Westminster update: evidence to Parliament on digital assets

One thing you need to do

The Ministry of Justice has announced a £20 million investment in housing and immigration legal aid.

This represents the first increase in funding in nearly 30 years.

We have welcomed this first step but are clear that there remains more to be done.

What you need to know

1. Law Society gives evidence to parliament on digital assets

The co-chair of our Technology and Law Committee, Akber Datoo, was invited to give oral evidence to a panel of peers from the House of Lords as part of the Property (Digital Assets etc) Bill’s committee stage on Thursday 5 December.

Datoo used the session to share our view that the creation of a third category of property ownership for digital assets would:

• pave the way for greater legal certainty
• secure England and Wales as a jurisdiction of choice for international business

The committee chair, Lord Anderson of Ipswich (crossbench), enquired about our point raised in the initial Law Commission consultation highlighting that the bill removes the legal uncertainty arising from case law, especially in relation to cryptocurrencies.

He built off this to ask about the nature of the uncertainty and how the bill resolves it.

Datoo answered that the world is changing and becoming increasingly digital which has led to the need for greater clarity in property ownership.

He explained that at the moment, items can be treated as things in possession or things in action and emphasised that while these categories work well for physical objects in the real world, they do not translate well into intangible digital assets.

Datoo emphasised the need for the creation of a third category for treating digital assets as property.

He highlighted that this creates the legal certainty necessary for clear litigation.

The minister representing the government, Lord Ponsonby, asked whether the bill would have any harmful consequences.

Datoo noted that the harmful consequence would come from doing nothing.

He argued that a new third category sends a signal to other jurisdictions and international business that the UK is forward thinking and can provide the security in this new area of property ownership.

Lord Holmes (Conservative) asked if the bill would make the UK a more attractive jurisdiction.

Datoo answered that the legal certainty provided by the bill is key for attracting international business.

He spoke on the engagement the we have had with other stakeholders who have told us of the value of the bill, which allows us to organise and adjudicate over digital assets.

Datoo also noted that in the likelihood that litigation will be needed for digital assets our law will provide sufficient assurances that there are the right legal remedies available.

2. New justice minister and solicitor general appointed

Former solicitor general and barrister Sarah Sackman has been appointed as minister for courts and legal services, with former solicitor Lucy Rigby MP taking over as solicitor general.

Following former secretary of state for transport Louise Haigh’s resignation on 29 November, the prime minister undertook a mini reshuffle to fill the position left by Haigh.

Former courts and legal services minister Heidi Alexander has been appointed to replace Haigh as secretary of state for transport, leading to Sackman being appointed as the new justice minister and the elevation of Rigby to solicitor general.

Before her parliamentary career, Rigby specialised in competition law.

She has worked for a variety of firms including Slaughter and May, the Office of Fair Trading, Which?, and the United Nations Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia.

The new justice minister also comes from a legal background.

Sarah Sackman is a barrister and during her career, she has served at the Supreme Court and has been a member of the attorney general’s B panel of junior counsel, undertaking civil and EU work for all government departments since 2020.

3. Courts backlog has "human consequences", director of public prosecutions tells MPs

The director of public prosecutions (DPP) used an appearance before the Justice Select Committee on Tuesday 3 December to:

• highlight the human cost of the courts backlog
• note the pressures on the criminal defence profession
• apologise for unconscious bias in charging decisions by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS)

Parkinson confirmed the CPS figure for the backlog, which counts defendants instead of cases, is 82,000, which is 85% above pre-COVID levels.

He agreed that some defendants are taking advantage of this to wait out their cases but acknowledged that there are “human consequences” for all involved and that criminal proceedings leave a “dark shadow” hanging over people, impacting their wellbeing.

Parkinson said he wants to see more done to encourage early guilty pleas and that he has raised ideas around this with our president, Richard Atkinson, including looking at the rates paid for practitioners for cases that are resolved this way.

A former defence practitioner himself, the DPP noted that 43% of the CPS is over 50 and that he had been told by Atkinson that 58% of duty solicitors are over 50.

He argued that this demonstrates the problem the profession faces in attracting new entrants and needs addressing.

The DPP also used his appearance to address disproportionality in charging decisions which have led to ethnic minority defendants being more likely to be charged than white British suspects.

Parkinson said it was likely this has been driven by unconscious bias and that a lot of time is being directed to addressing it.

He said extra training will be provided on unconscious bias and on wider issues around disproportionality to resolve the problem.

4. Lords press minister on smart data expansion

Lord Clement-Jones (Liberal Democrat) rose to speak on an amendment we initially recommended during the Data (Use and Access) Bill’s committee stage on Tuesday 3 December.

The amendment would require the secretary of state to publish a list of areas the government intends to extend smart data access to within six months of the day the act is passed as law.

Lord Clement-Jones mentioned a letter sent to him by the minister prior to second reading which stated that “the government is working closely to identify areas where smart data schemes might be able to bring benefits”.

We have noted concerns that, due to the sensitive nature of information used in the courts, further consideration and consultation must occur before expanding smart data use to the justice system.

The parliamentary under-secretary of state for the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, Baroness Jones of Whitchurch replied that “once this legislation is passed, it will encourage departments to look in detail at where they think smart data schemes can be applied”.

Separately to Lord Clement-Jones’ amendment, Baroness Jones of Whitchurch also highlighted that “smart data schemes require proper consultation and debate before implementation by requiring publication within six months of royal assent to the bill”.

Lord Clement-Jones did not withdraw amendment 32 and may press for greater clarity at a later stage.

5. Prime minister launches the Plan for Change

The prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer, launched the government’s Plan for Change on Thursday 5 December.

It sets out new and refined targets for the government to achieve by the end of this parliament.

These milestones supersede the previous missions, set out by the PM while in opposition two years ago and are intended to be more connected to the day-to-day lives of voters, delivering change they will feel.

Attacking previous governments for engaging in “political cynicism” by not setting challenging goals and criticising Rishi Sunak for setting easy to achieve targets, Sir Keir said his new milestones are ambitious and will be a challenge to achieve.

From the economy and crime, to building more homes and fixing the NHS, the prime minister argued the new plan would “fix the foundations” of the state and lead to a “decade of national renewal”.

The six new targets are:

• raising living standards in every part of the United Kingdom, so working people have more money in their pocket as the government aims to deliver the highest sustained growth in the G7
• putting police back on the beat with a named officer for every neighbourhood and 13,000 additional officers, PCSOs and special constables in neighbourhood roles in England and Wales
• building 1.5 million homes in England and fast-tracking planning decisions on at least 150 major economic infrastructure projects – more than the last 14 years combined
• ending hospital backlogs to meet the NHS standard of 92% of patients in England waiting no longer than 18 weeks for elective treatment
• giving children the best start in life, with a record 75% of 5-year-olds in England ready to learn when they start school
• securing home-grown energy, protecting billpayers and putting us on track for at least 95% clean power by 2030, while accelerating the UK to net zero

The prime minister closed the speech by arguing that too many in Whitehall are “comfortable in the bath of tepid decline” and that these new missions would throw a gauntlet down requiring the government and civil service to work in new ways, embracing technology and partnerships across the country.

Coming up:

We are working closely with MPs and peers to influence a number of bills before parliament:

• Arbitration Bill second reading in the Commons on a date to be announced
• Data (Access and Use) Bill will began its committee stage in the Lords on 3 December
• Employment Rights Bill began its committee stage in the Commons on 26 November
• Mental Health Bill committee stage in the Lords on 16 December
• Product Regulation and Metrology Bill began its committee stage in the Lords on 20 November
• Renters' Rights Bill report stage in the Commons on a date to be announced