Speeches by Alexander.

“This Government recognise the difficulties that parents and guardians of young people who lack mental capacity can face in accessing their child trust fund. I recently met the hon. Member’s colleague, the hon. Member for Horsham (John Milne), and his constituent about this issue. The Government will consider what can b…”

“If the hon. Gentleman writes to me with specific details of the issues in his local magistrates court, I will raise those with His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service. We were successful in securing a £177 million increase in capital spending for the Ministry of Justice in last week’s Budget. That will cover expendi…”

“The Government have made it clear that we are fully committed to bearing down on the Crown court caseload. To relieve pressure on Ipswich Crown court in particular, the south-east region has begun sending appropriate cases to Cambridge Crown court for hearing. Nationally, we have increased the number of Crown court sit…”

“My hon. Friend raises some interesting points and, as he is, I am always very keen to help people in Swindon. Our focus is on responding to the consultation on including claimant data on the register, which would improve financial inclusion by helping people to resolve judgment debts. Once our response has been publish…”

“The register plays an important role in helping lenders assess credit worthiness and enhancing financial transparency. These objectives seek to support vulnerable debtors by encouraging and enabling responsible borrowing. A consultation on including claimant data on the register closed recently. Responses to it were ve…”

“I will raise the evidential questions that my hon. Friend raised with representatives of the train operating companies when they and other SJP prosecutors join me in discussions in the next few weeks. I am clear that the single justice procedure is vital for the efficient running of the magistrates court. However, it m…”

“I have listened carefully to concerns raised about the single justice procedure. As a first step, I have asked the Courts and Tribunals Service to redesign the SJP notice and make it clearer. I will also call in SJP prosecutors to discuss ways in which we can ensure that they consider the public interest in advance of …”

“I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his question. I have yet to have those conversations with my counterparts in Northern Ireland, but I hope to do so in the coming months.”

“My hon. Friend has significant experience of working in the legal aid sector, and she is right to highlight the importance of good quality legal advice to resolving a whole range of social welfare problems. We are looking at how to improve access to early legal advice and support, but she will appreciate the challengin…”

“Legal aid is a vital part of the justice system, and it underpins our plans to build a justice system that works fairly for all parties. The previous Government left the civil and criminal legal aid markets in dire straits and facing significant challenges. We intend to publish our response shortly to the “Crime Lower”…”

“We are currently operating 18 Nightingale courts in eight different locations, and we continue to recruit to the judiciary. The Conservatives cannot wash their hands of responsibility for the Crown court backlog. It was rising before covid. They closed more than 260 court buildings. They express concern now, but there …”

“I agree. This Government inherited a record and rising Crown court backlog. We walked into a criminal justice system on the brink of collapse, with our prisons overflowing and our courts buckling under the weight of demand. While we cannot fix this mess overnight, we will do everything we can to ensure swift justice fo…”

“We are funding 106,500 Crown court sitting days this financial year—500 days more than the previous Government originally agreed. To reduce the number of cases that end up at the Crown court, we are also extending magistrates’ sentencing powers to up to 12 months for an individual offence.”

“As the Prime Minister made clear, those affected by the Grenfell tragedy have already waited too long for justice. I can assure the hon. Gentleman that anything in my or my Department’s power that needs to be done will be done. The Government fully support the Metropolitan police and the Crown Prosecution Service as th…”

“We are committed to ensuring the swift delivery of justice for victims at all stages of the criminal justice system, and we are working closely with various partners involved to achieve that aim. In relation to the courts, we plan to sit more than 105,000 working days in the Crown court this financial year, and we cont…”

“I may be having another meeting, with the hon. Gentleman, as well as looking at the court in Chorley, and I am happy to discuss that matter with him.”

“I hear you, Mr Speaker. I welcome the question from my hon. Friend. He will know that His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service keeps the court estate under regular review to ensure that it meets operational requirements. I am afraid there are currently no plans to reopen Hartlepool magistrates court, but I would be h…”

“It is good to be back. Mr Speaker. The Government are committed to reducing caseloads and bringing waiting times down for court users across all jurisdictions. We continue to keep 18 Nightingale courtrooms open across eight venues, so that we have more physical capacity to hear cases in all jurisdictions. We plan to si…”

“I am very happy to meet my hon. Friend. I am also very keen that we keep under review what more can be done to support vulnerable defendants going through the single justice procedure, and to improve oversight and regulation of the organisations using that procedure.”

“I am aware from correspondence that I have received, as the Member of Parliament for Swindon South, that there are significant concerns about the collapse of law firms such as SSB Solicitors, Axiom Law and McClure. As my hon. Friend said, the Solicitors Regulation Authority is looking at this, as is the Legal Services …”