Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the protections available to consumers who seek compensation via class action lawsuits offered by lawyers and litigation funders.
Answered by Baroness Levitt - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government, in conjunction with other bodies such as the Civil Justice Council (a statutory advisory body), professional bodies and regulators, keeps the civil justice system and regulatory framework under review to ensure it is operating effectively, fairly and transparently.
Protections for consumers who seek compensation through collective action litigation are provided through the legal and regulatory framework governing legal services. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) independently regulates solicitors and most law firms in England and Wales, including those advising consumers in collective action claims, and requires them to comply with professional standards to protect consumers. This includes duties to act in clients’ best interests, to provide clear and transparent information about costs and risks, and for firms to maintain effective complaints-handling procedures to allow consumers to seek redress. Where appropriate, consumers can also refer their complaints to the Legal Ombudsman, which considers complaints about the standard of legal services provided.
We are aware of concerns around fairness and transparency in cases funded by third-party litigation funders, many of which are collective action cases. In light of these concerns, the Civil Justice Council carried out a thorough and wide-ranging review of litigation funding which has been critical in informing our policy development in this area. As recommended by the Council, we will introduce a new regulatory framework aimed at enhancing claimant protection, transparency, and the effectiveness of the litigation funding market. We recognise the critical role third-party litigation funding plays in access to justice. That is why we are committed to ensuring it works fairly for all. We will outline next steps in due course.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people applied for legal consultation under the Detained Duty Advice Scheme in the last 12 months; and how many people received such legal advice.
Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede
The requested information is not centrally held.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the reoffending rates of those serving short community sentences of six months or less.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
In 2022/23, the proven reoffending rate for adults serving immediate custodial sentences of six months or less was 59.6%. For further details, please see here: proven-reoffending-jan23-mar23-annual.ods. We do not have a published breakdown for community sentences by sentence length. To produce this data would incur disproportionate costs.
However, studies found that short custodial sentences of 12 months or less were associated with higher reoffending rates (approximately 4 percentage points higher) than court orders of any length (which includes both community orders and suspended sentence orders) had been given.
The Government has delivered on a manifesto commitment to bring sentencing up to date and ensure the framework is consistent by launching an Independent Review of Sentencing chaired by former Lord Chancellor, David Gauke.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the reoffending rates of those serving short custodial sentences of six months or less.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
In 2022/23, the proven reoffending rate for adults serving immediate custodial sentences of six months or less was 59.6%. For further details, please see here: proven-reoffending-jan23-mar23-annual.ods. We do not have a published breakdown for community sentences by sentence length. To produce this data would incur disproportionate costs.
However, studies found that short custodial sentences of 12 months or less were associated with higher reoffending rates (approximately 4 percentage points higher) than court orders of any length (which includes both community orders and suspended sentence orders) had been given.
The Government has delivered on a manifesto commitment to bring sentencing up to date and ensure the framework is consistent by launching an Independent Review of Sentencing chaired by former Lord Chancellor, David Gauke.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of electronic tagging to monitor convicted criminals sentenced to punishment in the community.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
There are lots of different types of Electronic Monitoring (EM) and effectiveness is dependent on a number of factors. Some of the EM technology is relatively new and so the Department is undertaking a comprehensive EM expansion programme designed to evaluate the effectiveness of EM on specific cohorts of individuals. We are robustly evaluating the effectiveness of each of the four projects (Acquisitive Crime – targeting burglars, robbers and thieves, Licence Variation, Domestic Abuse Perpetrators on Licence, and Alcohol Monitoring on Licence) to better understand the impacts of different forms of EM.
Evaluations will start to be published from the beginning of 2025. We are unable to predict the conclusions of these evaluations, which will be reviewed by an independent peer reviewer.
There is clear evidence that alcohol monitoring devices positively affect behaviour during the period of monitoring. England and Wales have a comprehensive programme of alcohol monitoring in place compared with international comparators. Since their introduction, alcohol monitoring tags have demonstrated a 97% compliance rate.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of (1) curfew tags, (2) location tags, and (3) alcohol tags, respectively.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
There are lots of different types of Electronic Monitoring (EM) and effectiveness is dependent on a number of factors. Some of the EM technology is relatively new and so the Department is undertaking a comprehensive EM expansion programme designed to evaluate the effectiveness of EM on specific cohorts of individuals. We are robustly evaluating the effectiveness of each of the four projects (Acquisitive Crime – targeting burglars, robbers and thieves, Licence Variation, Domestic Abuse Perpetrators on Licence, and Alcohol Monitoring on Licence) to better understand the impacts of different forms of EM.
Evaluations will start to be published from the beginning of 2025. We are unable to predict the conclusions of these evaluations, which will be reviewed by an independent peer reviewer.
There is clear evidence that alcohol monitoring devices positively affect behaviour during the period of monitoring. England and Wales have a comprehensive programme of alcohol monitoring in place compared with international comparators. Since their introduction, alcohol monitoring tags have demonstrated a 97% compliance rate.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of breaches of conditions in past 12 months associated with (1) curfew tags, (2) location tags, and (3) alcohol tags, respectively.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
To establish the number of those with an electronic monitoring requirement that have breached their electronic monitoring condition, or other licence conditions in the past 12 months would require a review of thousands of individual case records held on prison and probation systems. This information could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the average time those who enter prison on remand to await trial and sentencing will spend in custody.
Answered by Lord Bellamy
The methodology for calculating the amount of time spent on custodial remand is currently being reviewed and further clarification will be issued in due course.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the average time those currently serving mandatory life sentences will spend in prison.
Answered by Lord Bellamy
Sentencing is entirely a matter for our independent judiciary. Release from mandatory life sentences is determined by the Parole Board, when the Board is satisfied that detaining the offender is no longer necessary for the protection of the public.
While we do not have an estimate of the average time those currently in prison on mandatory life sentences will serve, we do publish average time served, based on release data, on an annual basis. Table below.
Mandatory life | Mean time served (years) |
2002 | 14 |
2003 | 15 |
2004 | 14 |
2005 | 14 |
2006 | 14 |
2007 | 16 |
2008 | 16 |
2009 | 17 |
2010 | 16 |
2011 | 16 |
2012 | 16 |
2013 | 17 |
2014 | 17 |
2015(1) | 17 |
2016 | 16 |
2017 | 17 |
2018 | 17 |
2019 | 18 |
2020 | 17 |
2021 | 17 |
2022 | 18 |
(1) Due to improvements in IT systems, the 2015 prison admissions data is now taken from a different source and, for statistical reporting purposes only, are produced using a different method. The 2015 figures from both the old and new systems have been presented to aid comparison.
Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the work conducted by the Prison Advice and Care Trust in England and Wales.
Answered by Lord Bellamy
H.M. Prison & Probation Service holds both contracts and grants with the Prison Advice and Care Trust (Pact) for work they undertake in prisons in England and Wales. Whilst no formal assessment of the work completed by Pact has been undertaken, all contracts and grants are awarded following open and fair competition. Those tendering for contracts or applying for grants (including Pact) are thoroughly assessed against the published criteria including the completion of due diligence checks prior to the awarding of any contract or grant.