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1686015

	registered interest
	date	30/01/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Abortion
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has had discussions with the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists on its guidance to healthcare professionals relating to the reporting of suspected illegal abortions.
	tabling member constituency	Upper Bann
	tabling member printed	Carla Lockhart
	uin	12206
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/02/2024 answer text <p>The Ministry of Justice is responsible for the criminal law relating to abortion. However, the overall policy on abortion is the responsibility of the Department for Health and Social Care. Therefore, the Secretary of State for Justice has not had discussions with the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists on its guidance for healthcare staff on “Involvement of the police and external agencies following abortion, pregnancy loss and unexpected delivery”.</p> answering member constituency Newbury answering member printed Laura Farris question first answered 07/02/2024 17:14:35 answering member 4826 label Biography information for Laura Farris
	tabling member	4857 label Biography information for Carla Lockhart

1685793

	registered interest
	date	30/01/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Offences against Children: Convictions and Prosecutions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people were (a) prosecuted for and (b) convicted of child cruelty offences in the latest period for which data is available.
	tabling member constituency	Strangford
	tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
	uin	11993
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/02/2024 answer text <p>The Ministry of Justice publishes information on the number of prosecutions and convictions for a range of child cruelty offences, from the year ending June 2011 to the year ending June 2023, in the <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/65a7e44aed27ca001327b161/outcomes-by-offence-june-2023.xlsx" target="_blank">Outcomes by Offence data tool: June 2023</a>.</p><p>This can be accessed by navigating to the ‘Prosecutions and convictions’ tab and using the HO Offence Code filter to select the following offences:</p><ul><li>01103 – Cruelty to or neglect of children</li><li>00407 – Causing or allowing the death of a child or vulnerable person</li><li>00411 - Causing or allowing child or vulnerable adult to suffer serious physical harm.</li></ul><p>The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 increased the maximum penalties for:</p><ul><li>Causing or allowing a child or vulnerable adult to die from 14 years’ imprisonment to life imprisonment;</li><li>Causing or allowing a child or vulnerable adult to suffer serious physical harm from 10 to 14 years’ imprisonment; and</li><li>Cruelty to a person under 16 from 10 to 14 years’ imprisonment.</li></ul><p>A consequence of increasing the maximum penalty for causing or allowing the death of a child or vulnerable adult to life imprisonment is that offenders sentenced to 7 years or more for that offence will spend two thirds of their sentence, rather than half, in custody.</p><p>Partly as a result of these measures, average custodial sentence length for child cruelty offences has increased by 79.9% since 2010.</p> answering member constituency Newbury answering member printed Laura Farris question first answered 07/02/2024 17:13:37 answering member 4826 label Biography information for Laura Farris
	tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1687102

	registered interest
	date	02/02/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Offenders: Mental Illness
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he plans to amend the right of offenders sentenced to an Indefinite Hospital Order to apply for a review every 12 months; and whether he has made an assessment of the impact of those reviews on (a) victims and (b) families.
	tabling member constituency	Erith and Thamesmead
	tabling member printed	Abena Oppong-Asare
	uin	12879
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/02/2024 answer text <p>Hospital Orders and the provisions around them are set out in the Mental Health Act 1983 and ensure regular access for patients to a review of their detention by an independent court which will determine whether the criteria for detention continue to be met.</p><p>This Government is committed to ensuring that victims’ voices are heard. We are working with the judiciary to introduce an entitlement in the Victims’ Code for Victim Personal Statements in the Mental Health Tribunal, where an offender’s detention is being reviewed. This will give victims the opportunity to explain the impact of the crime on them, and we continue to assess the provision of support for victims engaging with criminal justice processes like the Mental Health Tribunal.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Orpington answering member printed Gareth Bacon question first answered 07/02/2024 13:32:43 answering member 4798 label Biography information for Gareth Bacon
	tabling member	4820 label Biography information for Abena Oppong-Asare

1685869

	registered interest
	date	30/01/2024
	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, whether the end of custody supervised licence is in operation as of 30 January 2024.
	tabling member constituency	Brentford and Isleworth
	tabling member printed	Ruth Cadbury
	uin	12021
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/02/2024 answer text <p>As announced in Parliament on 16 October, the End of Custody Supervised Licence is currently in operation. Its use is targeted, and we continue to monitor its use.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 07/02/2024 08:15:45 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
	tabling member	4389 label Biography information for Ruth Cadbury

1686287

	registered interest
	date	31/01/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Prisons: Sick Leave
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many sick days absences were recorded by prison staff in (a) 2021, (b) 2022 and (c) 2023.
	tabling member constituency	Brentford and Isleworth
	tabling member printed	Ruth Cadbury
	uin	12386
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/02/2024 answer text <p>The number of working days lost by HMPPS staff by group is published every quarter in Table 18 of the “HM Prison and Probation Service workforce statistics” publication. The main publication can be accessed via this link: <a href="http://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-offender-management-service-workforce-statistics" target="_blank">www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-offender-management-service-workforce-statistics.</a> The latest accompanying tables are here: <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6554ab3750475b000dc5b614/hmpps-workforce-statistics-tables-sep-2023.ods" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6554ab3750475b000dc5b614/hmpps-workforce-statistics-tables-sep-2023.ods</a>.</p><p>HMPPS is focused on reducing its sickness absence rates through the support currently offered to staff and managers, including a comprehensive Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) that provides the workforce with access to confidential support &amp; counselling services. This is in addition to the organisation’s Occupational Health Service that supports staff &amp; management with medical advice, and HMPPS’ multitude of staff networks that are part of HMPPS’ commitment to ensuring our staff feel supported in their roles.</p><p>HMPPS are actively reviewing their approach to staff wellbeing to strengthen the wellbeing offer. Managers support employees who are unwell and are provided HR casework support to appropriately manage employee absence in line with established policies &amp; procedures.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 07/02/2024 08:14:29 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
	tabling member	4389 label Biography information for Ruth Cadbury

1684990

	registered interest
	date	24/01/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Private Prosecutions
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask His Majesty's Government, further to their response to the report from the House of Commons Justice Select Committee, Private prosecutions: safeguards (9th Report, Session 2019–21), in which they confirmed that a registry of private prosecutions would be made available, why this has not yet been made available; when this is expected to be made available; and how much taxpayer money was paid to legal firms prosecuting private prosecutions (other than legal aid) between 2015 and 2023.
	tabling member printed	Lord Stone of Blackheath
	uin	HL1901
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/02/2024 answer text <p>In 2020, the Justice Select Committee (JSC) undertook a review of private prosecutions and provided nine recommendations.</p><p>The Government agreed to two of these recommendations:</p><ul><li>To introduce a central register of private prosecutions;</li><li>That we would take steps to ensure costs recoverable from central funds by a private prosecutor are limited in the same way as costs recoverable by an acquitted defendant.</li></ul><p><strong>Private Prosecution Register</strong></p><p>In the Government’s response to the JSC report, we agreed that a central register of private prosecutions would be introduced to include the names of the prosecutor and defendant, the offence in question, and whether the summons application was granted. This register was introduced by HMCTS in late 2021.</p><p>The register is not publicly accessible, and it was neither a recommendation made by the JSC report nor an undertaking agreed by the Government for it to be. The register contains personal data including where people have been accused of crimes where the court found there were no grounds to commence a prosecution. The register is a court record and there are no grounds provided under rules of court, the Data Protection Act 2018 or the Freedom of Information Act 2000 for these personal details to be released to the public.</p><p>Requests for non-personal information from the register are accessible through a Freedom of Information request to HMCTS.</p><p><strong>Cost of Private Prosecutions</strong></p><p>The Government has committed to bringing forward legislation to ensure costs recoverable from central funds by a private prosecutor are limited in the same way as costs recoverable by an acquitted defendant and will enact this when parliamentary time allows.</p><p>The assessment of claims and payment of prosecutors’ costs out of central funds for cases brought in the magistrates’ court and Crown Court is undertaken by the Legal Aid Agency’s (LAA) Criminal Cases Unit (CCU) unless the court summarily assesses the claim under s.17(2B) of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985. Information about central funds expenditure, including private prosecutions, is published on a quarterly basis within the LAA’s official statistics. A copy of the relevant data is attached at Annex A.</p><p><strong>Other Recommendations</strong></p><p>Sir Wyn Williams’ Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry is examining, in detail, the failings that led to the Post Office scandal. It is possible that this will provide insight on the extent to which the private prosecution regime played a role in this particular injustice.</p><p>The Government is, however, examining the wider question of private prosecutions and is therefore committed to looking again at the Justice Select Committee’s recommendations in their 2020 report as part of this work.</p> answering member printed Lord Stewart of Dirleton question first answered 07/02/2024 17:26:16 answering member 4899 label Biography information for Lord Stewart of Dirleton attachment 1 file name 2024-02-07 PQ HL1901 Annex A.xlsx title HL1901_Annex_A
	tabling member	2222 label Biography information for Lord Stone of Blackheath