Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to HM Inspectorate of Prison and Probation Service's report on Thematic inspection on electronic monitoring, published 22 January 2023, what steps his Department has taken to implement the recommendation that HMPPS mandate the requirement to make domestic abuse and safeguarding checks before recommending a sentence or release on electronically monitored curfew.

We are investing an extra £5.5 million a year to recruit probation staff who are specifically responsible for accessing domestic abuse information held by police forces and children’s safeguarding information held by local authorities. HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) has worked with the Association of Directors of Children’s Services, the Department for Education and the National Police Chiefs’ Council leads for Domestic Abuse and Public Protection to provide support at national level to Probation Regions to access information from police and children’s services. The then Chief Probation Officer also wrote to all Children’s Services Directors and Chief Constables to alert them to the introduction of mandatory checks for domestic abuse and in relation to child safeguarding in electronic monitoring cases. The Chief Probation Officer highlighted the additional investment and placed the new mandatory checks in the context of the shared priority of the safety and welfare of adults and children who may be at risk.

HM Inspectorate of Probation published the Thematic Inspection on Electronic Monitoring in January 2022. HMPPS mandated that enquiries to police forces and children’s services should be made in all cases where there is a recommendation for an electronically monitored curfew from April 2022 (in addition to those cases where they were already required). The then Chief Probation Officer and the Executive Director for HMPPS Wales and Public Protection held an all staff event to reinforce the importance of making enquiries. The new Chief Probation Officer has been clear with all staff that this is one of her top priorities.