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Written Question
Child Sexual Abuse Independent Panel Inquiry
Monday 15th January 2024

Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool, West Derby)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to recommendation 16 of the Report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, published in October 2022, what recent progress his Department has made in helping ensure that (a) the (i) UK and (ii) Welsh Government introduce a national guarantee that child victims of sexual abuse will be offered specialist and accredited therapeutic support and (b) these services are fully funded.

Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)

The Victims’ Code sets out the services and support that victims of crime are entitled to receive from the criminal justice system in England and Wales. Under this Code, all victims, including children, are entitled to access victim support services they may need to help them cope and recover from the impact of a crime. When they report a crime, they have the right to receive information about and be referred to support services by the police, including therapy and counselling within two working days. This is regardless of whether anyone has been charged or convicted of a criminal offence or when the crime itself occurred. They can also access support services directly.

We are quadrupling funding for support services by 2024/25, up from £41 million in 2009/10. This has allowed us to increase specialist services for survivors of sexual abuse. For example, we are increasing the number of Independent Sexual and Domestic Violence Advisers in England and Wales, including those specifically supporting children, by 300 to over 1,000 by 2024/25 - a 43 percent increase over this spending review period. We have also recommissioned the Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Fund, which is providing £26 million between August 2023 and March 2025 to more than 60 specialist victim support services in England and Wales.


Written Question
Child Sexual Abuse Independent Panel Inquiry
Monday 15th January 2024

Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool, West Derby)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Government response to recommendation 16 of the final report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, published in May 2023, CP 844, what recent progress his Department has made on ensuring (a) that child victims should be offered specialist therapeutic support and (b) an adequate supply of these services.

Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)

The Victims and Prisoners Bill aims to improve support services for child victims by driving forward more informed and effective commissioning at the local level. Under the duty to collaborate, local commissioners must consider the particular needs of children when producing their local commissioning strategies. Local areas are required to conduct a joint needs assessment to inform these strategies which must give proper regard to the needs of child victims, including the risk of sexual abuse, and whether, and how local support services meet those needs.

All victims are entitled to support under the Victims’ Code, and we are quadrupling funding for support services by 2024/25, up from £41 million in 2009/10. This has allowed us to increase specialist services for survivors of child sexual abuse. For example, we are increasing the number of Independent Sexual and Domestic Violence Advisors, including those supporting children, by 300 to over 1,000 by 2024/25 – a 43 percent increase over this spending review period. We have also recommissioned the Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Fund (RASASF), which is providing £26 million between August 2023 and March 2025 to more than 60 specialist victim support services.

My Department is also investing almost £90,000 in the Bluestar project at the Green House, who will provide training to 60 specialist victim support services who receive funding through the RASASF to build knowledge and confidence in the delivery of pre-trial support to victims of all ages, including children. A further £270,000 is also being invested in the Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse to improve the provision of services for victims of child sexual abuse. Activities will include a directory of support services and a data hub. This will enable victims to access information to get the right help, as well as helping commissioners to assess demand for support and allocate resources. Further details can be found in the recent statement from the Home Secretary


Written Question
Prisoners: Travellers
Wednesday 14th June 2023

Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool, West Derby)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service has made of the total number of prisoners in England and Wales that come from Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller backgrounds in the latest period for which data is available.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

The number of prisoners self-designating as Gypsy and Traveller are published as part of a more detailed data set, which are released annually as part of the series ‘Offender Management Statistics Quarterly’. The most recent publication of this data was in July 2022.

The requested information can be found in Table A1.9ii of the ‘Annual Prison Population 2022’ publication:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_‌data/file/1094517/Population_30June2022_Annual.ods.

This showed that on 30 June 2022 1,459 prisoners self-designated as Irish Traveller or Gypsy.

We do not record separate figures for those declaring as ‘Roma’. They may self-declare in the category ‘White: Irish Traveller or Gypsy’, or as ‘White: Other background’.


Written Question
Prisoners: Mental Health
Thursday 15th April 2021

Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool, West Derby)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what additional steps his Department is taking to support the mental health of prisoners during the covid-19 outbreak.

Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice

Visits to children in the youth custody estate and compassionate visits to adult establishments have continued throughout national lockdown. In line with changes to the stay at home guidance and travel restrictions in the community, over the coming weeks and months we will support establishments to ease some of the regime restrictions currently in place. This will be done when it is safe to do so and guided by public health advice. Our National Framework, which sets out in detail how we will take decisions about easing coronavirus-related restrictions in prisons, was published on GOV.UK on 2 June: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-national-framework-for-prison-regimes-and-services

Maintaining safety and the mental health and wellbeing of prisoners continues to remain a priority, as it has throughout the pandemic. A range of tools have been made available to support Governors in devising and implementing local safety and welfare plans designed to mitigate any risks. Healthcare providers have continued to provide access to services for prisoners throughout the pandemic.

We recognise that family contact provides a crucial lifeline for those in our care. Secure video calls have now been introduced at all prisons across England and Wales. As of 5 April, over 169,000 secure video calls have been made. Currently 66% of prison cells have in-cell telephony.

We have tailored guidance for supporting specific groups of people in prison whose wellbeing may be more impacted by Covid-19 measures put in place. We are delivering more in cell-activity and are continuing to improve our offer to support prisoners during this period.

Work is currently underway to roll-out of a revised version of the Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork (ACCT), which is the care planning process for prisoners identified as being at risk of suicide or self-harm. This is first being rolled-out in the female estate and ten ACCT pilot sites from April 2021, followed by roll-out in the rest of the estate in Summer 2021. We will, however, be keeping these timeframes under review to ensure they remain feasible in the context of covid-19.


Written Question
Prisons: Visits
Thursday 15th April 2021

Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool, West Derby)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to support the wellbeing of prisoners that are unable to receive social visitors due to covid-19 health restrictions.

Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice

Visits to children in the youth custody estate and compassionate visits to adult establishments have continued throughout national lockdown. In line with changes to the stay at home guidance and travel restrictions in the community, over the coming weeks and months we will support establishments to ease some of the regime restrictions currently in place. This will be done when it is safe to do so and guided by public health advice. Our National Framework, which sets out in detail how we will take decisions about easing coronavirus-related restrictions in prisons, was published on GOV.UK on 2 June: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-national-framework-for-prison-regimes-and-services

Maintaining safety and the mental health and wellbeing of prisoners continues to remain a priority, as it has throughout the pandemic. A range of tools have been made available to support Governors in devising and implementing local safety and welfare plans designed to mitigate any risks. Healthcare providers have continued to provide access to services for prisoners throughout the pandemic.

We recognise that family contact provides a crucial lifeline for those in our care. Secure video calls have now been introduced at all prisons across England and Wales. As of 5 April, over 169,000 secure video calls have been made. Currently 66% of prison cells have in-cell telephony.

We have tailored guidance for supporting specific groups of people in prison whose wellbeing may be more impacted by Covid-19 measures put in place. We are delivering more in cell-activity and are continuing to improve our offer to support prisoners during this period.

Work is currently underway to roll-out of a revised version of the Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork (ACCT), which is the care planning process for prisoners identified as being at risk of suicide or self-harm. This is first being rolled-out in the female estate and ten ACCT pilot sites from April 2021, followed by roll-out in the rest of the estate in Summer 2021. We will, however, be keeping these timeframes under review to ensure they remain feasible in the context of covid-19.


Written Question
Prisons: Visits
Thursday 15th April 2021

Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool, West Derby)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to facilitate visits to prisons that are not currently allowing social visitors; and what steps he is taking to support prisons in reaching stage 3 of the covid-19 national framework for prison regimes and services.

Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice

Visits to children in the youth custody estate and compassionate visits to adult establishments have continued throughout national lockdown. In line with changes to the stay at home guidance and travel restrictions in the community, over the coming weeks and months we will support establishments to ease some of the regime restrictions currently in place. This will be done when it is safe to do so and guided by public health advice. Our National Framework, which sets out in detail how we will take decisions about easing coronavirus-related restrictions in prisons, was published on GOV.UK on 2 June: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-national-framework-for-prison-regimes-and-services

Maintaining safety and the mental health and wellbeing of prisoners continues to remain a priority, as it has throughout the pandemic. A range of tools have been made available to support Governors in devising and implementing local safety and welfare plans designed to mitigate any risks. Healthcare providers have continued to provide access to services for prisoners throughout the pandemic.

We recognise that family contact provides a crucial lifeline for those in our care. Secure video calls have now been introduced at all prisons across England and Wales. As of 5 April, over 169,000 secure video calls have been made. Currently 66% of prison cells have in-cell telephony.

We have tailored guidance for supporting specific groups of people in prison whose wellbeing may be more impacted by Covid-19 measures put in place. We are delivering more in cell-activity and are continuing to improve our offer to support prisoners during this period.

Work is currently underway to roll-out of a revised version of the Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork (ACCT), which is the care planning process for prisoners identified as being at risk of suicide or self-harm. This is first being rolled-out in the female estate and ten ACCT pilot sites from April 2021, followed by roll-out in the rest of the estate in Summer 2021. We will, however, be keeping these timeframes under review to ensure they remain feasible in the context of covid-19.


Written Question
Prisons: Coronavirus
Tuesday 1st September 2020

Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool, West Derby)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the timeframe is for the (a) easing of covid-19 lockdown restrictions in prisons and (b) the resumption of prison visits in England and Wales as the covid-19 lockdown restrictions are eased.

Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

As a result of the strong but necessary measures we introduced in prisons, including suspending social visits, lives have been saved and the NHS is being protected from the impact of widespread local outbreaks.

Some prisons have already started to ease restrictions, including re-starting social visits with appropriate social distancing and hygiene arrangements, and enabling more time out of cell. More prisons will do so over the coming weeks, guided by public health advice and with safety remaining the absolute priority.

Individual prisons and the youth estate will progress at their own speed, taking full account of their specific local circumstances.

A temporary video call service to support prisoners maintaining contact with family and friends has also been introduced. This is intended for use whilst contact is limited and we are considering the benefits of maintaining these digital solutions in the longer term, in line with the recommendations of Lord Farmer’s reviews.


Written Question
Legal Aid Scheme: Low Incomes
Tuesday 25th February 2020

Asked by: Ian Byrne (Labour - Liverpool, West Derby)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what funding his Department has allocated to ensure access to free legal support for people on low incomes in (a) Liverpool West Derby constituency and (b) the UK.

Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice

The Lord Chancellor has a duty to ensure that legal aid is made available in accordance with the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act (2012) and last year the Government spent £1.7bn on legal aid.

Legal aid can help meet the costs of legal advice, family mediation and representation in a court or tribunal. Legal Aid is not allocated by constituency but is available for cases where the relevant criteria, such as the financial eligibility of the applicant and/or the degree of legal merit in their case, is met, where applicable. Legal aid may not always be ‘free’, for instance where contributions are required towards the overall subsidised costs depending on the means of the applicant, or where this must be paid back, such as upon conviction in criminal matters, or where assets are recovered in civil proceedings.

Alongside this, in February 2019 the Ministry of Justice published the Legal Support Action Plan which outlines how the Government aims to improve the breadth of support on offer to people when they experience legal problems. As part of this, a series of pilots will be launched to test early forms of intervention that stop people’s problems from escalating and becoming more complex. This includes an investment of up to £5m into a Legal Support Innovation Fund to explore the role technology can play in helping people identify and resolve their legal issues, and we are enhancing the support on offer to litigants in person by providing a further £3m of funding over the next two years, ensuring that those representing themselves in court understand the process and are better supported through it. Many of the measures announced in the action plan will help people, including those on low incomes, access free legal support.

Access to justice is a fundamental right and the Government is committed to ensuring that everyone can get the support they need to access the justice system across England and Wales.