Show Search Form

Search Results

registered interest	true false
date	exactly: or between: and
answering body
answering dept id
answering dept short name
answering dept sort name
hansard heading
house id
legislature	pref label
question text
tabling member printed
uin
answer	is ministerial correction true false date of answer exactly: or between: and answer text answering member printed question first answered answering member label
tabling member	label

Search

1699275

	registered interest
	date	27/03/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Employment Tribunals Service
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government when they expect to resume the publication of timeliness data in respect of employment tribunals.
	tabling member printed	Lord Browne of Ladyton
	uin	HL3658
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/04/2024 answer text <p>HM Courts and Tribunals Service anticipate that publication of employment tribunal timeliness data will be at the end of the calendar year.</p> answering member printed Lord Bellamy question first answered 11/04/2024 14:53:56 answering member 4941 label Biography information for Lord Bellamy
	tabling member	620 label Biography information for Lord Browne of Ladyton

1698022

	registered interest
	date	21/03/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Reoffenders
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what is their strategy for ensuring public safety and efficacious offender management in respect of hyper-prolific offenders.
	tabling member printed	Lord Jackson of Peterborough
	uin	HL3516
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/04/2024 answer text <p>For the most persistent and problematic offenders in the community, Integrated Offender Management has received a 3-year investment of up to £30 million to ensure those that commit burglary, robbery and theft offences receive robust cross-agency supervision by Police and Probation, and to commission services that will seek to support and address risks and needs of this cohort. We are also piloting three Intensive Supervision Courts which aim to target the root cause of offending behaviour through supervision and interventions delivered by a multi-agency team, overseen by a single judge who will regularly review each participant’s progress.</p><p>The courts have a wide range of options to deal with this group of offenders and relevant previous convictions are a statutory aggravating factor which the courts must consider at the point of sentencing. While custody will often be appropriate for these offenders, and in fact is the most common sentence given to prolific offenders, it is right that our courts have the ability to pass an appropriate sentence based on the case in front of them. Robust research has shown lower reoffending rates for sentences served in the community when compared to short custodial sentences.</p><p>Through the Better Outcomes through Linked Data (BOLD) programme, we are also taking steps to understand better which factors are most important in leading to reduced reoffending for prolific offenders, in order to help us target our approach for this cohort.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Bellamy question first answered 09/04/2024 09:27:16 answering member 4941 label Biography information for Lord Bellamy
	tabling member	1551 label Biography information for Lord Jackson of Peterborough

1698023

	registered interest
	date	21/03/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Prisoners' Release: Overcrowding
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact of the early release of prisoners with a custodial sentence of less than 12 months, in order to alleviate overcrowding in the prison estate, on (1) reoffending rates, (2) public safety and (3) the operational effectiveness of the Probation Service.
	tabling member printed	Lord Jackson of Peterborough
	uin	HL3517
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/04/2024 answer text <p>Delivering public protection and reducing reoffending is not just about custody. The Probation Service plays a vital role in protecting the public and reducing reoffending. For some less serious offenders, suspended and community sentences are more effective for rehabilitation.</p><p>Community requirements can help to deter reoffending, drive swift consequences for non-compliance, protect the public, and ensure offenders feel the weight of crime. Probation assess an offender’s risk prior to, and throughout sentences, to ensure that offenders are appropriately monitored and supervised, following robust risk assessment measures to ensure public safety.</p><p>Evidence shows that 55% of people given a custodial sentence of less than 12 months are convicted of further offences. For offenders punished with Suspended Sentence Orders with requirements that are served in the community, the reoffending rate is significantly lower at 24%. That is why we are introducing a presumption to suspend sentences of under 12 months, however judges will still be able to exercise their discretion to impose custody in exceptional circumstances. We have also included exemptions to the presumption where there is a significant risk of harm to an individual or where the offender has breached an order of the court, as is the case for many repeat and prolific offenders.</p><p><br> We know there are existing challenges and will be additional demands on the Probation Service as a result of the presumption to suspend short sentences. That is why we have increased funding for the Probation Service by an additional £155 million a year to recruit record levels of staff so that we can bring down caseloads and deliver better and more consistent supervision of offenders in the community. We continue to accelerate recruitment of Probation Officers, with over 4,000 trainees joining the service since 2020 and an overall increase in staffing levels across the board. We are also resetting probation to prioritise early engagement and supervision in the first two-thirds of an offender’s sentence, a critical period during which probation staff can have the greatest impact on public protection and reducing reoffending.</p> answering member printed Lord Bellamy question first answered 09/04/2024 09:31:28 answering member 4941 label Biography information for Lord Bellamy
	tabling member	1551 label Biography information for Lord Jackson of Peterborough

1698024

	registered interest
	date	21/03/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Prisons: Construction
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to expand the built prison estate to account for the estimated population increases to 2035 and beyond.
	tabling member printed	Lord Jackson of Peterborough
	uin	HL3518
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/04/2024 answer text <p>We are delivering 20,000 additional, modern prison places, the largest prison build programme since the Victorian era, ensuring the right conditions are in place to rehabilitate prisoners, helping to cut crime and protect the public. These places are being delivered through the construction of six new prisons, as well as the expansion and refurbishment of the existing estate and temporary accommodation. To date, we have delivered c.5,900 of these places and are on track to have delivered c.10,000 by the end of 2025.</p><p>In October 2023, the Lord Chancellor announced funding of up to £30 million to start acquiring land that will be required for future prison capacity.</p><p>The Department has taken a number of steps to identify land for potential prison sites. We have commissioned a property agent to search the market for land in the North West and South East, our areas of greatest forecast demand for prison places; officials have started discussions with significant private and public sector landowners and continue to assess a shortlist of sites for planning risk and strategic and operational fit. In parallel, officials are engaged in strategic conversations with local and regional leaders to identify areas where communities would welcome the economic and employment benefits of a new prison.</p> answering member printed Lord Bellamy question first answered 09/04/2024 09:33:54 answering member 4941 label Biography information for Lord Bellamy
	tabling member	1551 label Biography information for Lord Jackson of Peterborough

1698025

	registered interest
	date	21/03/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Prison Accommodation and Sentencing
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have commissioned any research on a causal link between (1) an expansion of prison places and more custodial sentences, and (2) a reduction in violent and other serious crime episodes in a given period of time.
	tabling member printed	Lord Jackson of Peterborough
	uin	HL3519
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/04/2024 answer text <p>The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has not commissioned research looking directly at any causal link of the kind mentioned in the question. However, the MoJ continues to carefully monitor the use of the prison estate and the sentencing framework to ensure that the most serious offenders are appropriately punished, and that the public are kept safe.</p><p>That is why we are embarking on the largest expansion of our prison estate since the Victorian era, investing £4 billion toward the delivery of 20,000 additional, modern places. By the end of 2025, we are on track to have delivered around 10,000 places in total.</p><p> </p><p>Reducing crime and protecting the public, however, is not only about increased custody. Evidence shows that 55% of people given a custodial sentence of less than 12 months go on to be convicted of further proven offences in the following 12 months. For offenders punished with Suspended Sentence Orders with requirements that are served in the community, the reoffending rate is significantly lower at 24%. That is why we are introducing a presumption to suspend sentences of under 12 months. However, judges will still be able to exercise their discretion to impose custody in exceptional circumstances. We have also included exemptions to the presumption where there is a significant risk of harm to an individual or where the offender has breached an order of the court, as is the case for many repeat and prolific offenders.</p> answering member printed Lord Bellamy question first answered 09/04/2024 09:38:47 answering member 4941 label Biography information for Lord Bellamy
	tabling member	1551 label Biography information for Lord Jackson of Peterborough

1697286

	registered interest
	date	19/03/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Feltham Young Offender Institution
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Annual Report of the Independent Monitoring Board at HMP/YOI Feltham, published on 12 March; and in particular, the finding that violence in classrooms and workshops has made young prisoners reluctant to attend education and rehabilitation sessions.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Redfern
	uin	HL3416
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/04/2024 answer text <p>We are grateful to the Independent Monitoring Board for its report, and for the vital work its members undertake to monitor the welfare of prisoners, to ensure that they are properly cared for. The report comments on the impact of staffing challenges affecting the regime at both HM/YOI Feltham A (young people under 18) and HMP/YOI Feltham B (adults and young adults over 18), as well as on the suitability of the education programmes available.</p><p>Since the end of the period covered by the Independent Monitoring Board’s report (1 September 2022- 31 August 2023), the staffing position at Feltham A has improved, and it now has the resources in place to provide a safe and productive regime for young people, with increased time-out-of-room.</p><p>The Youth Custody Service (YCS) has commissioned a resource review across all four public sector young offender institutions, to explore opportunities to make better use of the staff available in the current operating environment. This includes looking at the balance between management and frontline supervisory staff. The first review was at Feltham A in 2023, and a delivery plan following this review will be implemented shortly. The YCS will monitor the impact of this on service delivery. Support is also being provided at Feltham A to aid staff retention; sickness absence monitoring, with appropriate support, is a feature of regular management oversight.</p><p>The report of an Independent Review of Progress at Feltham B, conducted by HM Inspectorate of Prisons in January 2024, found that the prison had made reasonable progress in relation to encouraging positive behaviour. In addition, following a resource and risk assessment review, improved arrangements for purposeful activity are being put in place, to support the aim of reducing re-offending and increasing readiness for work, to help prisoners to gain employment upon release.</p> answering member printed Lord Bellamy question first answered 03/04/2024 12:58:04 answering member 4941 label Biography information for Lord Bellamy
	tabling member	4551 label Biography information for Baroness Redfern

1697307

	registered interest
	date	19/03/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to update the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.
	tabling member printed	Lord Blunkett
	uin	HL3361
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/04/2024 answer text <p>This government has recently reviewed and made significant changes to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA) 1974. The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 amended the ROA to significantly reduce the length of time that someone needs to disclose most criminal records. These reforms will improve access to employment, which we know is a key factor in supporting rehabilitation and enabling former offenders to reintegrate into the community. Serious violent, sexual, or terrorist offences are excluded from these changes and continue to never be spent.</p><p>Where a person has a conviction disclosed, we are clear that this should not be an automatic bar to employment. Our guidance for employers states that they should make a balanced judgment on whether someone’s convictions make them unsuitable for a particular job. This should take into account the person’s age at the time of the offence, how long ago it took place, the nature of the offence and its relevance to the position in question, among other factors.</p><p>The ROA is kept under review. There are no current plans to make further changes, but please see further the answer I gave on 4 April to Question <a href="https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2024-03-19/hl3362" target="_blank">HL3362</a>.</p> answering member printed Lord Bellamy question first answered 04/04/2024 15:13:52 answering member 4941 label Biography information for Lord Bellamy
	tabling member	395 label Biography information for Lord Blunkett

1697308

	registered interest
	date	19/03/2024
	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	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government, excluding sexual or violent offences, under what circumstances can someone subject to an Imprisonment for Public Protection sentence who has completed their license period have earlier, minor offences dropped from their record.
	tabling member printed	Lord Blunkett
	uin	HL3362
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/04/2024 answer text <p>The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (the ROA) sets out when an offender is considered to be ‘rehabilitated’ for the purposes of the Act and the relevant rehabilitation periods for cautions and convictions (also referred to as when a caution or a conviction become ‘spent’). This does not mean that an offence is dropped from their record, rather that the offender only needs to disclose the spent caution or conviction in some circumstances.</p><p>The ROA also provides that where a person commits another offence before the first has become spent, then the rehabilitation periods are extended to the longest period. The ROA sets out that, as with other indeterminate sentences, IPP sentences can never become spent, regardless of whether the licence is terminated or not. The same, therefore, applies to any unspent caution or conviction imposed on the offender prior to the IPP sentence.</p><p>We have taken action through the Victims and Prisoners Bill to curtail IPP licence periods to give offenders the opportunity to move on with their lives. Whether the ROA should be reviewed in the light of these changes would require further consideration in the context of indeterminate sentences generally.</p> answering member printed Lord Bellamy question first answered 04/04/2024 15:14:39 answering member 4941 label Biography information for Lord Bellamy
	tabling member	395 label Biography information for Lord Blunkett

1697309

	registered interest
	date	19/03/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Court of Protection
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government what was the reason for the decision to increase the length of the COP3 assessment of capacity form from 12 to 21 pages.
	tabling member printed	Lord Blunkett
	uin	HL3363
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/04/2024 answer text <p>Court of Protection forms are a matter for the judiciary. The Court of Protection Rules Committee in 2022 convened an expert Working Group to review the COP3 assessment of capacity form, supported by my officials. That group recommended substantial revisions to both the format and content.</p><p>Revisions were made to reflect the outcome of a Supreme Court case (Local Authority v JB), and more broadly to improve the form’s evidential value. While longer than its predecessor, the revised form aims to provide for a more rigorous assessment of a person’s capacity and greater scrutiny of each specific decision to be made on their behalf. The Rules Committee approved those revisions, and the revised form was published in July 2023.</p> answering member printed Lord Bellamy question first answered 03/04/2024 12:56:32 answering member 4941 label Biography information for Lord Bellamy
	tabling member	395 label Biography information for Lord Blunkett

1697327

	registered interest
	date	19/03/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Civil Proceedings: Third Party Financing
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government, following the announcement on 4 March of the establishment of an inquiry into third party litigation funding, when they expect to announce the terms of reference, the members of the inquiry panel and the timing of the review.
	tabling member printed	Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts
	uin	HL3398
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/04/2024 answer text <p>The Lord Chancellor has invited the Civil Justice Council, the body responsible for overseeing and co-ordinating the modernisation of the civil justice system, to undertake a review of third-party litigation funding in England and Wales. The CJC has agreed to undertake the review and will be announcing terms of reference and other information shortly.</p> answering member printed Lord Bellamy question first answered 03/04/2024 12:55:51 answering member 4941 label Biography information for Lord Bellamy
	tabling member	1651 label Biography information for Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts