Asked by: Lord Carlile of Berriew (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to review the use of short prison sentences for offenders who commit non-violent offences, following the report by the Prison Reform Trust Prison: the facts, published in 2017, which found that the use of community sentences has nearly halved since 2006, and that people serving prison sentences of fewer than 12 months have a reoffending rate that is 7 per cent higher than similar offenders serving a community sentence.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie - Shadow Minister (Justice)
Protecting the public will always be our top priority. Under this government, the most serious offenders are more likely to go to prison, and for longer, helping protect the public and keep communities safe.
There is persuasive evidence that short custodial sentences do not work in terms of rehabilitation and that community sentences, in certain circumstances, are more effective in reducing reoffending, and therefore keeping the public safe. The MoJ study ‘The impact of short custodial sentences, community orders and suspended sentence orders on re-offending’ published in 2015 found that over a 1-year follow up period, a higher proportion of people re-offended having been sentenced to custody of under 12 months without supervision on release than other similar people given community orders (around 3 percentage points).
We will therefore be looking at what more we can do to emphasise that short custodial sentences should be viewed as a last resort. We also want to ensure that the public and judiciary have confidence in non-custodial sentences, such as effective community orders, which directly tackle the causes of reoffending, including alcohol or drug abuse.
On 27 June we published our strategy for female offenders, which sets out the Government’s commitment to a new programme of work for female offenders.
We have committed to a pilot for residential women’s centres in at least five sites across England and Wales. The aim of the pilot will be to develop a robust evidence base about what could be effective, sustainable and scalable models for improving outcomes for female offenders and reducing the numbers and frequency of women entering and re-entering custody on short custodial sentences.
Asked by: Lord Carlile of Berriew (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to address the number of prisoners over the age of 70; and to ensure that prisons have necessary and adequate facilities for elderly inmates.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie - Shadow Minister (Justice)
The Government is aware of the changing demographic of the prisoner population, with the number of prisoners aged over 50 rising both in terms of numbers and as a proportion of the prison population. Within the older prisoner cohort, there were 1,665 prisoners aged 70 or over at 31 March 2018, approximately 2% of the total.
In response to these changes, the Government is reviewing the provision for older prisoners and how best to meet their needs.
The Government has developed Models for Operational Delivery (MODs) for each prison type and for specialist cohorts, including older prisoners to support the transformation of the adult male estate. MODs are based on data and evidence to support governors in delivering effective and efficient services according to the function and cohorts their prison will hold. This specialist MOD has been developed in recognition of the sizeable and growing proportion of older prisoners, who are more likely to suffer health problems, have higher rates of disability and can struggle to access activities and services. The MOD addresses how services and interventions may be tailored to enable all older prisoners to maintain their physical and mental wellbeing, and their independence.
Asked by: Lord Carlile of Berriew (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to reduce the reoffending rate of prisoners in the UK, given the cost of recidivism to the wider economy.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie - Shadow Minister (Justice)
The Government has several plans underway to reduce the reoffending rate in the UK and the associated £15billion cost to society.
Prisons must be places of rehabilitation and we have announced an extra £30million of funding to enhance safety, security and decency across the estate.
On 24 May we launched the Education and Employment Strategy to create a system in which each prisoner is set on a path to employment.
On 27 June we published a strategy which sets out the Government’s commitment to a new programme of work for female offenders to enable their rehabilitation.
The new National Partnership Agreement (NPA) was published on 10 April 2018 confirms our commitment to work collaboratively to deliver safe, legal, decent and effective care that improves prisoners’ health and thus rehabilitation.
The Cabinet Office has established a new cross-government Reducing Reoffending Board to tackle some of the main causes of reoffending including employment, health and accommodation.
We are also working closely with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government to support their Rough Sleeping Strategy which aims to eliminate rough sleeping by 2027.
Asked by: Lord Carlile of Berriew (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to consider proposals for a methodological assessment of the impact of video hearings on justice outcomes, including appeals.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie - Shadow Minister (Justice)
We already use video links successfully across the justice system. Greater use of video technology can reduce travel time, cost and inconvenience for the public and professionals who use our courts and tribunals. Over the course of this year we will be launching pilots of online video technology to explore how video can be used more widely to make courts better to use and more effective to operate. The early pilots will be subject to independent academic evaluation to ensure our processes remain accessible and robust. In addition, we are considering the requirements for an evaluation to assess the overall impact of our Court Reform Programme.
Asked by: Lord Carlile of Berriew (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to ask the Judicial College to develop guidance for judges, magistrates and magistrates’ legal advisers about when video hearings should be used for vulnerable defendants; and what reasonable adjustments should be made if a video hearing is used, including the use of intermediaries.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie - Shadow Minister (Justice)
The Judicial College provides training for Courts judiciary in accordance with the Lord Chief Justice’s statutory responsibility. One of the key resources to support training in this area is its Equal Treatment Bench Book. This reference work has just been updated, will shortly be re-published, and will be publicly accessible online. Chapter 2 deals with vulnerable witnesses and defendants, video links and intermediaries.
Senior judiciary who are Heads of Division may consider whether guidance is required in any area and this usually takes the form of publicly available Practice Directions. At present on this topic there are relevant references in the Criminal Practice Directions which were last updated in July 2017 by the then Lord Chief Justice.
Asked by: Lord Carlile of Berriew (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to implement procedures to ensure that children and other vulnerable defendants are not subject to video hearings in any situation in which pleas are discussed or entered, or evidence adduced.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie - Shadow Minister (Justice)
The means through which a youth or other vulnerable defendant attends court is determined by the court on a case by case basis. In exercising any such power, the court must comply with the defendant’s right to a fair trial and, where the defendant is a youth, the statutory duty to have regard to the welfare of children and young persons under s.44 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933.