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1126624

registered interest
date	14/05/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisoners: Autism
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) men and (b) women in prison are on the autistic spectrum.
tabling member constituency	Camberwell and Peckham
tabling member printed	Ms Harriet Harman
uin	254060
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/05/2019 answer text <p>The MoJ does not centrally hold specific information on the number of prisoners who are on the autistic spectrum, either within prisons or young offender’s institutions. The most recent, available data from the Department for Education (2014/15) shows that 0.25% of Offender Learners (defined as offenders aged 18 or over that participated in Skills Funding Agency funded learning while in the prison system) self-declared as having a learning difficulty classified within the Autistic Spectrum Disorder category. This represents 250 out of 101,600 learners. This data is not, however, separated out by gender.</p><p> </p><p>The MoJ is committed to ensuring that all individuals who come into contact with the prison system are able to access the right support to help them engage with their sentence. We are therefore taking a number of steps to improve data collection on disability within prisons.</p><p> </p><p>This includes work by HM Prisons and Probation Service looking at how disabilities data can be better categorised on the Prison National Offender Management System (P-NOMIS) for offenders aged 18 and over to improve staff awareness.</p><p>Health and justice partners are also working to establish the new Health and Justice Information Service (HJIS) to improve the link between prisons and community by introducing a system of sharing clinical records between community and prison on reception, and from prison back to the community on release.</p><p> </p><p>Finally, the new adult prison education framework contracts, which commenced on 1 April, have introduced numerous improvements to the way prisoners aged 18 and over with learning difficulties and disabilities (LDD) are screened and provided with regular and consistent support throughout their sentence.</p> answering member constituency South Swindon answering member printed Robert Buckland grouped question UIN 254061 question first answered 20/05/2019 11:46:29 answering member 4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland
tabling member	150 label Biography information for Ms Harriet Harman

1126625

registered interest
date	14/05/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Young Offender Institutions: Autism
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) male and (b) female people in young offending institutions have autism.
tabling member constituency	Camberwell and Peckham
tabling member printed	Ms Harriet Harman
uin	254061
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/05/2019 answer text <p>The MoJ does not centrally hold specific information on the number of prisoners who are on the autistic spectrum, either within prisons or young offender’s institutions. The most recent, available data from the Department for Education (2014/15) shows that 0.25% of Offender Learners (defined as offenders aged 18 or over that participated in Skills Funding Agency funded learning while in the prison system) self-declared as having a learning difficulty classified within the Autistic Spectrum Disorder category. This represents 250 out of 101,600 learners. This data is not, however, separated out by gender.</p><p> </p><p>The MoJ is committed to ensuring that all individuals who come into contact with the prison system are able to access the right support to help them engage with their sentence. We are therefore taking a number of steps to improve data collection on disability within prisons.</p><p> </p><p>This includes work by HM Prisons and Probation Service looking at how disabilities data can be better categorised on the Prison National Offender Management System (P-NOMIS) for offenders aged 18 and over to improve staff awareness.</p><p>Health and justice partners are also working to establish the new Health and Justice Information Service (HJIS) to improve the link between prisons and community by introducing a system of sharing clinical records between community and prison on reception, and from prison back to the community on release.</p><p> </p><p>Finally, the new adult prison education framework contracts, which commenced on 1 April, have introduced numerous improvements to the way prisoners aged 18 and over with learning difficulties and disabilities (LDD) are screened and provided with regular and consistent support throughout their sentence.</p> answering member constituency South Swindon answering member printed Robert Buckland grouped question UIN 254060 question first answered 20/05/2019 11:46:29 answering member 4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland
tabling member	150 label Biography information for Ms Harriet Harman

1126088

registered interest
date	13/05/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Courts
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many cases were rescheduled in (a) Greater Manchester and (b) Greater London due to insufficient court space in the months of (i) February, (ii) March and (iii) April 2019.
tabling member constituency	Bolton South East
tabling member printed	Yasmin Qureshi
uin	253550
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/05/2019 answer text <p>Published data for criminal cases show the number of trials which were vacated or ineffective (and therefore do not go ahead) in the criminal courts and for ineffective trials, the reasons why the trial was ineffective. One of these is ‘court administrative issues including a lack of court time and court accommodation failures’, – however it is not possible to identify instances where this is specifically due to reasons of ‘insufficient court space’.</p><p> </p><p>Available data on vacated and ineffective trials is published here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-court-statistics-quarterly-october-to-december-2018" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-court-statistics-quarterly-october-to-december-2018</a></p><p> </p><p>These statistics are currently published up to December 2018. Data for January – March 2019 are due to be published on 27 June 2019.</p><p> </p><p>Information relating to rescheduled cases and the reasons for them in the civil and family courts are not held by the Ministry of Justice.</p> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard question first answered 17/05/2019 11:19:54 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
tabling member	3924 label Biography information for Yasmin Qureshi

1126189

registered interest
date	13/05/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Sexual Offences: Legal Representation
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, under what circumstances in cases involving historical sexual abuse are victims entitled to legal representation.
tabling member constituency	South Shields
tabling member printed	Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck
uin	253582
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/05/2019 answer text <p>The Government’s first ever cross-government Victims Strategy outlines our commitments to victims of crime.</p><p> </p><p>The Crown Prosecution Service is responsible for the prosecution of criminal cases. Victims of crime are not separately represented in criminal trials.</p><p> </p><p>Victims of historic sexual abuse have access to an independent sexual violence adviser (ISVA). The ISVA’s role is to ensure the victim receives the right support before, during and after legal proceedings. As part of proceedings, a victim may be called to give evidence as a witness for the prosecution. ISVAs will work alongside the Court-Based Witness Service to support the victim to give their best evidence and participate in the court process.</p><p> </p><p>In April this year, the Ministry of Justice awarded £8m in funding to rape support centres to provide emotional and practical support to victims of sexual violence and historic sexual abuse, including the provision of ISVA services. We also provided a grant of £11.2m to Citizens Advice for the delivery of the Court-Based Witness Service.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 16/05/2019 16:44:33 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
tabling member	4277 label Biography information for Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck

1126190

registered interest
date	13/05/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Criminal Proceedings: Sexual Offences
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, under what circumstances in cases involving historical sexual abuse are victims entitled to have character references used in their defence.
tabling member constituency	South Shields
tabling member printed	Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck
uin	253583
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/05/2019 answer text <p>Tackling historical sexual abuse and bringing perpetrators to justice is a government priority.</p><p> </p><p>Some victims of historical sexual abuse may be called to give evidence in criminal trials however a victim is not a party to a criminal case, as the Crown prosecutes. Victims and witnesses are not required to defend themselves or provide evidence to support their statements.</p><p>Rules of evidence do not permit the Crown to call evidence of the good character of a prosecution witness in order to bolster their credibility where it is not relevant to an issue in the case.</p><p>If the defendant attacks the character of a witness, evidence of the defendant’s bad character may be admissible as evidence.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 16/05/2019 16:31:42 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
tabling member	4277 label Biography information for Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck

1126191

registered interest
date	13/05/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Sexual Offences: Victims
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what protections exist for victims of historical sexual abuse where the perpetrator remains living in the victim's locality.
tabling member constituency	South Shields
tabling member printed	Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck
uin	253584
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/05/2019 answer text <p>Protection orders are an important tool for keeping victims safe and preventing the continuation or escalation of violence.</p><p> </p><p>Protections for victims of sexual offences, including historic abuse include:</p><ul><li>Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements, which are in place to ensure the successful management of violent and sexual offenders in the community.</li><li>Sexual Harm Prevention Orders, which can be used to impose a range of restrictions on sexual offenders, including travel restrictions.</li><li>Sexual Risk Orders, which can be used to impose restrictions on individuals who have done an act of a sexual nature and, as a result, pose a risk of harm to the public in the UK or children or vulnerable adults abroad. For a Sexual Risk Order to be imposed, the individual does not need to have committed an offence.</li><li>Sex Offender Notification Requirements, which require offenders to provide certain information to the police, for example notifying them if the offender is living in a household with a person under the age of 18.</li></ul><p> </p><p>Additionally, the Victim Contact Scheme is available to victims of violent and sexual offences where the offender receives a sentence of 12 months or more. The scheme provides victims with information and advice about the criminal justice process – including being kept informed of key stages of the offender's sentence and to advise on victim-related conditions that can be attached to the offender's release licence. Conditions can be around non-contact or excluding the offender from entering specific locations such as areas where the victim lives or works. The offender risks being recalled to prison should they breach any licence conditions.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 16/05/2019 14:08:07 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
tabling member	4277 label Biography information for Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck

1126192

registered interest
date	13/05/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Criminal Proceedings: Sexual Offences
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what guidance and training barristers receive on the cross-examination of victims of historical sexual abuse.
tabling member constituency	South Shields
tabling member printed	Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck
uin	253585
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/05/2019 answer text <p>Inns of Court College of Advocacy (ICCA) has developed specialist training for all advocates who question witnesses in cases of a serious sexual nature involving vulnerable adults and children. The training programme goes beyond victims of serious sexual offences. It aims to ensure all advocates understand the key principles of how to approach and question vulnerable people in the justice system</p><p>As set out in the Government’s Victims Strategy, the training programme delivers the manifesto commitment: “Publicly funded advocates will have specialist training in handling victims before taking on serious sexual offences” and goes beyond that commitment. Training is available to all advocates, not just those working on publicly funded cases.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 16/05/2019 16:41:56 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
tabling member	4277 label Biography information for Mrs Emma Lewell-Buck

1126225

registered interest
date	13/05/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Domestic Abuse: North West Durham
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what support (a) under the Litigants in Person Support Strategy and (b) through the additional grant funding announced in February 2019 will be offered to (i) victims of domestic abuse and (ii) other people from the North West Durham constituency participating in family court proceedings in (A) Durham and (B) Darlington.
tabling member constituency	North West Durham
tabling member printed	Laura Pidcock
uin	253724
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/05/2019 answer text <p>Since 2014-15, MoJ has invested almost £6.5 million of funding to support litigants in person in the civil and family courts through the Litigants in Person Support Strategy. The strategy works with a range of partners across England and Wales in the advice, voluntary and pro bono sectors to provide practical support for litigants in person. This includes online and self-help resources, as well as access to free or affordable legal advice and representation, where possible. For example, the Support Strategy continues to work with with the North East Law Centre in Newcastle Upon-Tyne to extend its reach and receive referrals from across the region, including from non-specialist services such as GP surgeries, and increase awareness of the expert advice available to litigants in person in the area.</p><p> </p><p>In February 2019, we published the Legal Support Action Plan which included a commitment to enhancing support for litigants in person. This will be achieved by increasing the funding provided to the Litigants in Person Support Strategy to £3m a year, for the next two years. We are particularly interested in focusing this additional investment on broadening the evidence base on how the services we are delivering to litigants in person can be made even more effective.</p> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard question first answered 16/05/2019 16:15:13 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
tabling member	4665 label Biography information for Laura Pidcock

1125585

registered interest
date	09/05/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Social Security Benefits: Appeals
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps the Government is taking to reduce the waiting time for benefits appeals from the 40 week average cited by HM Courts and Tribunal Service.
tabling member constituency	Tynemouth
tabling member printed	Sir Alan Campbell
uin	252492
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/05/2019 answer text <p>It is important that appeals are heard as quickly as possible. The Ministry of Justice recognises that there are delays in the system and is in the process of recruiting more judicial office holders in order to increase capacity and help to reduce waiting times for appellants. In the Social Security and Child Support (SSCS) jurisdiction, 225 new medical members and 119 disability-qualified members have recently been appointed and are now hearing cases.</p><p>The SSCS jurisdiction will also benefit from the fact that 250 fee-paid judges and 100 salaried judges are being recruited across tribunals more widely. In addition, we have recently launched a new digital service with a view to enabling speedier processing of appeals and providing a better service for all parties to the proceedings. Information on the new digital service can be found at:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/appeal-benefit-decision/submit-appeal" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/appeal-benefit-decision/submit-appeal</a></p> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard question first answered 17/05/2019 10:58:52 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
tabling member	529 label Biography information for Sir Alan Campbell

1125618

registered interest
date	09/05/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisoners' Release
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners serving an indeterminate public protection sentence were (a) released on licence and (b) subsequently recalled to prison in each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Dwyfor Meirionnydd
tabling member printed	Liz Saville Roberts
uin	252600
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/05/2019 answer text <p>It is for the independent Parole Board to review the detention of those prisoners serving an IPP sentence who have completed their tariff period. The Board will direct the release of these prisoners only if it is satisfied that the levels of risk posed to the general public are reduced enough that the National Probation Service and its partner agencies can safely manage them in the community under supervision.</p><p> </p><p>Whilst HM Prison and Probation Service is focused on giving all prisoners serving IPP sentences opportunities to progress towards release, public protection must remain our priority.</p><p> </p><p>The information you ask for is available in the public domain; however, I have provided it below for ease of reference.</p><p> </p><p>The following table provides the number of first releases from IPP sentences in each of the last 5 years:</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p><strong>2014</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2015<strong>[1]</strong></strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2016</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2017</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2018</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Releases</p></td><td><p>419</p></td><td><p>562</p></td><td><p>576</p></td><td><p>616</p></td><td><p>506</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>[1] Due to improvements in IT systems, the 2015 prison admissions data is now taken from a different source and, for statistical reporting purposes only, are produced using a different method. The 2015 figures from both the old and new systems have been presented to aid comparison.</p><p> </p><p>The following table provides the number of offenders recalled from IPP licences in each of the last 5 years. It should be noted that these are incidences of recall and that offenders may appear more than once if they have been recalled on multiple occasions. It should also be noted that the recall and release numbers in each corresponding year do not necessarily relate to the same individuals.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p><strong>2014</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2015</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2016</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2017</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2018</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Recalls</p></td><td><p>96[2]</p></td><td><p>363</p></td><td><p>482</p></td><td><p>492</p></td><td><p>637</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>2 Published data for IPP recalls was not collated separately to other types of indeterminate sentence prior to September 2014, and so can only be provided at disproportionate cost.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The following table shows the population of prisoners serving IPP sentences who have never been released as at the end of March each year since 2012:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>31 March 2012</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>31 Mar 2013</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>31 Mar 2014</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>31 Mar 2015</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>31 Mar 2016</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>31 Mar 2017</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>31 Mar 2018</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>31 March 2019</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>6,017</p></td><td><p>5,809</p></td><td><p>5,206</p></td><td><p>4,756</p></td><td><p>4,133</p></td><td><p>3,528</p></td><td><p>2,884</p></td><td><p>2,403</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>As with any large-scale recording system, administrative IT systems are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency South Swindon answering member printed Robert Buckland grouped question UIN 252602 question first answered 17/05/2019 12:10:06 answering member 4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland
tabling member	4521 label Biography information for Liz Saville Roberts