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 strength of security protocols at HMP Leyhill in Gloucestershire.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
We do not provide public assessments of a prison’s security as this may risk undermining the security of that prison. However, the overall score is published within the Prisons Performance Tool, and when the prison was last assessed in 2018 it received a substantial rating indicating that at the time of the audit the framework of governance, risk management and control at HMP Leyhill was adequate and effective. The next iteration of the performance ratings for 2021/22 is due to be released on 28 July 2022.
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 trends in average waiting times for mental health volunteers to gain security clearance to work with prisoners.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Officials have investigated this question and have liaised with those in the Approvals and Compliance Team (ACT) who have reviewed all data held on those wishing to work with Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service.
The current average timescales for security clearance for a non-directly employed worker is 8 working days from the point of all correct documentation being submitted by the worker.
Unfortunately, the vetting platform used for non-directly employed personnel such as mental health volunteer workers is unable to provide specific timescales on groups of professionals that are placed through the vetting process.
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 implications for his policies of calls to retroactively abolish imprisonment for public protection sentences on a case-by-case basis.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Government’s long held view is that retrospectively abolishing the IPP sentence would give rise to an unacceptable risk to public protection as it could result in the immediate release of many offenders who have been assessed as unsafe for release by the Parole Board.
Our primary responsibility is to protect the public, however, HMPPS remains committed to safely reducing the number of prisoners serving IPP sentences in custody. The IPP Action Plan, which is regularly reviewed and refreshed to ensure it targets activity in the right areas, remains the best means of achieving this. HMPPS continue to support all those still serving IPP sentences in custody by providing them with opportunities to show they can be safely released by the Parole Board and to help those serving the IPP sentence on licence in the community to work towards having their licence terminated.
The Action Plan is working. As of 31st December 2021, there were 1,602 IPP prisoners who have never been released (whether because the offender has not yet served the minimum term of imprisonment or because the independent Parole Board has determined that their risk remains too high for them to be safely managed in the community). This marks significant progress as there were over 6,000 people in custody serving an IPP sentence at the peak.
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 adequacy of support available to prisoners serving Imprisonment for public protection sentences.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Government’s long held view is that retrospectively abolishing the IPP sentence would give rise to an unacceptable risk to public protection as it could result in the immediate release of many offenders who have been assessed as unsafe for release by the Parole Board.
Our primary responsibility is to protect the public, however, HMPPS remains committed to safely reducing the number of prisoners serving IPP sentences in custody. The IPP Action Plan, which is regularly reviewed and refreshed to ensure it targets activity in the right areas, remains the best means of achieving this. HMPPS continue to support all those still serving IPP sentences in custody by providing them with opportunities to show they can be safely released by the Parole Board and to help those serving the IPP sentence on licence in the community to work towards having their licence terminated.
The Action Plan is working. As of 31st December 2021, there were 1,602 IPP prisoners who have never been released (whether because the offender has not yet served the minimum term of imprisonment or because the independent Parole Board has determined that their risk remains too high for them to be safely managed in the community). This marks significant progress as there were over 6,000 people in custody serving an IPP sentence at the peak.
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 - Minister of State (Ministry of 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 - Minister of State (Ministry of 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 - Minister of State (Ministry of 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 - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
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.