Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Chief Inspector of Prisons' report entitled, Report on an announced inspection of HMP Lewes, 5–16 February 2024, published on 14 May, what assessment he has made of the impact of the early release of prisoners on public safety.
Answered by Edward Argar
Public protection remains our priority. End of Custody Supervised Licence (ECSL) is a temporary measure and its use is under constant review. The most serious and dangerous offenders are excluded, including all those convicted for sexual or serious violent offences, and offenders whose release is a matter for the Parole Board to decide. Those released on ECSL are subject to strict licence conditions and probation supervision.
It remains at the discretion of the prison service to prevent the release of any prisoners under this measure where releasing an offender earlier presents a heightened risk than if they were released at their automatic release date. A panel formed of HMPPS senior leaders takes decisions on exclusions following advice from prison and probation staff.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what support his Department provides (a) prison governors and (b) the probation service on identifying suitable prisons for release via the early release scheme.
Answered by Edward Argar
Central HMPPS teams identify the prisoners who are potentially eligible for release on End of Custody Supervised Licence (ECSL) and provide this to the relevant prisons and to the probation service.
Extensive operational guidance on ECSL is issued to prisons and probation to guide them through the process and eligibility criteria. There is also an operational support helpline that prison and probation practitioners can call should they want additional support in confirming eligible cases or have any other questions about ECSL. For cases where there are concerns about heightened risk as a result of release before the automatic release point, the exemption panel of senior HMPPS leaders deals with cases that are escalated for a decision.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners released early under the overcrowding alleviation scheme have subsequently been recalled to custody in each of the last five years; and what the reasons for recall were.
Answered by Edward Argar
End of Custody Supervised Licence began in October 2023. Analysis of its use will be based on at least one year’s worth of data and published in line with the same approach we take for other statistical releases, such as deaths of offenders in the community.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners have been released under the End of Custody Supervised License scheme in each of the last five years, by category of offence they were originally convicted for.
Answered by Edward Argar
End of Custody Supervised Licence began in October 2023. Analysis of its use will be based on at least one year’s worth of data and published in line with the same approach we take for other statistical releases, such as deaths of offenders in the community.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an estimate of the number of court appearances that have been delayed as a result of Operation Early Dawn; and if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of Operation Early Dawn on court administration.
Answered by Mike Freer
Operation Early Dawn is a contingency designed to mitigate impacts across the criminal justice system. We monitor system impacts but we cannot estimate how many court appearances are delayed because of Operation Early Dawn. This data is not collected in our management information systems (because Operation Early Dawn is a contingency).
We can confirm that no court sessions were cancelled as a result of Operation Early Dawn.
The Ministry of Justice and its agencies are working to minimise any associated delays across the criminal justice system, which includes prioritising the most urgent cases, and to minimise the inevitable impact on court administration.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department takes to ensure that prisoners released under the End of Custody Supervised License scheme (a) are adequately supervised and (b) do not pose a risk to public safety.
Answered by Edward Argar
ECSL brings forward the normal release of some offenders. There are strict eligibility criteria which exclude the most serious and dangerous offenders, including all sexual and serious violent offenders. Offenders who may be eligible for release under these arrangements will be subject to the same set of licence conditions that would apply had they been released automatically. Unlike Labour’s early release scheme, which ran for three years and released over 80,000 prisoners, all offenders released under ECSL are subject to strict licence conditions.
Those licence conditions will reflect the risk management release plan prepared by probation staff and what is necessary to safely manage the offender in the community. The offender can be immediately recalled to prison if they do not comply or otherwise behave in a way that is assessed to be putting the public at risk.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the end of custody supervised licence scheme on rates of recidivism among early-release prisoners.
Answered by Edward Argar
We are constantly monitoring the use of End of Custody Supervised Licence (ECSL) and its impact.
We are taking action to drive down the reoffending rate for all offenders by investing in a wide range of rehabilitative interventions to get them into skills training, work, and stable accommodation. This includes delivering our ground-breaking transitional accommodation service, known as Community Accommodation Service – Tier 3 (CAS-3), so prison-leavers have a guaranteed 12 weeks of basic, temporary accommodation to provide a stable base on release. By January 2023, the proportion of offenders housed on the first night of their release from custody was 7.6 percentage points higher in CAS3 regions versus non-CAS3 regions.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners have been released early under the end of custody supervised license scheme since October 2023.
Answered by Edward Argar
The number of releases under End of Custody Supervised Licence will be published when sufficient robust and comprehensive data is available. To support orderly release, its publication will be announced through the GOV.UK release calendar.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what guidelines his Department has issued on ensuring the (a) anonymity and (b) safety of jurors in high-profile cases.
Answered by Mike Freer
There is no expectation of anonymity for jurors in trials. It is standard procedure that jurors’ names are called out to allow the defendant, or the defence’s legal representative, the opportunity to object to any person called, if for example they have knowledge of the defendant or of the case, which may be prejudicial to the trial.
However, Criminal Procedure Rule 25.6(4) allows for jurors to be announced by an identifying number assigned by the court officer to that person (rather than by their name) where the court is satisfied that that is necessary.
We take the safety of jurors and all those who attend the crown court seriously. Jurors are advised to make immediate contact with HMCTS staff if they are approached by anyone they think may be connected to the case they are part of the jury for, or if they feel threatened or concerned. If they are not in the courthouse and think they are in immediate danger, jurors are advised to dial 999.
Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions he has had with the Sentencing Council on the implementation of guidelines that require judges to consider factors such as poverty and social deprivation in sentencing; and whether his Department will provide training on these factors.
Answered by Gareth Bacon - Shadow Minister (Housing and Planning)
On 1 April 2024, the Sentencing Council for England and Wales introduced a new mitigating factor ‘difficult and/or deprived background or personal circumstances’ across all offence specific guidelines, following consultation. As a statutory consultee, the Lord Chancellor made clear in his response his opposition to the inclusion of this new mitigating factor. However, as an independent body, the Government cannot require the Council to review particular guidelines.
Regarding the implementation of the guidelines, under the Coroners and Justice Act 2009, the Council is required to monitor the operation and effect of its guidelines once published. The Council decides on its own priorities and work plan for producing and monitoring guidelines.
In relation to judicial training, in order to preserve the independence of the judiciary, the Lady Chief Justice has statutory responsibility under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 for the maintenance of appropriate arrangements for the welfare, training and guidance of the judiciary. The Lady Chief Justice exercises this responsibility through the Judicial College.