Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government which provisions of the Sentencing Bill will not apply to Northern Ireland, and why.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The issue of justice is one that is a transferred matter under the devolution settlement. Ministry of Justice officials have engaged officials in the Northern Ireland Executive in relation to a range of Bill measures and amendments that apply in Northern Ireland. A Legislative Consent Motion is not required with respect to Northern Ireland.
Provisions that will apply to Northern Ireland include sentences with fixed licence period, deportation of foreign criminals and the Service Justice System.
The Explanatory Notes for the Bill contain a comprehensive table which outlines the parts of the Bill which apply to Northern Ireland and which do not. This is available on the Bill Page on the Parliament website.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of the Sentencing Code in England and Wales.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Sentencing Code came into force in December 2020 and was the product of a Law Commission project that involved extensive public consultation. Prior to its creation sentencing procedural law was significantly convoluted, spanning across multiple different pieces of legislation. The Code consolidated the law in this area, helping make it more accessible.
More broadly, the Government keeps the sentencing framework under regular review. In October 2024, we commissioned the Independent Sentencing Review, led by former Lord Chancellor Rt. Hon. David Gauke. The Sentencing Bill, currently being considered before Parliament, implements many of the Review’s recommendations.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the Northern Ireland Executive and the Justice Minister in Northern Ireland regarding proposed amendments to the Sentencing Code and the parts of the Sentencing Bill that relate to Northern Ireland; and whether a Legislative Consent Motion will be required for that Bill.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Ministry of Justice officials have engaged officials in the Northern Ireland Executive in relation to a range of Bill measures and amendments that apply in Northern Ireland, including on sentences with a fixed licence period.
A Legislative Consent Motion is not required with respect to Northern Ireland.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they plan to publish the response to the call for evidence on options to bring the UK into compliance with its obligation under the access to justice provision of the Aarhus Convention, in particular with regard to environmental claims being "prohibitively expensive".
Answered by Baroness Levitt - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The United Kingdom Government is committed to the effective implementation of all of its international obligations including those under the Aarhus Convention.
The Minister of State for Courts and Legal Services wrote to the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee on 29 May 2025, setting out the approach we plan to take over the coming years to bring England and Wales into compliance with the access to justice provisions in article 9 of the Aarhus Convention. The Minister of Justice for Northern Ireland also shared a letter with the Committee on 30 May 2025, setting out her plans for Northern Ireland to reach compliance with these provisions. Both letters can be found on the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe’s website.
Our approach to England and Wales was informed by the Call for Evidence we conducted between 30 September 2024 and 9 December 2024. Our full response to that Call for Evidence will be published in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to bring the UK into compliance with the Aarhus Convention, and when they plan for that compliance to be achieved.
Answered by Baroness Levitt - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The United Kingdom Government is committed to the effective implementation of all of its international obligations including those under the Aarhus Convention.
The Minister of State for Courts and Legal Services wrote to the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee on 29 May 2025, setting out the approach we plan to take over the coming years to bring England and Wales into compliance with the access to justice provisions in article 9 of the Aarhus Convention. The Minister of Justice for Northern Ireland also shared a letter with the Committee on 30 May 2025, setting out her plans for Northern Ireland to reach compliance with these provisions. Both letters can be found on the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe’s website.
Our approach to England and Wales was informed by the Call for Evidence we conducted between 30 September 2024 and 9 December 2024. Our full response to that Call for Evidence will be published in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government to ask how many people who are serving an imprisonment for public protection sentence in the community have had their licence automatically terminated in each month between March and June inclusive.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice routinely publishes official statistics on the number of individuals serving Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentences in the community, as part of the Offender Managements Statistics Quarterly (OMSQ) publication. The latest OMSQ statistics were published on 24 April 2025 and showed the number of individuals serving IPP sentences in the community, as at 31 December 2024. In accordance with the requirements of the Code of Practice for Official Statistics, we cannot share figures on the number of individuals who had their licence automatically terminated between March and June 2025, as to do so, would provide an early indication of data on individuals serving IPP sentences in the community, which is not yet publicly available and is intended for future publication. The next release of OMSQ is scheduled for 31 July 2025, and will show the number of individuals serving IPP sentences in the community as at 31 March 2025.
The Tariff Expired Removal Scheme (TERS) applies to foreign national offenders (FNOs) serving an indeterminate sentence. There were four FNOs serving IPP sentences that were approved for removal for the under TERS in 2023 and one in 2024. It would fall to the Home Office to confirm whether all five have now been deported.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people serving an imprisonment for public protection sentence were deported under the Tariff-Expired Removal Scheme in (1) 2023 and (2) 2024.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice routinely publishes official statistics on the number of individuals serving Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentences in the community, as part of the Offender Managements Statistics Quarterly (OMSQ) publication. The latest OMSQ statistics were published on 24 April 2025 and showed the number of individuals serving IPP sentences in the community, as at 31 December 2024. In accordance with the requirements of the Code of Practice for Official Statistics, we cannot share figures on the number of individuals who had their licence automatically terminated between March and June 2025, as to do so, would provide an early indication of data on individuals serving IPP sentences in the community, which is not yet publicly available and is intended for future publication. The next release of OMSQ is scheduled for 31 July 2025, and will show the number of individuals serving IPP sentences in the community as at 31 March 2025.
The Tariff Expired Removal Scheme (TERS) applies to foreign national offenders (FNOs) serving an indeterminate sentence. There were four FNOs serving IPP sentences that were approved for removal for the under TERS in 2023 and one in 2024. It would fall to the Home Office to confirm whether all five have now been deported.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many deaths by (1) suicide, and (2) natural causes, there were in prisons of people who were serving an imprisonment for public protection sentence between 1 January and 1 June.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The information requested is not currently available. Releasing data on deaths of prisoners serving Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentences between 1 January and 1 June would give an early indication of future accredited official statistics.
Data on self-inflicted and natural causes deaths in custody, including annual data on self-inflicted deaths for IPP prisoners, is published in the Ministry of Justice’s “Safety in Custody” statistics. The latest available detailed deaths data covers up to December 2024 and can be found here: Safety in custody: quarterly update to September 2024 - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the rollout of suicide prevention training to prison and probation staff.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
All new members of prison staff with prisoner contact receive training on suicide and self-harm prevention, and all staff who undertake key roles in risk assessment and case management receive specific training related to those roles. An e-learning module has also recently been made available for all staff to access on postvention support following a self-inflicted death in custody. We continue to improve the training that we provide, and we are currently developing a new module on risks, triggers and protective factors.
There are two suicide prevention learning packages for probation staff: a Zero Suicide Alliance package that is required refresher training for all staff, and a package that is completed by all new entrant Professional Qualification in Probation and Probation Service Officers as part of a broader introduction to mental health.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many prison and probation staff have died by suicide in England in the last five years.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
His Majesty’s Prison & Probation Service (HMPPS) is committed to ensuring the health, safety and wellbeing of its dedicated public servants.
The Department offers staff support through its Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), which includes a 24-hour confidential helpline. Additionally, there is access to mental health support including wellbeing workshops, confidential counselling, cognitive behavioural therapy and eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing therapies where clinically appropriate. These services can be accessed by employees absent or at work and employees do not have to inform their manager before accessing confidential counselling.
In addition, staff are able to access preventative mental health support in the form of Reflective Sessions where they can discuss with a qualified counsellor the effects of work on life and life on work. These sessions are available to all HMPPS staff via the EAP supplier.
The information requested is not held by the Ministry of Justice. The Department’s Shared Operating Platform (SOP) which is used for HR payroll does not have a record of the cause of death for its deceased employees.
Recording a Death in Service as suicide is not something Ministry of Justice staff are able to do as the cause of death is not determined immediately after a Death in Service, but many months or sometimes years later by a Coroner. Coroner’s data is not then retrospectively added to SOP, but is published by the Office of National Statistics (ONS).