Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which of his Department's non-executive directors were appointed through open competition.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
All Ministry of Justice Non-Executive Board Members were recruited according to the guidance set out in the Corporate governance code for central government departments.
The Ministry of Justice announces the appointments (including reappointment dates) of Non-Executive Board Members, as well as their experience, in the Annual Report and Accounts. Our current Non-Executives are covered in the following Annual Report and Accounts: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/936835/moj-annual-report-accounts-2019-2020.pdf
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many convictions there have been for in-person electoral fraud since 2010.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Ministry of Justice has published information on convictions for in-person electoral fraud offences in England and Wales, up to December 2020, available in the ‘Principal offence proceedings and outcomes by Home Office offence code’ data tool, which can be found here:
In the data tool linked above, select ‘Personation’ from the ‘Detailed Offence’ drop down list to see records for convictions since 2013.
For the period prior to 2013, please find data on in-person electoral fraud convictions between 2010 and 2020 in the attached table.
In this response, ‘in-person electoral fraud’ has been interpreted to mean the following
offences under the relevant legislation:
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish the equality impact assessment his Department carried out for enabling outdoor civil marriages.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
On 30 June, a time limited statutory instrument was laid to amend the Marriages and Civil Partnerships (Approved Premises) Regulations 2005. This follows a commitment made in 2019 to accelerate plans to allow civil weddings and civil partnerships to be held outside through secondary legislation. The change took effect on 1 July and gives more options to couples and the sector in terms of how civil weddings and civil partnerships are celebrated by allowing all aspects of the ceremony to take place outdoors, within the boundary of the land of which the built premises form part. The proposed location for the outdoor proceedings must be assessed to be seemly and dignified.
This change provides greater flexibility especially during the pandemic when there are important public health considerations to take into account. This is not radical reform and ultimately it does not change the current law’s focus on premises.
These are time-limited amendments to the regulations which came into force on 1 July 2021 and will expire at the end of 5th April 2022. A consultation will be undertaken in the Autumn 2021 to consider the practical impacts of this policy in detail and to enable a later amending Statutory Instrument which is not time limited. A full impact assessment and equality impact assessment will be undertaken on completion of the consultation and will be published in due course.
Amending the 2005 Regulations will benefit many thousands of couples who seek a civil marriage or civil partnership formation on approved premises. The power to make provision in regulations for approved premises is set out in statute and extends only to civil marriage and civil partnership formation. In bringing in these time-limited changes to civil weddings and civil partnerships on Approved Premises, I am content that the department has met its Public Sector Equality Duty.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what his policy is on children visiting their mothers in prison on a socially distanced basis where it is safe for them to do so.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) recognises the importance and positive impact that can benefit children and families by visiting offenders in prison. The decision to stop visits was based on public health advice and mirrored the restrictions faced by the whole country, we know the difficult impact this has on mothers in prison and it was not taken lightly.
As a result of the success of these measures, we are now formulating plans for how these restrictions can be cautiously rolled back over the coming weeks and months. We have now reintroduced family visits at some establishments housing female offenders and plan to reintroduce them to the remainder of the female estate over the coming weeks. Currently a single adult visiting can be accompanied by up to two children, but if two adults visits only one child may accompany them. All visitors must live together in the same household except for parents of a prisoner who live apart. Guidance on visiting someone in prison during the pandemic is published on GOV.UK at the following link;
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/visit-someone-in-prison-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic
We are conscious of the impact that these restrictions have on prisoners’ wellbeing and rehabilitation. Taking into consideration the recommendations made in the 2017 Farmer Review and the 2019 Farmer Review for Women, we have invested in various measures to maintain family contact and improve wellbeing. We have provided additional pin credit for phone calls, distributed locked mobile phones for establishments without access to in-cell telephony and deployed new video call technology at all women’s prisons.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent changes the Government has made to prisoners’ voting rights; and what guidance has been issued on that subject to (a) prison governors and (b) prisoners in England and Wales.
Answered by Rory Stewart
In November, the Government set out to Parliament the administrative changes it proposed to make to address the 2005 Hirst judgment on prisoner voting rights, while maintaining the general bar on convicted prisoners in custody from voting. These changes addressed an anomaly in the previous guidance where offenders released back into the community on licence using an electronic tag under the Home Detention Curfew scheme could vote, but those who were in the community following Release on Temporary Licence (ROTL) could not. Under the new guidance, those on ROTL will no longer be barred from voting.
Guidance was recently issued to prison governors in England and Wales to inform them of this policy change. This was accompanied by a leaflet for prisoners informing them of their voting rights.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what comparative assessment he has made of the number of young offenders of (a) BAME and (b) other ethnic groups who have been detained in youth custody in the last 8 years.
Answered by Rory Stewart
Nobody should face discrimination in the criminal justice system, or anywhere else. We have accepted the recommendations of the Lammy Review into the treatment of, and outcomes for, Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic individuals in the criminal justice system and are committed to driving out discrimination wherever it exists.
Supplementary table 7.18 to the Youth Justice Annual Statistics contains comparative information on the average monthly youth custody population by region and ethnicity for those in custody during each year from 2012 to 2017. It relates to young people under 18:
The Youth Custody Service has developed an Equality Plan which outlines a set of strategic objectives that are consistent with the aims of the Lammy Review to target disproportionality in youth custody. We will be commencing delivery of those objectives in due course.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the Government's policy is on voting rights for prisoners with short sentences.
Answered by Phillip Lee
Our policy on prisoner voting is well established – this Government will not allow convicted offenders behind bars to vote.
At the same time, we are addressing an anomaly which allows those offenders on Home Detention Curfew to vote but not offenders who are released on temporary licence.
Under the changes, up to a hundred offenders on short sentences, released on temporary licence into the community within twelve months of sentencing will be eligible to vote if an election is called during that period.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent discussions the Government has had with the Council of Europe on the ruling of the European Court of Human Rights that a blanket ban against prisoner voting contravenes Article 3 of Protocol No. 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Answered by Phillip Lee
The Government is clear that convicted prisoners in custody should not vote. At the same time, we are addressing an anomaly which allows those offenders on Home Detention Curfew to vote but not offenders who are released on temporary licence
We believe these administrative proposed measures address the points raised in the 2005 Hirst judgment on prisoner voting rights by the European Court of Human Rights. The measures will be considered by Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers at their meeting in Strasbourg in December.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
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 an electronic system for the delivery, receipt and return of the Writ at UK parliamentary elections.
Answered by Dominic Raab
There are no immediate plans to do so. The process for serving election Writs is set out in the Representation of the People Act 1983. However, the Government continues to work with the Law Commissions, as well as other stakeholders such as the Electoral Commission, to streamline the electoral process.
Asked by: Cat Smith (Labour - Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress her Department has made on implementing the recommendations of the review on the care and management of transgender offenders, published in November 2016 on the safeguarding of transgender prisoners on the prison estate.
Answered by Sam Gyimah
The National Offender Management Service’s new Instruction ‘The Care and Management of Transgender Offenders’, published on 9 November 2016, drew on the conclusions of the Ministry of Justice Review of transgender offenders. It both replaced the earlier Prison Service Instruction and extended its scope to include transgender offenders in the community. The new Instruction was fully implemented on 1 January 2017, following a transitional period of operation. Staff are being supported in the implementation of the new arrangements through guidance and training.
Our top priority is the welfare of those in our custody and following a thorough review, we have taken action to improve the way we manage and support transgender offenders.
We are committed to making prisons places of safety and reform and have invested in specialist mental health training for prison officers as well as launching a suicide and self-harm reduction project.