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1522728

	registered interest
	date	17/10/2022
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Independent Monitoring Boards
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has made an assessment of (a) the shortfall in and (b) the potential impact of increasing the level funding in the 2022-23 financial year on, recruitment to Independent Monitoring Boards.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	64352
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/10/2022 answer text <p>We value the scrutiny provided by the independent scrutiny bodies, including the Independent Monitoring Boards (IMBs).</p><p>In the 2022-23 financial year, we increased the level of funding for the IMBs by £0.44m and provided an additional £0.5m of capital funding. The increases will fund structural developments to improve new member recruitment and retention, for example, through the recruitment of Regional Support Leads, who will play a key role in supporting recruitment to Boards through improving local outreach.</p><p>Additionally, the development of a new organisational database will provide improvements to member recruitment and retention by replacing the current outdated legacy software and providing better access to member learning and development records, whilst aligning with plans to improve recruitment techniques. We hope this will positively impact the recruitment of board members and we will continue to keep this under review.</p> answering member constituency Aylesbury answering member printed Rob Butler question first answered 20/10/2022 16:18:05 answering member 4745 label Biography information for Rob Butler
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1524118

	registered interest
	date	19/10/2022
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Rye Hill Prison
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that HMP Rye Hill Independent Monitoring Board has (a) its full complement of members and (b) the support it needs to adequately monitor the welfare of prisoners.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	67230
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/10/2022 answer text <p>The Ministry of Justice values the scrutiny provided by the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) at HMP Rye Hill. The Department recognises the recruitment challenges faced by IMBs and across the wider volunteer sector.</p><p>In response to this, the Department has increased the funding available to IMBs by £440,000 for the financial year 2022-23 and provided an additional £500,000 in capital funding. This additional funding aims to help ensure that IMBs increase their complement of members. The increases will fund structural developments to improve new member recruitment and retention, for example, through the recruitment of Regional Support Leads, who will play a key role in supporting recruitment to Boards through improving local outreach. A Regional Support Lead has been recruited for the region which HMP Rye Hill is located in and is expected to take up post in November 2022. A regional approach to recruitment will also help streamline the recruitment process to ensure that candidates can progress quickly and join the boards they have been recommended to.</p><p>Individual boards have flexibility in how their members work individually and as a collective to ensure that the welfare of prisoners is monitored effectively. In addition, a National Monitoring Framework provides guidance to all boards on how to meet their monitoring requirements. The IMB Secretariat continues to provide support to members and boards through training, guidance and recruitment assistance.</p><p>The additional funding provided by the Department has also increased communications resource to raise the profile of IMBs and improve recruitment advertising to support member recruitment.</p> answering member constituency Aylesbury answering member printed Rob Butler question first answered 24/10/2022 16:34:20 answering member 4745 label Biography information for Rob Butler
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1669594

	registered interest
	date	13/11/2023
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Rye Hill Prison
	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 implications for his policies of the findings in the 2022-23 annual report of the HMP Rye Hill Independent Monitoring Board that the prison has (a) inadequate resettlement support in place for those leaving and (b) significant challenges to maintaining fair and humane treatment; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of these findings on rates of recidivism.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	1742
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/11/2023 answer text <p>The care and rehabilitation of prisoners are matters that the Ministry of Justice and H M Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) take very seriously. We respond to all issues raised in reports we receive from Independent Monitoring Boards, and take action as appropriate.</p><p> </p><p>The report notes that finding accommodation in Approved Premises can be problematic. We recognise, and are addressing, this issue. In recent years we have undertaken an Approved Premises expansion programme, which has delivered 169 additional spaces, including the first purpose-built site. We are also developing a new digitalised approach to referrals, through a national Central Referral Unit that will oversee assessment for suitability and eligibility, and match individuals to placements, while maximising occupancy and use of Approved Premises capacity across the country. This new approach is being piloted in the North East. Underpinned by the Department’s demand analysis, it will enable HMPPS to improve timeliness and allow greater consistency and responsivity.</p><p> </p><p>The section of the Independent Monitoring Board’s report devoted to fair and humane treatment notes the challenges unavoidably arising from the Covid-19 pandemic, and comments favourably on the prison’s proactive approach in prioritising a return to business as usual, including arranging for prisoners to undertake activity on a daily basis. The report notes that, when interviewed, prisoners were understanding of the need for restrictions and appreciated the efforts the prison had made to return to a normal regime as quickly as possible through the year.</p><p> </p><p>We were encouraged to receive the Board’s comments on the extensive prisoner-led initiatives across a range of topics that have promoted a sense of community and improved staff and prisoner relationships. This can only be beneficial in improving prospects for successful resettlement and rehabilitation on release.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 16/11/2023 13:01:24 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1198772

	registered interest
	date	28/05/2020
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Criminal Legal Aid Review
	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 potential merits of the recommendations of the Law Society's submission to Criminal Legal Aid Review, published in February 2020.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	52555
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/06/2020 answer text <p>In order to focus on the most pressing issues for practitioners during the COVID-19 pandemic we agreed to temporarily pause our work on the Criminal Legal Aid Review in order to focus on short term sustainability issues. We will return to the review, which has a wider focus on long term sustainability of the criminal legal aid market as quickly as we can, while doing all we can to mitigate the current crisis and support justice recovery.</p><p> </p><p>On 28 February 2020, as part of the review, we launched a consultation on policy proposals for the “Criminal legal Aid Review - An accelerated package of measures amending the criminal legal aid fee schemes”. This consultation remains open and we continue to engage with various stakeholder and representative bodies and value the contributions being made. Once the consultation closes, the Government will publish its response after carefully considering the issues raised by the Law Society and others who respond to the consultation.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk question first answered 09/06/2020 18:00:36 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1216030

	registered interest
	date	22/06/2020
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Legal Ombudsman
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how his Department ensures that the office of the Legal Ombudsman does not discriminate against people suffering from mental health issues during the decision making process.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	62649
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/06/2020 answer text <p>The Office for Legal Complaints (OLC) is an arm’s length body – which administers the Legal Ombudsman scheme (LeO) – and makes decisions in relation to cases considered under the scheme independently of, and without influence from, the Ministry of Justice.</p><p>We are aware that LeO staff receive training on reasonable adjustments and have Dedicated Vulnerable Customers Champions to identify customers who may need additional assistance or reasonable adjustments to access its service. This includes adjustments for mental health reasons.</p><p>The OLC also has a service complaints process, of which the last stage is escalation to the Service Complaint Adjudicator who is appointed by the Board and independent of the OLC.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk question first answered 25/06/2020 16:45:59 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1216092

	registered interest
	date	22/06/2020
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Legal Profession: Disclosure of Information
	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 prevalence of use of non-disclosure agreements by legal professionals; and what steps his department is taking to help ensure that non-disclosure agreements are not misused.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	62650
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/06/2020 answer text <p>The legal profession in England and Wales is independent of Government and legal professionals are regulated by a number of regulators including the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) and the Bar Standards Board (BSB). Legal professionals must comply with a detailed Code of Conduct, which ensures that high standards of conduct are met.</p><p>The SRA has issued guidance via a warning notice to all regulated individuals and entities on the use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs). The SRA warning notice confirms that they consider NDAs to be improperly used if they prevent a person from reporting misconduct, making a protected disclosure, reporting an offence or cooperating with criminal activity. The SRA has also been taking enforcement action against solicitors over the misuse of NDAs.</p><p>The Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy has published its response to views on consultation on confidentiality clauses. This proposes new legislation to further protect consumers in the provision of such legal services and deter rogue practice.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk question first answered 25/06/2020 16:48:25 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1309042

	registered interest
	date	14/04/2021
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Importance of Strengthening Female Offenders' Family and other Relationships to Prevent Reoffending and Reduce Intergenerational Crime Review
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress has been made on implementing the recommendations of the 2019 Farmer Review For Women.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	181123
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/04/2021 answer text <p>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.</p><p> </p><p>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.</p><p> </p><p>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.</p><p> </p><p>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.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk grouped question UIN 181124 181125 question first answered 19/04/2021 15:43:21 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1309043

	registered interest
	date	14/04/2021
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Offenders: Females
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	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.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	181124
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/04/2021 answer text <p>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.</p><p> </p><p>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.</p><p> </p><p>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.</p><p> </p><p>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.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk grouped question UIN 181123 181125 question first answered 19/04/2021 15:43:21 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1309044

	registered interest
	date	14/04/2021
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Pre-sentence Reports: Carers and Females
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	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.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	181125
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/04/2021 answer text <p>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.</p><p> </p><p>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.</p><p> </p><p>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.</p><p> </p><p>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.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk grouped question UIN 181123 181124 question first answered 19/04/2021 15:43:21 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1309086

	registered interest
	date	14/04/2021
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Prison Sentences
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	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.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	181127
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/04/2021 answer text <p>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.</p><p> </p><p>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.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk question first answered 19/04/2021 15:53:33 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana