Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of recommendations to reduce the length of time before which people held under Imprisonment for Public Protection sentences are entitled to have their licence reviewed.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Government brought forward an amendment to the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts (PCSC) Bill to require the Secretary of State to refer all eligible Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) offenders to the Parole Board for consideration of licence termination.
There are no current plans to change the length of time - 10 years - before which IPP offenders can be considered for licence termination. However, the Government keeps all aspects of the IPP sentence under constant review.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on levels of (a) self-harm and (b) suicide among prisoners held under Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentences.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Secretary of State for Justice has not discussed levels of self-harm and suicide among prisoners held under Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentences with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care.
However, preventing self-harm and self-inflicted deaths of prisoners is a key priority for this Government as set out in the Prisons Strategy White Paper.
We are providing prisons with tools to improve the way data is used to identify prisoners at increased risk of suicide and self-harm and we are developing training for staff to improve their understanding and knowledge of what drives self-harm in prisons. For those prisoners at increased risk, we also provide additional support through our targeted case management approach to ensure they receive appropriate care and support, and have also invested in implementing a Key Worker scheme across the estate, providing dedicated staff support to prisoners. We continue to raise staff awareness of the particular risks of self-harm and suicide amongst the IPP population.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans he has to tackle the backlog in court cases where there has been an accusation of rape or sexual assault.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
The Government is committed to supporting the recovery of the courts for all court users, including cases where there has been an accusation of rape or sexual assault.
Listing is a judicial function and judges continue to work to prioritise cases involving vulnerable complainants and witnesses, such as serious sex cases.
In December 2021, the Government announced that Section 28 for sexual violence and modern slavery complainants, the legislation that allows vulnerable witnesses to pre-record evidence, will be rolled out nationally for this cohort.
We are increasing funding for victim and witness support services from over £150 million in 2021/22 to over £185 million by 2024/25. This will fund more than 1,000 Independent Sexual and Domestic Violence Advisors as well as 24/7 crisis helplines and is an 85% increase on funding in 2019/20.
We have extended 30 Nightingale courtrooms beyond the end of March 2022 and removed the limit on the number of days the Crown Court can sit in the 2021/22 financial year. To secure enough capacity to sit at the required levels in 2022/23 and beyond we are expanding our plans for judicial recruitment.
These measures are already working, and as a result we expect to get through 20% more Crown Court cases this financial year than we did pre-Covid. Following an increase in funding as part of the Ministry of Justice’s Spending Review settlement, including £477m for recovery in the criminal courts, we aim to reduce the number of outstanding cases in the Crown Court to 53,000 by March 2025.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans he has to tackle the backlog in court cases that involve defendants who are parents or caregivers.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
The Government is committed to supporting the recovery of the courts to reduce the backlog of cases and improve timeliness for all court users, including defendants who are parents or caregivers.
Listing is a judicial function and judges continue to work to prioritise cases involving vulnerable complainants and witnesses, to seek to ensure that domestic abuse, serious sex cases and those with vulnerable witnesses (including youth cases) are listed at the first available opportunity, as well as custody time limit cases.
We have extended 30 Nightingale courtrooms beyond the end of March 2022 and removed the limit on the number of days the Crown Court can sit in the 2021/22 financial year. In the magistrates’ court, we are taking a flexible approach to the listing of cases so that we use our court estate as efficiently as possible. To secure enough capacity to sit at the required levels in 2022/23 and beyond we are expanding our plans for judicial recruitment: we plan to recruit 102 Circuit Judges, 105 Recorders, and 4,000 new magistrates over the three-year Spending Review period (2022-25).
These measures are already working, and as a result we expect to get through 20% more Crown Court cases this financial year than we did pre-Covid. Following an increase in funding as part of the Ministry of Justice’s Spending Review settlement, including £477m for recovery in the criminal courts, we aim to reduce the number of outstanding cases in the Crown Court to 53,000 by March 2025.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans he has to tackle the backlog in court cases that involve juvenile defendants.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
Throughout the pandemic, youth cases have continued to be prioritised and regularly reviewed to ensure they are being listed as expeditiously as possible, especially cases that involve youths in custody and those where a child is almost 18. The listing of cases is a judicial function and judges continue to work to prioritise cases involving vulnerable complainants and witnesses.
The Government is committed to supporting the recovery of the courts. We have extended 30 Nightingale courtrooms beyond the end of March 2022 and we removed the limit on the number of days the Crown Court can sit in the 2021/22 financial year. To secure enough capacity to sit at the required levels in 2022/23 and beyond we are expanding our plans for judicial recruitment.
To provide additional capacity in the Crown Court we are extending magistrates’ court sentencing powers from 6 to 12 months’ imprisonment for a single Triable Either Way offence to allow more cases to be heard in the magistrates’ court and help to drive down the backlog of cases over the coming years.
These measures are already working, and as a result we expect to get through 20% more Crown Court cases this financial year than we did pre-Covid. Following an increase in funding as part of the Ministry of Justice’s Spending Review settlement, including £477m for recovery in the criminal courts, we aim to reduce the number of outstanding cases in the Crown Court to 53,000 by March 2025. This will help all court users including those involved in cases with juvenile defendants.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will bring forward a new Restorative Justice Action Plan, to replace the previous Plan that expired in 2018.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
Under the Code of Practice for Victims of Crime, all victims must be told about the option of Restorative Justice and how to access it. We will use the Victims’ Bill to enshrine the Code into legislation, sending a clear signal that the justice system must deliver for victims.
We provide grant funding to Police and Crime Commissioners for victims’ support services, including Restorative Justice. In the 2020-21 year, they spent £3.7 million from the funding we provided on restorative justice services. We will further bolster support for victims of crime, by increasing MoJ funding for victim and witness support services to £185 million by 2024-25.
The probation service is also working on a new framework for restorative justice, to ensure a more consistent approach, focusing on the people for whom it will make the biggest difference. I am carefully considering the recommendations of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Restorative Justice, which includes publication of a new action plan, and will respond in due course.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of children annually affected by the imprisonment of a parent or main caregiver; and on what basis that estimate has been reached.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
No recent annual estimate has been made of the number of children affected by the imprisonment of a parent or main caregiver. However, the Government acknowledges the importance of better data collection to further understand the prevalence and needs of prisoners with children and is committed to collecting more data centrally and using this to inform policy and improve our services.
Changes are currently being made to the Basic Custody Screening Tool to enable us to collect data on entry to prison about how many primary carers are in custody and how many children under the age of 18 are affected by their imprisonment. Once these changes are made, we will be able to collate this information centrally.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Education on improving support services for children whose parents are serving a term of imprisonment; and if he will include those services in his Department's tender for the Provision of HMPPS Prisoner, Family and Significant Other Services.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
We recognise that families and significant other relationships can be a positive influence on reducing reoffending, and also encourage prisoners to maintain contact to improve prisoners’ health and well-being. Strengthening these ties is one of the many important factors to successful rehabilitation, with studies showing that prisoners who receive family visits are 39% less likely to reoffend. We also recognise, however, that there are some circumstances where, owing to the nature of the offence, family contact would not be desirable.
Policy responsibility for children who may be vulnerable as a result of parental incarceration in England sits with the Secretary of State for Education, while policy responsibility is a devolved matter in Wales. As part of our commitment to strengthening family ties, we are working across Government with the Department of Education, Welsh Government and Other Government Departments, to understand how to best support children, who may be vulnerable, as a result of parental incarceration.
HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) are in the process of developing requirements for the provision of the Prisoner, Family and Significant Other Services, that will operate from October 2022. As part of that process, HMPPS will be engaging with the external market to help inform and further develop the final specification for those services, which will subsequently be published within the procurement documentation and available to all potential bidders in January 2022.
Asked by: Kerry McCarthy (Labour - Bristol East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will include the provision of support services for families of prisoners, including where there is no contact because of the nature of the offences committed, in the tender for the Provision of HMPPS Prisoner, Family and Significant Other Services.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
We recognise that families and significant other relationships can be a positive influence on reducing reoffending, and also encourage prisoners to maintain contact to improve prisoners’ health and well-being. Strengthening these ties is one of the many important factors to successful rehabilitation, with studies showing that prisoners who receive family visits are 39% less likely to reoffend. We also recognise, however, that there are some circumstances where, owing to the nature of the offence, family contact would not be desirable.
Policy responsibility for children who may be vulnerable as a result of parental incarceration in England sits with the Secretary of State for Education, while policy responsibility is a devolved matter in Wales. As part of our commitment to strengthening family ties, we are working across Government with the Department of Education, Welsh Government and Other Government Departments, to understand how to best support children, who may be vulnerable, as a result of parental incarceration.
HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) are in the process of developing requirements for the provision of the Prisoner, Family and Significant Other Services, that will operate from October 2022. As part of that process, HMPPS will be engaging with the external market to help inform and further develop the final specification for those services, which will subsequently be published within the procurement documentation and available to all potential bidders in January 2022.