Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of appeals to the tribunals service in (a) Coventry, (b) the West Midlands and (c) England relating to (i) personal independence payments, (ii) employment and support allowance, (iii) jobseeker's allowance and (iv) universal credit were successful in (A) the most recent period for which figures are available and (B) each of the last three years.
Answered by Mike Freer
Information about the outcomes of appeals in the First-tier Tribunal (Social Security and Child Support) (SSCS) is published at: www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics.
SSCS appeals are listed into the hearing venue nearest to the appellant’s home address. The published data (which can be viewed at the link above) provide information about the outcomes of (i) Personal Independence Payment (PIP), (ii) Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and (iv) Universal Credit (UC) appeals for hearing venues covering (a) Coventry, (b) the West Midlands and (c) England for the period requested.
The table below contains the requested information for (iii)Job Seekers Allowance (JSA):
| Coventry | West Midlands1 | England2 |
2019/20 | ~ | 27% | 39% |
2020/21 | ~ | ~ | 27% |
2021/22 | 80% | 42% | 28% |
Q1 2022/23P | ~ | 26% | 25% |
Q2 2022/23p | 0% | ~ | 17% |
Q3 2022/23p | ~ | ~ | 23% |
Notes:
SSCS data is normally registered to the venue nearest to the appellant’s home address. We cannot retrieve data based on the appellant’s actual address but can produce reports detailing the numbers of cases that were dealt with at one of our Regional centres or heard at a specific venue.
The proportion of successful appeals is based on the number of cases found in favour of the appellant at a tribunal hearing as a percentage of the cases heard at a tribunal hearing.
Data up to December 2022 in line with latest published statistics.
Although care is taken when processing and analysing the data, the details are subject to inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale case management system and are the best data that are available.
These data may differ slightly to that of the published statistics as these data were run on a different date.
1. West Midlands includes the venues: Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Walsall, Coventry, Nuneaton, Stoke, Telford and Worcester
2. Excludes SSCS Scotland Region and Wales Region.
~ Suppressed in line with official published stats
P Provisional, in line with published data.
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of appeals to the tribunals service in (a) Coventry, (b) the West Midlands and (c) England in respect of (i) personal independence payments, (ii) employment and support allowance, (iii) jobseeker's allowance and (iv) universal credit were successful in each of the last three years.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
Information about the outcomes of appeals in the First-tier Tribunal (Social Security and Child Support) (SSCS) is published at:
www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics
SSCS appeals are listed into the hearing venue nearest to the appellant’s home address. The published data (which can be viewed at the link above) provide information about the outcomes of (i) Personal Independence Payment (PIP), (ii) Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and (iv) Universal Credit (UC) appeals for hearing venues covering (a) Coventry, (b) the West Midlands and (c) England for the period requested.
The table below contains this information for (iii) Job Seekers Allowance (JSA):
| Coventry | West Midlands1 | England2 |
2018/19 | ~ | 25% | 34% |
2019/20 | 50% | 27% | 39% |
2020/21 | ~ | ~ | 27% |
Q1 2021/22P | 100% | ~ | 17% |
Q2 2021/22p | 86% | 39% | 30% |
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Notes:
SSCS data are normally registered to the venue nearest to the appellant’s home address. We cannot retrieve data based on the appellant’s actual address but can produce reports detailing the numbers of cases that were dealt with at one of our Regional centres or heard at a specific venue. The proportion of successful appeals is based on the number of cases found in favour of the appellant at a tribunal hearing as a percentage of the cases heard at a tribunal hearing. |
1West Midlands includes the venues: Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Walsall, Coventry, Nuneaton, Stoke, Telford, Hereford and Worcester. | |||||
2 Excludes SSCS Scotland Region and Wales Region. |
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~ Equates to a value of fewer than five |
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P Provisional, in line with published data |
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Although care is taken when processing and analysing the data, the details are subject to inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale case management system and are the best data that are available. These data may differ slightly to that of the published statistics as these data were run on a different date. | |||||
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of trends in the level of re-offending rates among (a) under 25s and (b) over 25s in (i) Coventry, (ii) the West Midlands and (iii) England in each of the last five years.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The overall proven reoffending rate has steadily decreased in more recent years. However, the impact of the COVID19 pandemic has resulted in changes in the rate being more acute. In England, for a January-December 2019 offender cohort, the rate decreased by 2.9 percentage points for those aged 10-24 and by and 2.4 percentage points for those aged over 25. For proven reoffending trends in Coventry, West Midlands and England, please refer to the latest published geographical data tool which can be found here:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data
/file/1028661/Geographical_data_tool_jan09_dec19_Final.xlsx
We know the likelihood of ex-offenders reoffending is significantly decreased if they have a home, a job and access to healthcare, including substance misuse treatment. In December 2021 the Prisons Strategy White Paper set out our ambitious plans to reduce reoffending and protect the public. We will spend £200 million a year by 2024-25 to improve prison leavers’ access to accommodation, employment support and substance misuse treatment and further measures for early intervention to tackle youth offending.
We will also introduce new personalised Resettlement Passports, which will be set up prior to release and will bring together the key information and services that an individual needs to resettle into society.
Our reforms to the Probation Service, supported by additional annual funding of £155 million, will also help reduce reoffending through robust supervision, tougher community sentences, improved local partnership working and delivery of rehabilitative services.
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle the backlog of (a) criminal cases and (b) First Tier Tribunal Social Security and Child Support appeals before HM Courts and Tribunal Service in (a) Coventry, (b) the West Midlands and (c) England; and what estimate he has made of the size of the backlog of cases at venues in those areas.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
In 2020/21, the Government allocated over a quarter of a billion pounds on court and tribunal recovery making court buildings safe, rolling out new technology for remote hearings, recruiting additional staff and opening Nightingale courtrooms. In 2021/22, there will be no limit on the number of days Crown Courts can sit. This will enable Crown Court judges to hold as many COVID secure hearings as possible as we continue to recover from the pandemic. In addition, this Government is moving forwards with plans to legislate giving Crown Court Judges the power to send cases back to the magistrates’ court.
The latest data relating to outstanding cases in the Coventry, West Midlands, and English and Welsh Crown and Magistrates courts can be found on gov.uk Criminal court statistics quarterly: January to March 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
As for First Tier Tribunal Social Security and Child Support (SSCS) appeals, they have continued to be decided on the papers or heard using telephone and other remote technology. Additionally, HM Courts and Tribunals Service has introduced safety measures so that face to face hearings can be held for any cases which cannot be decided on the papers or heard remotely. The decision as to how a hearing is conducted is a matter for the judge, who will determine how best to uphold the interests of justice.
Information about appeals to tribunals is published quarterly on gov.uk at www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics. The latest period for which data about SSCS are available is January to March 2021. However, due to issues identified as the Tribunal was being migrated to a new operational system, SSCS data at venue level requires further quality assurance. Therefore, caseload data for a) Coventry b) West Midlands c) England are not currently available. These data will be made available as soon as they have been quality assured.
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to reduce the number of self-inflicted deaths in prisons in England.
Answered by Alex Chalk
The death of any prisoner is a tragedy and we are focussing our efforts on supporting those at risk of suicide in prisons in England and Wales and keeping them safe. Vulnerable prisoners are supported through the ACCT (Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork) case management and we are currently rolling out further improvements to this framework. We have also given 25,000 new and existing staff self-harm and suicide prevention training to help them better support prisoners with complex needs and refreshed our partnership with the Samaritans who provide the excellent Listeners scheme, which trains selected prisoners to provide emotional support to their fellow prisoners.
We are under no illusions about the impact of the measures which were put in place to protect lives during the Covid-19 pandemic and we have made prisoners’ safety and wellbeing our priority. For this reason we have enabled continued family contact through more than 1,500 secure mobile phones and rolled out secure video call technology into every single prison in the male, female and youth estate. Each prisoner is also given £5 PIN credit per week to keep in touch with their loved ones. We are also delivering more in cell-activities such as distraction packs, supplementary food packs, and additional educational materials to mitigate the impact of isolation.
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of trends in the literacy levels of prisoners in England in each of the last five years.
Answered by Alex Chalk
Supporting prisoners to improve their literacy is an important part of prison education.
Assessment data from the previous Offenders’ Learning and Skills Service (OLASS 4) contracts that show that in 2015/16, 57% of English assessments were assessed at entry level 1-3, this figure was 54% in the year 2016/17 and 62% in 2017/18.
Data for new prison education contracts has been collected from April 2019 and will be validated and published later this year.
As we develop the approach to prison education in the future, this will remain a key priority to support offenders into employment.
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking with the Attorney General to speed up justice for vulnerable people who are victims of (a) domestic violence, (b) rape and (c) sexual assault.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The pandemic has significantly impacted many vulnerable victims of crimes. Hard-working judiciary, staff and professionals have worked tirelessly to continue to deliver justice for victims, but despite this, victims and other court users are having to wait too long for their cases to be heard.
Throughout the pandemic, the courts have continued to prioritise cases of the utmost seriousness, where the safety of the public and individuals is a concern. This includes the judiciary prioritising hearings involving vulnerable victims and witnesses and urgent applications for matters such as domestic violence. We were among the first of comparable international jurisdictions to re-start jury trials, and cases are now being disposed of at around pre-pandemic levels in the Crown Court, and the outstanding caseload has reduced in the magistrates’ court from its COVID peak last summer. We have spent over £250m on measures to tackle the impact of COVID, opened 56 Nightingale courtrooms so far, and are using more remote hearings, with over 20,000 hearings each week.
But we know that there is more to do to support vulnerable victims. In 2021-22, we will provide just under £151m for victim and witness support services. This includes an extra £51m to increase support for rape and domestic abuse victims, building on the emergency funding from 2020-2021 to help domestic abuse and sexual violence services meet Covid-driven demand. £27 million will go to creating more than 700 new posts for Independent Sexual Violence and Domestic Abuse Advisers. Research shows if a victim is supported, they are around 50% more likely to stay in engaged in the criminal justice system.
We are also looking at longer term measures we can take to improve the justice process for vulnerable victims. The government’s end-to-end review of rape, which is due to publish this Spring, is working with partners across the Criminal Justice System to improve the way rape cases are dealt with throughout the system.
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to help tackle the backlog of (a) criminal cases and (b) First Tier Tribunal Social Security and Child Support appeals before HM Courts and Tribunal Service in (a) Coventry, (b) the West Midlands and (c) England.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
We have taken swift action to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on our courts and tribunals. We have invested £142m to improve court and tribunal buildings and roll out new technology, and a further £113m on a range of emergency measures – including the recruitment of 1,600 additional staff and adjusting courts to ensure they are Covid-secure.
However, we recognise there is further to go to address outstanding caseloads and support the system towards recovery. We are continuing with our plans to expand capacity across the criminal justice system by opening new Nightingale courts and we are on course to have 60 courtrooms open by the end of March. We have already adjusted over 290 courtrooms to safely hold jury trials, and we have an additional 120 courtrooms available for non-jury trial work.
We are also investing in technology across our estate to ensure we can continue to hold remote hearings where appropriate. Throughout the pandemic, SSCS appeals have continued to be decided on the papers or heard using telephone and other remote technology. Across all jurisdictions, we have over 3,300 Cloud Video Platform virtual court rooms available. We have installed supporting hardware in over 600 out of 750 courtrooms, with the remainder expected by the end of March 2021.
In Coventry and the West Midlands, we have:
Our unprecedented action taken so far has made a difference. We were among the first of comparable international jurisdictions to re-start jury trials, and we now have around 20,000 hearings per week with remote participants. Cases are now being completed around pre-pandemic levels in most jurisdictions. Through our Spending Review settlement, we have secured significant additional funding in the next financial year to assist in the recovery of our courts and tribunals system, and we continue to consider the measures that are needed to achieve this.
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the average waiting times for rape and sexual assault victims to access rape and sexual abuse support services in Coventry; and what (a) fiscal and (b) other steps he is taking to reduce waiting times for those services in Coventry.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
Supporting victims of sexual violence and domestic abuse is an absolute priority for this Government. All survivors are entitled to support to help them cope and recover from their experiences.
The Ministry of Justice is only one of many funding sources for rape support services. The Ministry of Justice provide funding to 91 rape support services across England and Wales to provide independent, specialist support to female and male victims of sexual violence, including victims of child sexual abuse.
In 2020/21 rape support services received £12m (an uplift of 50% per funded centre from 2019/20) in recognition of the extra demand placed upon them and to reduce waiting lists. This is part of the £32m provided to these services for 2019/2022.
£871,054 has been provided in 2020/21 by the Ministry of Justice to four rape support services in West Midlands (Black Country Women’s Aid, Birmingham Rape & Sexual Violence Project, Coventry Rape & Sexual Abuse Centre and Freedom of Torture) including an extra £269,614 provided during the pandemic. For 2019/22 these four centres will receive £2,060,770 in total.
This is in addition to the £4,485,802 provided to the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner as part of £68m allocated in 2020/21 to Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) across England & Wales, to locally commission emotional and practical support services for victims of crime, including victims of sexual violence and domestic abuse.
In response to the pandemic the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner was provided with £911,066 in 2020/21 to support local sexual violence and domestic abuse services.
This provided funding to 14 local domestic abuse and 3 sexual violence support services across the West Midlands. This included 3 services in Coventry.
In recognition of increased demand, we have extended the rape and sexual abuse fund for a further year (end March 2023) to provide the sector with greater stability and continue to work closely with them to monitor demand.
Independent Sexual Violence Advisers (ISVAs) have an important role to play in helping victims feel informed and supported at every stage of their recovery journey and provide an important link between police, support services and criminal justice agencies. As part of their role ISVAs may also support victims when attending court and giving evidence. In 2020/21, £3,709,253 has been invested by the Ministry of Justice for the recruitment of 123 additional ISVAs across England and Wales. Of this, £165,561 was allocated to West Midlands to recruit an additional 7 ISVAs.
In recognition of the extra demand paced on services the Ministry of Justice also announced in February an extra £40m in 2021/22 to support victims:
Asked by: Colleen Fletcher (Labour - Coventry North East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what fiscal steps he is taking to support rape and sexual abuse support services in (a) Coventry, (b) the West Midlands and (c) England.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
Supporting victims of sexual violence and domestic abuse is an absolute priority for this Government. All survivors are entitled to support to help them cope and recover from their experiences.
The Ministry of Justice is only one of many funding sources for rape support services. The Ministry of Justice provide funding to 91 rape support services across England and Wales to provide independent, specialist support to female and male victims of sexual violence, including victims of child sexual abuse.
In 2020/21 rape support services received £12m (an uplift of 50% per funded centre from 2019/20) in recognition of the extra demand placed upon them and to reduce waiting lists. This is part of the £32m provided to these services for 2019/2022.
£871,054 has been provided in 2020/21 by the Ministry of Justice to four rape support services in West Midlands (Black Country Women’s Aid, Birmingham Rape & Sexual Violence Project, Coventry Rape & Sexual Abuse Centre and Freedom of Torture) including an extra £269,614 provided during the pandemic. For 2019/22 these four centres will receive £2,060,770 in total.
This is in addition to the £4,485,802 provided to the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner as part of £68m allocated in 2020/21 to Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) across England & Wales, to locally commission emotional and practical support services for victims of crime, including victims of sexual violence and domestic abuse.
In response to the pandemic the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner was provided with £911,066 in 2020/21 to support local sexual violence and domestic abuse services.
This provided funding to 14 local domestic abuse and 3 sexual violence support services across the West Midlands. This included 3 services in Coventry.
In recognition of increased demand, we have extended the rape and sexual abuse fund for a further year (end March 2023) to provide the sector with greater stability and continue to work closely with them to monitor demand.
Independent Sexual Violence Advisers (ISVAs) have an important role to play in helping victims feel informed and supported at every stage of their recovery journey and provide an important link between police, support services and criminal justice agencies. As part of their role ISVAs may also support victims when attending court and giving evidence. In 2020/21, £3,709,253 has been invested by the Ministry of Justice for the recruitment of 123 additional ISVAs across England and Wales. Of this, £165,561 was allocated to West Midlands to recruit an additional 7 ISVAs.
In recognition of the extra demand paced on services the Ministry of Justice also announced in February an extra £40m in 2021/22 to support victims: