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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

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

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

1125331

	registered interest
	date	08/05/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Prison Sentences: Greater London
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many women the Metropolitan police force area received an immediate custodial sentence of (a) less than and (b) more than six months for each category of offence from the (i) crown courts and (ii) magistrates courts in 2018-19.
	tabling member constituency	Romford
	tabling member printed	Andrew Rosindell
	uin	251958
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/05/2019 answer text <p>The number of female offenders sentenced to custody by court level and police force area, including the metropolitan police force area, in 2017, can be found in the Court outcomes by Police Force Area data tool, which can be found at the below link:</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2017" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2017</a></p><p> </p><p>Select the drop down boxes referring to custodial sentence length in order to establish sentence lengths. Select female from the sex drop box and, once having done this, young adults and adults to establish women. Offence classification can be found in both the Offence Type and Offence group boxes, depending on which categorisation is required here.</p><p> </p><p>Court proceedings data for 2018 are planned for publication on 16 May 2019, with data for 2019 planned for publication in May 2020.</p><p> </p><p>Our vision, as set out in our Female Offender Strategy, is to see fewer women coming into the criminal justice system and a greater proportion managed successfully in the community. To achieve this, we have invested £5m to support community provision for female offenders and women at risk of offending.</p><p> </p><p>There is persuasive evidence showing community sentences, in certain circumstances, are more effective than short custodial sentences in reducing reoffending. The MoJ study ‘The impact of short custodial sentences, community orders and suspended sentence orders on re-offending’ published in 2015 found that over a 1-year follow up period, a higher proportion of people re-offended having been sentenced to custody of under 12 months without supervision on release than other similar people given community orders.</p><p> </p><p>Unless we tackle the underlying causes of offending, we cannot protect the public from being victims of crime. Effective community orders can address offenders’ behaviour, answer their mental health and alcohol or drug misuse needs, and provide reparation for the benefit of the wider community.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 15/05/2019 17:12:57 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
	tabling member	1447 label Biography information for Andrew Rosindell

1125650

	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	Criminal Injuries Compensation
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of applications for compensation from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme have been decided within 12 months from initial submission in each year since 2010.
	tabling member constituency	Ashfield
	tabling member printed	Gloria De Piero
	uin	252545
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/05/2019 answer text <p>The table below shows the proportion of applications received since 2010-11 which were decided (at first decision) within 12 months of submission.</p><p> </p><p>If an applicant is dissatisfied with their first decision, they have the right to request that this is reviewed. If they remain dissatisfied following review, they can appeal to the independent First-tier Tribunal (Criminal Injuries Compensation).</p><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Period</p></td><td><p>Proportion of applications decided at 1<sup>st</sup> decision within 12 months of submission</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010-11</p></td><td><p>80%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011-12</p></td><td><p>77%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012-13</p></td><td><p>71%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013-14</p></td><td><p>69%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014-15</p></td><td><p>60%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015-16</p></td><td><p>46%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016-17</p></td><td><p>68%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017-18</p></td><td><p>80%</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 15/05/2019 16:45:12 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar previous answer version 118007 answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
	tabling member	3915 label Biography information for Gloria De Piero

1125063

	registered interest
	date	07/05/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Young Offender Institutions: Staff
	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 adequacy of the (a) numbers and (b) performance of specialist staff trained in therapeutic and welfare-based approaches in UK young offenders institutions.
	tabling member constituency	Newcastle-under-Lyme
	tabling member printed	Paul Farrelly
	uin	251271
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/05/2019 answer text <p>The Ministry of Justice is committed to improving the safety and life chances of young people in custody. We recognise that in recent years the youth secure estate has experienced difficulty in recruiting and retaining staff. We are expanding frontline staff capacity in public-sector Young Offender Institutions: at the start of 2019, the Youth Custody Service had 315 more frontline officers than 12 months previously – an increase of 35 per cent. We are also providing funding for every Prison Officer in the Youth Custody Service to undertake a youth justice qualification and, on completion, move to a new youth justice specialist role on promotion and at a higher pay-grade. Over 400 frontline staff are currently enrolled on this qualification.</p><p>We are working with the National Health Service to deliver an integrated framework of care, encompassing education, health and behavioural support, to ensure young people receive full needs assessments and tailored care and support plans. This is in addition to opening Enhanced Support Units for young people with the most complex needs, and increasing psychology staffing across the estate.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 15/05/2019 16:41:42 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
	tabling member	1436 label Biography information for Paul Farrelly

1125651

	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	Criminal Injuries Compensation
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average time taken in days from application submission to decision for compensation applications from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme was in each year since 2010.
	tabling member constituency	Ashfield
	tabling member printed	Gloria De Piero
	uin	252546
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/05/2019 answer text <p>The table below shows the average time taken in days from the date an application for compensation was submitted to the date a first decision was made in each year since 2010-11.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Period</p></td><td><p>Average time taken in days from the date an application was submitted to the date a first decision was made</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010-11</p></td><td><p>250</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011-12</p></td><td><p>269</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012-13</p></td><td><p>305</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013-14</p></td><td><p>329</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014-15</p></td><td><p>397</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015-16</p></td><td><p>425</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016-17</p></td><td><p>305</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017-18</p></td><td><p>192</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 14/05/2019 16:53:09 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
	tabling member	3915 label Biography information for Gloria De Piero

1125622

	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	Funerals: Children
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent discussions he has had with (a) Cabinet colleagues, (b) Welsh Government ministers and (c) Scottish Government ministers on the implementation of the children's funeral fund in England.
	tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
	tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
	uin	252503
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/05/2019 answer text <p><br>I have had discussions on implementation of the Children’s Funeral Fund with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Family Support, Housing and Child Maintenance and the Minister of State for Immigration. I have not had discussions with Welsh or Scottish Government ministers. However, Ministry of Justice officials have had detailed discussions with officials in these Administrations.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 14/05/2019 16:52:09 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
	tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1124340

	registered interest
	date	01/05/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Prisoners: Hepatitis
	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 improve continuity and cooperation between the courts, prisons and probation services to ensure that offenders have their hepatitis C medication with them when transferred between different settings.
	tabling member constituency	Worthing West
	tabling member printed	Sir Peter Bottomley
	uin	249816
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/05/2019 answer text <p>We recognise the unique opportunity that custody offers to identify and encourage individuals with Blood Borne Viruses (BBVs) to engage in treatment. NHS England are responsible for commissioning and delivering health services in prisons and Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) are responsible for enabling access to healthcare services for those in custody. We are fully supportive of the work being done by NHS England and Public Health England to meet the 2025 target for the elimination of Hepatitis C in England.</p><p> </p><p>An opt-out policy for BBV testing was introduced in 2013, under the previous National Partnership Agreement for Prison Healthcare in England (NPA) between NHS England (NHSE), Public Health England (PHE) and HMPPS (then NOMS). Full implementation of the opt-out testing policy for BBVs in all adult prisons in England was achieved in March 2018. Since opt-out testing was introduced, the uptake of BBV testing in prisons has increased from a baseline of 4% to 29%. This figure is an aggregate for all prisons, with some far exceeding the average uptake. This shared commitment to tackling the spread of infectious diseases, including Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C and HIV, in prisons was reaffirmed in the new NPA between NHSE, PHE, HMPPS, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and MoJ, published in April 2018.</p><p> </p><p>We continue to work with our health partners to identify points of attrition and barriers to testing uptake, as well as with organisations, such as the Hepatitis C Trust, to raise awareness among prison staff and prisoners about the importance of testing for BBV.</p><p> </p><p>We are currently reviewing the process by which defendants access essential medication whilst in the custody of the Prisoner Escort and Custody Services to ensure that it is fit for purpose and to consider further improvements. Additionally, current processes for Discharge Planning will be enhanced as a part of the Hepatitis C Pathways work being carried out by NHS England. This will ensure that individuals diagnosed with Hepatitis C who leave prison, transfer between prisons and attend court have their medication with them and have detailed instructions about accessing treatment specialists in the community. Treatment for Hepatitis C uses high value drugs, and ensuring that the full course follows the individual through the criminal justice system is a high priority for NHS England. Current processes will also be augmented by Hepatitis C Trust community peer workers engaging with people leaving prison, and through enhanced continuity of care arrangements under RECONNECT as outlined in the NHS Long Term Plan.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar grouped question UIN 249814 249815 question first answered 14/05/2019 15:39:22 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
	tabling member	117 label Biography information for Sir Peter Bottomley