Contributions
428 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDFamily CourtsDrawn-out court proceedings can have a damaging impact on parents and children. We have published a consultation on proposals for a funded mandatory mediation and co-parenting…28 Mar 2023HANSARDFamily CourtsMy hon. Friend raises a very important point. In July 2022, a landmark Domestic Abuse Act 2021 measure came into force, prohibiting domestic abuse perpetrators and victims from…28 Mar 2023HANSARDFamily CourtsMy hon. Friend raises a very important and sensitive issue. The Government are reviewing all aspects of family law, particularly in terms of how to ensure that families stay out…28 Mar 2023HANSARDFamily CourtsThe hon. Lady raises a point that has been raised before. The Department is reviewing how we can ensure that people caught up in the family court system are protected from such…28 Mar 2023HANSARDFamily CourtsWhat I can tell the hon. Gentleman is that we have spent over £813 million on civil legal aid. In fact, the means-testing review is expected to widen civil legal aid availability…28 Mar 2023HANSARDHMCTS: Probate ServiceDespite the increased volume of applications received during and after the covid-19 pandemic, the average length of time taken for a grant of probate once all required documents…28 Mar 2023HANSARDHMCTS: Probate ServiceMy right hon. Friend raises a case that I have taken some time to unpick. I can reassure her that wait times for calls to the helpline have dropped from an hour to between five…28 Mar 2023HANSARDHMCTS: Probate ServiceI have to say to the right hon. Lady that that is an interesting take on a pause. I do not think that taking extra time to ensure that a new system beds down correctly and…28 Mar 2023HANSARDLegal AidLegal aid is granted only to individuals. There are specific regulations that set out the position relating to multi-party applications. Following changes made in 2012, legal aid…28 Mar 2023HANSARDLegal AidI am aware of the concern that Members have about the use of legal aid in such cases, but I can reassure my hon. Friend that the Legal Aid Agency reviews all cases to ensure that…28 Mar 2023HANSARDLegal AidThe hon. Gentleman makes a good point. The Legal Aid Agency will always monitor cases where we get repeat applications for funding to ensure that any application is warranted…28 Mar 2023HANSARDCourt Proceedings: Social MediaWe have taken steps to mitigate the risk that social media poses to court cases following a call for evidence in 2019. Arrangements are in place with social media companies to…28 Mar 2023HANSARDCourt Proceedings: Social MediaI am more than happy to meet my hon. Friend. I can reassure him that contempt of court and reporting restrictions apply to social media as well as mainstream media. We continually…28 Mar 2023HANSARDCourt Cases BacklogThe outstanding case load has reduced across the UK. I do not have specific numbers for my hon. Friend’s constituency, as we do not calculate them by constituency. We are taking…28 Mar 2023HANSARDCourt Cases BacklogI can reassure my hon. Friend that we have removed the limit on sitting days in the Crown court for the second financial year in a row, and that means that courts will continue to…28 Mar 2023HANSARDCourt Cases BacklogIn terms of the efficiency of the courts estate, I can reassure the hon. Gentleman that I am less hung up about the availability of buildings in every town and city and more hung…28 Mar 2023HANSARDCourt Cases BacklogI appreciate that the shadow Minister has a somewhat luddite approach to implementing new systems. I also say to him that the Opposition have been calling for us to listen to the…28 Mar 2023HANSARDLegal AidI do not recognise spending more than £2 billion a year as “running on empty”. Spending an extra £4 million on section 28 fees, an extra £10 million on housing legal aid, an extra…28 Mar 2023HANSARDTopical QuestionsWhile I cannot determine the date of Royal Assent, I reassure my hon. Friend that once the Bill passes through the other House, we would expect it to complete its passage here…28 Mar 2023HANSARDTopical QuestionsI am not aware of any particular statistics on the number of wills that are contested, but I will write to the hon. Gentleman and ensure that we liaise with the devolved…28 Mar 2023