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1609125

registered interest
date	30/03/2023
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Criminal Proceedings: Bolton
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent estimate he has made of the size of the backlog of criminal court cases in Bolton.
tabling member constituency	Bolton South East
tabling member printed	Yasmin Qureshi
uin	177751
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/04/2023 answer text <p>The number of outstanding cases at the magistrates’ courts and the Crown Court are routinely published as part of the National Statistics release Criminal Court Statistics Quarterly. The latest published data is available to December 2022 and can be found at the following link: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-court-statistics-quarterly-october-to-december-2022" target="_blank">Criminal court statistics quarterly: October to December 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a>. For Crown Court, figures are published specifically for Bolton. For magistrates’ courts, the Greater Manchester Local Justice Area is the closest match available.</p><p>The published data for the Crown Court are found here: <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1146768/cc_rdos_tool.xlsx" target="_blank">Crown Court cases received, disposed and outstanding tool</a>, and the published data for the magistrates’ court are found here: <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1146766/mags_rdos_tool.xlsx" target="_blank">Magistrates' courts cases received, disposed and outstanding tool</a>.</p> answering member constituency Finchley and Golders Green answering member printed Mike Freer question first answered 19/04/2023 07:51:53 answering member 4004 label Biography information for Mike Freer
tabling member	3924 label Biography information for Yasmin Qureshi

1609139

registered interest
date	30/03/2023
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Ministry of Justice: Staff
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 28 March 2023 to Question 166164 on Government Departments: Staff, how many and what proportion of respondents to the most recent Leesman office survey undertaken by his Department (a) agreed and (b) disagreed with the statements about their main workplace that (i) it enables me to work productively, (ii) it supports me sharing ideas and knowledge amongst colleagues, (iii) it creates an enjoyable environment to work in, (iv) it contributes to a sense of community at work, and (v) it's a place I'm proud to bring visitors to.
tabling member constituency	Islington South and Finsbury
tabling member printed	Emily Thornberry
uin	177722
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/04/2023 answer text <p>The Government Property Agency (GPA) is committed to delivering great places to work and to ensure we are delivering on this commitment it is critical that civil servants have a voice that shapes their workplaces so that the spaces we deliver can best support them to be effective in delivering and serving the UK public. GPA has engaged with Leesman, a world leader in measuring workplace experience, using their independent, objective and transparent office surveys that allow us to benchmark ourselves globally.</p><p>GPA is leading the way in analysing and gaining value from the Leesman data to ensure our workplace decisions and conversations are informed and led by insights and data. Leesman is a world leader in measuring workplace and employee experience via an online survey tool.</p><p>The most recent Leesman office survey was conducted for Legal Aid Agency staff in November 2022. No other MoJ ALBs/agencies were involved in this survey. The number of respondents that answered either agree or disagree to the questions listed is set out in the table below.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Question</p></td><td><p>No. Respondent Agree (figures are aggregate by response of Strongly Agree, Agree or Slightly Agree)</p></td><td><p>No. Respondent Disagree (figures are aggregate by response of Strongly Disagree, Disagree or Slightly Disagree)</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>it enables me to work productively</p></td><td><p>10 (47.62%)</p></td><td><p>10 (47.62%)</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>it supports me sharing ideas and knowledge amongst colleagues</p></td><td><p>10 (47.62%)</p></td><td><p>9 (42.86)</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>it creates an enjoyable environment to work in</p></td><td><p>11 (52.38%)</p></td><td><p>8 (38.10%)</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>it contributes to a sense of community at work</p></td><td><p>11 (52.38%)</p></td><td><p>8 (38.10%)</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>it's a place I'm proud to bring visitors to</p></td><td><p>12 (57.14%)</p></td><td><p>2 (9.52%)</p></td></tr></tbody></table> answering member constituency Finchley and Golders Green answering member printed Mike Freer question first answered 19/04/2023 07:50:55 answering member 4004 label Biography information for Mike Freer
tabling member	1536 label Biography information for Emily Thornberry

1609192

registered interest
date	30/03/2023
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons: Smuggling
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the rollout of new prison scanners in preventing contraband from entering those sites.
tabling member constituency	Woking
tabling member printed	Mr Jonathan Lord
uin	177780
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/04/2023 answer text <p>We have invested £100m to combat crime in prisons, including reducing the conveyance of illicit items such as drugs and mobile phones.</p><p> </p><p>Since 2020, we have installed an additional 75 X-ray body scanners, bringing the total to 97 and providing coverage to the entire closed adult male estate. As of October 2022, there have been 28,626 positive indications recorded on these scanners.</p><p> </p><p>A full evaluation of our security investments is underway and will be published in 2023.</p><p> </p><p>We are also in the process of deploying 83 X-ray baggage scanners across the prison estate. The effectiveness of these scanners will be considered as part of a separate evaluation.</p> answering member constituency East Hampshire answering member printed Damian Hinds question first answered 17/04/2023 08:00:43 answering member 3969 label Biography information for Damian Hinds
tabling member	4090 label Biography information for Mr Jonathan Lord

1609193

registered interest
date	30/03/2023
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisoners: Training
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to help prisoners develop new skills.
tabling member constituency	Woking
tabling member printed	Mr Jonathan Lord
uin	177781
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/04/2023 answer text <p>We know that getting prisoners into employment on release is key to leading law-abiding lives in the community. Prisoners who participate in in-prison education are 9 percentage points less likely to reoffend on release. To help prisoners develop new skills we are:</p><ul><li><p>delivering a Prisoner Education Service which raises the level of the numeracy, literacy and skills of prisoners, with the aim of securing jobs or apprenticeships after they leave custody;</p></li><li><p>rolling out new Heads of Education Skills and Work to provide expert guidance to governors in designing education and training provision for their populations;</p></li><li><p>establishing an Employability Innovation Fund to enable Governors to work with more employers and training providers to repurpose workshops, deliver sector specific skills training and to improve prisoners’ literacy via a Literacy Innovation Fund; and</p></li><li><p>allowing prisoners to undertake apprenticeships which they can complete in the community following a change in the law made in September 2022.</p></li></ul> answering member constituency East Hampshire answering member printed Damian Hinds question first answered 17/04/2023 08:01:44 answering member 3969 label Biography information for Damian Hinds
tabling member	4090 label Biography information for Mr Jonathan Lord

1609194

registered interest
date	30/03/2023
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Crime Prevention: Young People
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking through the criminal justice system to help young people avoid crime.
tabling member constituency	Woking
tabling member printed	Mr Jonathan Lord
uin	177782
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/04/2023 answer text <p>The Beating Crime Plan 2021 highlighted the importance of early intervention for all young people; targeted support for those at risk of involvement in criminality; and targeted interventions for those who have started to offend. It is better that children do not enter the justice system at all, which is why the Ministry of Justice works with partners across and outside of government on programmes which provide help earlier on.</p><p> </p><p>The Turnaround programme is providing £56.5m multi-year grant funding to Youth Offending Teams (YOTs) across England and Wales until March 2025, enabling them to intervene earlier and improve outcomes for children on the cusp of entering the youth justice system. This additional funding will enable YOTs to work with up to 17,500 more children not currently on their caseload. The department’s Youth Justice Sports Fund also recently provided £5m to early intervention sport programmes working with 10–17-year-olds considered to be at risk of entering the justice system, who have benefitted from mentoring, volunteering and sports-based activities.</p><p> </p><p>For those children who do enter the justice system, we want to see local areas addressing the underlying needs which drove that offending behaviour. As part of this, last year the Ministry of Justice developed new Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to monitor and drive Youth Offending Teams’ and partners’ effectiveness in, for example, ensuring more children who commit crime have the education, training or employment opportunities to break the cycle of offending. These new KPIs came into force on 1 April.</p> answering member constituency East Hampshire answering member printed Damian Hinds question first answered 17/04/2023 08:03:24 answering member 3969 label Biography information for Damian Hinds
tabling member	4090 label Biography information for Mr Jonathan Lord

1609369

registered interest
date	30/03/2023
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Ministry of Justice: Disability
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of their Department's employees are recorded as having a disability.
tabling member constituency	Lewisham, Deptford
tabling member printed	Vicky Foxcroft
uin	177870
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/04/2023 answer text <p>The Ministry of Justice can confirm that of those staff who declared their disability status, as at the end of March 2022, 15% of MoJ staff were declared disabled.</p> answering member constituency Finchley and Golders Green answering member printed Mike Freer question first answered 17/04/2023 11:12:46 answering member 4004 label Biography information for Mike Freer
tabling member	4491 label Biography information for Vicky Foxcroft

1608517

registered interest
date	29/03/2023
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Magistrates: Sentencing
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of the extended sentencing powers for Magistrates.
tabling member constituency	South Leicestershire
tabling member printed	Alberto Costa
uin	176589
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/04/2023 answer text <p>The Government has always been clear that we needed flexibility to vary Magistrates’ Court Sentencing Powers, and that is why it took the power to do so last year in the Judicial Review and Courts Act 2022.</p><p>Since extending Magistrates’ Court Sentencing Powers in May 2022, we have been monitoring data to identify the impacts of the policy change, including increases in election and appeal rates.</p><p>We are currently experiencing downstream pressures in the criminal justice system, as manifested in Operation Safeguard, and it is important that the government ensures a cohesive cross-system response to this growing pressure. Whilst the increase to magistrates’ court sentencing powers is not the only factor behind this pressure, and our data on the impact is still limited, we believe it is safest to temporarily reduce magistrates’ court sentencing powers to 6 months so that the Crown Court retains power over decisions in respect of longer sentences.</p><p>It is nearly one year on from the implementation of the extended powers, and this pause gives us time to review the measure, taking into account how it is being used and assessing relevant data across the criminal justice system, with a view to reinstating the powers should this be supported by the evidence.</p><p>This change is no reflection on the magistracy or their use of the extended powers: the Government places immense value on the continuing and outstanding contribution of Magistrates to the justice system.</p> answering member constituency Finchley and Golders Green answering member printed Mike Freer grouped question UIN 176590 question first answered 19/04/2023 07:49:18 answering member 4004 label Biography information for Mike Freer
tabling member	4439 label Biography information for Alberto Costa

1608518

registered interest
date	29/03/2023
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Magistrates: Sentencing
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of giving extended sentencing powers for magistrates on a permanent basis.
tabling member constituency	South Leicestershire
tabling member printed	Alberto Costa
uin	176590
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/04/2023 answer text <p>The Government has always been clear that we needed flexibility to vary Magistrates’ Court Sentencing Powers, and that is why it took the power to do so last year in the Judicial Review and Courts Act 2022.</p><p>Since extending Magistrates’ Court Sentencing Powers in May 2022, we have been monitoring data to identify the impacts of the policy change, including increases in election and appeal rates.</p><p>We are currently experiencing downstream pressures in the criminal justice system, as manifested in Operation Safeguard, and it is important that the government ensures a cohesive cross-system response to this growing pressure. Whilst the increase to magistrates’ court sentencing powers is not the only factor behind this pressure, and our data on the impact is still limited, we believe it is safest to temporarily reduce magistrates’ court sentencing powers to 6 months so that the Crown Court retains power over decisions in respect of longer sentences.</p><p>It is nearly one year on from the implementation of the extended powers, and this pause gives us time to review the measure, taking into account how it is being used and assessing relevant data across the criminal justice system, with a view to reinstating the powers should this be supported by the evidence.</p><p>This change is no reflection on the magistracy or their use of the extended powers: the Government places immense value on the continuing and outstanding contribution of Magistrates to the justice system.</p> answering member constituency Finchley and Golders Green answering member printed Mike Freer grouped question UIN 176589 question first answered 19/04/2023 07:49:18 answering member 4004 label Biography information for Mike Freer
tabling member	4439 label Biography information for Alberto Costa

1608529

registered interest
date	29/03/2023
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Reparation by Offenders
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress he has made on establishing a pilot programme to understand where there are gaps in provision of restorative justice.
tabling member constituency	Carshalton and Wallington
tabling member printed	Elliot Colburn
uin	176712
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/04/2023 answer text <p>We are committed to supporting restorative justice as a way to help victims cope and, as far as possible, recover from the impact of crime. That is why, under the Code of Practice for Victims of Crime (‘the Victims’ Code’), all adult victims must be told about the option of restorative justice and how to access it. We also provide Police and Crime Commissioners with grant funding for victim support services, including restorative justice services. They are best placed to assess local need and commission services based on the needs of the population in the local area. Restorative justice services should be targeted to the most appropriate cases, where we have clear evidence for the benefits of that approach and should only take place when both the victim and the offender agree, and it is considered safe.</p><p> </p><p>HMPPS has work underway to look at how to better support MoJ funded restorative justice. This work is aimed at identifying the factors supporting quality practice and to test effective, evidence-based access to, and delivery of RJ services.  HMPPS will also work with PCC areas to improve referrals to RJ services. Once complete HMPPS will share the lessons learned more widely.</p><p> </p><p>We do not currently plan to publish a restorative justice action plan because it is not clear that this is necessary or an appropriate fit with the existing activity to improve the consistent and targeted provision of restorative justice services at a local level.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar grouped question UIN 176713 question first answered 17/04/2023 08:18:31 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
tabling member	4775 label Biography information for Elliot Colburn

1608531

registered interest
date	29/03/2023
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Reparation by Offenders
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the report of the APPG on Restorative Justice entitled Restorative Justice Inquiry Report, published in 2022, whether his Department plans to publish an updated Restorative Justice Action Plan for the Criminal Justice System.
tabling member constituency	Carshalton and Wallington
tabling member printed	Elliot Colburn
uin	176713
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/04/2023 answer text <p>We are committed to supporting restorative justice as a way to help victims cope and, as far as possible, recover from the impact of crime. That is why, under the Code of Practice for Victims of Crime (‘the Victims’ Code’), all adult victims must be told about the option of restorative justice and how to access it. We also provide Police and Crime Commissioners with grant funding for victim support services, including restorative justice services. They are best placed to assess local need and commission services based on the needs of the population in the local area. Restorative justice services should be targeted to the most appropriate cases, where we have clear evidence for the benefits of that approach and should only take place when both the victim and the offender agree, and it is considered safe.</p><p> </p><p>HMPPS has work underway to look at how to better support MoJ funded restorative justice. This work is aimed at identifying the factors supporting quality practice and to test effective, evidence-based access to, and delivery of RJ services.  HMPPS will also work with PCC areas to improve referrals to RJ services. Once complete HMPPS will share the lessons learned more widely.</p><p> </p><p>We do not currently plan to publish a restorative justice action plan because it is not clear that this is necessary or an appropriate fit with the existing activity to improve the consistent and targeted provision of restorative justice services at a local level.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar grouped question UIN 176712 question first answered 17/04/2023 08:18:31 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
tabling member	4775 label Biography information for Elliot Colburn