Shailesh Vara, Member of Parliament for North West Cambridgeshire, is urging Cambridgeshire County Council to extend the public consultation for an Anaerobic Digestion (AD) Plant which has been proposed close to Stanground, Peterborough.
Mr Vara, along with Stanground East Councillor, Chris Harper, is opposing the proposal which could see the AD plant situated only 250 metres away from homes and in close proximity to both a primary school and nursery. Moreover, Mr Vara and Cllr Harper feel that the additional pressure which would be placed on Toll Farm Road by heavy vehicle movements to and from the plant would exacerbate an already congested junction.
The consultation for the Application, proposed by Envitec Biogas Ventures Ltd, is due to expire today and it is felt that the advertising for the application, via flyers on lamp posts, has been too limited bearing in mind the scale of the proposal. Mr Vara and Cllr Harper are therefore seeking for the consultation to be extended.
Mr Vara said:
“This is a major planning application and it is very important that local residents have the opportunity to make their views known. The siting of this proposal is clearly inappropriate and given the technical nature of the application, it is vital that proper time is made available so that local residents can make their views known. I very much hope that the Council will review this matter and provide local people with more time to express their concerns.”
Cllr Chris Harper commented: -
“We as local residents are all very worried about this planning application on our doorsteps. Having researched Anaerobic Digestion plants, problems include odour, noise, bio-aerosol emissions and increased traffic flows. This major site would be only 250 metres from homes in Stanground East and would also be close to a primary school and children’s nursery. I would encourage as many local residents as possible to have their say on this very important application.”
Shailesh Vara MP has been reappointed to the Justice Ministry as a Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State. Mr Vara’s responsibilities will include Courts and Tribunals, Legal Aid, Administrative Justice and Legal Services.
Following his appointment Mr Vara said;
“I am delighted to be reappointed as a Justice Minister. I am particularly looking forward to continuing with my previous responsibilities where there is still much work to be done.”
Legal Aid
3. Mr Henry Bellingham (North West Norfolk) (Con): When he next plans to meet representatives from (a) the Law Society and (b) the Bar Council to discuss legal aid. [908085]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Mr Shailesh Vara): Throughout the development of the “Transforming Legal Aid” package of reform, my officials and I regularly met the Law Society, the Bar Council and other members of the legal profession. Officials from the Department and the Legal Aid Agency continue to be in regular contact with the representative bodies as we implement the reforms.
Mr Bellingham: I thank the Minister for that reply. Is he aware that I represent a number of constituents involved with family law cases, including one young mother who is contesting adoption proceedings? She received legal aid for the substantive hearing, but she is now appealing and, unfortunately, cannot get legal aid. Has he made any assessment of the impact of the cost in respect of litigants in person within the family division? Without increasing the overall legal aid budget, will he consider some reallocation of resources within it to solve this particular problem?
Mr Vara: I thank my hon. Friend for his question and say to him that we do have one of the most generous legal aid budgets in the world and we have made sure that we provide legal aid assistance for those who need it.
Kelvin Hopkins (Luton North) (Lab): In a previous Question Time, I raised the problem of victims of domestic abuse apparently being deterred from going to law because of the cuts in legal aid. Has the Minister discussed the matter with representatives of the law authorities? Does he have any statistics to confirm these reports?
Mr Vara: We have paid particular attention to those who have been victims of domestic violence and we are very keen that, wherever possible, we will give legal aid to make sure that people get out of the abusive relationships in which they are caught.
Andrew Gwynne (Denton and Reddish) (Lab): Following on from that, on how many occasions have victims of domestic violence had their legal aid funding stopped because of the rule changes for evidence now being more than two years old? The Minister must have that information to hand.
Mr Vara: What I will tell the hon. Gentleman is that this issue has been the subject of a huge amount of misunderstanding among the wider public, not least because of the misinformation imparted by people such as himself. On two occasions we have increased the criteria on the required evidence, once during the passage of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 and subsequently when we found that more evidence was required.
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Legal Aid Budget
4. David Mowat (Warrington South) (Con): What progress he has made on reducing the legal aid budget [908086]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Mr Shailesh Vara): In 2009-10, as this Government took office, £2.2 billion was spent on legal aid. Following our two major reform programmes, spend has fallen to £1.7 billion in 2013-14 and is expected to fall to about £1.5 billion once the reforms have fully worked through the system.
David Mowat: I thank the Minister for that answer. A month ago in the High Court, Lord Justice Laws described the Government’s proposal to have two-tier contracting as reasonable, “proportionate” and a “proper way” to proceed. The case has now gone to the Court of Appeal and a decision is expected imminently. Can the Minister confirm that, subject to that decision, he will be proceeding in this Parliament with a tendering process and not be constrained by what appears to be legal time wasting?
Mr Vara: Having successfully defended a challenge in the High Court, we robustly defended our position in the Court of Appeal and are awaiting judgment. If the appeal is dismissed, it is our intention to continue the tender that is currently subject to an injunction as soon as possible.
Valerie Vaz (Walsall South) (Lab): Access to justice is one of the cornerstones of our democracy. Given the reductions in legal aid, can the Minister say whether there has been a rise or a fall in the number of litigants in person?
Mr Vara: I believe there has been a rise in litigants in person, but the Government have also made a huge amount of provision to cater for that. I also say to the hon. Lady and Opposition Front Benchers, who have never said that they are going to reverse the cuts that we have made, that we need a legal aid system that is sustainable, for the people who need it, for the legal providers and for the taxpayers who pay for it.
Sir Alan Beith (Berwick-upon-Tweed) (LD): Has the Minister noted the Justice Committee’s conclusion that although the Government had achieved the cost reduction, there was some transfer of cost to other budgets and far too little availability of the exceptional cases fund, and that mediation, far from increasing, had actually dropped?
Mr Vara: May I thank the right hon. Gentleman for his question? As far as exceptional funding is concerned, the giveaway is in the title. The fund is meant to be exceptional, but some people have seen it as a discretionary fund. Not surprisingly, therefore, the numbers involved in it have been few.
I understand that the right hon. Gentleman is retiring at the end of this Parliament. Let me say what a pleasure it has been to work with him. I may not always have agreed with him, but working with him has always been a pleasure, and I wish him well for the future.
Mr Andy Slaughter (Hammersmith) (Lab): Perhaps the Minister should listen to the Chair of the Justice Committee and read his report that found that the Government had failed in three of their four objectives for legal aid: they have not discouraged unnecessary litigation; they have not targeted legal aid to those who need it the most; and they have not delivered better value for money for the taxpayer. That is what the report says. Does the Minister agree that that abject failure is a fitting epitaph for the least competent Lord Chancellor since the Reformation?
Mr Vara: It is always helpful if shadow Ministers do their homework. The proposals to which the hon. Gentleman refers were achieved by the previous Lord Chancellor. As far as his comment on the Justice Committee’s report is concerned, I do not hear him or his boss saying that they will be reversing any of the cuts that we have made. If they want to do that, the shadow Chancellor will have plenty of opportunity so to do in due course.
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Claims-handling Companies
5. John Mann (Bassetlaw) (Lab): What assessment he has made of the effectiveness of his Department's oversight of claims-handling companies. [908087]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Mr Shailesh Vara): Tackling bad practices by claims management companies is a priority for the Department’s claims management regulator. Recent measures taken to strengthen the effectiveness regulation include tougher rules to crack down on malpractice and a new power to impose financial penalties on CMCs that break the rules. Since regulation began in 2007, the licences of more than 1,200 CMCs have been removed. Between April and December 2014, we stepped up enforcement action, with 338 CMCs being warned for poor conduct or having their licences removed.
John Mann: The whole country is sick of these companies ringing up day and night leaving answerphone messages and harassing pensioners. When it comes to PPI mis-selling, they are taking half the money that is due to decent people purely for writing a letter to a bank asking it to investigate the matter. We need to expose the sham of these companies more effectively, because, across the country, people are losing out and are getting increasingly sick of their behaviour.
Mr Vara: I agree that many people are very upset with the behaviour of those companies. In fact, millions of people are upset with what is happening. This is something that requires joined-up activity. The claims management regulator is working closely with the primary enforcement agencies at the Information Commissioner’s office and at Ofcom to investigate practices and take firm enforcement action against rogue companies. The hon. Gentleman will be aware that much work on nuisance calls has already been done and that the Department for Culture, Media and Sport is leading on reforms in this area. Last year, for example, the Department published a joint action plan, involving all the relevant regulators, including the Information Commissioner’s office, Ofcom and the claims management regulator.
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Access to Justice
9. Julie Hilling (Bolton West) (Lab): What steps he plans to take to ensure access to justice regardless of ability to pay. [908092]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Mr Shailesh Vara): The Government’s reform programme to promote access to justice aims to deliver a justice system that is more accessible to the public. It aims to support people in resolving their disputes through simpler, more informal remedies, and to limit the scope for inappropriate litigation and the involvement of lawyers in issues which do not need legal input.
Julie Hilling: Let me give the Minister one more chance to answer a question on last week’s Justice Committee report on the civil legal aid cuts, which revealed that the Government have failed to achieve all three of their targets. Can the Minister confirm that there has been an underspend in the legal aid budget, and that exceptional case funding has failed to achieve the aim of protecting access to justice for the most vulnerable?
Mr Vara: For the benefit of the hon. Lady, let me say once again that if it were not for the Government whom she supported causing the mess that they did, we would not have been obliged to make the cuts we have had to make. Despite making them, we still have one of the most generous legal aid budgets in the world.
Charlie Elphicke (Dover) (Con): Can the Minister tell the House how our legal aid budget compares internationally?
Mr Vara: As I said, we compare very favourably internationally. We have one of the most generous legal aid budgets in the world, and that is after the cuts have come through.
Sadiq Khan (Tooting) (Lab): It is a fact that the Government’s cuts to legal aid have denied thousands access to legal advice. The Government’s changes to tribunal and court fees are having an additional impact on women and other vulnerable groups. The number of victims of domestic violence receiving legal aid has fallen significantly, and the number of sex discrimination claims is down by 90%. Unless the Government genuinely believe that this is an indication of significant improvements to society—that it indicates less domestic violence and less sex discrimination—women are being denied access to justice. Will the Government agree to an urgent review of the impact of the changes they have made on women and other vulnerable groups?
Mr Vara: In that very long contribution from the right hon. Gentleman, it is regrettable that not once did he say that if he were Lord Chancellor, he would reverse the cuts we have made. That sums up where the Opposition are: they are happy to object, they are happy to write articles—[Interruption.] Yes, the right hon. Gentleman points to the public. I point to the public as well, and I say that nowhere did the right hon. Gentleman say that Labour would reverse the cuts we have made. [Interruption.]
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Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act (Section 28 Pilots)
12. Ann Coffey (Stockport) (Lab): What recent assessment he has made of the outcome of the pilots of section 28 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999. [908097]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Mr Shailesh Vara): Recorded pre-trial cross-examination is designed to help vulnerable witnesses to give their best possible evidence and to spare them the trauma of being cross-examined in front of a jury and the public. The hon. Lady will know that we have been piloting the scheme in Liverpool, Leeds and Kingston upon Thames Crown courts, and that the pilots ended in October 2014. Interim findings from the evaluation of the pilots are awaited, and an announcement of the plans for any future roll-out of the scheme will be made in due course.
Ann Coffey: I recently visited the recorder of Liverpool, Judge Goldstone, who said that the section 28 pilot in Liverpool had resulted in a sea change in culture in court: cross-examinations without the aggressive barracking and repetitive questions of defence lawyers, and impressive outcomes in the reduction of stress and anxiety in children. Does the Minister agree that if the pilot was rolled out to every court, it would hugely increase the confidence of child witnesses in the criminal justice system?
Mr Vara: As I have said, we are awaiting the results of the pilots. Once we have considered them, we will take the proper action and, if necessary, roll them out further.
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Domestic Violence (Legal Aid)
19. Fiona Mactaggart (Slough) (Lab): How many women who have been victims of domestic violence applied for legal aid in proceedings relating to their children in the latest period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [908104]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Mr Shailesh Vara): From July to September 2014, there were 3,097 applications for legal aid in relation to private law proceedings under the Children Act 1989. Due to the way in which data are collected, that figure includes applications where there was evidence of child abuse and applications that were made by men. I will write to the right hon. Lady to provide a breakdown of applications by gender.
Fiona Mactaggart: I asked for the figures because the gateway into legal aid for victims of domestic violence requires them to provide evidence that they have been victims of domestic violence in the last two years. We know that abusers use child custody and access arrangements to further abuse their victims. What is the Minister doing about that?
Mr Vara: What the right hon. Lady does not seem to accept is that the Minister is listening. He has increased the criteria that are required. Thousands of people have successfully applied for legal aid in domestic violence cases and many more will doubtless be successful.
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Topical Questions
Nia Griffith (Llanelli) (Lab): People with asbestos-related diseases not only have to cope with their illness, but often have a difficult court battle to get compensation. With the proposed rise in court fees, which are totally disproportionate—for example, going from £1,300 to £10,000—many claimants will be deterred. Will the Minister look again at the scale of those rises to see if they can be reduced to a more reasonable level?
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Mr Shailesh Vara): Some 90% of people will not be affected by the enhanced fees, and we have waivers for people who do not qualify on financial grounds. The fees will apply only to a relatively small number of people, and even for them we have the waivers.
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Bridget Phillipson (Houghton and Sunderland South) (Lab): In 2010, the Government put on hold plans to rebuild Sunderland’s court complex, and answers to recent parliamentary questions reveal what we have always feared—that no decision was ever likely to be taken in this Parliament. What would the Minister say to people across Sunderland to explain his Government’s complete failure to make any progress in the last five years?
Mr Vara: I would say to the people of Sunderland: look at the record of the Labour party in government—it did absolutely nothing. We have put in place a five-year reform programme that will bring our courts into the 21st century. Her Government did not do that, but we have, and in five years, we will have the best courts in the world.
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T10. [908116] Richard Graham (Gloucester) (Con): My plans for the regeneration of the city of Gloucester include a new car park and entrance to Gloucester station, but they depend on a land sale agreement between the Ministry of Justice and the city council and the land’s onward leasing to First Great Western. Ministers have been sympathetic to urban regeneration. Will my hon. Friend confirm whether the MOJ has agreed an independent local valuation so that rapid progress can be made on the sale?
Mr Vara: I commend my hon. Friend for his diligence in pursuing this matter. He has met me, and I have corresponded with him, and he will be aware that my officials and the council’s officials are in conversation. Like him, I look forward to seeing the way forward.
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Shailesh Vara, Member of Parliament for North West Cambridgeshire, has welcomed today’s decision by Eric Pickles MP, the Secretary of State at the Department for Communities and Local Government, to refuse planning permission for the Bicton Wind Farm in Huntingdonshire.
The proposed site at land west of the Bicton Industrial Estate between Kimbolton and Stow Longa, was subject to a planning application for three wind turbines and associated infrastructure in April 2013. The local planning authority, Huntingdonshire District Council, refused the application in September 2013 and the developer, Broadview Energy Ltd, took the application to appeal with the Planning Inspectorate. A public hearing took place in June 2014 but in the meantime, Eric Pickles MP, decided to ‘call in’ the application for a Ministerial decision rather than for it to be determined by a Planning Inspector. It is the second planning appeal that the site has been subject to in the last 3 years.
In his decision, Mr Pickles, considered that the factors weighing in favour of the turbines were outweighed by the harm that would be caused to heritage assets and their setting, and also the living conditions for those in the immediate vicinity of the proposed turbines.
Mr Vara commented:
“I am delighted that Eric Pickles has decided against these wind turbines which would have clearly been inappropriate for this area. Whilst the site is just outside my constituency, the turbines would nevertheless have had an impact on a large number of residents I represent and who live in the villages close to Kimbolton.
This campaign has been ongoing since May 2009 and has resulted in two appeal hearings with the Planning Inspectorate at great expense to both local people and Huntingdonshire District Council. I commend the hard work put in by the Stop Bicton Wind Farm Action Group which has driven opposition to the plans and whose members I know will be delighted with this decision.
The local communities concerned can now get back to enjoying their beautiful surroundings without the constant worry of an imposing planning application.”
Shailesh Vara MP is seeking a meeting with the Secretary of State for Health, Jeremy Hunt, following Circle Healthcare’s withdrawal from its contract to manage Hinchingbrooke Hospital.
Mr Vara said ‘The most important issue here is protection of frontline services for the public. In such circumstances the Department of Health provides alternative arrangements and in the meantime I am seeking an urgent meeting with Jeremy Hunt, the Secretary of State for Health.’
Shailesh Vara MP has expressed his deep concern and disappointment following the announcement today regarding the future of RAF Molesworth. The proposal to close the base along with nearby RAF Alconbury, which is in Jonathan Djanogly’s constituency, will lead to local job losses as well as affecting the local economy which the personnel at the bases help to sustain.
Mr Vara said ‘These bases are an integral part of our community and so this is deeply disappointing. I have already spoken with Michael Fallon, the Secretary of State for Defence, and asked for an urgent meeting to discuss the matter further. It is important to remember that the individuals affected also have families and so the personal consequences will be considerable. Moreover, there will be a significant impact on the local economy which the British and American personnel help to sustain’.
Trespass
1. Sir Oliver Heald (North East Hertfordshire) (Con): What steps Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service is taking to ensure that urgent cases to remove trespassers from land are dealt with as quickly as possible. [906633]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Mr Shailesh Vara): HMCTS treats such applications with the utmost urgency. Hearing notices are served by hand and hearings before a judge are listed urgently, normally immediately after the two days’ notice period. Warrants are enforced by bailiffs as a matter of priority.
Sir Oliver Heald: I thank my hon. Friend for helping me to resolve an urgent constituency case involving a mass trespass in Letchworth, and for doing so speedily. Is it his Department’s policy, and are the courts aware, that it is vital that these cases are dealt with speedily in order to avoid the risk of nuisance to local residents, as happened in Letchworth?
Mr Vara: I thank my hon. Friend for his kind comments. It was a pleasure to be able to help out in his constituency matter. He is right: there are existing processes that enable such cases to be dealt with and I am keen that they are dealt with speedily. I will certainly make sure that Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service is made well aware of that principle.
Maria Miller (Basingstoke) (Con): I would like to applaud the swift work of Basingstoke and Deane borough council in stopping unauthorised activity this year at Dixon road in my constituency, with the Crown Prosecution Service successfully prosecuting last week those who felled up to 800 trees on that site. Does the Minister agree that tougher fines might also help to deter this sort of criminal activity?
Mr Vara: I join my right hon. Friend in congratulating her council. We have a lot of measures to deal with trespassers. On increasing fines, we are always on the lookout for ways of improving the law and I will take that on board.
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Immigration and Asylum
2. Mr Andrew Turner (Isle of Wight) (Con): What proportion of immigration and asylum appeals were made on the grounds of alleged breaches of the Human Rights Act 1998 in the last five years. [906634]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Mr Shailesh Vara): In 2009-10, 10% of recorded appeals, lodged from inside the UK, raised human rights grounds; in 2010-11 the proportion was 28%; in the last three years the proportion has been 34%. Information is not available for appeals lodged from outside of the UK.
Mr Turner: Does my hon. Friend agree that incorporating the Human Rights Act into British legislation by the Labour party is rightly seen by the public as a disaster? It should be replaced with a Bill of Rights as soon as possible.
Mr Vara: My hon. Friend’s comments are timely given that next year we will commemorate the 800th anniversary of the sealing of Magna Carta. The House will be aware that the Government agreed in the coalition agreement that no major changes would be made to the human rights framework in this Parliament, but as he rightly says, the Conservatives believe that we need major reform to the way in which human rights operate in this country. We believe that we need to curtail the ability of the European Court of Human Rights to tell our courts what to do. We have an excellent record in this area, of which we should be proud, but Conservatives believe that a new British Bill of Rights and responsibilities would remain faithful to those basic principles of human rights while restoring much-needed common sense to their application. This is a debate that we will have over the next few months and I look forward to debating it with the Opposition, when they are prepared to listen, as well as with the Lib Dems and the British public.
Mr Speaker: I think that the Minister’s initial essay, quite a lengthy one, has been completed.
Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North) (Lab): It is obvious that Magna Carta in the 13th century was a great step forward and I am glad the Minister recognises that. Will he also recognise that the European convention on human rights and the universal declaration of human rights were massive steps forward, not just for this country but for humankind? Does he not recognise that the narrative of trying to leave the European convention on human rights and the Court diminishes our human rights, the human rights of everyone in this country and the human rights of people across the continent? Will he please rethink this narrative and be slightly more sensible about the universal need for human rights?
Mr Vara: The hon. Gentleman talks about being sensible. He will be aware that it was only very recently that the convention was amended by the Brighton declaration, which was welcomed by all the countries concerned and made sure that nation states had a greater say in their own cases. That has to be good because it means that Strasbourg can deal with the urgent cases that should be dealt with there rather than having a backlog—there is a huge queue—because nation states cannot deal with a lot of the cases that should be dealt with domestically.
Charlie Elphicke (Dover) (Con): May I tell the Minister that my constituents in Dover and Deal feel that the level of immigration and asylum appeals that are being made undermines our border security? They want to see human rights reform to ensure that our borders are safer and more secure.
Mr Vara: As I said, that is a debate that we shall have very forcefully with the British people and the other parties in the months ahead.
Ms Margaret Ritchie (South Down) (SDLP): In relation to general human rights issues, does the Minister agree with the opinion of his right hon. and learned Friend the Member for Beaconsfield (Mr Grieve) that non-compliance with the European convention on human rights calls into question the devolution settlements for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland?
Mr Vara: My right hon. and learned Friend is a very distinguished Member, and he can speak for himself, so I do not need to comment.
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Whiplash Claims
3. Karl McCartney (Lincoln) (Con): What recent steps he has taken to prevent fraudulent whiplash claims. [906636]
9. Michael Fabricant (Lichfield) (Con): What recent steps he has taken to prevent fraudulent whiplash claims; and if he will make a statement. [906642]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Mr Shailesh Vara): The Government are taking forward a whiplash reform programme that will deter unnecessary, exaggerated or speculative claims. Reforms to control the costs of claims were implemented on 1 October, and on 2 December we announced further plans to have independence and quality safeguards in the system for obtaining expert evidence.
Karl McCartney: What evidence does the Minister have to demonstrate that his measures have been effective in cracking down on fraudulent whiplash claims, as it would seem that, as a nation, we are happy to allow both the profits of insurance companies and our reputation for having the weakest necks in the world to go unchallenged?
Mr Vara: This Government have made and continue to make major changes to deter fraudsters and reduce the number and cost of whiplash claims. We have already seen an impact from these reforms and industry data show that they have contributed to a 14% reduction in premiums since February 2012.
Michael Fabricant: Some years ago, I was shunted up my rear end—by a car on the M1, Mr Speaker—and I was then contacted by a number of companies that all said, “Surely you are suffering from whiplash. You should be making a claim.” Does the Minister agree that such actions are reprehensible?
Mr Vara: I very much hope that there are no long-lasting effects from the experience my hon. Friend had. The Government take insurance fraud very seriously and have recently set up a taskforce to tackle this important issue and drive down premiums. The taskforce will consider insurance fraud across the board, and will aim to publish an interim report by March 2015 with a final report issued by the end of 2015.
Mr Speaker: I trust that the experience was even more unpleasant for the hon. Member for Lichfield (Michael Fabricant) than it was for the car.
Andy McDonald (Middlesbrough) (Lab): Fraudulent whiplash claims are criminal activity, plain and simple, and everybody in the House would condemn them. Will the Minister also condemn those insurance companies that created third-party capture, massively contributing to the number of these claims in the first instance? While he is at it, does he have any evidence to suggest that medical practitioners are failing their obligations under civil procedure rules—CPR—35?
Mr Vara: For too long, honest drivers have been bearing the cost and, with that, higher insurance premiums because of the whole issue of whiplash. Government reforms have been robust. We have set up a system whereby we hope to deter unnecessary or speculative claims and ensure that those who are genuinely injured can claim. We have clamped down hard on the insurance companies. We have been working with them, along with the medical profession and the lawyers, to try to make the system a lot better. Medical reports from now on will cost £180 and lawyers will carry out previous claims checks on potential claimants in order to combat fraudulent claims. That will, of course, impact on the insurance companies.
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Claims Management Companies
11. Mr David Ward (Bradford East) (LD): What steps his Department is taking to improve the regulation of claims management companies. [906644]
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Mr Shailesh Vara): A number of reforms have been made or are being made, including a new set of toughened rules to crack down on abuses, a new power to impose financial penalties on CMCs from later this month and extending the legal ombudsman’s remit to consumer complaints against CMCs from January 2015.
Mr Ward: Among other things, the bad behaviour of CMCs has contributed to car insurance premiums that are not only unacceptable, but unaffordable, particularly for many young people. Many have argued that the regulatory oversight of CMCs is simply too light. Does the Minister agree that, as the British Insurance Brokers Association has suggested, there is a strong argument that if the regulation were overseen by the Financial Conduct Authority, CMCs would have to abide by the FCA’s 11 principles of business, which would provide a more effective way of bringing down car insurance premiums?
Mr Vara: It is important that the hon. Gentleman bears it in mind that since 2007, when regulation began, licences of over 1,200 CMCs have been removed across sectors, and others have left the industry after the commencement of enforcement action. We have introduced tough measures. From later this month the regulator will reinforce its enforcement tools with a new power to impose financial penalties of up to 20% of a CMC’s turnover. Next month, from 28 January, we will extend the legal ombudsman’s jurisdiction to deal with complaints from clients dissatisfied with the service provided to them by authorised CMC’s. The legal ombudsman will provide a new avenue of redress for clients of CMC’s and will assist the claims management regulator in driving up poor standards and practices in the market.
Mr Speaker: Perhaps the material can be placed in the Library of the House, where it can be devoured by colleagues at their leisure in the long winter evenings that lie ahead.
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Topical Questions
T9. [906667] Diana Johnson (Kingston upon Hull North) (Lab): Since the Government introduced employment tribunal fees, there has been a drop of 84% in the number of women who have been able to bring discrimination claims. Does the Minister accept that, because of the up-front fees of £1,200, many women are being denied justice under his Government?
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Mr Shailesh Vara): The situation is a lot more complex than the hon. Lady makes out. First and foremost, anyone who does not meet the financial criteria has a waiver and can go to court. Secondly, there have been a lot of pre-determinations by ACAS. Employment is going up and there are fewer applications. There are a lot of factors and she does herself no credit by simplifying matters.
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T8. [906665] Philip Davies (Shipley) (Con): The Minister is aware of my request that the former Keighley magistrates court in Bingley be sold off as soon as possible. The failure to do so is wasting taxpayers’ money and preventing an important town centre building in Bingley from being regenerated and brought into use. There seems to have been a lot of faffing about between the Ministry of Justice and West Yorkshire police. I urge the Minister to get on with it and get the building up for sale to allow this regeneration to take place in Bingley and to save the taxpayer some money.
Mr Vara: My hon. Friend is as forthright as ever. He is well aware that I wrote to him last week. We are doing all that we can to ensure that the court is sold and that the proceeds are put into the Exchequer.
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Shailesh Vara MP has welcomed a nationwide campaign by the UK’s major energy suppliers, British Gas, EDF Energy, E.ON, Npower, SSE and Scottish Power, to help reunite customers with money owed to them.
The ‘My Energy Credit’ campaign aims to hand back repayments of around £50 to approximately 3 million energy consumers. Energy UK, the trade association for the energy industry, is coordinating the public awareness campaign. Funds are often left behind by customers who have moved address, switched supplier, or left unclaimed credit when closing the estate of a relative who has passed away.
Customers can apply for their credit repayment regardless of when the account was closed. Running in parallel to the ‘My Energy Credit’ campaign, the member companies are reviewing their records as part of their own efforts to reunite customers with their money.
Customers can claim credit repayments by telephone, post or on the website:
• Website: www.myenergycredit.com
• My Credit Energy helpline: 0370 737 7770
• My Energy Credit freepost address:
Freepost RTHL-ZYBU-KBCC, My Energy Credit, 47 Aylesbury Road, Thame, OX9 3PG
Mr Vara said:
“I am pleased that ‘My Energy Credit’ are standing up for customers and helping to reunite them with their cash.
Approximately 3 million customers will benefit from this campaign and rightly so. This is a very welcome and positive move on the part of the UK’s major energy suppliers and I encourage people to take full advantage of it.”
Shailesh Vara MP has welcomed the recent announcement by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Rt. Hon. George Osborne MP, of a special £15 million fund for the repair of roofs and guttering on vulnerable listed church buildings.
This scheme has the potential to make a significant difference to communities around the country with many church buildings in urgent need of repair. English Heritage recently published its annual Heritage at Risk Register which identified 887 places of worship with deterioration of roofs, gutter or high-level stonework as the most common cause of problems.
This new fund will offer a real solution for many of these church buildings. It is not only open to those on the Heritage at Risk Register but also parishes can access the funding in the following way:
- Eligible parishes can make applications for grants between £10,000 and £100,000.
- Awards have to be allocated by 31 March 2015.
- Deadline for submissions is 30 January 2015.
- The National Heritage Memorial Fund (www.nhmf.org.uk) is administering the scheme. Details about the roof fund will also be available via the ChurchCare website (www.churchcare.co.uk).
Mr Vara said:
“Our historic church buildings are both places of worship and hubs of wider community activity, and it is excellent news that the Chancellor has put money aside for this fund.
Church buildings are distinctive, providing a symbol of local identity, and are a powerful visual connection to our past. I encourage local parishes to take advantage of this opportunity.”
Shailesh Vara, Member of Parliament for North West Cambridgeshire, has praised a local business that has been nominated to the Small Business Saturday 100.
Small Business Saturday is a campaign to get shoppers supporting small, local businesses and seeks to celebrate their successes. Whilst there is an annual day of celebration, which is on 6th December this year, the campaign looks to create a lasting effect for these enterprises.
Crafty Revolutions, run by Francesca Kemp, has been selected as part of the 100 UK businesses that will travel to Downing Street today for an event to celebrate the campaign. Ms Kemp, who lives in Wyton-on-the Hill with her husband and her two small children, set up the enterprise in 2012. She has also run her own Human Resources consultancy business but with her husband’s employment in the RAF requiring the family to move on a regular basis, it was difficult to keep this going.
Crafty Revolutions specialises in handmade gifts which are sewn, crocheted or knitted by Ms Kemp who runs the business from her home and online at www.craftyrevolution.co.uk. Items range from children’s clothes and tooth fairy kits to bunting and decorations for the home. Recently, children’s t-shirts with a World War 2 plane motif were made to commemorate Britain’s military history and £2 from every t-shirt sold was donated to the Royal British Legion.
Mr Vara said:
“It is excellent news that a new and expanding local business like Crafty Revolutions has been selected as one of only 100 in the UK to be part of Small Business Saturday.
Francesca Kemp has a very interesting story to tell and I very much hope she will enjoy meeting with Ministers and other small businesses at Downing Street today.
I wish both Francesca and Crafty Revolutions well for the future.”
Francesca Kemp commented:
“I am delighted to have been selected as one of the 100 small businesses by Small Business Saturday UK. It highlights the challenges small businesses like mine face and that there is support out there for us. It has already helped increase my network, not only in Cambridgeshire, but beyond too.”
