Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Your Party - Coventry South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what funding his Department has made available to the independent monitoring board in 2022-23; and how does that figure compare to the funding for 2021-22.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Ministry of Justice resource funding for the Independent Monitoring Boards (IMBs) for 2022/23 is £2.67m - an increase from £2.23m in 2021/22.
The department has also provided the IMBs with £0.5m of capital funding, which will fund the development of a new organisational database to support improvements to member recruitment and retention.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Your Party - Coventry South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the extent of recruitment challenges to Independent Monitoring Boards (IMB); what steps he plans to take to tackle those challenges; and what assessment he has made of the impact of the shortfall in IMB members on the treatment of prisoners they are tasked with monitoring.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The Independent Monitoring Boards (IMBs) play an important role in supporting the Ministry of Justice to improve the safety and security of our prisons. Although the IMB is responsible for the recruitment of its volunteers, the Department recognises the challenges that exist in recruiting members to some individual Monitoring Boards. MoJ has, therefore, increased the funding available to the organisation in 2022-23. This increase in funding will help support improvements to member recruitment and retention policies to ensure Boards continue to deliver statutory responsibilities to monitor and report on the treatment of those detained in custody.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Your Party - Coventry South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the implications for its policies of the decision of the Court of Appeal in the case R v Jones [2020] EWCA Crim 764 in respect of the sentences of offenders who due to the covid-19 outbreak were imprisoned under conditions different from those under which they were originally sentenced.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
Sentencing in individual cases is entirely a matter for our independent courts having regard to any guidelines issued by the independent Sentencing Council.
The judgment in R v Jones on 20 June 2020 reflects the earlier judgment given in the case of R v Christopher Manning [2020]. Noting that, in accordance with established principles, the courts “will take into account the likely impact of a custodial sentence upon an offender”, the Court of Appeal in R v Manning acknowledged the impact of covid-19 on prisons and observed that the courts should “keep in mind that the impact of a custodial sentence is likely to be heavier during the current emergency than it would otherwise be.” On 23 June 2020 the Sentencing Council published “The application of sentencing principles during the Covid-19 emergency” The application of sentencing principles during the Covid-19 emergency – Sentencing (sentencingcouncil.org.uk).
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Your Party - Coventry South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans the Government has to recognise in law humanist marriage ceremonies.
Answered by Alex Chalk
A Law Commission project on marriage and civil partnership is due to report later this year and is expected to present recommendations for wholesale reform to the law governing marriage ceremonies, which the Government will consider carefully.
Options being explored by the Law Commission as part of their review include offering couples greater flexibility over the form of their ceremony, allowing the ceremony to take place in a much broader range of locations and to provide a framework that could allow non-religious belief organisations, such as Humanists and independent celebrants, to conduct legally binding weddings. The Government will decide on provision for non-religious belief marriage in light of the Law Commission's recommendations.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Your Party - Coventry South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to protect breastfeeding mothers from being photographed in public.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
This behaviour may already be captured by existing offences.
However, we are keenly aware of concerns that have been expressed over the changes in technology, including the misuse of photography, social media, imagery, and the opportunities to abuse and upset others that such developments can bring.
We have therefore asked the Law Commission to review the law in this area to ensure victims are properly protected.
It is important that any changes to the law in such sensitive areas, are thoroughly assessed and fully evidenced.
The review has looked at the question of non-consensual photography in public places, including whether recording and sharing images of breastfeeding should be captured as “intimate” imagery for the purposes of any reformed criminal law.
The Government awaits the Law Commission’s findings with interest and shall consider them carefully.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Your Party - Coventry South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when the the application submitted by Oasis Charitable Trust to run Medway Secure School will be published on the secure schools page of GOV.UK; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Alex Chalk
We are unable to publish the Oasis application documents as had been intended as it has not been possible to produce it in an accessible format as required for all documents published on GOV.UK. A copy of the application and related documents in the form it had been intended to be published will be placed in the House library. We have made the document available on request as stated on the page providing guidance on secure schools.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/secure-schools-how-to-apply
The application submitted by Oasis in March 2019 outlined the foundation for their operating concept and proposed principles for the secure school, in line with the criteria set out in the secure schools ‘how to apply’ guide. Since they were approved as the successful applicant for the first secure school in July 2019, Oasis have continued to develop and refine their operating model. All policies submitted by Oasis were accurate for academic year 2018-19.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Your Party - Coventry South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Prison Reform Trust’s report, No life, no freedom, no future, published December 2020, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of repealing IPP sentences.
Answered by Alex Chalk
While the Government has no plans to repeal IPP sentences, it keeps the operation of those sentences under review. The focus is on ensuring, via a joint HMPPS/Parole Board action plan, that IPP prisoners have every opportunity to progress towards safe release.
This approach is working, with high numbers of unreleased IPP prisoners achieving a release decision each year. All IPP prisoners will have their continued detention reviewed by the independent Parole Board at least once every two years.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Your Party - Coventry South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to recommendation 8 of the 2019 Farmer Review for Women, what progress has been made on making written Pre-Sentence Reports mandatory for all women and male primary carers before a custodial sentence is passed.
Answered by Alex Chalk
The Government has made good progress in implementing the recommendations of the Farmer Review for Women, since its publication in June 2019. Ten recommendations have already been implemented and a further eight are expected to be completed this year. Achievements so far include increased access to telephone contact in court custody suites, allowances for the increased use of Release on Temporary Licence (ROTL), amending the eligibility for Child Resettlement Leave to include primary carers as well as sole carers, and the rollout of video calling across the Women’s Estate.
As set out in the Female Offender Strategy, the Government is working to ensure women’s personal circumstances are identified and shared by all agencies in the criminal justice system, in order to inform decisions and support. Lord Farmer’s recommendation on the Personal Circumstances File forms part of this work.
We are also committed to increasing the delivery of quality and timely pre-sentence reports (PSRs) and understand the particular importance of PSRs for women. HM Prison and Probation Service has developed a Pre-Sentence Report interview checklist which focuses on the specific needs of female offenders. Following a series of briefing events, this was rolled out nationally in August 2019 and is available to all practitioners.
Additionally, in the Sentencing White Paper we committed to ensuring that probation staff are supported to deliver a high standard of reports and to significantly increase the proportion of court disposals which benefit from a PSR. This pilot has now launched, and will be in all 15 pilot magistrate courts across 10 probation regions in England and Wales by mid-May. One element of this pilot looks specifically at female offenders, given this cohort often have particularly complex needs. We will use the findings from this pilot to further inform how we take forward Lord Farmer’s recommendation.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Your Party - Coventry South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the 2019 Farmer Review for Women, what progress has been made on the introduction of a Personal Circumstances File for women in contact with the criminal justice system.
Answered by Alex Chalk
The Government has made good progress in implementing the recommendations of the Farmer Review for Women, since its publication in June 2019. Ten recommendations have already been implemented and a further eight are expected to be completed this year. Achievements so far include increased access to telephone contact in court custody suites, allowances for the increased use of Release on Temporary Licence (ROTL), amending the eligibility for Child Resettlement Leave to include primary carers as well as sole carers, and the rollout of video calling across the Women’s Estate.
As set out in the Female Offender Strategy, the Government is working to ensure women’s personal circumstances are identified and shared by all agencies in the criminal justice system, in order to inform decisions and support. Lord Farmer’s recommendation on the Personal Circumstances File forms part of this work.
We are also committed to increasing the delivery of quality and timely pre-sentence reports (PSRs) and understand the particular importance of PSRs for women. HM Prison and Probation Service has developed a Pre-Sentence Report interview checklist which focuses on the specific needs of female offenders. Following a series of briefing events, this was rolled out nationally in August 2019 and is available to all practitioners.
Additionally, in the Sentencing White Paper we committed to ensuring that probation staff are supported to deliver a high standard of reports and to significantly increase the proportion of court disposals which benefit from a PSR. This pilot has now launched, and will be in all 15 pilot magistrate courts across 10 probation regions in England and Wales by mid-May. One element of this pilot looks specifically at female offenders, given this cohort often have particularly complex needs. We will use the findings from this pilot to further inform how we take forward Lord Farmer’s recommendation.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Your Party - Coventry South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress has been made on implementing the recommendations of the 2019 Farmer Review For Women.
Answered by Alex Chalk
The Government has made good progress in implementing the recommendations of the Farmer Review for Women, since its publication in June 2019. Ten recommendations have already been implemented and a further eight are expected to be completed this year. Achievements so far include increased access to telephone contact in court custody suites, allowances for the increased use of Release on Temporary Licence (ROTL), amending the eligibility for Child Resettlement Leave to include primary carers as well as sole carers, and the rollout of video calling across the Women’s Estate.
As set out in the Female Offender Strategy, the Government is working to ensure women’s personal circumstances are identified and shared by all agencies in the criminal justice system, in order to inform decisions and support. Lord Farmer’s recommendation on the Personal Circumstances File forms part of this work.
We are also committed to increasing the delivery of quality and timely pre-sentence reports (PSRs) and understand the particular importance of PSRs for women. HM Prison and Probation Service has developed a Pre-Sentence Report interview checklist which focuses on the specific needs of female offenders. Following a series of briefing events, this was rolled out nationally in August 2019 and is available to all practitioners.
Additionally, in the Sentencing White Paper we committed to ensuring that probation staff are supported to deliver a high standard of reports and to significantly increase the proportion of court disposals which benefit from a PSR. This pilot has now launched, and will be in all 15 pilot magistrate courts across 10 probation regions in England and Wales by mid-May. One element of this pilot looks specifically at female offenders, given this cohort often have particularly complex needs. We will use the findings from this pilot to further inform how we take forward Lord Farmer’s recommendation.