Asked by: Baroness Debbonaire (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether Eden House women’s centre in Bristol has been sold.
Answered by Rory Stewart
Eden House was placed on the open market in June 2016 and sold at auction on 28 February 2017. The sale to Says Court Properties Limited was completed on 12 May 2017.
The property was sold subject to the existing Community Rehabilitation Company (CRC) lease which runs until 2022. This protects the CRC’s interest in this property until the end of their contract.
Asked by: Baroness Debbonaire (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what sentencing guidelines have been put in place to provide for the consideration of the specific needs of transgender people.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
An HMPPS instruction (PSI 17/2016) advises Pre-sentence report (PSR) writers must consider requesting a full adjournment for the preparation of a PSR where a custodial sentence outcome appears likely, and an offender discloses that they are transgender, on the basis that transgender people may have more complex needs. This guidance is included in the Equal Treatment Bench Book chapter on transgender, published by the Judicial Office. Additionally, a local Transgender Case Board should be convened, either during pre-sentence report preparation or within three working days of reception into custody, to assess and determine the most appropriate location and initial care and management plan for the transgender individual in custody.
Regardless of where a transgender individual is being held, we expect that they will be respected and addressed in the gender with which they identify; and we are committed to ensuring that they are treated fairly, lawfully and decently.
Asked by: Baroness Debbonaire (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure that rape crisis centres are adequately funded.
Answered by Rory Stewart
The Government is committed to making sure that victims of crime have access to a broad range of support services, to help them cope with and, as far as possible, recover from the effects of crime.
We have made a commitment in the 2016–2020 Violence and Women and Girls strategy, to maintain funding for rape support services at 2016/17 levels for the remainder of the spending review period. We continue to meet that commitment.
This year we are providing £12.5m funding for services for victims of sexual violence, which includes £7.2m funding for rape support services.
This is part of the £96m we are spending in 2017/18 to fund support services for victims of crime across England and Wales, including £68m allocated to Police and Crime Commissioners to locally commission or provide support services for victims of crime, including victims of sexual violence.
This year we provided a 4.1% uplift in core funding for rape support centres to help meet increased demand. In Bristol, uplifts were provided to The Green House, Somerset and Avon Rape and Sexual Abuse Support (SARSAS) and Kinergy.
Asked by: Baroness Debbonaire (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the effect on rates of re-offending of programmes aimed at perpetrators of domestic violence who are serving prison sentences.
Answered by Phillip Lee
Tackling domestic violence and abuse is a key priority for this Government. The programme for men convicted of domestic violence replaces and builds on the success of two programmes that achieved a 13 per cent reduction in overall reoffending of participants. The current programme is designed in line with the latest international evidence of the most effective way to tackle reoffending in domestic violence cases, and has been accredited by a panel of independent, international experts. An evaluation of its effectiveness is planned.
Asked by: Baroness Debbonaire (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what types of specific domestic violence perpetrator programmes are available in prisons for men convicted of crimes involving physical violence against their partner or ex-partner to prevent those offenders from re-offending.
Answered by Phillip Lee
We are committed to reducing reoffending and addressing the needs of those individuals convicted of an offence involving Intimate Partner Violence (IPV). We keep treatment programmes under constant review to reduce reoffending and protect the public.
Individuals convicted of an offence involving IPV will be assessed for suitability to participate in programmes based on the principles of risk, need and responsivity. Programmes will be offered to individuals on the basis that they meet the selection criteria, and that participating in a programme can support them to reduce their risk of recidivism.
The accredited programmes available for those men convicted of an offence involving IPV are:
Asked by: Baroness Debbonaire (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what programmes are provided in prisons to prevent men convicted of rape from re-offending.
Answered by Rory Stewart
The accredited programmes available in prison for those men convicted of a sexual offence with an element of rape are:
Programmes will be offered to individuals on the basis that they meet the selection criteria, and that participating in a programme can support them to reduce their risk of recidivism.
Asked by: Baroness Debbonaire (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment tools and processes are used to assess the risk presented by men convicted of rape when due for release from prison.
Answered by Rory Stewart
Evidence-based tools are used to assess the risk presented by men who have been convicted of rape. These include statistically- derived measures which indicate the risk of reconviction for a sexual offence and more individualised assessments of the relevant risk which the offender presents and any “protective factors” which will help mitigate those risks. The assessment of risk will include the extent to which offenders can demonstrate insight into their motivations for offending and their ability to manage future risk. Using these various assessments, a probation offender manager, working closely with local police under the statutory Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA), will draw up a risk management plan, to supervise the offender on release and so protect the public.
For offenders who are not released automatically, the Parole Board may direct release of a prisoner only if it is satisfied that it is no longer necessary for the protection of the public that the prisoner should remain detained. When making its decision, the Parole Board will consider all evidence presented to it and take into account the nature of the index offence, the prisoner’s offending history, the prisoner’s progress in prison, any statement made by the victim(s), reports by offender managers and prison officers, and all risk assessments provided. Before release is directed, the Parole Board will also satisfy itself that a comprehensive resettlement and risk management plan is in place.