Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to enable cohabiting couples to share financial and property rights.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government considers that its existing work underway on the law of marriage and the Law Commission’s work on financial provision on divorce must conclude before considering any change to the law in respect of the rights of cohabitants. This is because any new legal rights and obligations afforded to cohabitants would necessarily need to be considered against a baseline of rights afforded to married parties or civil partners.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will take steps to ensure that perpetrators of violent crimes who live close to their victims are not bailed to their home address.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The decision to remand an individual in custody or to grant bail is solely a matter for the independent judiciary acting in accordance with the law. The Ministry of Justice therefore cannot intervene in any decision made by the court. The procedures for considering bail and custodial remand are set out in the Bail Act 1976. The Bail Act 1976 sets out the statutory rules which govern the making of judicial decisions on whether to grant bail or remand in custody. The Act creates the presumption in favour of bail for all defendants involved in criminal proceedings.
The courts have the power to impose a broad range of robust bail conditions as part of a bail package. This includes electronically monitored exclusion zones and curfews. Courts will ensure that they have all information concerning the possible imposition of conditions such as suitable accommodation and proximity to victims, before they make a decision on final bail conditions. The rollout of the Bail Information Service, which has received £53 million of funding until 2028, means that dedicated Bail Information Officers will provide courts with bail information reports which contain relevant and factual information to enable the court to reach an informed yet independent decision on whether bail should be granted to a defendant. This will include any recommendations on the suitability of their accommodation or whether alternatives need to be considered.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the level of (a) drug use and (b) synthetic drug use in prisons.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The latest information on random mandatory drug testing in prisons can be found in the HMPPS Annual Digest here: HMPPS Annual Digest, April 2022 to March 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
All prisons have a zero-tolerance approach to drugs, and we are highly aware of the threat synthetic substances present. In response, His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) continue to develop capabilities to drug test prisoners who are suspected to have used, or are at risk of using, these dangerous substances. In addition, all prisons have been provided with access to forensic testing of items seized or found within the estate.
Our £100 million Security Investment Programme, aimed at reducing crime in prisons, including reducing the conveyance of illicit items such as drugs, was completed in March 2022. This investment delivered 75 additional X-ray body scanners resulting in full coverage across the closed adult male estate. Under this programme, all public sector sites have also been provided with next-generation drug trace detection machines. This technology enables prisons to detect attempts to convey drugs into prisons. The equipment is effective in identifying drugs that have been soaked onto letters, clothing and other items.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has piloted a harm reduction approach to drug use in prisons.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice works closely with NHS England and the Department for Health and Social Care to ensure that all prisoners who need it have access to high-quality substance misuse treatment.
This includes:
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what guidance is available to courts on the impact of bailing people to live at their home address.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Adult Court Bench Book provides guidance for magistrates who sit in the adult court dealing mainly with defendants aged 18 or over. The Bench Book covers bail and remand and indicates the considerations that must be taken on whether to bail or remand a defendant. If a bail application is made, the magistrates must satisfy themselves that they have been provided with all the relevant information to decide whether to bail or not, including that of accommodation.
The rollout of the Bail Information Service, which has received £53 million of funding until 2028, means that dedicated Bail Information Officers will provide courts with bail information reports which contain relevant and factual information to enable the court to reach an informed yet independent decision on whether bail should be granted to a defendant. This will include any recommendations on the suitability of their accommodation or whether alternatives need to be considered.
Asked by: Robert Buckland (Conservative - South Swindon)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he is taking steps to publish claimant data for County Court Judgments.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice recently held a consultation about including claimant names on the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines (the Register). We intend to publish a response to that consultation in due course. That response will set out whether the Government intends to bring forward legislation to allow for the publication of claimant names on the Register.
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the speech entitled Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s statement on the plan to stop the boats, published by the Prime Minister’s office on 22 April 2024, what the evidential basis is for the statement that the judiciary have identified 150 judges who could provide over 5,000 sitting days to deal with challenges to the removal of asylum seekers from the UK under the provisions of the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Act 2024.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Illegal Migration Act 2023 (IMA) provides for First-tier Tribunal judges to be deployed to sit in the Upper Tribunal to hear IMA appeals. As the Lord Chancellor set out in his Written Ministerial Statement of 16 January 2024: “The judiciary have identified relevant judges, which could provide over 5,000 additional sitting days. The decision on whether to deploy additional judges temporarily to the Upper Tribunal, including when they sit and the courtrooms they use, is for the independent judiciary and will be taken by the relevant leadership judges at the time and in the interests of justice”.
It is standard practice not to comment on discussions between Ministers and the judiciary. However, the Ministry of Justice is working closely with the judiciary in preparation for implementation of the Illegal Migration Act and I refer you to the Lord Chancellor’s Written Ministerial Statement of 16 January 2024, which addressed the topic (https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2024-01-16/hcws188).
Asked by: Stephen Kinnock (Labour - Aberavon)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent discussions he has had with the (a) Lady Chief Justice and (b) Senior President of Tribunals on the deployment of judges to deal with cases specifically related to the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Act 2024.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Illegal Migration Act 2023 (IMA) provides for First-tier Tribunal judges to be deployed to sit in the Upper Tribunal to hear IMA appeals. As the Lord Chancellor set out in his Written Ministerial Statement of 16 January 2024: “The judiciary have identified relevant judges, which could provide over 5,000 additional sitting days. The decision on whether to deploy additional judges temporarily to the Upper Tribunal, including when they sit and the courtrooms they use, is for the independent judiciary and will be taken by the relevant leadership judges at the time and in the interests of justice”.
It is standard practice not to comment on discussions between Ministers and the judiciary. However, the Ministry of Justice is working closely with the judiciary in preparation for implementation of the Illegal Migration Act and I refer you to the Lord Chancellor’s Written Ministerial Statement of 16 January 2024, which addressed the topic (https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2024-01-16/hcws188).
Asked by: Janet Daby (Labour - Lewisham East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average number of hours spent out of their cell by inmates was on (a) weekdays and (b) weekend days in each young offender institution in March 2024.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The information requested regarding average time-out-of-room spent by children and young people in young offender institutions during March 2024 is shown in the table below.
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We know the importance of ensuring that time in custody is purposeful and are committed to ensuring that children and young people have the necessary and appropriate access to education, skills, and work provision with a consistent daily programme of activities.
The Youth Custody Service is reviewing regime models and staff deployment to maximise time out of room, creating as open a regime as it is safe to do so, as well as providing education and enrichment for those who cannot safely be in a classroom setting. Additionally, work done to reduce conflict and manage behaviour, to increase the size of groups who are mixing in the regime, has increased time out of room.
Asked by: Siobhain McDonagh (Labour - Mitcham and Morden)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an estimate of the average time taken for (a) drug dealing, (b) domestic violence, (c) GBH, (d) domestic burglary and (e) theft cases to be completed in court in each year since 2010.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
We have interpreted waiting time to refer to the time between the date of first hearing at the magistrates’ court to completion of the case at the Crown Court.
The median number of days from first listing to completion at the Crown Court for a) drug dealing, b) GBH, c) domestic burglary, d) theft cases offences has been provided in the attached table. To note, Crown Court data is only available from 2014 onwards and domestic violence offences cannot be separately identified as they are not defined as such in legislation.
While the Crown Court is still recovering from the impact of the pandemic and disruptive action from the Bar which reduced our ability to hear cases swiftly, the latest published statistics show, across all cases currently in the outstanding caseload, the median age for those cases was around 6 months.
We are committed to ensuring the delivery of swift justice for all victims and have introduced a raft of measures to achieve that aim. This includes funding around 107,000 sitting days during the most recent financial year (FY23/24), recruiting up to 1,000 judges annually across all jurisdictions and investing in the continued use of 20 Nightingale courtrooms into this financial year (FY24/25) to allow the courts to work at full capacity.
Judges do prioritise cases involving vulnerable complainants and witnesses, and seek to ensure that domestic abuse, serious sexual offences and those with vulnerable witnesses are listed at the first available opportunity.