It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

The Government has audited the cost-effectiveness of all equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) activities, through the review of EDI spending announced last June.

On 14 May, the Minister without Portfolio made a written statement on the latest findings from the review.

In response to these findings, the Cabinet Office is publishing the Civil Service EDI Expenditure Guidance. This includes an end to all external spending on EDI activity, unless cleared and authorised by Ministers.

Further guidance on diversity staff networks is being developed, and we will seek to publish additional data on historic spending to assist transparency in this area.

The information requested is not held centrally.

Sitting days in courts and tribunals are subject to formal agreement between the Lord Chancellor, Lady Chief Justice and Senior President of Tribunals via an annual process. This process has not yet concluded for the financial year 2024/25 and therefore sitting day allocations, and the associated budget information, is not yet available.

Sitting days in courts and tribunals are subject to formal agreement between the Lord Chancellor, Lady Chief Justice and Senior President of Tribunals via an annual process. This process has not yet concluded for the financial year 2024/25 and therefore sitting day allocations, and the associated budget information, is not yet available.

The enablement of the Disability Confident scheme is embedded throughout the employee lifecycle, and the teams that support the employee lifecycle.  This is in line with the Ministry of Justice’s new HR operating model whereby strategic Equality Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) activity is mainstreamed into the department’s HQ People Function.  This approach assures that any related Ministry of Justice workforce activity is aligned to Civil Service reform priorities and the strategic objectives of the Civil Service People Plan and Civil Service D&I Strategy, including recent, updated Ministerial guidance on EDI activity in the Civil Service.

The Ministry of Justice’s approach to the delivery of the Civil Service People Plan and Civil Service D&I Strategy includes the ongoing assessment of work to support recruitment and retention of disabled staff. The Ministry of Justice has been taken part in the Disability Confident scheme since 2017.

Further steps to recruit and retain disabled staff that are aligned to the Disability Confident scheme include:

• Information in job adverts about the Disability Confident scheme, how to request a reasonable adjustment to the application process and the Disability Confident interview scheme, which provides candidates with an option to “opt-in” to be considered for an interview as a disabled candidate if they meet the minimum criteria for the role.

• The Ministry of Justice provides individual focused support to ensure our disabled staff have workplace adjustments they require, including an in-house workplace adjustment service. The department seeks to continually review the effectiveness of this offer.

• The Ministry of Justice values the talent of all staff, including those with a disability. The department participates in the Civil Service ‘Future Leaders Scheme’ Disability Empowers Leadership Talent (DELTA) scheme and is piloting a new in-house talent offer for disabled staff in 2024.

It is important that the inquest process is as swift and efficient as possible to avoid additional distress for bereaved families at such a difficult time in their lives.

Whilst the Ministry of Justice is responsible for coroner law and policy, this Department does not have operational responsibility for coroner services as they are a local service, funded and administered by individual local authorities. However, we are keen to understand the factors underlying the length of time for the completion of inquests, and to provide support where possible and appropriate.

To that end, we have introduced a raft of statutory measures to help streamline coroner processes, and intend to take forward further measures when Parliamentary time allows.

In addition, on 9 September 2024, the Government is implementing the statutory Medical Examiner scheme which, by providing a more robust framework for the scrutiny of cause of death, is expected to decrease the number of deaths which are unnecessarily referred to the coroner, thereby reducing pressure on coroner services.

I am also engaging with Ministerial colleagues to identify and implement an action plan to address the complex issues underlying the shortage of coronial pathology provision, which contributes significantly to inquest delays. As a first step, the Ministry of Justice is undertaking a review of the statutory fees for coronial pathology work.

I have recently discussed this and wider issues around inquest delay with the Justice Committee in the context of its follow up Inquiry into the Coroner Service and look forward to receiving its recommendations in due course.

In responding to the Criminal Legal Aid Independent Review (CLAIR), we boosted the system with upfront investment to address the most urgent concerns.

On 29 January, we published a consultation on proposed reforms to the Police Station Fee Scheme and the Youth Court, for which we propose an additional £16 million for police station work and £5.1 million for the Youth Court of funding per year. The consultation has now closed, and we are in the process of analysing the responses and considering the next steps. The government response will be published in due course.

We expect our reforms to criminal legal aid will increase investment in the solicitor profession by up to £85 million every year, including a 30% increase in funding for solicitors’ work in police stations and a 20% increase for their work in magistrates’ courts, once we introduce the additional £21 million per year allocated to these areas (subject to the consultation).