Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will take steps to tackle the late allocation of annual funding for the youth justice system.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Much of government spending is allocated via an annual budgetary process, which often requires complex choices that can take time to be resolved. This year, the General Election complicated this further – it was not possible for the Department to confirm funding decisions during the election period after the election was called on 22 May 2024. However, within a matter of days of coming into government, we made this decision, and it was communicated to Youth Offending Teams (YOTs).
This Government recognises the challenges associated with late annual allocations for local youth justice services and the need for YOTs to have stable funding for financial planning.
We want to ensure that local services are equipped to make effective use of grant funding. The upcoming multi-year Spending Review is an opportunity for this Government to assess how funding is most efficiently delivered.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, for what reasons have there been late allocations of funding for the youth justice system for 2024-25.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Much of government spending is allocated via an annual budgetary process, which often requires complex choices that can take time to be resolved. This year, the General Election complicated this further – it was not possible for the Department to confirm funding decisions during the election period after the election was called on 22 May 2024. However, within a matter of days of coming into government, we made this decision, and it was communicated to Youth Offending Teams (YOTs).
This Government recognises the challenges associated with late annual allocations for local youth justice services and the need for YOTs to have stable funding for financial planning.
We want to ensure that local services are equipped to make effective use of grant funding. The upcoming multi-year Spending Review is an opportunity for this Government to assess how funding is most efficiently delivered.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will make an assessment of the (a) effectiveness of annual grant funding and (b) potential merits of maintaining long-term funding for youth justice.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Much of government spending is allocated via an annual budgetary process, which often requires complex choices that can take time to be resolved. This year, the General Election complicated this further – it was not possible for the Department to confirm funding decisions during the election period after the election was called on 22 May 2024. However, within a matter of days of coming into government, we made this decision, and it was communicated to Youth Offending Teams (YOTs).
This Government recognises the challenges associated with late annual allocations for local youth justice services and the need for YOTs to have stable funding for financial planning.
We want to ensure that local services are equipped to make effective use of grant funding. The upcoming multi-year Spending Review is an opportunity for this Government to assess how funding is most efficiently delivered.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 8 February 2024 to Question 13012 on Repossession Orders: Wales, if he will make an updated estimate of when the Possession Claim Online service will be made available in Welsh for properties in Wales.
Answered by Mike Freer
As a result of the Renting Homes Wales Act 2016 introduced by the Welsh Government and implemented in December 2022, changes to the Possession Claim Online (PCOL) service are required to enable users to make a claim for possession of a property located in Wales.
Work is still ongoing between HMCTS and Welsh Government to agree the scope and funding of these changes to ensure compliance with the legislation.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of (a) producing and (b) publishing disaggregated justice data for Wales.
Answered by Mike Freer
The Ministry of Justice produces the data required to deliver justice effectively in Wales. A significant amount of data is already published that is disaggregated for Wales.
Officials in the Ministry of Justice and His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service continue to work with Welsh Government officials to consider areas in which Wales-specific data is not available and examine whether any such data might further aid the delivery of justice in Wales.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress he has made on establishment of the residential women’s centre in Swansea.
Answered by Edward Argar - Shadow Secretary of State for Justice
Planning approval for the Residential Women’s Centre at the Trehafod site in Cockett, Swansea, was granted by the Welsh Government’s Planning Environment Decisions Wales in August 2023, following an appeal by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). Due to delays and uncertainty in securing this planning approval, the MoJ has a number of ongoing steps to re-mobilise the project and continues to work closely with partners in Wales.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of single justice procedure notices.
Answered by Mike Freer
HMCTS assessed the Single Justice Procedure Notice (SJPN) following a pilot with two prosecutors, the Metropolitan Police Service and TV Licensing, between December 2019 and February 2020 where a redesigned SJPN was trialled.
The SJPN was redesigned to encourage engagement. The pilot assessment showed that this was successful as the online plea rates and form completion improved following the redesigned SJPN. As a result of this there was an agreement to rollout the revised notice to all prosecutors who use the Single Justice Procedure.
Details of the assessment were published on 29 July 2022 and can be found by following the link: HMCTS single justice procedure notice pilots assessment - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of replacing wet shaving razors with electric shavers in all prisons across Wales.
Answered by Edward Argar - Shadow Secretary of State for Justice
We are committed to making prisons a safe place to work and recognise the risks associated with the current wet shave razor provision. In the 2021 Prison Safety White Paper, we committed to trial alternatives to wet-shave razors in prisons to test whether a change in approach might lead to a safer environment for both prisoners and staff. Throughout 2022 and 2023 six pilots have been carried out in the male estate and one carried out in the female estate.
Testing at all sites has now concluded and the results are being evaluated. The evaluation will consider outcomes, learning and positive practice from across all pilot sites and will be measured against the impact they have had on violence and/or self-harm.
The evaluation will be completed by the end of March 2024. This evaluation will enable us to make informed recommendations on future shaving provision in prison establishments.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent estimate he has made of when the Possession Claim Online service will be made available (a) for properties in Wales and (b) in the Welsh language.
Answered by Mike Freer
As a result of the Renting Homes Wales Act 2016 introduced by the Welsh Government, implemented in December 2022, changes to the Possession Claim Online (PCOL) service are required for users making a claim for possession of a property located in Wales.
Work is ongoing between HMCTS and Welsh Government to agree the scope and funding of these changes to ensure compliance with the legislation.
PCOL is currently available in the Welsh language and this will continue to be the case when the service is resumed for properties located in Wales.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department is taking steps to restore the Possession Claim Online service (a) for properties in Wales and (b) in the Welsh language.
Answered by Mike Freer
As a result of the Renting Homes Wales Act 2016 introduced by the Welsh Government, implemented in December 2022, changes to the Possession Claim Online (PCOL) service are required for users making a claim for possession of a property located in Wales.
Work is ongoing between HMCTS and Welsh Government to agree the scope and funding of these changes to ensure compliance with the legislation.
PCOL is currently available in the Welsh language and this will continue to be the case when the service is resumed for properties located in Wales.