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1678221

	registered interest
	date	14/12/2023
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an estimate of the cost to the criminal justice system of alcohol use.
	tabling member constituency	York Central
	tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
	uin	7062
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/12/2023 answer text <p>The Ministry of Justice do not currently hold data on these costings. However, the Government is committed to tackling alcohol misuse, including within the Criminal Justice System. There are a range of sentencing options to support those who have committed alcohol-related crime to overcome their misuse and reduce reoffending. Alcohol Treatment Requirements (ATRs) as part of a community sentence require the offender to attend treatment and supervision. The total number of ATRs commenced rose from 5,100 in 2021, to 5,800 in 2022, an increase of 14.2% (700). Alcohol tags can be used to monitor compliance with an alcohol ban imposed as a requirement of a community sentence or restrictions imposed on licence. Since introducing alcohol tags in October 2020, 17,332 new alcohol monitoring orders have been imposed.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 21/12/2023 14:36:07 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
	tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

1688661

	registered interest
	date	08/02/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Alcoholic Drinks: Sentencing
	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 ensure that people convicted of a crime in which alcohol was an aggravating factor are provided with harm reduction (a) support and (b) education as part of their sentence.
	tabling member constituency	York Central
	tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
	uin	13790
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/02/2024 answer text <p>The Ministry of Justice is committed to tackling the underlying causes of offending, including alcohol misuse, as it is crucial to reducing reoffending. Between 2011/12 and 2021/22, the overall proven reoffending rate has decreased from 31.3% to 25.2% and we are continuing taking action to drive down the reoffending rate even further.</p><p> </p><p>In the community, we want to make the best use of alternatives to custody to ensure that offenders with substance misuse needs are diverted to treatment wherever appropriate. Offenders can be given an Alcohol Treatment Requirement (ATR) as part of a community sentence, and we are committed to increasing the use of these. The Department for Health and Social Care are investing £532m to increase drug and alcohol treatment and recovery places and we have recruited new Health and Justice Coordinators in every probation region to improve links between probation and local drug and alcohol treatment services.</p><p> </p><p>We are also piloting three Intensive Supervision Courts where offenders will be subject to regular reviews with a judge, drug testing, incentives and sanctions.</p><p> </p><p>In custody, we have recruited Drug Strategy Leads in key prisons to ensure a focus on tackling drug and alcohol misuse. Staying in treatment on release is crucial and so we are also rolling out more secure video calling technology, providing prisoners with the opportunity to engage with community treatment pre-release. We are also expanding the number of Incentivised Substance-Free Living Units where prisoners commit to remaining free of illicit drugs and alcohol, with regular drug testing and incentives. We now have over 60 of these wings across the estate and are aiming to reach up to 100 by March 2025. This will dramatically expand the number of prisoners who have access to these wings.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 19/02/2024 14:11:12 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
	tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

1680508

	registered interest
	date	08/01/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Legal Aid Scheme: Universal Credit
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of removing access to legal aid for people who lose their entitlement to Universal Credit under measures announced in the Autumn statement on such people.
	tabling member constituency	York Central
	tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
	uin	8493
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/01/2024 answer text <p>I refer the (hon.) Member for York Central to the answer I gave on 12 December 2023 to questions 5538 and 5539 <a href="https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2023-12-06/5538" target="_blank">here</a>.</p> answering member constituency Finchley and Golders Green answering member printed Mike Freer question first answered 16/01/2024 16:24:26 answering member 4004 label Biography information for Mike Freer
	tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

1682861

	registered interest
	date	17/01/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Mental Health Services: Women
	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 with Cabinet colleagues to provide women and girls with trauma-informed preventative care through the criminal justice system.
	tabling member constituency	York Central
	tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
	uin	10171
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/01/2024 answer text <p>Our Female Offender Strategy and its Delivery Plan set out the steps we are taking to ensure we provide gender-specific and trauma responsive care to women at all stages of the system. The Delivery Plan is backed by almost £30m in investment to both improve community support for women in or at risk of contact with the criminal justice system, and improve outcomes for women in custody. Recognising that this requires cross-Government action, MoJ has worked closely with other Government departments and agencies to produce a National Concordat, including an agreed set of actions and desired outcomes to ensure a joined-up approach to addressing the challenges faced by women in the system.</p><p> </p><p>We recognise the value of preventative care for those entering the criminal justice system at a young age. Turnaround is a youth early intervention programme led by the Ministry of Justice. The programme provides 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. From December 2022 to September 2023, YOTs report that we have had around 13,000 referrals, carried out 6,000 assessments, and started 5,200 interventions. Girls make up around one quarter of all referrals, which is higher than in YOT's usual statutory caseloads. Youth Justice practitioners have reported focusing on building positive, trusting relationships with girls through Turnaround, led by trauma-informed practice.</p><p> </p><p>We are also taking action to ensure that our response to violence against women and girls is robust, effective, and meeting the needs of victims. Critical to this is making sure that police and prosecutors have the right skills and knowledge to respond effectively to violence against women and girls. The CPS requires all prosecutors to complete training on domestic abuse, and has revised its guidance on Domestic Abuse, Stalking, and Controlling or Coercive Behaviour. The Government recognises the vital role that support services play in helping victims, including women and girls, during their engagement with the criminal justice system. This is why we are using additional ringfenced funding to increase the number of Independent Sexual Violence Advisors (ISVAs) and Independent Domestic Violence Advisors (IDVAs) by 300, to over 1000, by 2024/2025 – a 43% increase on the number of advisors over this spending review period.</p> answering member constituency Newbury answering member printed Laura Farris question first answered 25/01/2024 18:09:53 answering member 4826 label Biography information for Laura Farris
	tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

1679521

	registered interest
	date	05/01/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Offenders: Women
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to page 21 of his Department's publication entitled Female Offender Strategy Delivery Plan 2022–25, published in January 2023, what is his planned timetable for the publication of the Young Women's (18–25) Strategy.
	tabling member constituency	York Central
	tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
	uin	8040
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/01/2024 answer text <p>We remain committed to delivering the commitments in our Female Offender Strategy Delivery Plan by 2025. This includes working towards the publication of the Young Women’s Strategy, that will take a system-wide approach to improving outcomes for young women, and for girls who transition to the adult estate. The strategy will be informed by the young adult women’s pilots at HMP Bronzefield and HMP Styal, and the <em>Operational guidance for working with young adult women in custody</em>, which sets out the approach to supporting young women in prison.</p><p>We will publish a One Year On report on the Female Offender Strategy Delivery Plan shortly, which will report on progress against all commitments in the Plan.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 15/01/2024 14:47:22 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
	tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

1699089

	registered interest
	date	26/03/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Prisoners' Release: Employment
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on steps to help prisoners on early release find employment.
	tabling member constituency	York Central
	tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
	uin	20695
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/04/2024 answer text <p>The Ministry of Justice works closely with the Department of Work and Pensions to improve employment outcomes for prison leavers.</p><p>We know that employment reduces the chance of reoffending significantly, by up to nine percentage points. That is why I am pleased to say that the rate of prison leavers in employment six months after release has more than doubled in the two years to March 2023, from 14% to over 30%.</p><p>All offenders released on End of Custody Supervised Licence will have a release plan put together by probation that helps support them in their journey into employment.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 15/04/2024 10:24:30 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
	tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

1699088

	registered interest
	date	26/03/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Prisoners' Release: Housing
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has had discussions with the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities on the (a) number of housing placements available for prisoners on early release and (b) potential impact of the early release scheme on social housing waiting lists.
	tabling member constituency	York Central
	tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
	uin	20694
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/04/2024 answer text <p>The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is committed to preventing homelessness and works closely with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) and the Welsh Government to do so. Prisons and probation have a statutory duty to refer someone at risk of homelessness to a local authority for assistance, and we have worked closely with DLUHC on the design and delivery of their Accommodation for Ex-Offenders scheme. We have set up a Cross-Whitehall Accommodation Board, attended by officials from MoJ, HMPPS, Welsh Government and DLUHC, to ensure collaboration across policy and operational areas.</p><p>In July 2021, we launched our groundbreaking Community Accommodation Service Tier-3, to guarantee up to 12-weeks temporary accommodation to prison leavers subject to probation supervision who are at risk of homelessness on release, including those released under the End of Custody Supervised Licence measure. From July 2023 the service was expanded across all probation regions in England and Wales and continues to bring new beds online as the service embeds.</p><p>In 2022-23, 86% of prison leavers were in accommodation on their first night of release from custody.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 15/04/2024 10:22:33 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
	tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

1688660

	registered interest
	date	08/02/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Prisons: Alcoholic Drinks
	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 address alcohol harm in prisons.
	tabling member constituency	York Central
	tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
	uin	13789
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/02/2024 answer text <p>The Ministry of Justice works closely with NHS England and the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) to ensure that all prisoners who need it have access to high-quality alcohol and substance misuse treatment. As part of the government’s 10-year drug strategy, DHSC has made a record £532 million of additional investment through to 2024/25 to improve drug and alcohol treatment and recovery services</p><p><br> The MoJ is also investing to tackle drug and alcohol misuse and engage more offenders in treatment, including recruiting Drug Strategy Leads in key prisons to coordinate a whole-system approach, and Health and Justice Coordinators in every probation region to improve links between prison and local drug and alcohol treatment services. <br> <br> We are also expanding the number of Incentivised Substance-Free Living Units where prisoners commit to remaining free of illicit drugs and alcohol, with regular drug testing and incentives. We now have over 60 of these wings across the estate, and are aiming to reach up to 100 by March 2025. This will dramatically expand the number of prisoners who have access to these wings.</p><p> </p><p>We are committed to tackling the supply of drugs and alcohol into prison. Our £100m Security Investment Programme completed in March 2022 and delivered 75 additional X-ray body scanners, resulting in full coverage across the closed male estate. We have also installed 84 X-ray baggage scanners at 49 sites, building on the rollout of our body scanners, drug trace detection machines and metal detection archways.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 19/02/2024 14:10:00 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
	tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

1699087

	registered interest
	date	26/03/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Probation: Staff
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has made an estimate of the number of probation officers required to support prisoners granted early release.
	tabling member constituency	York Central
	tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
	uin	20693
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/04/2024 answer text <p>We have increased funding for the Probation Service by an extra £155 million a year and onboarded over 4,000 trainee probation officers over the last three years.</p><p>As announced on 11 March, we will reset probation so that practitioners prioritise early engagement at the point where offenders are most likely to breach their licence conditions, allowing frontline staff to maximise supervision of the most serious offenders.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 15/04/2024 09:50:18 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
	tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

1696788

	registered interest
	date	18/03/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Secure Accommodation
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of moving children from youth offenders institutes into secure children homes.
	tabling member constituency	York Central
	tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
	uin	19101
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/03/2024 answer text <p>The youth secure estate currently has three distinct types of establishments: young offender institutions (YOIs), secure training centres and secure children’s homes (SCHs). We will also open a Secure School this spring, which is also a registered SCH. This enables the Youth Custody Service (YCS) to make placements that are best suited to the needs of the individual child or young person. SCHs accommodate boys and girls aged between 10 and 17 who have complex needs. These placements can be made by local authorities. In addition, children and young people who have been sentenced or remanded to custody may be placed by the YCS in eight of the 14 SCHs in England and Wales. A SCH can decline to accept a placement if it feels it is not able to meet the needs of the individual child, or if accepting the placement would inhibit its ability to meet the needs of other children already accommodated at the home.</p><p>The YCS Placement Team considers each child’s placement on a case-by-case basis. It reviews information provided by the child’s Youth Offending Team, looking at the child’s needs, as well as any possible risks to, or originating with the child. The team will also try to consider geographical location and proximity to home as part of their decision making, though other factors may take precedence in terms of decision making. This evidence, together with the child’s immediate presentation following the court appearance, is considered in order to identify a placement that will meet the best interests of the child.</p><p>Children and young people are likely to be more suited to one type of accommodation than another. For example, a SCH placement could be more suitable for children with a lower level of maturity, or with complex needs that require a higher level of support; a YOI placement might be considered appropriate where the young person has been observed to pose a risk towards peers and/or members of staff, or needs to access a specific programme or programmes provided at the YOI.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 27/03/2024 13:01:06 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
	tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell