Written questions by Whittome.

What steps he is taking to ensure safe, transparent and non-discriminatory judicial use of artificial intelligence.

The judiciary are constitutionally independent and have established their own procedures and policies governing the use of artificial intelligence. Guidance for judicial office holders on the appropriate and responsible use of AI has been issued by the judiciary and is publicly available on the judiciary’s website.Judicial office holders, like civil servants within the Ministry of Justice, have been provided with secure versions of Microsoft Copilot. The deployment of this tool for judicial use has been subject to a data protection impact assessment to ensure compliance with data protection legislation and principles.The judiciary’s approach to AI is designed to ensure that any use of AI by judicial office holders is safe, transparent, and consistent with the principles of fairness and non-discrimination, while preserving judicial independence.

If he will take steps to amend the Civil Procedure Rules to make explicit that litigants-in-person are not to be denied procedural safeguards normally afforded to represented parties, including circulation of draft reserved judgments.

Civil court rules governing judgments and orders are set out in Part 40 of the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) and are supplemented by Practice Directions (PD). PD40E provides additional directions in relation to reserved judgments before they are handed down. Paragraph 2.3 of PD40E states that the court will provide a copy of the draft judgment to the parties’ legal representatives, however, paragraph 2.4 goes on to state that a copy of the draft judgment may be supplied to the parties provided that they: 1) do not disclose it or its substance to anyone else; and 2) do not take any action in relation to the judgment until it is handed down. This, therefore, provides for litigants in person to be given an embargoed/draft judgment and to engage with the steps taken before such a judgment is handed down.It is also important to recognise that Part 1 of the CPR sets out the overriding objective of the rules. These overriding objectives include ensuring that the parties are on an equal footing and can participate fully in proceedings. This is the principal safeguard under pinning how the rules operate in practice.

If he will take steps to require public authority respondents in Judicial Review hearings to confirm compliance with the duty of candour at Permission Stage.

The duty of candour is a well-established principle in judicial review, and its application is clearly set out in the Administrative Court’s Judicial Review Guide.The duty of candour applies at all stages of judicial review proceedings. This duty requires all parties to ensure that relevant information is put before the Court, whether it supports or undermines their case. There is a particular obligation on public authorities to ensure that this duty is fulfilled given they are engaged in a common enterprise with the Court to fulfil the public interest in upholding the rule of law.At the permission stage, public authorities are required to identify any material facts, highlight any matters of factual dispute and provide a summary of the reasoning underlying the measures in question. The Court can take into account a lack of candour in deciding whether to grant permission.

If he will make it a statutory duty for judges to comply with guidance in the Equal Treatment Bench Book.

In line with the principle of judicial independence, it is the senior judiciary and not the Government who have statutory responsibility for judicial guidance and training.It would therefore not be constitutionally appropriate for the Government to seek to prescribe how this responsibility should be discharged.

What steps she is taking to help tackle the backlog of possession proceedings in court (a) in advance and (b) on implementation of the Renters’ Rights Bill.

The most recent published statistics show the median time from claim to order falls within the Civil Procedure Rules stipulation that possession claims should be listed within 4 to 8 weeks. HMCTS is making improvements to bailiff recruitment and retention practices to ensure staffing resources are available to enforce judgments made by the County Courts in those cases where it is subsequently needed.The Ministry of Justice is working closely with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to ensure the justice system is fully prepared for the implementation of the Renters Rights’ Bill.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of limiting the right to jury trial on civil liberties.

The right to a fair trial is a well-established common law principle in England and Wales to which this government remains committed. A fair trial can be achieved by alternative modes of trial and currently over 90% of criminal cases are heard in the magistrates’ courts, without a jury. Jury trials are a cornerstone of our justice system and will remain in place for the most serious cases, however, we must consider bold action to tackle the rising backlog. Sir Brian Leveson has published the first part of his Independent Review of the Criminal Courts, setting out a number of recommendations on the use of jury trials in the Crown Court.The right to a fair trial is a well-established common law principle in England and Wales to which this government remains committed. A fair trial can be achieved by alternative modes of trial and currently over 90% of criminal cases are heard in the magistrates’ courts, without a jury. We are carefully considering Sir Brian’s proposals before setting out the Government’s full response in the autumn.

What steps her Department is taking to improve access to Legal Aid for discrimination claims in the Employment Tribunal.

Legal aid is available for legal advice and assistance in relation to discrimination cases which fall under the Equality Act 2010 or previous discrimination legislation, subject to passing the means and merits tests. Legal aid for other employment matters may be available through the Exceptional Case Funding (ECF) Scheme, if a failure to provide legal aid would breach, or likely risk a breach of, an individual’s rights under the European Convention on Human Rights.The Ministry of Justice has recently undertaken a comprehensive review of civil legal aid and, having considered the evidence collected, we acknowledge that the sector is facing a number of challenges. We are committed to improving the experience of users and providers and, as an important first step towards this, we intend to consult on uplifts to housing and immigration legal aid fees in January 2025. We will continue to consider the fees paid in other categories of civil legal aid, including as part of the second phase of the Government’s Spending Review.The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) is responsible for commissioning legal aid services in England and Wales. There are currently 20 providers who offer legal aid services in relation to the Discrimination category of legal aid operating out of 24 offices across England and Wales. The LAA monitors supply across its legal aid contracts on an ongoing basis. Where additional supply is needed it takes action within its operational remit to ensure access to legal aid-funded services.The LAA also maintains the Civil Legal Advice (CLA) Helpline. This is a national telephone helpline that helps members of the public check whether they may be eligible for civil legal aid and triages them to appropriate sources of advice. The CLA Helpline provides specialist remote advice though legal aid in four categories of law, including discrimination, for any individual that is determined to be eligible for these services. The majority of advice and assistance cases in the discrimination category are currently delivered by the CLA service.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that specialist violence against women and girls services are aware of the early release of prisoners with known histories of those offences.

The decision that this Government has taken to release some prisoners early is a difficult but necessary one.We want women and girls to feel safe, and ministers and officials are meeting regularly with the specialist women and girls’ sector to ensure they have the information they need to support victims and survivors throughout early release of prisoners. On 22 August, Minister Timpson and I chaired a roundtable meeting with over thirty groups representing victims and survivors to provide detail on the release process and support available for them. I have also been working closely with the sector and the Victims’ and Domestic Abuse Commissioners to ensure information reaches those working directly with victims and survivors every day.Ensuring victims and survivors are safe and supported is my priority, and I will continue to engage closely with the victims’ sector throughout this process and beyond.