argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Legal Aid — House of Commons, 2018-11-13
Topic: Law and Crime
Questions: What recent assessment he has made of trends in the number of people that are able to access legal aid for (a) immigration, (b) welfare benefit and (c) housing cases.
Lucy Claire Leigh (Frazer) (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Lady makes an important point. I have looked at that study as I have many other studies that talk about the downstream impacts of the lack of legal help at an early stage. As she will know, we are in the process of a LASPO review. We are looking at these matters, and I am interested that she highlights the need for further independent study.
Legal Aid — House of Commons, 2018-11-13
Topic: Law and Crime
Questions: What recent assessment he has made of trends in the number of people that are able to access legal aid for (a) immigration, (b) welfare benefit and (c) housing cases.
Lucy Claire Leigh (Frazer) (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend makes an interesting point. We have received a large number of representations from across the country about what we should be doing in relation to legal aid, and we are looking at them carefully. The Labour party has not put in any representations.
Legal Aid — House of Commons, 2018-11-13
Topic: Law and Crime
Questions: What recent assessment he has made of trends in the number of people that are able to access legal aid for (a) immigration, (b) welfare benefit and (c) housing cases.
Lucy Claire Leigh (Frazer) (Conservative, Centre-right): Family reunion is an important issue, and I have met a number of Members to discuss that Bill. As the hon. Gentleman knows, we are looking at legal aid broadly and will set out the consequences of our review by the end of the year.
Leaving the EU: Justice System — House of Commons, 2018-11-13
Topic: International Affairs
Lucy Claire Leigh (Frazer) (Conservative, Centre-right): We laid out our ambition in the policy paper that we produced in August 2017 and again in the most recent White Paper, setting out that we want the closest possible co-operation in civil and family justice matters. We continue to negotiate with the EU on these matters; in the meantime, as a responsible Government, we continue to prepare for no deal.
Leaving the EU: Justice System — House of Commons, 2018-11-13
Topic: International Affairs
Lucy Claire Leigh (Frazer) (Conservative, Centre-right): We are very keen to ensure that we have a good relationship with the EU in relation to security matters going forward. I recently spoke to my Home Office counterpart, who is leading the negotiations on the European arrest warrant. I was pleased to see in the European Council’s negotiating guidelines that: "The EU stands ready to establish partnerships in areas unrelated to trade, in particular the fight against terrorism and international crime, as well as security, defence and foreign policy."
Leaving the EU: Justice System — House of Commons, 2018-11-13
Topic: International Affairs
Lucy Claire Leigh (Frazer) (Conservative, Centre-right): It is both in our interests and the EU’s to ensure that we have a mutual arrangement on these matters that is as good as possible. I look forward to ensuring that we negotiate the best possible deal on this matter going forward.
Leaving the EU: Justice System — House of Commons, 2018-11-13
Topic: International Affairs
Lucy Claire Leigh (Frazer) (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Lady is right to identify the separate and distinct legal arrangements that we have in Scotland. We negotiate and work very closely with Scotland and the Scottish Government on all these matters. In relation to no deal planning, there is almost weekly contact between my officials and those in the Scottish Government.
Leaving the EU: Justice System — House of Commons, 2018-11-13
Topic: Law and Crime
Lucy Claire Leigh (Frazer) (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend makes an important point. Although Europe is a key partner for us throughout our services and legal services industries, there is a world beyond Europe. We in the Ministry of Justice are supporting, through our Legal Services are GREAT campaign, the continued work and co-operation of legal services abroad. We have been to Kazakhstan and to Nigeria.
Leaving the EU: Justice System — House of Commons, 2018-11-13
Topic: International Affairs
Matthew Robert Warman (Conservative, Centre-right): The effect of a no-deal Brexit will obviously range widely, but how it will affect our justice system has not been much reported. Will the Minister assure the House that we are putting in place all the necessary planning for a no-deal Brexit even though we hope that it will not arise?
Leaving the EU: Justice System — House of Commons, 2018-11-13
Topic: Law and Crime
Lucy Claire Leigh (Frazer) (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is right. As a responsible Government, we are ensuring that we have our preparations in place. We have published two technical notices, one on civil judicial co-operation and one on legal services. We are putting together our statutory instruments to pass to ensure that our legal system continues to work, and we have £17.3 million from the Treasury for no deal preparations.
Leaving the EU: Justice System — House of Commons, 2018-11-13
Topic: Law and Crime
Questions: I appreciate your advice, Mr Speaker.Despite the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Motherwell and Wishaw (Marion Fellows), the Institute for Government states that if the UK leaves the EU without a deal, extradition arrangements will revert back to the European convention on extradition. That process takes, on average, a year, while the current arrangements under the European arrest warrant take 48 days. Does the Minister not accept that a no-deal Brexit would cause significant challenges in tackling cross-border crime?
Lucy Claire Leigh (Frazer) (Conservative, Centre-right): There are many areas of security and justice where it is important and beneficial to get the best possible arrangement. The European arrest warrant is an important one, and we are negotiating hard to ensure that we get the best possible arrangement going forward.
Leaving the EU: Justice System — House of Commons, 2018-11-13
Topic: Law and Crime
Questions: I appreciate your advice, Mr Speaker.Despite the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Motherwell and Wishaw (Marion Fellows), the Institute for Government states that if the UK leaves the EU without a deal, extradition arrangements will revert back to the European convention on extradition. That process takes, on average, a year, while the current arrangements under the European arrest warrant take 48 days. Does the Minister not accept that a no-deal Brexit would cause significant challenges in tackling cross-border crime?
Lucy Claire Leigh (Frazer) (Conservative, Centre-right): As I have mentioned, Europol and the European arrest warrant—all these areas where we share data—are incredibly important to us, as they are to the EU. We are one of the largest contributors to security information within the EU. The Home Office leads on these matters, and it is trying to ensure that we get the best possible co-operation going forward.
Leaving the EU: Justice System — House of Commons, 2018-11-13
Topic: International Affairs
Questions: I appreciate your advice, Mr Speaker.Despite the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Motherwell and Wishaw (Marion Fellows), the Institute for Government states that if the UK leaves the EU without a deal, extradition arrangements will revert back to the European convention on extradition. That process takes, on average, a year, while the current arrangements under the European arrest warrant take 48 days. Does the Minister not accept that a no-deal Brexit would cause significant challenges in tackling cross-border crime?
Lucy Claire Leigh (Frazer) (Conservative, Centre-right): We have a devolution Act that sets out very clearly the separate and distinct nature of Scotland. We have almost weekly contact with officials on no deal planning. Paul Candler, who is a director in the MOJ, had a director-level meeting with his colleagues from Scotland and Northern Ireland on 9 November. We are legislating on behalf of Scotland at the Scottish Government’s request and with their permission. We are working very closely with Scotland on a number of SIs. I met the Scottish Law Society chair, Michael Clancy, earlier this year.
Prisons: Drones — House of Commons, 2018-11-13
Topic: Law and Crime
Roderick James Nugent Stewart (Conservative, Centre-right): In order to deal with drones, we need to focus on electronic interference with and electronic interrogation of drones. We also need better intelligence systems, but in the end, a drone is just a delivery system; it is a way of getting things into a prison. Better grilles, better netting and better processes with prison officers to ensure that we inspect the yards will be central, whether we are talking about drones or throw-overs.
Prisons: Drones — House of Commons, 2018-11-13
Topic: Law and Crime
Michael Alex Burghart (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the Minister for that advice. Drones are undermining the effectiveness of a number of our prisons. Does he agree that on top of what he suggests, we should be working with the manufacturers of drones, to ensure that they are helping to keep criminals under control?
Prisons: Drones — House of Commons, 2018-11-13
Topic: Law and Crime
Roderick James Nugent Stewart (Conservative, Centre-right): Absolutely. There is much more that we could do with the manufacturers of drones. Drones contain geo-fencing equipment, which prohibits them going over civil aviation space, for example. We can do more there, but we cannot just rely on software. In the end, good intelligence and good processes and procedures in prisons are the real guarantee against drones bringing in drugs.
Criminal Legal Aid Fees — House of Commons, 2018-11-13
Topic: Law and Crime
Lucy Claire Leigh (Frazer) (Conservative, Centre-right): Criminal barristers play a fundamental role in ensuring access to justice, often for the most vulnerable in our society. Having already increased their fees by £9 million in April this year, we launched a consultation on a proposal to increase fees by a further £15 million. That consultation has recently closed, and we are carefully considering the responses.
Criminal Legal Aid Fees — House of Commons, 2018-11-13
Topic: Law and Crime
Lucy Claire Leigh (Frazer) (Conservative, Centre-right): The Lord Chancellor and I take very seriously the importance of having a system of advocates that represents people, and we value the independent Bar as well as the employed Bar. I met the leaders of the Bar Council last week, as well as the leaders—the chair and the vice-chair—of the Criminal Bar Association to hear their concerns, and we are listening very closely to what they have to say.
Rogue Bailiffs — House of Commons, 2018-11-13
Topic: Law and Crime
Questions: Thank you, Mr Speaker. In terms of rogue activities, Bishop Rachel has called for community-based rehab for women prisoners; the high cost and the low outcomes for them are not very satisfactory. Does the Minister share my strong support for this proposal, which would reduce the number of rogues in prison and offer an important role for the high-quality rehab work of the Nelson Trust in Gloucester and Stroud?
Lucy Claire Leigh (Frazer) (Conservative, Centre-right): That was a very intriguing question on one about bailiffs. This matter is reflected in our female offenders strategy, and I am sure that the Minister responsible, the Under-Secretary of State for Justice, my hon. Friend the Member for Charnwood (Edward Argar), will be very happy to discuss it further with my hon. Friend.
Rogue Bailiffs — House of Commons, 2018-11-13
Topic: Government Operations
Questions: Thank you, Mr Speaker. In terms of rogue activities, Bishop Rachel has called for community-based rehab for women prisoners; the high cost and the low outcomes for them are not very satisfactory. Does the Minister share my strong support for this proposal, which would reduce the number of rogues in prison and offer an important role for the high-quality rehab work of the Nelson Trust in Gloucester and Stroud?
Lucy Claire Leigh (Frazer) (Conservative, Centre-right): I know that the hon. Lady cares deeply about the matters under discussion and was quoted this morning in relation to them. I recently met Peter Tutton, who is head of policy at StepChange. He made the point about independent regulation and we will consider it in due course.
Access to Justice: Court Staffing — House of Commons, 2018-11-13
Topic: Law and Crime
Lucy Claire Leigh (Frazer) (Conservative, Centre-right): It is great to have an opportunity to highlight the important role of staff at Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service. I have recently visited a number of courts, including in Liverpool, Nottingham and Newcastle, and have been impressed by their commitment to justice. Our reforms, which will reduce staffing levels as they modernise the system and which are delivered by our staff, are improving, not diminishing access to justice.
Access to Justice: Court Staffing — House of Commons, 2018-11-13
Topic: Law and Crime
Lucy Claire Leigh (Frazer) (Conservative, Centre-right): As my hon. Friend has highlighted, a very effective and efficient measure is in the process of going through Parliament and it will enable judges to be deployed very effectively, to sit in other jurisdictions and to be used in the best possible way.
Reducing Reoffending Rates — House of Commons, 2018-11-13
Topic: Law and Crime
Roderick James Nugent Stewart (Conservative, Centre-right): Reducing reoffending is essentially about many things, but the three most important are making sure that someone has a job, that their addiction problems are addressed and that they have accommodation. We are addressing accommodation in Bristol, Pentonville and Leeds, through new wraparound support to help people into accommodation. We have a new education and employment strategy, and we are working with the NHS on addiction. It is possible to reduce reoffending but, as we learn internationally, it is never easy.
Reducing Reoffending Rates — House of Commons, 2018-11-13
Topic: Law and Crime
Robert James MacGillivray Neill (Conservative, Centre-right): The work being done by the Minister is very welcome, but will he also recollect that we need to start on preparation for release much earlier than the 12 or so weeks currently built into the contractual arrangements?
Reducing Reoffending Rates — House of Commons, 2018-11-13
Topic: Law and Crime
Roderick James Nugent Stewart (Conservative, Centre-right): That is absolutely right. The key worker scheme that we are rolling out allows the prison officer to develop a relationship with an individual prisoner, to work with them on their sentence plan and education plan. One reason why it is so important is that it will help us to settle people into the community much earlier in their sentence.
Reducing Reoffending Rates — House of Commons, 2018-11-13
Topic: Labor
Roderick James Nugent Stewart (Conservative, Centre-right): First, I pay tribute to the work of the National Careers Service, but there are many other providers working within the prison estate. The New Futures Network, which we are now rolling out, is doing things that were not done by the National Careers Service, in particular bringing more employers into prison to develop those relationships. There is a great deal we could learn, but we believe the current system will deliver better results and our employment figures for prisoners are looking very promising.
Reducing Reoffending Rates — House of Commons, 2018-11-13
Topic: Law and Crime
Roderick James Nugent Stewart (Conservative, Centre-right): Care after Combat does terrific work. I was lucky enough to meet Jim Davidson and his team—indeed, I did so with a Defence Minister. The Under-Secretary of State for Justice, my hon. Friend the Member for Charnwood (Edward Argar), will meet Mr Davidson again shortly. It is a great example of the way a proper wraparound service that addresses mental health, accommodation and employment can really help to prevent reoffending.
HMP Liverpool — House of Commons, 2018-11-13
Topic: Law and Crime
Roderick James Nugent Stewart (Conservative, Centre-right): The issues in HMP Liverpool were of course shocking. It was a very challenged prison and some challenges still remain, in particular around the issue of self-harm. Nevertheless, Governor Pia Sinha and her team have effected a real transformation. I hope the hon. Gentleman will recognise, from visiting Liverpool prison, that over 100 cells have now been fully refurbished. We have reduced the population and, above all, there is a sense of a much safer, more orderly prison. This is real progress in 11 months. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to Pia Sinha and her team.
HMP Liverpool — House of Commons, 2018-11-13
Topic: Law and Crime
Roderick James Nugent Stewart (Conservative, Centre-right): I will resist the temptation to offer to resign on every single issue within my Department, but I repeat that I will resign if I do not turn around those 10 prisons by August. Why were those 10 prisons chosen? They largely focus on Yorkshire and London. There are many other challenged prisons in the system. Which is challenged day by day alternates a great deal—it depends on the particular population—but I do not think that anybody would suggest that prisons such as Wormwood Scrubs, Nottingham and Leeds, which are among the 10 prisons, are not very seriously challenged prisons.
HMP Liverpool — House of Commons, 2018-11-13
Topic: Law and Crime
Questions: Given the £300 million cut next year to the Ministry of Justice’s overall budget, including for prisons such as Liverpool, does the Minister expect to be able to maintain prison budgets at their current level at least?
Roderick James Nugent Stewart (Conservative, Centre-right): I am pleased to say that, at the most recent Budget—I do not wish to get involved in the next Budget and the spending review, on which I am confident—we got a great deal of investment into the prison estate, which makes a huge difference. The right hon. Gentleman is absolutely right to raise the issue of the future budget, but watch this space and see how our negotiation goes.
HMP Liverpool — House of Commons, 2018-11-13
Topic: Law and Crime
Questions: Given the £300 million cut next year to the Ministry of Justice’s overall budget, including for prisons such as Liverpool, does the Minister expect to be able to maintain prison budgets at their current level at least?
Roderick James Nugent Stewart (Conservative, Centre-right): There is of course one important point here, which is that we need to make very sure that the people we work with are reliable and trustworthy. I absolutely agree on that. At the same time, we have to acknowledge that G4S is running some good prisons in places such as Parc and Liverpool. We need to get the balance right between making sure that these are reliable providers and making sure that they protect the public.
Offenders’ Employment — House of Commons, 2018-11-13
Topic: Labor
Roderick James Nugent Stewart (Conservative, Centre-right): Focusing on education is about getting employers into prisons and making sure that the education that we provide is relevant not just to employment, but to local employment. If there is a shortage, for example, of window cleaners in an area, it is about making sure that prisoners can get education in window cleaning. We have launched the New Futures Network, which helps to settle employers into employing prisoners. Getting this right will mean employers learning, as Timpson has in the past, that prisoners can be among an employer’s most loyal, dedicated employees, changing their lives and ultimately protecting the public.
Offenders’ Employment — House of Commons, 2018-11-13
Topic: Law and Crime
Helen Olivia Bicknell Whately (Conservative, Centre-right): Women in East Sutton Park Prison in my constituency get to gain qualifications and work while they are in prison, but the nearest parole hostel is in Reading, so some have to quit their jobs after they leave prison. Could my hon. Friend look into this and see whether something can be done?
Offenders’ Employment — House of Commons, 2018-11-13
Topic: Law and Crime
Roderick James Nugent Stewart (Conservative, Centre-right): There is a big challenge about where prisons are located, as the whole House understands. It is often very helpful to have prisoners located near the place where they are eventually going to be settled. We are not able to do that in every case, but the Under-Secretary of State for Justice, my hon. Friend the Member for Charnwood (Edward Argar), is leading an investigation into new forms of women’s centres to provide rehabilitation and resettlement for exactly those women prisoners.
Offenders’ Employment — House of Commons, 2018-11-13
Topic: Labor
Roderick James Nugent Stewart (Conservative, Centre-right): I think that is a very, very good idea. We need to recognise and honour employers who do this. A Queen’s award is a fantastic idea. I would like to give credit to my hon. Friend for coming up with it and would like his permission to pursue it.
Family and Magistrates Courts: Closures — House of Commons, 2018-11-13
Topic: Law and Crime
Questions: What assessment his Department has made of the effect on (a) costs borne by partners, (b) magistracy diversity and (c) access to justice of the closure of family and magistrates courts.
Lucy Claire Leigh (Frazer) (Conservative, Centre-right): Whenever we close courts, there is of course always a public consultation, and we always carefully consider the consequences of any closure. However, in circumstances where, in 2016-17, 41% of our courts and tribunals used less than half of their available hearing capacity; where any money from the proceeds of sale is reinvested back into the Courts Service; and where we are reforming our courts with technology and bringing them up to date, we have to ask ourselves whether spending money on physical buildings is always the best use of money in our legal justice system.
Family and Magistrates Courts: Closures — House of Commons, 2018-11-13
Topic: Law and Crime
Questions: What assessment his Department has made of the effect on (a) costs borne by partners, (b) magistracy diversity and (c) access to justice of the closure of family and magistrates courts.
Martin John Vickers (Conservative, Centre-right): Thank you, Mr Speaker. Like Scunthorpe, there are reports that Grimsby magistrates court, which serves the Cleethorpes area, is under threat of closure, with the possibility of cases being transferred to Hull, which is a round trip of 66 miles. Will the Minister give an absolute assurance that Grimsby is not under threat?
Family and Magistrates Courts: Closures — House of Commons, 2018-11-13
Topic: Law and Crime
Questions: What assessment his Department has made of the effect on (a) costs borne by partners, (b) magistracy diversity and (c) access to justice of the closure of family and magistrates courts.
Lucy Claire Leigh (Frazer) (Conservative, Centre-right): In the justice system, we are reforming the courts. We are investing £1 billion in that process. That is not austerity. On staff, we are modernising and bringing in technology to make our systems work more effectively. That is in the interests of victims, witnesses and defendants. We are making our court processes much more effective. There are some reductions in staff as a result of that, but we are increasing access to justice.
Female Offender Strategy — House of Commons, 2018-11-13
Topic: Law and Crime
Edward John Comport Argar (Conservative, Centre-right): Our female offender strategy, which was published in June, is clear that, while custody should always be an option when the severity of the crime justifies it, we wish to see fewer women sentenced to prison for short periods, and we set out a plan to deliver robust and effective alternatives to custody. Last week, the Secretary of State and I announced the allocation of the first tranche of funding, totalling £3.3 million, to organisations around the country doing great work to further drive forward the implementation of the strategy.