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1713005

	registered interest
	date	23/04/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Crown Court: Standards
	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 tackle the backlog in the Crown Court.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	23198
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/05/2024 answer text <p>We remain committed to tackling the outstanding caseload in the Crown Court and have introduced a range of measures to achieve this aim.</p><p> </p><p>We expect to have sat around 107,000 days at the Crown Court in the last financial year (FY2023/24), representing around a 30% increase on sitting day levels during the 2019/20 financial year. We have also recruited around 1,000 judges and tribunal members across all jurisdictions in the last financial year so we can hear more cases.</p><p> </p><p>Judges have worked tirelessly to complete more cases. HMCTS Management Information shows that disposals have increased throughout the last calendar year, with February disposals being at their highest level than at any other point in the last 12 months, with 9,958 disposals in February 2024, up 18% on February 2023 (8,451).</p><p> </p><p>We are also investing more in our criminal courts. In August 2023, we announced we are investing £220 million for essential modernisation and repair work of our court buildings across the next two years, up to March 2025. We have also continued the use of 20 Nightingale courtrooms into the 2024/25 financial year, to allow courts to work at full capacity.</p> answering member constituency Finchley and Golders Green answering member printed Mike Freer question first answered 01/05/2024 16:05:23 answering member 4004 label Biography information for Mike Freer
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1713211

	registered interest
	date	23/04/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Wandsworth Prison
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average weekly time out of cell for prisoners in HMP Wandsworth has been for each week in 2024.
	tabling member constituency	Putney
	tabling member printed	Fleur Anderson
	uin	23321
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/05/2024 answer text <p>Prison governors set a regime for each day specifying when prisoners will ordinarily be unlocked. There will be occasions, however, where certain prisoners will remain in their cell during these times. Reasons for this will include illness, the management of operational incidents, and other operational reasons such as staff needing to be deployed to other duties. There will also be occasions where prisoners will be out of cell at times when they are scheduled to be locked in, for example to attend medical appointments at hospital, a late arrival from court, or a transfer between prisons.</p><p>To accurately record the amount of time prisoners spend out of cell, His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service would therefore be required to record information for each individual prisoner, taking into account their unique movements on a daily basis.</p><p>There is no central mandate which governs the amount of time that prisoners should spend out of their cells. Governors are instead afforded the flexibility to deliver balanced regimes that maintain an appropriate level of time out of cell on a range of activities, including association, which meet the needs of the establishment’s population.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 01/05/2024 14:07:43 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
	tabling member	4788 label Biography information for Fleur Anderson

1713213

	registered interest
	date	23/04/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Wandsworth Prison
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans he has to reduce over-crowding in HMP Wandsworth.
	tabling member constituency	Putney
	tabling member printed	Fleur Anderson
	uin	23323
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/05/2024 answer text <p>In prisons where we have crowding in place, a rigorous cell certification process is undertaken that ensures the use of cells is subject to a formal assessment of safety and decency.</p><p>We continue to pursue the package of longer-term measures the Lord Chancellor announced on 16 October 2023 to reform the justice system and address the prison capacity challenges. The measures include: the extension of the Early Removal Scheme to deport Foreign National Offenders (FNOs), introducing a presumption to suspend sentences of 12 months or less, curtailing the licence period for IPP sentences and extending the use of Home Detention Curfew. On 11 March, the Lord Chancellor announced the next steps in our plan, to allow us to go further and faster in removing FNOs. This includes expediting prisoner transfers with our priority partners, such as Albania, and the creation of a new taskforce across the Home Office and Ministry of Justice to change the way we process FNO cases radically.</p><p>To meet pressing demand, we are building c.20,000 modern, rehabilitative prison places – the biggest prison build programme since the Victorian era. We have already delivered c.5,900 of these, including through our two new 1,700 places prisons, HMP Five Wells and HMP Fosse Way, and c.590 Rapid Deployment Cells across 11 sites. By the end of 2025, we are on track to have delivered around 10,000 places in total.</p><p>The Government will continue to monitor the evolving situation with demand for prison places carefully, so that we can make sure we have the right approaches in place to maintain the capacity required for a safe and effective criminal justice system.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 01/05/2024 14:09:50 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
	tabling member	4788 label Biography information for Fleur Anderson

1713071

	registered interest
	date	23/04/2024
	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 people were released under the Release following Risk Assessed Recall review process between 7 September and 31 December 2023.
	tabling member constituency	Brentford and Isleworth
	tabling member printed	Ruth Cadbury
	uin	23203
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/05/2024 answer text <p>In the case of recalled standard determinate sentence and extended sentence offenders, the Secretary of State has an executive power to re-release them, if he considers that the statutory release test is met - that is, that it is no longer necessary on the grounds of public protection for the offender to remain confined. Thus, the Secretary of State’s power is exercised with regard to the same test to which the Parole Board has regard.</p><p>The power is exercised by officials in the Public Protection Group (PPG), in His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service under approved delegated authority. In exercising that power, PPG works closely with the Probation Service, in order to put in place a robust risk management plan before a final decision is made to re-release the prisoner.</p><p>The number of recalled offenders released using the Secretary of State’s re-release power for each year between 2017 and 2023 is set out in the table below. Executive re-release was refreshed and relaunched as Risk Assessed Recall Review (RARR) on 30 May 2023. Between 7 September and 31 December 2023, 89 people were released following a RARR.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Year of issuing </strong> <strong>the decision</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Number of releases</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017</p></td><td><p>1,584</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018</p></td><td><p>1,386</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2019</p></td><td><p>957</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2020</p></td><td><p>725</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2021</p></td><td><p>464</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2022</p></td><td><p>92</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2023 up to May</p></td><td><p>20</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The figures in these tables have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. As such, figures are subject to change as information is updated.</p><p><strong>Data source</strong>: Public Protection Unit Database (PPUD)</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar grouped question UIN 23202 question first answered 01/05/2024 14:05:34 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
	tabling member	4389 label Biography information for Ruth Cadbury

1713070

	registered interest
	date	23/04/2024
	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 people were released under the executive release scheme in each year between 2017 and 2023.
	tabling member constituency	Brentford and Isleworth
	tabling member printed	Ruth Cadbury
	uin	23202
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/05/2024 answer text <p>In the case of recalled standard determinate sentence and extended sentence offenders, the Secretary of State has an executive power to re-release them, if he considers that the statutory release test is met - that is, that it is no longer necessary on the grounds of public protection for the offender to remain confined. Thus, the Secretary of State’s power is exercised with regard to the same test to which the Parole Board has regard.</p><p>The power is exercised by officials in the Public Protection Group (PPG), in His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service under approved delegated authority. In exercising that power, PPG works closely with the Probation Service, in order to put in place a robust risk management plan before a final decision is made to re-release the prisoner.</p><p>The number of recalled offenders released using the Secretary of State’s re-release power for each year between 2017 and 2023 is set out in the table below. Executive re-release was refreshed and relaunched as Risk Assessed Recall Review (RARR) on 30 May 2023. Between 7 September and 31 December 2023, 89 people were released following a RARR.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Year of issuing </strong> <strong>the decision</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Number of releases</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017</p></td><td><p>1,584</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018</p></td><td><p>1,386</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2019</p></td><td><p>957</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2020</p></td><td><p>725</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2021</p></td><td><p>464</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2022</p></td><td><p>92</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2023 up to May</p></td><td><p>20</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The figures in these tables have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. As such, figures are subject to change as information is updated.</p><p><strong>Data source</strong>: Public Protection Unit Database (PPUD)</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar grouped question UIN 23203 question first answered 01/05/2024 14:05:34 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
	tabling member	4389 label Biography information for Ruth Cadbury

1713215

	registered interest
	date	23/04/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Wandsworth Prison: Drugs
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when and with whom he has had discussions on drugs use in HMP Wandsworth this year.
	tabling member constituency	Putney
	tabling member printed	Fleur Anderson
	uin	23325
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/05/2024 answer text <p>HMP Wandsworth has benefitted from our £100 million investment in tough security measures, introducing x-ray body scanning for prisoners and enhanced gate security provisions for visitors and staff, which includes archway metal detectors, drugs dogs and x-ray baggage scanners. These measures are helping to tackle the supply of drugs and other contraband into prisons, and as of October 2023, our x-ray body scanners had recorded more than 46,900 positive indications across the prison estate since their introduction.</p><p>We are also expanding the number of Incentivised Substance-Free Living Units (ISFLs), where prisoners commit to remaining free of illicit drugs and alcohol, with regular drug testing and incentives. 80 prisons, including HMP Wandsworth, now have an ISFL. The ISFL at HMP Wandsworth is a 16-bed unit where residents have access to additional support, privileges and substance misuse interventions whilst undergoing voluntary drug testing twice a month.</p><p>HMP Wandsworth also works closely with their Substance Misuse Service Provider, “Change, Grow, Live” to deliver a comprehensive programme of recovery workshops, and is currently in the process of recruiting a new, dedicated Drug Strategy Lead to better co-ordinate efforts to keep drugs out of the prison.</p><p>As the responsible minister for prisons, I receive regular updates on their conditions and performance, including those at HMP Wandsworth, via a variety of means, including through formal face to face discussion such as the quarterly Ministerial Performance Review Board meetings.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar grouped question UIN 23324 question first answered 01/05/2024 14:22:35 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
	tabling member	4788 label Biography information for Fleur Anderson

1713214

	registered interest
	date	23/04/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Wandsworth Prison: Drugs
	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 reduce drugs use by prisoners in HMP Wandsworth.
	tabling member constituency	Putney
	tabling member printed	Fleur Anderson
	uin	23324
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/05/2024 answer text <p>HMP Wandsworth has benefitted from our £100 million investment in tough security measures, introducing x-ray body scanning for prisoners and enhanced gate security provisions for visitors and staff, which includes archway metal detectors, drugs dogs and x-ray baggage scanners. These measures are helping to tackle the supply of drugs and other contraband into prisons, and as of October 2023, our x-ray body scanners had recorded more than 46,900 positive indications across the prison estate since their introduction.</p><p>We are also expanding the number of Incentivised Substance-Free Living Units (ISFLs), where prisoners commit to remaining free of illicit drugs and alcohol, with regular drug testing and incentives. 80 prisons, including HMP Wandsworth, now have an ISFL. The ISFL at HMP Wandsworth is a 16-bed unit where residents have access to additional support, privileges and substance misuse interventions whilst undergoing voluntary drug testing twice a month.</p><p>HMP Wandsworth also works closely with their Substance Misuse Service Provider, “Change, Grow, Live” to deliver a comprehensive programme of recovery workshops, and is currently in the process of recruiting a new, dedicated Drug Strategy Lead to better co-ordinate efforts to keep drugs out of the prison.</p><p>As the responsible minister for prisons, I receive regular updates on their conditions and performance, including those at HMP Wandsworth, via a variety of means, including through formal face to face discussion such as the quarterly Ministerial Performance Review Board meetings.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar grouped question UIN 23325 question first answered 01/05/2024 14:22:35 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
	tabling member	4788 label Biography information for Fleur Anderson

1713538

	registered interest
	date	24/04/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Child Rearing
	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 help tackle parental alienation.
	tabling member constituency	Ealing Central and Acton
	tabling member printed	Dr Rupa Huq
	uin	23537
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/05/2024 answer text <p>The Government does not recognise the concept of “parental alienation” and does not accept that it is a syndrome capable of diagnosis.</p><p>In his judgment in the case of <em>Re C</em> the President of the Family Division detailed that the courts focus should be on the “identification of ‘alienating behaviour’” rather than seeking “to determine whether the label ‘parental alienation’ can be applied”. In providing advice to the court, Cafcass does not recognise “parental alienation” and instead looks at the individual behaviours of a parent. In cases where a child is resistant, or refuses, to see a parent Cafcass Family Court Advisers must first consider whether domestic abuse or other forms of harmful parenting are a contributing factor.</p><p>The Government is aware of concerns of about unregulated “parental alienation” experts being instructed in the family courts. To address this issue, we are working with the Family Procedure Rule Committee to make changes to the Family Procedure Rules and their associated Practice Directions to prevent the instruction of these unregulated experts.</p> answering member constituency Finchley and Golders Green answering member printed Mike Freer question first answered 01/05/2024 16:39:25 answering member 4004 label Biography information for Mike Freer
	tabling member	4511 label Biography information for Dr Rupa Huq

1712689

	registered interest
	date	22/04/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Powers of Attorney
	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 merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to require the Office of the Public Guardian to notify all nominated persons when a (a) power of attorney and (b) lasting power of attorney is made.
	tabling member constituency	Portsmouth South
	tabling member printed	Stephen Morgan
	uin	23023
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/04/2024 answer text <p>General, otherwise known as ordinary, powers of attorney are governed by the Powers of Attorney Act 1971. They allow a donor to give power to an attorney to manage their affairs for a defined period of time. There is no requirement to name or notify nominated persons and the Public Guardian is not involved in the process. Powers of attorney are an important mechanism for supporting agency arrangements, often in a commercial context, and there are no plans to change this arrangement to require notification of nominated persons.</p><p> </p><p>Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs) are governed by the Mental Capacity Act 2005 which requires that any nominated persons are notified at the point when an application is made to the Office of the Public Guardian to register the LPA. An application to register an LPA can be made either by the donor or by one or more attorneys named in the LPA. Currently, it is the applicant’s responsibility to notify any nominated persons. The Public Guardian maintains a register of all registered LPAs and anyone can request a free search to check if there is a registered LPA for a relative or friend.</p><p> </p><p>The Powers of Attorney Act 2023, when implemented, will improve the process for notification and objections for LPAs. The Public Guardian will in future be responsible for issuing notices to the donor, their attorneys and any persons to be notified that the LPA has been received for registration and appears to be validly made. Furthermore, anyone who is aware that an LPA is being made will be able to object to its registration at an earlier stage in the process if they have concerns. These changes will strengthen the existing safeguards in the system.</p> answering member constituency Finchley and Golders Green answering member printed Mike Freer question first answered 30/04/2024 11:11:22 answering member 4004 label Biography information for Mike Freer
	tabling member	4653 label Biography information for Stephen Morgan

1712690

	registered interest
	date	22/04/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Powers of Attorney: Fraud
	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 tackle (a) fraud and (b) misuse of Lasting Power of Attorney.
	tabling member constituency	Portsmouth South
	tabling member printed	Stephen Morgan
	uin	23024
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/04/2024 answer text <p>Under the Mental Capacity Act 2005, execution of a lasting power of attorney (LPA) must be witnessed and a certificate provider must confirm that the donor understands the powers they are conferring on their attorney or attorneys and is not being coerced to make the LPA. A mandatory 4-week period must elapse before registration, allowing time for objections to be raised prior to registration.</p><p> </p><p>Following consultation on ways to strengthen these protections, my department is working with the Office of the Public Guardian to implement a modernised LPA, facilitated by the Powers of Attorney Act 2023.</p><p> </p><p>The modernised LPA will introduce identity checks for donors and certificate providers to reduce the risk that an unknown party could obtain an LPA in another person’s name without their knowledge. The certificate provider will be required to be present at execution of the LPA by the donor and a more streamlined objection process will allow anyone to object, making it easier for potential abuses to be challenged earlier in the process. These measures collectively should reduce the risk of fraudulent LPAs and abuse of the powers they confer.</p><p> </p><p>Once the LPA is registered, any concerns about its use can be reported to the Office of the Public Guardian, which has authority to investigate. It can, if necessary, ask the court to remove the power for an attorney to act.</p> answering member constituency Finchley and Golders Green answering member printed Mike Freer question first answered 30/04/2024 11:12:49 answering member 4004 label Biography information for Mike Freer
	tabling member	4653 label Biography information for Stephen Morgan