Asked by: Siobhain McDonagh (Labour - Mitcham and Morden)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many offenders breached the terms of their community order in each of the last five years.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
We are investing £155 million in funding each year into the Service and recruited over 4000 new probation officers since reunification of the Probation Service in 2021 to deliver better and more consistent supervision of offenders in the community.
Delivering public protection and cutting crime is not just about custody. There is persuasive evidence that suspended and community sentences are more effective than short custodial sentences in reducing reoffending and promoting rehabilitation. These sentences can include a range of robust requirements to punish the offender, protect the public and deliver rehabilitation. Electronic monitoring of curfews, exclusion zones, attendance at appointments, location monitoring and alcohol bans are all available requirements which the courts can use. To make sure that offenders are visibly and publicly making reparations for their crimes, courts can impose up to 300 hours of unpaid work.
Any breach of these requirements could see them returned to court and face immediate custody.
Please note that where there is a significant risk of harm to an individual or where the offender has breached an order of the court, the courts will retain full discretion to impose a sentence of immediate custody.
Please see attachment for the information requested.
Data sources and quality
The figures in this table have been drawn from the Delius case management system which, as with any large-scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
Source: Offender Mangement Statistics Quarterly Bulletin: October to December 2023
Asked by: Stephen Crabb (Conservative - Preseli Pembrokeshire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an estimate of the proportion of prison officers who are searched upon entry to prison by an x-ray body scanner.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
HM Prison and Probation Service does not currently have legal permission to use X-ray body scanners on staff working in prisons. As such, no prison officers are searched by an X-ray body scanner upon entry to prison.
All persons may be searched on entry to or within prisons, including prison staff. Arrangements for staff searching are set out in a prisons Local Security Strategy.
The vast majority of staff are hardworking and dedicated. A minority of staff engage in corrupt activity which is often as a result of conditioning and manipulation by prisoners.
Through the Government’s £100 million Security Investment Programme (SIP) we have bolstered prison security, such as physical measures to stop illicit items from entering prisons. These include extending X-ray body scanners to all closed male prisons, and installing Enhanced Gate Security at 42 high risk sites with archway metal detectors and the regular use of sniffer dogs. We have also since installed X-ray baggage scanners at 49 establishments. Additionally, through SIP investment, we have introduced mobile phone blocking and detection capabilities. We have also expanded HMPPS’ Counter Corruption Unit to effectively support the resilience of our hardworking prison officers to coercion by criminals. Furthermore, we have enhanced our partnership working through the development of a Multi-Agency Response to Serious Organised Crime.
Asked by: Siobhain McDonagh (Labour - Mitcham and Morden)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison cell fires there were, broken down by institution, in each year since 2015.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The attached table shows the number of fire incidents in each prison in each year since 2016. Information about fire incidents before 2016 is not available, because the records, which were held locally, have been destroyed in line with our retention policy. In 2016, a new centralised national system for recording fire incidents was introduced across the prison estate.
The overwhelming majority of the cell fires in prisons are classified as small and are quickly dealt with by staff. All prisons have an Arson Reduction Strategy which includes measures for managing prisoners who are known to present a risk of fire setting: these measures include strategic cell location, and control of access to ignition sources and combustible materials. In 2024-25, H M Prison & Probation Service will introduce an ignition-free Safer Vape Pen to replace the existing product, which is the source of approximately 80 per cent of fires set.
All operational staff receive training in responding to fire incidents, including the use of specialist safety and firefighting equipment. Where it is found that a fire is the result of arson, or recklessness, the prisoner responsible will face robust punitive action, which can include further criminal charges.
Asked by: Siobhain McDonagh (Labour - Mitcham and Morden)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many offenders who received a community sentence in each of the last five years had previously received (a) one, (b) two, (c) three, (d) four, (e) five or more community sentences.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
In many cases – particularly for lower-level offending – there is persuasive evidence that sentences served in the community, are more effective than short custodial sentences in reducing reoffending and rehabilitation in certain circumstances.
The Department’s statistics show that 55% of those released from prison after serving a custodial sentence of less than twelve months were convicted for a proven offence in the following 12 months. This compares to 32% of those serving a sentence in the community (community order or suspended sentence order): Proven reoffending statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
The information requested is provided in the table attached. The information supplied has been sourced from a retrieval from the Police National Computer database.
Asked by: Siobhain McDonagh (Labour - Mitcham and Morden)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have taken part in his Department's Intensive Supervision Courts pilot.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
In June 2023, we launched three Intensive Supervision Courts to divert offenders away from short custodial sentences and tackle the root causes of their offending, two at Liverpool and Teesside Crown Courts for offenders with substance misuse needs, and one focused on female offenders at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court. As of March 2024, 84 offenders have engaged with the Intensive Supervision Court pilot. These pilot sites are legislated to sentence for 18 months and are subject to a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation programme.
Asked by: Alex Cunningham (Labour - Stockton North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an estimate of the potential additional cost to the public purse for the continued use of the digital case management system as well as Common Platform by Crown Courts.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Whilst the detailed allocation of funding to HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) for 2024/25 is still being finalised, the annual support cost for Digital Case Management system is expected to be £0.6 million for the foreseeable future, plus another £0.4 million to complete work on an interface between this and Common Platform in 2024/25.
Asked by: Ruth Jones (Labour - Newport West)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of community service.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
There is persuasive evidence indicating that community sentences in general can be more effective for reducing reoffending than custodial sentences. The Department’s latest published reoffending statistics (Proven reoffending statistics - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)) show that 55% of those released from prison after serving a custodial sentence of less than twelve months were convicted for a proven offence in the following 12 months. This compares to 32% of those serving a court order (community sentence or suspended sentence order) or 24% of those serving a suspended sentence with requirements served in the community.
Community Payback completed over 4.7 million hours in 2023 undertaking work to improve communities, the environment and supporting charities. In 2023, Rapid Deployment pilots tackling anti-social behaviour hot spots has seen 8,809 hours of community payback completed and 509 different people involved and given its success this initiative is being rolled out to areas in all Probation regions.
A process evaluation by the Ministry of Justice of Unpaid Work commenced in 2022 to assess what works in the delivery of Unpaid Work. An impact and economic evaluation comparing the effectiveness of Unpaid Work to other punitive sentences in reducing reoffending will report in March 2025.
Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that people without the means to pay are able to access legal (a) advice and (b) representation for social welfare matters in Wales.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
In the last financial year, we spent approximately £1 billion on civil legal aid to support the most vulnerable.
We have injected £10 million a year into housing legal aid through the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service (HLPAS). Since the launch of HLPAS in August 2023, individuals in England and Wales who are facing eviction or repossession have been able to receive free early legal advice on housing, debt, and welfare benefits issues.
All HLPAS schemes in Wales are currently served by an in-court duty solicitor who is able to give emergency on the day advice to anyone facing possession proceedings. Additionally, individuals facing the loss of their home can access early legal advice in respect of housing, debt and welfare benefit issues on a remote basis from any HLPAS provider irrespective of their geographic location. The current list of HPLAS providers can be found via this link.
The Ministry of Justice is also providing additional support to providers who deliver HLPAS, funding a panel of specialist legal advisors (available to providers across England and Wales) and providing £1.5 million in grant funding for the recruitment of trainee solicitors in England and Wales. Both measures are intended to boost provider expertise in social welfare law and enhance their ability to deliver legal aid.
The following table is a breakdown of legal aid providers and provider offices in Wales (position as of 2 April 2024). The LAA is satisfied that there is adequate provision of services in Wales across all categories of legal aid, including under the relevant HLPAS schemes.
Category | Providers | Offices |
Debt | 5 | 27 |
Housing | 5 | 27 |
Welfare Benefits | 1 | 1 |
HLPAS | 1 | 7 |
Wherever you are in England and Wales, legal advice for housing and debt remains available through the civil legal advice telephone service.
Furthermore, since the publication of the Legal Aid Means Test Review (MTR) Consultation Response in May 2023, the Government has been developing detailed implementation plans for the new legal aid means assessment. When fully implemented, this will increase the number of people eligible for civil legal aid in England and Wales by an additional 2.5 million per year.
The Ministry of Justice is also undertaking a Review of Civil Legal Aid to identify evidence-based options for moving to a more effective, efficient, and sustainable system for legal aid providers and the people who rely on legal aid. We will publish reports for all workstreams by May 2024, and plan to consult on proposed options in a Green Paper in July.
Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of taking steps to increase the (a) recruitment and (b) training of immigration solicitors and advisors in Wales.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) monitors supply across its legal aid contracts on an ongoing basis and, where demand is greater than the available supply, takes action within its operational powers to secure additional provision to ensure the continuity of legal aid-funded services. The LAA is satisfied that there is adequate provision of services in Wales across all categories of legal aid.
Once implemented, individuals who receive a removal notice under the Illegal Migration Act (IMA) will have access to free legal advice in relation to the removal notice.
We are setting fees for IMA work at 15% above the usual hourly rate to help augment capacity so we can meet the anticipated increase in demand for legal aid advice.
We have taken a number of steps to help increase access to legal aid for immigration and asylum cases across England and Wales. For example, we are providing up to £1.4m of funding in 2024 for accreditation and reaccreditation of senior caseworkers to conduct immigration and asylum legal aid work.
In 2019, we brought non-asylum immigration and citizenship matters into scope for under 18s who are not in the care of a parent, guardian, or legal authority. This means, for example, that a separated migrant child making an application for entry clearance, leave to enter, or to remain in the United Kingdom, or an application for registration as a British citizen or as a British subject, or for registration as a British overseas territories citizen or a British Overseas citizen is now entitled to legal aid, subject to the means and merits tests.
The ongoing Review of Civil Legal Aid is considering the broader economic context of the civil legal aid market as a whole, including for immigration cases, so that it can operate sustainably in the long-term. we are due to publish a Green Paper in July 2024.
Asked by: Beth Winter (Labour - Cynon Valley)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of trends in the level of legal aid provision in Wales.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) monitors supply across its legal aid contracts on an ongoing basis and, where demand is greater than the available supply, takes action within its operational powers to secure additional provision to ensure the continuity of legal aid-funded services. The LAA is satisfied that there is adequate provision of services in Wales across all categories of legal aid.
Once implemented, individuals who receive a removal notice under the Illegal Migration Act (IMA) will have access to free legal advice in relation to the removal notice.
We are setting fees for IMA work at 15% above the usual hourly rate to help augment capacity so we can meet the anticipated increase in demand for legal aid advice.
We have taken a number of steps to help increase access to legal aid for immigration and asylum cases across England and Wales. For example, we are providing up to £1.4m of funding in 2024 for accreditation and reaccreditation of senior caseworkers to conduct immigration and asylum legal aid work.
In 2019, we brought non-asylum immigration and citizenship matters into scope for under 18s who are not in the care of a parent, guardian, or legal authority. This means, for example, that a separated migrant child making an application for entry clearance, leave to enter, or to remain in the United Kingdom, or an application for registration as a British citizen or as a British subject, or for registration as a British overseas territories citizen or a British Overseas citizen is now entitled to legal aid, subject to the means and merits tests.
The ongoing Review of Civil Legal Aid is considering the broader economic context of the civil legal aid market as a whole, including for immigration cases, so that it can operate sustainably in the long-term. we are due to publish a Green Paper in July 2024.