Laid - 2 May 2024 In Force Not stated
These Regulations make provision in respect of section 7 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 (“the 2009 Act”) (c. 25), which sets out the circumstances in which an inquest into a death must be held with a jury. Pursuant to section 7(2)(c) of the 2009 Act, a jury is …
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners have been released early under the end of custody supervised license scheme since October 2023.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The number of releases under End of Custody Supervised Licence will be published when sufficient robust and comprehensive data is available. To support orderly release, its publication will be announced through the GOV.UK release calendar.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if his Department will end the use on children of (a) the inverted wrist hold and (b) other pain-inducing restraints.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The syllabus for training staff in under-18 young offender institutions and the secure training centre in Managing and Minimising Physical Restraint (MMPR) focuses exclusively on behaviour management and restraint.
It is essential that staff are trained for every aspect of their role, including in techniques they may need to use to prevent serious physical harm to a child or adult. Staff will continue to be trained in the safe use of pain-inducing techniques, as part of a separate package of interventions for use only in situations where that is the only means of preventing serious physical harm.
Any response must be necessary, reasonable, and proportionate in view of the risk of harm which is present. All instances where a pain-inducing technique is used are subject to detailed scrutiny by on site MMPR Coordinators, as well as by members of the Independent Restraint Review Panel.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when and with whom he has had discussions on conditions in HMP Wandsworth in the last six months.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
As the responsible minister for prisons, I receive regular updates on their conditions and performance, including those at HMP Wandsworth, via a variety of means, including through formal face to face discussion such as the quarterly Ministerial Performance Review Board meetings. Additionally, the Lord Chancellor and I met Keith Bristow on 16 November 2023 regarding Mr Bristow’s independent investigation into the alleged escape from HMP Wandsworth by Daniel Khalife. I most recently met with and discussed the conditions at HMP Wandsworth with the Governor of HMP Wandsworth on 18 March 2024, as part of one of my regular roundtable forums with prison governors.
May. 01 2024
Source Page: Act now to claim dormant funds held by the Court Funds Office: 1 month to go!Laid - 1 May 2024 In Force Not stated
The Tribunal Procedure (Upper Tribunal) Rules 2008 (S.I. 2008/2698) (‘the UT Rules’), governs the practice and procedure that apply to proceedings before the Upper Tribunal. These Rules amend the UT Rules to implement the provisions of sections 44 to 46, and 48 to 49 of the Illegal Migration Act 2023 …
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Gloucester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the adequacy of resources allocated to the Criminal Cases Review Commission.
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
As part of the departmental allocation process, we assess the needs of individual organisations against the overarching backdrop of the wider departmental finances. The CCRC’s budget has increased year on year since 2020-21 both to increase the size of its caseworker team and to carry out more outreach work with people who may need their services. The budget for 2023/24 was set at just under £8 million, which is an increase of £1.26 million or 18% since 2021/22. Its 2024-25 allocation is under consideration.
Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help tackle parental alienation.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government does not recognise the concept of “parental alienation” and does not accept that it is a syndrome capable of diagnosis.
In his judgment in the case of Re C the President of the Family Division detailed that the courts focus should be on the “identification of ‘alienating behaviour’” rather than seeking “to determine whether the label ‘parental alienation’ can be applied”. In providing advice to the court, Cafcass does not recognise “parental alienation” and instead looks at the individual behaviours of a parent. In cases where a child is resistant, or refuses, to see a parent Cafcass Family Court Advisers must first consider whether domestic abuse or other forms of harmful parenting are a contributing factor.
The Government is aware of concerns of about unregulated “parental alienation” experts being instructed in the family courts. To address this issue, we are working with the Family Procedure Rule Committee to make changes to the Family Procedure Rules and their associated Practice Directions to prevent the instruction of these unregulated experts.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to tackle the backlog in the Crown Court.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
We remain committed to tackling the outstanding caseload in the Crown Court and have introduced a range of measures to achieve this aim.
We expect to have sat around 107,000 days at the Crown Court in the last financial year (FY2023/24), representing around a 30% increase on sitting day levels during the 2019/20 financial year. We have also recruited around 1,000 judges and tribunal members across all jurisdictions in the last financial year so we can hear more cases.
Judges have worked tirelessly to complete more cases. HMCTS Management Information shows that disposals have increased throughout the last calendar year, with February disposals being at their highest level than at any other point in the last 12 months, with 9,958 disposals in February 2024, up 18% on February 2023 (8,451).
We are also investing more in our criminal courts. In August 2023, we announced we are investing £220 million for essential modernisation and repair work of our court buildings across the next two years, up to March 2025. We have also continued the use of 20 Nightingale courtrooms into the 2024/25 financial year, to allow courts to work at full capacity.