Speeches by Sackman.

“The reform programme and its operation has just come to a conclusion. The design of that operation, its execution, its funding and the decisions made around it were before my time.”

“I am sure that those who conceived of it shared many of the same ambitions that I have for our civil justice system and would have wanted it to reach far further into the system, given the efforts and the input that they made. We have a duty to learn the lessons about why the programme fell short of its very laudable a…”

“We have a number of plans. Within the Ministry of Justice, we have established a Justice AI Unit, which is looking at different areas of work where we can pilot potential reforms. These pilots need to show that they are safe and robust, because they have to be safe and robust and accurate to operate in the justice spac…”

“That is right.”

“I can answer the last question very easily. It is anticipating the changes that will be introduced by the Renters’ Rights Bill. That is exactly as it should be.”

“The fact that the funding source comes from MHCLG reflects the fact that we are a single Government and we are seeking to realise the ambitions of that piece of legislation. The extension of renters’ rights and the balance that that piece of legislation strikes between renters and landlords is only as tangible as the e…”

“Are you asking whether we are testing the product, whether we are testing the actual system?”

“You are right that enforcement is key because that is ultimately what you are after. If you are a claimant and you secure an order, whether it is for a money charge, possession or whatever, it is only worth the paper it is written on if it is capable of enforcement. As you will be well aware, there are all sorts of dif…”

“Yes, the Enforcement Conduct Board. I have met with the ECB. It is a body that cover 96% of enforcement officials. They do brilliant work in terms of regulating the conduct of bailiffs across the piece, not just county court bailiffs but other private actors as well. It has been suggested that putting the ECB on a stat…”

“My own view and the view of the Department is that the extension of the fixed recoverable costs regime has been beneficial. That is why we have extended it. The effect has been to make costs more proportionate. It has given parties, individuals and particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, that otherwise may not…”

“That is a great question. You are absolutely right to highlight the amazing results that we are seeing from having altered the choice architecture and made it a requirement that anybody issuing a small claim has to mediate. A settlement rate of 40%, given the volume of cases, is staggering and we want to build on that.…”

“Not to disagree with you, Jason, but even if you do not get a settlement, a narrowing of the issues of itself has value.”

“I think there may be. There is progress in that regard. It is not for me to make that announcement today, but there is certainly progress in that regard. Who knows? You may have an interim chair by the time of your Committee.”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Stringer. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Chatham and Aylesford (Tristan Osborne) for securing this important debate. Our ability to provide justice to the public and restore confidence in our criminal justice system, so bruised after the last 14 years, is of the…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mrs Harris. I will speak first to lead amendment 382 in the name of my hon. Friend the Member for Spen Valley, and then to consequential amendments 383 to 387 and 389, on which the Government have worked with the Bill’s promoter. As the Committee will know, the Bill curre…”

“It is right that the commissioner, in their role of scrutinising the operation and workability of the assisted dying regime, could, under the powers conferred by the Bill, look at a range of factors, and indeed at whatever they deemed relevant to discharging that exercise. The question is: what is appropriate to be def…”

“I suggest that those are ultimately policy choices, first for the promoter, my hon. Friend the Member for Spen Valley, and then—if the regime is voted on and passed—for the commissioner. In reality, a lot of the data that one will collect when one has due regard to the differential impact on these protected groups will…”

“I was just checking that my eyes are not failing me. It is good to see consensus break out across the Committee on these issues. For what it is worth, both as a Government Minister and a Committee member, I think it is excellent that we have had this debate on definitions. All members of the Committee have an interest …”

“I hope to be brief, given it is the witching hour. This new clause would require the voluntary assisted dying commissioner to establish within six months of their appointment a disability advisory board. The advisory board must include representation from disabled people and disabled people’s organisations. Within six …”

“The hon. Member is right. Section 1 of the Equality Act 2010 refers to taking into account the impact of public administration decisions on socioeconomic disadvantage. The previous Labour Government brought that provision in under that landmark Act, but it was never brought into force. She is right that the Government …”