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1248573

	registered interest
	date	03/11/2020
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Courts: Coronavirus
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the average waiting time for cases to come to trial in England; and what action they are taking to speed up the process.
	tabling member printed	The Marquess of Lothian
	uin	HL9935
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/11/2020 answer text <p>Data relating to the waiting time in weeks for cases at the Crown Court in England and Wales can be found in Tables C6 (by case type), C7 (by plea) and C8 (by remand status) of the published National Statistics series ‘Criminal Court Statistics Quarterly’ (latest to June 2020) <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/criminal-court-statistics" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/criminal-court-statistics</a></p><p> </p><p>Waiting times for England alone require a further breakdown from the published data and are provided in the table attached with this response.</p><p> </p><p>On Monday 7 September, the Crime Recovery Plan was published which sets out our comprehensive plan to tackle the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the justice system by boosting capacity across criminal courts.</p><p> </p><p>As one of the first among other comparable jurisdictions globally to resume jury trials, our Crown Courts are currently listing over 200 jury trials and conducting thousands of other hearings every week. The magistrates’ courts have been completing more cases than they receive, dealing with over 21,000 cases each week and tackling the backlog.</p><p>We have also installed plexiglass screens into over 200 courtrooms and over 100 jury retiring rooms enabling us to safely open 255 Crown Court rooms for jury trials, roughly the number that were hearing jury trials before Covid.</p><p> </p><p>We’re also investing record amounts - the biggest single investment in court estate maintenance for more than 20 years – and have unlocked vital capacity by opening 16 Nightingale Courts to provide 29 additional court rooms.</p> answering member printed Baroness Scott of Bybrook question first answered 17/11/2020 17:23:17 answering member 4553 label Biography information for Baroness Scott of Bybrook attachment 1 file name HL9935 - table.xlsx title HL9935 - table
	tabling member	259 label Biography information for The Marquess of Lothian

1251823

	registered interest
	date	12/11/2020
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Remand in Custody: Community Orders
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 9 November 2020 to Question 111584 on Remand in Custody: Community Orders, how many people are on remand for breach of community orders, by nationality.
	tabling member constituency	Dwyfor Meirionnydd
	tabling member printed	Liz Saville Roberts
	uin	114985
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/11/2020 answer text <p>I refer the Hon. Member to the previous response to PQ 111584.</p><p> </p><p>Offenders who fail to comply with the requirements of their orders can be returned to court for breach of their community orders. As a sanction, the courts can then amend the CO so as to impose more onerous requirements or revoke the order and resentence. In some instances, where an offender has breached his community order, a magistrates court may commit him to custody until he can be brought or appear before the Crown Court.</p><p> </p><p>Information relating to the number of offenders who are committed to custody for breaching a CO could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 17/11/2020 17:18:51 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
	tabling member	4521 label Biography information for Liz Saville Roberts

1251834

	registered interest
	date	12/11/2020
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Secure Training Centres: Standards
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to page 74 of Her Majesty's Inspector of Prisons for England and Wales Annual Report 2019-20, for what reason the secure training centres at (a) Oakhill and (b) Medway have not achieved the changes recommended to improve their effectiveness.
	tabling member constituency	Hove
	tabling member printed	Peter Kyle
	uin	114976
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/11/2020 answer text <p>The Youth Custody Service (YCS) have been working with the contractors at Oakhill to drive improvements in the service delivered to children. Since 2017, Oakhill has moved from overall ‘Inadequate’ inspection rating to ‘Requires Improvement to be Good’ for the Centre in 2018. The YCS continued to work with the Centre to drive improvement with the April 2019 annual inspection showing all areas assessed as being either ‘Good’ or ‘Requiring Improvement to be Good’ displaying upward progress from the previous year. However, inspectors observed that significant progress was still needed for the Centre to achieve an improved overall rating of ‘Good’.</p><p> </p><p>Inspectors said after visiting in April 2019 that “Incremental progress has been made by a newly formed permanent senior leadership team in addressing some, but not all, of the recommendations made at the last inspection. The recently introduced range of structural changes and newly introduced initiatives are intended to accelerate the progress of improvement over the coming year. However, at the point of the inspection, several significant shortcomings in critical areas of the centre’s work with children continue to require significant improvement, particularly the need for stronger operational management oversight, in order to embed their implementation”.</p><p> </p><p>The YCS recognises the need for further change at Oakhill and since the April 2019 inspection G4S have strengthened their management through the appointment of a new Deputy Director and a new Head of Education. To ensure Oakhill are making progress on the actions, the Centre is being overseen by an external assurance team led by an experienced operational manager and former interim Director of Oakhill.</p><p> </p><p>Medway STC stopped accommodating children in January 2020 and was decommissioned at the end of March 2020 as part of plans to establish our first Secure School run by Oasis Charitable Trust. We have now launched the tender for the refurbishment of classrooms and residential areas For the Oasis Restore Secure School. These refurbishments are being carried out to provide an environment where young people feel able to engage with integrated care, health and education services in order to begin to turn their lives around.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 17/11/2020 17:31:35 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
	tabling member	4505 label Biography information for Peter Kyle

1251831

	registered interest
	date	12/11/2020
	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	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to pp. 67-68 of Her Majesty’s Inspector of Prisons’ Annual Report 2019-20, what steps he is taking to remedy the increase in violence and self-harm at Feltham A.
	tabling member constituency	Hove
	tabling member printed	Peter Kyle
	uin	114974
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/11/2020 answer text <p>Following the annual inspection of Feltham A by HM Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) last Summer, a resulting action plan saw changes to the senior leadership team at the site as well as a number of actions for urgent improvements including an intervention plan focused on reducing the risk of violence. This included a targeted review of specific Use of Force incidents, focussing on governance, reporting procedures, techniques, practice and review.</p><p>Whilst the Covid-19 pandemic has meant that Feltham A has not been fully inspected by HMIP since, they visited in July as part of scrutiny visits during the Covid-19 period with HMIP praising the ‘swift actions’ taken at the start of the pandemic, communication and creativity shown by managers and noting that the YOI appeared ‘calm and well-ordered’ and that recorded self-harm had reduced since the start of the pandemic. Whilst this is encouraging, there is still more work to do and the Youth Custody Service will continue to monitor levels of violence and self-harm at Feltham A to ensure stability within the site.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 17/11/2020 17:39:16 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
	tabling member	4505 label Biography information for Peter Kyle

1251830

	registered interest
	date	12/11/2020
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Young Offender Institutions: Restraint Techniques
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to page 68 of Her Majesty’s Inspector of Prisons’ Annual Report 2019-20, for what reason the use of force and persistent use of pain-inducing techniques have increased in young offender institutions.
	tabling member constituency	Hove
	tabling member printed	Peter Kyle
	uin	114973
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/11/2020 answer text <p>The safety and wellbeing of children in custody is paramount and I am clear that restraint should be used only when there is no other suitable alternative. Whilst the number of children in custody has reduced by 68% over the last ten years since 2009/10, this has resulted in a concentrated cohort with particularly complex needs or challenging behaviour, with children and young people (including 18 year olds) serving sentences for violence against the person offences accounting for over half (55%) of the youth custody population in 2019/20.</p><p> </p><p>Following the publication of Charlie Taylor’s independent review in June, we have committed to removing the use of pain inducing techniques (PITs) from the Minimising and Managing Physical Restraint (MMPR) syllabus, to ensure that these are a last resort to prevent serious physical injury to children or staff. Work is well underway on this, and we are looking to remove the use of PITs from the MMPR syllabus by the end of the year, with a suite of training to commence throughout 2021 to ensure full implementation and understanding across sites. In line with the recommendations made, an independent review panel has been set up which will sit for the first time in December to agree Terms of Reference, prior to the panel reviewing incidents involving PITs or serious injury or warning signs (SIWS) in each establishment twice a year and creation of individual action plans for each site.</p><p> </p><p>HM Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) have visited all under 18 Young Offender Institutions for scrutiny visits during the Covid-19 period. It is encouraging that they found all sites to appear ‘calm and well-ordered’. However, there is still more work to do and the Youth Custody Service will continue to closely monitor levels of violence, self-harm and restrictive physical intervention across the youth secure estate as work continues to evaluate and learn lessons from the Covid-19 period and inform future planning.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 17/11/2020 17:30:06 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
	tabling member	4505 label Biography information for Peter Kyle

1251829

	registered interest
	date	12/11/2020
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Young Offender Institutions: Standards
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to page 65 of Her Majesty’s Inspector of Prisons’ Annual Report 2019-20, for what reason more than 50 per cent of recommendations made by the inspector in the outcome categories of safety, respect, purposeful activity and resettlement had not been achieved by young offender institutions.
	tabling member constituency	Hove
	tabling member printed	Peter Kyle
	uin	114972
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/11/2020 answer text <p>Unlike the adult estate, HM Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) run an annual inspection process for under 18 Young Offender Institutions (YOIs). Whilst it is of great importance that sites take necessary actions to improve outcomes for children, in line with recommendations, it can be challenging to fully implement all recommendations within this timeframe. To ensure HMIP recommendations are implemented as fully as possibly, the Youth Custody Service is increasing assurance activity in this area to ensure that support and challenge can be directed as needed.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 17/11/2020 17:28:51 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
	tabling member	4505 label Biography information for Peter Kyle

1251849

	registered interest
	date	12/11/2020
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Courts: Wales
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which parts of the HM Courts and Tribunals Service estate in each constituency of Wales have been sold since 2010; what the date was of each such sale; and how much was paid for each part of the estate sold.
	tabling member constituency	Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney
	tabling member printed	Gerald Jones
	uin	114970
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/11/2020 answer text <p>The table below provides the details of all court and tribunal buildings in Wales that have been sold since 2010.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Court</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Date sold</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Proceed</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Aberdare Magistrates and County Court</p></td><td><p>Apr-12</p></td><td><p>£275,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Abergavenny Magistrates' Court</p></td><td><p>Mar-19</p></td><td><p>£499,809</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Abertillery Magistrates Court</p></td><td><p>Sep-11</p></td><td><p>£81,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Ammanford Magistrates Court</p></td><td><p>Oct-12</p></td><td><p>£90,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Barry Magistrates Court</p></td><td><p>Jun-12</p></td><td><p>£250,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Brecon Law Courts</p></td><td><p>Mar-19</p></td><td><p>£575,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Bridgend Law Courts</p></td><td><p>Mar-17</p></td><td><p>£375,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Caerphilly Magistrates' Court</p></td><td><p>Mar-18</p></td><td><p>£445,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Cardigan Magistrates Court</p></td><td><p>Apr-13</p></td><td><p>£48,910</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Carmarthen Law Courts (The Guildhall)</p></td><td><p>Dec-16</p></td><td><p>£223,004</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Denbigh Magistrates Court</p></td><td><p>Dec-13</p></td><td><p>£165,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Dolgellau Crown &amp; Magistrates' Court</p></td><td><p>Nov-17</p></td><td><p>£67,509</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Flint Magistrates Court</p></td><td><p>Apr-15</p></td><td><p>£87,500</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Holyhead Magistrates' Court</p></td><td><p>Oct-17</p></td><td><p>£112,500</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Llangefni Civil and Family Court</p></td><td><p>Mar-18</p></td><td><p>£72,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Llangefni Magistrates Court</p></td><td><p>Sept - 12 Leasehold property - Lease sold</p></td><td><p>£32,228</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Llwynypia Magistrates Court</p></td><td><p>Dec-11</p></td><td><p>£471,010</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Neath and Port Talbot Civil and Family Court</p></td><td><p>Oct-17</p></td><td><p>£250,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Neath Magistrates’ Court</p></td><td><p>Jul-14</p></td><td><p>£450,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Pontypool County Court</p></td><td><p>Jun-14</p></td><td><p>£200,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Pontypridd Magistrates' Court</p></td><td><p>Mar-17</p></td><td><p>£350,000</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Pwllheli Magistrates Court</p></td><td><p>Dec-12</p></td><td><p>£131,013</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Rhyl County Court</p></td><td><p>Sep-17</p></td><td><p>£92,150</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 17/11/2020 17:17:14 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
	tabling member	4501 label Biography information for Gerald Jones

1251848

	registered interest
	date	12/11/2020
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Courts: Wales
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much has been spent on additional court space in each constituency of Wales since March 2020.
	tabling member constituency	Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney
	tabling member printed	Gerald Jones
	uin	114969
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/11/2020 answer text <p>HMCTS has so far spent £283,922 to create additional court space in Wales. We have opened a temporary Nightingale court in Swansea, established extra jury capacity in Cardiff and installed modular buildings (Portaccabins) in Caernarfon and Swansea.</p><p> </p><p>Recovering from the impact of the pandemic is our top priority. HMCTS has published updates on their response to Covid-19 in the criminal and civil, family and tribunals jurisdictions in England and Wales. They provide comprehensive updates on recovery plans and include details about Nightingale courts and our actions to make sure our buildings are covid-secure.</p><p> </p><p>We’ve unlocked vital capacity across England and Wales by opening 16 Nightingale Courts to provide 29 extra court rooms, 10 of which are being used for non-custodial jury trials. Portacabins are being installed to enable jury trials and therefore increase crime/jury hearing capacity. They are primarily being used as jury deliberating rooms and for assembly/jury management.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 17/11/2020 17:15:42 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
	tabling member	4501 label Biography information for Gerald Jones

1251391

	registered interest
	date	12/11/2020
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Debt Collection: VAT
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the level of consistency among High Court enforcement agents when applying VAT on their fees in identical circumstances.
	tabling member constituency	Stockton North
	tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
	uin	114857
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/11/2020 answer text <p>The Ministry of Justice is aware that there are differing interpretations within the enforcement industry of the application of the VAT payable on High Court Enforcement fees, which has led to different approaches being taken.</p><p>We are working to produce guidance to clarify the circumstances and manner in which VAT costs can and should be recovered from judgment debtors as an enforcement cost. We will publish that guidance as soon as we are able to.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk grouped question UIN 114855 114856 question first answered 17/11/2020 17:03:09 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
	tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

1251390

	registered interest
	date	12/11/2020
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Debt Collection: VAT
	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 effectiveness of different practices employed by enforcement agents and High Court enforcement agents in relation to charging VAT to debtors.
	tabling member constituency	Stockton North
	tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
	uin	114856
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/11/2020 answer text <p>The Ministry of Justice is aware that there are differing interpretations within the enforcement industry of the application of the VAT payable on High Court Enforcement fees, which has led to different approaches being taken.</p><p>We are working to produce guidance to clarify the circumstances and manner in which VAT costs can and should be recovered from judgment debtors as an enforcement cost. We will publish that guidance as soon as we are able to.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk grouped question UIN 114855 114857 question first answered 17/11/2020 17:03:09 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
	tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham