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1343702

	registered interest
	date	05/07/2021
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Marriage: Humanism
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans the Government has to recognise in law humanist marriage ceremonies.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	27341
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/07/2021 answer text <p>A Law Commission project on marriage and civil partnership is due to report later this year and is expected to present recommendations for wholesale reform to the law governing marriage ceremonies, which the Government will consider carefully.</p><p>Options being explored by the Law Commission as part of their review include offering couples greater flexibility over the form of their ceremony, allowing the ceremony to take place in a much broader range of locations and to provide a framework that could allow non-religious belief organisations, such as Humanists and independent celebrants, to conduct legally binding weddings. The Government will decide on provision for non-religious belief marriage in light of the Law Commission's recommendations.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk question first answered 08/07/2021 15:01:59 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1178959

	registered interest
	date	21/02/2020
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Terrorism: Rehabilitation
	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 rehabilitate prisoners convicted of terrorism offences; and which (a) organisations and (b) individuals provide rehabilitation programmes to prisoners convicted of terrorism offences.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	18871
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/03/2020 answer text <p>Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) use tailored interventions with offenders - psychological, ideological and theological - to support their disengagement and rehabilitation.</p><p>We continue to regularly review Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) intervention programmes to ensure they are informed by the most up to date research on correctional rehabilitation. Interventions are delivered by in-house HMPPS CT specialists or through a range of external providers. We are unable to disclose further information regarding external providers as we are concerned about the adverse impact disclosure will have on national security.</p><p>More widely, we have trained over 29,000 prison staff to recognise, report and challenge extremist behaviour in prison. HMPPS works closely with partners, including with law enforcement, to understand and manage the risks that terrorist offenders present in prison, using a range of control and rehabilitation measures. This is underpinned by a specialist counter terrorism case management process, which is led by HMPPS Counter Terrorism specialists.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 02/03/2020 15:53:40 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
	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

1467195

	registered interest
	date	01/06/2022
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Independent Monitoring Boards: Finance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what funding his Department has made available to the independent monitoring board in 2022-23; and how does that figure compare to the funding for 2021-22.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	11879
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/06/2022 answer text <p>Ministry of Justice resource funding for the Independent Monitoring Boards (IMBs) for 2022/23 is £2.67m - an increase from £2.23m in 2021/22.</p><p> </p><p>The department has also provided the IMBs with £0.5m of capital funding, which will fund the development of a new organisational database to support improvements to member recruitment and retention.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 13/06/2022 16:14:35 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1440204

	registered interest
	date	11/03/2022
	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, what assessment his Department has made of the implications for its policies of the decision of the Court of Appeal in the case R v Jones [2020] EWCA Crim 764 in respect of the sentences of offenders who due to the covid-19 outbreak were imprisoned under conditions different from those under which they were originally sentenced.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	138358
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/03/2022 answer text <p>Sentencing in individual cases is entirely a matter for our independent courts having regard to any guidelines issued by the independent Sentencing Council.</p><p> </p><p>The judgment in <em>R v Jones</em> on 20 June 2020 reflects the earlier judgment given in the case of <em>R v Christopher Manning</em> <em>[2020]. </em>Noting that, in accordance with established principles, the courts “will take into account the likely impact of a custodial sentence upon an offender”, the Court of Appeal in <em>R v Manning</em> acknowledged the impact of covid-19 on prisons and observed that the courts should “keep in mind that the impact of a custodial sentence is likely to be heavier during the current emergency than it would otherwise be.” On 23 June 2020 the Sentencing Council published “The application of sentencing principles during the Covid-19 emergency” <a href="https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/news/item/the-application-of-sentencing-principles-during-the-covid-19-emergency/" target="_blank">The application of sentencing principles during the Covid-19 emergency – Sentencing (sentencingcouncil.org.uk)</a>.</p> answering member constituency South Suffolk answering member printed James Cartlidge question first answered 16/03/2022 16:34:05 answering member 4519 label Biography information for James Cartlidge
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1691806

	registered interest
	date	26/02/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Offenders: Domestic Abuse
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will take steps to ensure that (a) people whose alleged offending results from experience of domestic abuse have access to an effective defence and (b) the Victims' Code includes provision to ensure that those people are treated proportionately by the criminal justice system.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	15783
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/02/2024 answer text <p>The Government and the law recognises that some offenders may commit offences as a direct result of being subjected to domestic abuse. There is a need to strike a balance between recognising the impact of abuse whilst ensuring that people do not revert to criminal behaviour.</p><p> </p><p>The law already provides for a number of general defences, both full defences such as self-defence, and partial defences such as of “loss of control” or “diminished responsibility”. We have, however, asked the Law Commission to conduct a review of defences specifically to homicide where the offender was a victim of domestic abuse.</p><p> </p><p>The Victims’ Code sets out the services that all victims of crime, including victims of domestic abuse, are entitled to receive from criminal justice agencies at the different stages of the criminal justice process. This includes receiving information about the case, participating appropriately in the criminal justice process and accessing support services. However investigation or charging decisions are operational decisions for the police and Crown Prosecution Service.</p> answering member constituency Newbury answering member printed Laura Farris question first answered 29/02/2024 16:47:34 answering member 4826 label Biography information for Laura Farris
	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

1458864

	registered interest
	date	20/04/2022
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Independent Monitoring Boards: Recruitment
	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 extent of recruitment challenges to Independent Monitoring Boards (IMB); what steps he plans to take to tackle those challenges; and what assessment he has made of the impact of the shortfall in IMB members on the treatment of prisoners they are tasked with monitoring.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	156602
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/04/2022 answer text <p>The Independent Monitoring Boards (IMBs) play an important role in supporting the Ministry of Justice to improve the safety and security of our prisons. Although the IMB is responsible for the recruitment of its volunteers, the Department recognises the challenges that exist in recruiting members to some individual Monitoring Boards. MoJ has, therefore, increased the funding available to the organisation in 2022-23. This increase in funding will help support improvements to member recruitment and retention policies to ensure Boards continue to deliver statutory responsibilities to monitor and report on the treatment of those detained in custody.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 25/04/2022 17:08:14 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana