a result of the application to the EU Solidarity Fund announced on 25 February 2016.

James Wharton

Decisions regarding the disbursement of any funding will be made once we have received confirmation of whether our application has been successful.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Saville Roberts on 2016-05-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what provision is made within the family justice system to assist victims of domestic abuse in private family law cases who do not have the financial capability to provide documented evidence when applying for legal aid.

Mr Shailesh Vara

The Government is absolutely clear that victims of domestic violence must have access to the help that they need, including access to legal aid.

As I updated the House on 21 April, the Ministry of Justice has begun work with domestic violence support groups, legal representative bodies and colleagues across government to gather data and further develop our understanding of the issues facing victims of domestic violence when applying for legal aid. The findings will be used to inform an evidence-based and sustainable solution, with the aim of drawing up replacement regulations.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Saville Roberts on 2016-10-11.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether she plans to bring forward a green paper on the case for a victims’ law during the current parliamentary session.

Dr Phillip Lee

I refer the honourable member to the answer given to PQ 46465 on 11 October.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Saville Roberts on 2016-02-25.

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what representations he has received from the Welsh Government on applying to the EU Solidarity Fund as a result of flooding in Wales in late 2015 and early 2016.

James Wharton

The UK Government has been working with Wales and Scotland to understand their impacts from the flooding events of 2015 and early 2016. These conversations will continue to enable us to demonstrate the impacts to the UK for an EU Solidarity Fund application.