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1691806

	registered interest
	date	26/02/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Offenders: Domestic Abuse
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will take steps to ensure that (a) people whose alleged offending results from experience of domestic abuse have access to an effective defence and (b) the Victims' Code includes provision to ensure that those people are treated proportionately by the criminal justice system.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	15783
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/02/2024 answer text <p>The Government and the law recognises that some offenders may commit offences as a direct result of being subjected to domestic abuse. There is a need to strike a balance between recognising the impact of abuse whilst ensuring that people do not revert to criminal behaviour.</p><p> </p><p>The law already provides for a number of general defences, both full defences such as self-defence, and partial defences such as of “loss of control” or “diminished responsibility”. We have, however, asked the Law Commission to conduct a review of defences specifically to homicide where the offender was a victim of domestic abuse.</p><p> </p><p>The Victims’ Code sets out the services that all victims of crime, including victims of domestic abuse, are entitled to receive from criminal justice agencies at the different stages of the criminal justice process. This includes receiving information about the case, participating appropriately in the criminal justice process and accessing support services. However investigation or charging decisions are operational decisions for the police and Crown Prosecution Service.</p> answering member constituency Newbury answering member printed Laura Farris question first answered 29/02/2024 16:47:34 answering member 4826 label Biography information for Laura Farris
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1669594

	registered interest
	date	13/11/2023
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Rye Hill Prison
	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 implications for his policies of the findings in the 2022-23 annual report of the HMP Rye Hill Independent Monitoring Board that the prison has (a) inadequate resettlement support in place for those leaving and (b) significant challenges to maintaining fair and humane treatment; and what assessment he has made of the potential impact of these findings on rates of recidivism.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	1742
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/11/2023 answer text <p>The care and rehabilitation of prisoners are matters that the Ministry of Justice and H M Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) take very seriously. We respond to all issues raised in reports we receive from Independent Monitoring Boards, and take action as appropriate.</p><p> </p><p>The report notes that finding accommodation in Approved Premises can be problematic. We recognise, and are addressing, this issue. In recent years we have undertaken an Approved Premises expansion programme, which has delivered 169 additional spaces, including the first purpose-built site. We are also developing a new digitalised approach to referrals, through a national Central Referral Unit that will oversee assessment for suitability and eligibility, and match individuals to placements, while maximising occupancy and use of Approved Premises capacity across the country. This new approach is being piloted in the North East. Underpinned by the Department’s demand analysis, it will enable HMPPS to improve timeliness and allow greater consistency and responsivity.</p><p> </p><p>The section of the Independent Monitoring Board’s report devoted to fair and humane treatment notes the challenges unavoidably arising from the Covid-19 pandemic, and comments favourably on the prison’s proactive approach in prioritising a return to business as usual, including arranging for prisoners to undertake activity on a daily basis. The report notes that, when interviewed, prisoners were understanding of the need for restrictions and appreciated the efforts the prison had made to return to a normal regime as quickly as possible through the year.</p><p> </p><p>We were encouraged to receive the Board’s comments on the extensive prisoner-led initiatives across a range of topics that have promoted a sense of community and improved staff and prisoner relationships. This can only be beneficial in improving prospects for successful resettlement and rehabilitation on release.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 16/11/2023 13:01:24 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1663840

	registered interest
	date	13/10/2023
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Police Stations: Solicitors
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the reduction in the number of duty solicitors at police stations since 2017 on access to justice; and if he will take steps to increase the number of duty solicitors at police stations.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	201693
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/10/2023 answer text <p>The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) is satisfied that there continues to be sufficient duty solicitor coverage on the duty schemes operating across England and Wales. Provision under the duty schemes is demand led and so there may be variations in numbers across each local rota or other fluctuations in numbers depending on prevailing market conditions, and other internal factors such as firms merging or other consolidation activity.</p><p> </p><p>The LAA is responsible for commissioning duty solicitor services and the day-to-day administration of the court and police station duty schemes. This includes keeping <a href="https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1aKvrjVm-rwrVWfEgjsABoePccCJyRMyX" target="_blank">membership records</a>, allocating slots and producing and maintaining <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/duty-solicitors-rotas-information-and-guidance#duty-solicitor-rotas-1-april-2023-to-30-september-2023" target="_blank">duty solicitor rotas.</a> The LAA monitors membership across individual duty schemes. Information about duty solicitor volumes broken down by individual scheme is published as part of the LAA’s <a href="https://app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjoiOWYxNmUwOTMtZTJmOC00MWM2LWEyOWUtNmY5ZjY1MDZkNDExIiwidCI6ImM2ODc0NzI4LTcxZTYtNDFmZS1hOWUxLTJlOGMzNjc3NmFkOCIsImMiOjh9" target="_blank">quarterly statistics</a>. Additionally, there are 1,385 accredited police station representatives able to provide advice to individuals at the police station.</p><p> </p><p>At a national level, the LAA monitors capacity across criminal legal aid contracts on an ongoing basis and, where demand is greater than the available supply, takes action to secure additional provision to ensure the continuity of legal aid-funded services.</p><p> </p><p>More generally in relation to criminal legal aid we introduced a 15% uplift across most fee schemes in line with the recommendations made in the Criminal Legal Aid Independent Review, including the police station fee scheme. This funding began to come into effect from the end of September 2022, and we subsequently agreed to extend it to the majority of cases already progressing in the Crown Court. We are investing a further £16m into the police station scheme over 2024-25. Following these reforms, an increase in expenditure of up to £141 million a year will take expected annual criminal legal aid spend to £1.2 billion.</p><p>Overall, our ambitious reforms will deliver a stronger justice system for all who rely on it. They will reinforce a more sustainable market, with publicly funded criminal defence practice seen as a viable long-term career choice befitting of our world-class legal professionals.</p> answering member constituency Finchley and Golders Green answering member printed Mike Freer question first answered 23/10/2023 16:26:24 answering member 4004 label Biography information for Mike Freer
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1524118

	registered interest
	date	19/10/2022
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Rye Hill Prison
	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 help ensure that HMP Rye Hill Independent Monitoring Board has (a) its full complement of members and (b) the support it needs to adequately monitor the welfare of prisoners.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	67230
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/10/2022 answer text <p>The Ministry of Justice values the scrutiny provided by the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) at HMP Rye Hill. The Department recognises the recruitment challenges faced by IMBs and across the wider volunteer sector.</p><p>In response to this, the Department has increased the funding available to IMBs by £440,000 for the financial year 2022-23 and provided an additional £500,000 in capital funding. This additional funding aims to help ensure that IMBs increase their complement of members. The increases will fund structural developments to improve new member recruitment and retention, for example, through the recruitment of Regional Support Leads, who will play a key role in supporting recruitment to Boards through improving local outreach. A Regional Support Lead has been recruited for the region which HMP Rye Hill is located in and is expected to take up post in November 2022. A regional approach to recruitment will also help streamline the recruitment process to ensure that candidates can progress quickly and join the boards they have been recommended to.</p><p>Individual boards have flexibility in how their members work individually and as a collective to ensure that the welfare of prisoners is monitored effectively. In addition, a National Monitoring Framework provides guidance to all boards on how to meet their monitoring requirements. The IMB Secretariat continues to provide support to members and boards through training, guidance and recruitment assistance.</p><p>The additional funding provided by the Department has also increased communications resource to raise the profile of IMBs and improve recruitment advertising to support member recruitment.</p> answering member constituency Aylesbury answering member printed Rob Butler question first answered 24/10/2022 16:34:20 answering member 4745 label Biography information for Rob Butler
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1522728

	registered interest
	date	17/10/2022
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Independent Monitoring Boards
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has made an assessment of (a) the shortfall in and (b) the potential impact of increasing the level funding in the 2022-23 financial year on, recruitment to Independent Monitoring Boards.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	64352
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/10/2022 answer text <p>We value the scrutiny provided by the independent scrutiny bodies, including the Independent Monitoring Boards (IMBs).</p><p>In the 2022-23 financial year, we increased the level of funding for the IMBs by £0.44m and provided an additional £0.5m of capital funding. The increases will fund structural developments to improve new member recruitment and retention, for example, through the recruitment of Regional Support Leads, who will play a key role in supporting recruitment to Boards through improving local outreach.</p><p>Additionally, the development of a new organisational database will provide improvements to member recruitment and retention by replacing the current outdated legacy software and providing better access to member learning and development records, whilst aligning with plans to improve recruitment techniques. We hope this will positively impact the recruitment of board members and we will continue to keep this under review.</p> answering member constituency Aylesbury answering member printed Rob Butler question first answered 20/10/2022 16:18:05 answering member 4745 label Biography information for Rob Butler
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1491362

	registered interest
	date	21/07/2022
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Aiding and Abetting: Autism
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people with autism have been (a) convicted and (b) acquitted under joint enterprise since the Supreme Court judgement of 18 February 2016 in R v Jogee; and how many of those convicted were (i) first and (ii) secondary offenders.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	42251
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/09/2022 answer text <p>The Ministry of Justice does not collect centrally, information on whether a defendant in criminal proceedings has autism or whether a conviction or acquittal related to joint enterprise. Such information may be held on court records but could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.</p> answering member constituency Derbyshire Dales answering member printed Miss Sarah Dines question first answered 06/09/2022 08:24:57 answering member 4816 label Biography information for Miss Sarah Dines
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1467195

	registered interest
	date	01/06/2022
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Independent Monitoring Boards: Finance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what funding his Department has made available to the independent monitoring board in 2022-23; and how does that figure compare to the funding for 2021-22.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	11879
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/06/2022 answer text <p>Ministry of Justice resource funding for the Independent Monitoring Boards (IMBs) for 2022/23 is £2.67m - an increase from £2.23m in 2021/22.</p><p> </p><p>The department has also provided the IMBs with £0.5m of capital funding, which will fund the development of a new organisational database to support improvements to member recruitment and retention.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 13/06/2022 16:14:35 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1458864

	registered interest
	date	20/04/2022
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Independent Monitoring Boards: Recruitment
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the extent of recruitment challenges to Independent Monitoring Boards (IMB); what steps he plans to take to tackle those challenges; and what assessment he has made of the impact of the shortfall in IMB members on the treatment of prisoners they are tasked with monitoring.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	156602
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/04/2022 answer text <p>The Independent Monitoring Boards (IMBs) play an important role in supporting the Ministry of Justice to improve the safety and security of our prisons. Although the IMB is responsible for the recruitment of its volunteers, the Department recognises the challenges that exist in recruiting members to some individual Monitoring Boards. MoJ has, therefore, increased the funding available to the organisation in 2022-23. This increase in funding will help support improvements to member recruitment and retention policies to ensure Boards continue to deliver statutory responsibilities to monitor and report on the treatment of those detained in custody.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 25/04/2022 17:08:14 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1440204

	registered interest
	date	11/03/2022
	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	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the implications for its policies of the decision of the Court of Appeal in the case R v Jones [2020] EWCA Crim 764 in respect of the sentences of offenders who due to the covid-19 outbreak were imprisoned under conditions different from those under which they were originally sentenced.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	138358
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/03/2022 answer text <p>Sentencing in individual cases is entirely a matter for our independent courts having regard to any guidelines issued by the independent Sentencing Council.</p><p> </p><p>The judgment in <em>R v Jones</em> on 20 June 2020 reflects the earlier judgment given in the case of <em>R v Christopher Manning</em> <em>[2020]. </em>Noting that, in accordance with established principles, the courts “will take into account the likely impact of a custodial sentence upon an offender”, the Court of Appeal in <em>R v Manning</em> acknowledged the impact of covid-19 on prisons and observed that the courts should “keep in mind that the impact of a custodial sentence is likely to be heavier during the current emergency than it would otherwise be.” On 23 June 2020 the Sentencing Council published “The application of sentencing principles during the Covid-19 emergency” <a href="https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/news/item/the-application-of-sentencing-principles-during-the-covid-19-emergency/" target="_blank">The application of sentencing principles during the Covid-19 emergency – Sentencing (sentencingcouncil.org.uk)</a>.</p> answering member constituency South Suffolk answering member printed James Cartlidge question first answered 16/03/2022 16:34:05 answering member 4519 label Biography information for James Cartlidge
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1343702

	registered interest
	date	05/07/2021
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Marriage: Humanism
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans the Government has to recognise in law humanist marriage ceremonies.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	27341
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/07/2021 answer text <p>A Law Commission project on marriage and civil partnership is due to report later this year and is expected to present recommendations for wholesale reform to the law governing marriage ceremonies, which the Government will consider carefully.</p><p>Options being explored by the Law Commission as part of their review include offering couples greater flexibility over the form of their ceremony, allowing the ceremony to take place in a much broader range of locations and to provide a framework that could allow non-religious belief organisations, such as Humanists and independent celebrants, to conduct legally binding weddings. The Government will decide on provision for non-religious belief marriage in light of the Law Commission's recommendations.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk question first answered 08/07/2021 15:01:59 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1340298

	registered interest
	date	25/06/2021
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Breastfeeding: Public Places
	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 protect breastfeeding mothers from being photographed in public.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	22212
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/06/2021 answer text <p>This behaviour may already be captured by existing offences.</p><p> </p><p>However, we are keenly aware of concerns that have been expressed over the changes in technology, including the misuse of photography, social media, imagery, and the opportunities to abuse and upset others that such developments can bring.</p><p> </p><p>We have therefore asked the Law Commission to review the law in this area to ensure victims are properly protected.</p><p> </p><p>It is important that any changes to the law in such sensitive areas, are thoroughly assessed and fully evidenced.</p><p> </p><p>The review has looked at the question of non-consensual photography in public places, including whether recording and sharing images of breastfeeding should be captured as “intimate” imagery for the purposes of any reformed criminal law.</p><p> </p><p>The Government awaits the Law Commission’s findings with interest and shall consider them carefully.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 30/06/2021 16:49:44 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1310647

	registered interest
	date	20/04/2021
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Secure Schools: Medway
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when the the application submitted by Oasis Charitable Trust to run Medway Secure School will be published on the secure schools page of GOV.UK; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	184562
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/04/2021 answer text <p>We are unable to publish the Oasis application documents as had been intended as it has not been possible to produce it in an accessible format as required for all documents published on GOV.UK. A copy of the application and related documents in the form it had been intended to be published will be placed in the House library. We have made the document available on request as stated on the page providing guidance on secure schools.</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/secure-schools-how-to-apply" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/secure-schools-how-to-apply</a></p><p> </p><p>The application submitted by Oasis in March 2019 outlined the foundation for their operating concept and proposed principles for the secure school, in line with the criteria set out in the secure schools ‘how to apply’ guide. Since they were approved as the successful applicant for the first secure school in July 2019, Oasis have continued to develop and refine their operating model. All policies submitted by Oasis were accurate for academic year 2018-19.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk question first answered 26/04/2021 14:39:21 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1309042

	registered interest
	date	14/04/2021
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Importance of Strengthening Female Offenders' Family and other Relationships to Prevent Reoffending and Reduce Intergenerational Crime Review
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress has been made on implementing the recommendations of the 2019 Farmer Review For Women.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	181123
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/04/2021 answer text <p>The Government has made good progress in implementing the recommendations of the Farmer Review for Women, since its publication in June 2019. Ten recommendations have already been implemented and a further eight are expected to be completed this year. Achievements so far include increased access to telephone contact in court custody suites, allowances for the increased use of Release on Temporary Licence (ROTL), amending the eligibility for Child Resettlement Leave to include primary carers as well as sole carers, and the rollout of video calling across the Women’s Estate.</p><p> </p><p>As set out in the Female Offender Strategy, the Government is working to ensure women’s personal circumstances are identified and shared by all agencies in the criminal justice system, in order to inform decisions and support. Lord Farmer’s recommendation on the Personal Circumstances File forms part of this work.</p><p> </p><p>We are also committed to increasing the delivery of quality and timely pre-sentence reports (PSRs) and understand the particular importance of PSRs for women. HM Prison and Probation Service has developed a Pre-Sentence Report interview checklist which focuses on the specific needs of female offenders. Following a series of briefing events, this was rolled out nationally in August 2019 and is available to all practitioners.</p><p> </p><p>Additionally, in the Sentencing White Paper we committed to ensuring that probation staff are supported to deliver a high standard of reports and to significantly increase the proportion of court disposals which benefit from a PSR. This pilot has now launched, and will be in all 15 pilot magistrate courts across 10 probation regions in England and Wales by mid-May. One element of this pilot looks specifically at female offenders, given this cohort often have particularly complex needs. We will use the findings from this pilot to further inform how we take forward Lord Farmer’s recommendation.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk grouped question UIN 181124 181125 question first answered 19/04/2021 15:43:21 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1309043

	registered interest
	date	14/04/2021
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Offenders: Females
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the 2019 Farmer Review for Women, what progress has been made on the introduction of a Personal Circumstances File for women in contact with the criminal justice system.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	181124
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/04/2021 answer text <p>The Government has made good progress in implementing the recommendations of the Farmer Review for Women, since its publication in June 2019. Ten recommendations have already been implemented and a further eight are expected to be completed this year. Achievements so far include increased access to telephone contact in court custody suites, allowances for the increased use of Release on Temporary Licence (ROTL), amending the eligibility for Child Resettlement Leave to include primary carers as well as sole carers, and the rollout of video calling across the Women’s Estate.</p><p> </p><p>As set out in the Female Offender Strategy, the Government is working to ensure women’s personal circumstances are identified and shared by all agencies in the criminal justice system, in order to inform decisions and support. Lord Farmer’s recommendation on the Personal Circumstances File forms part of this work.</p><p> </p><p>We are also committed to increasing the delivery of quality and timely pre-sentence reports (PSRs) and understand the particular importance of PSRs for women. HM Prison and Probation Service has developed a Pre-Sentence Report interview checklist which focuses on the specific needs of female offenders. Following a series of briefing events, this was rolled out nationally in August 2019 and is available to all practitioners.</p><p> </p><p>Additionally, in the Sentencing White Paper we committed to ensuring that probation staff are supported to deliver a high standard of reports and to significantly increase the proportion of court disposals which benefit from a PSR. This pilot has now launched, and will be in all 15 pilot magistrate courts across 10 probation regions in England and Wales by mid-May. One element of this pilot looks specifically at female offenders, given this cohort often have particularly complex needs. We will use the findings from this pilot to further inform how we take forward Lord Farmer’s recommendation.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk grouped question UIN 181123 181125 question first answered 19/04/2021 15:43:21 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1309044

	registered interest
	date	14/04/2021
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Pre-sentence Reports: Carers and Females
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to recommendation 8 of the 2019 Farmer Review for Women, what progress has been made on making written Pre-Sentence Reports mandatory for all women and male primary carers before a custodial sentence is passed.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	181125
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/04/2021 answer text <p>The Government has made good progress in implementing the recommendations of the Farmer Review for Women, since its publication in June 2019. Ten recommendations have already been implemented and a further eight are expected to be completed this year. Achievements so far include increased access to telephone contact in court custody suites, allowances for the increased use of Release on Temporary Licence (ROTL), amending the eligibility for Child Resettlement Leave to include primary carers as well as sole carers, and the rollout of video calling across the Women’s Estate.</p><p> </p><p>As set out in the Female Offender Strategy, the Government is working to ensure women’s personal circumstances are identified and shared by all agencies in the criminal justice system, in order to inform decisions and support. Lord Farmer’s recommendation on the Personal Circumstances File forms part of this work.</p><p> </p><p>We are also committed to increasing the delivery of quality and timely pre-sentence reports (PSRs) and understand the particular importance of PSRs for women. HM Prison and Probation Service has developed a Pre-Sentence Report interview checklist which focuses on the specific needs of female offenders. Following a series of briefing events, this was rolled out nationally in August 2019 and is available to all practitioners.</p><p> </p><p>Additionally, in the Sentencing White Paper we committed to ensuring that probation staff are supported to deliver a high standard of reports and to significantly increase the proportion of court disposals which benefit from a PSR. This pilot has now launched, and will be in all 15 pilot magistrate courts across 10 probation regions in England and Wales by mid-May. One element of this pilot looks specifically at female offenders, given this cohort often have particularly complex needs. We will use the findings from this pilot to further inform how we take forward Lord Farmer’s recommendation.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk grouped question UIN 181123 181124 question first answered 19/04/2021 15:43:21 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1309086

	registered interest
	date	14/04/2021
	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	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Prison Reform Trust’s report, No life, no freedom, no future, published December 2020, what recent assessment he has made of the potential merits of repealing IPP sentences.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	181127
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/04/2021 answer text <p>While the Government has no plans to repeal IPP sentences, it keeps the operation of those sentences under review. The focus is on ensuring, via a joint HMPPS/Parole Board action plan, that IPP prisoners have every opportunity to progress towards safe release.</p><p> </p><p>This approach is working, with high numbers of unreleased IPP prisoners achieving a release decision each year. All IPP prisoners will have their continued detention reviewed by the independent Parole Board at least once every two years.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk question first answered 19/04/2021 15:53:33 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1216030

	registered interest
	date	22/06/2020
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Legal Ombudsman
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how his Department ensures that the office of the Legal Ombudsman does not discriminate against people suffering from mental health issues during the decision making process.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	62649
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/06/2020 answer text <p>The Office for Legal Complaints (OLC) is an arm’s length body – which administers the Legal Ombudsman scheme (LeO) – and makes decisions in relation to cases considered under the scheme independently of, and without influence from, the Ministry of Justice.</p><p>We are aware that LeO staff receive training on reasonable adjustments and have Dedicated Vulnerable Customers Champions to identify customers who may need additional assistance or reasonable adjustments to access its service. This includes adjustments for mental health reasons.</p><p>The OLC also has a service complaints process, of which the last stage is escalation to the Service Complaint Adjudicator who is appointed by the Board and independent of the OLC.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk question first answered 25/06/2020 16:45:59 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1216092

	registered interest
	date	22/06/2020
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Legal Profession: Disclosure of Information
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the prevalence of use of non-disclosure agreements by legal professionals; and what steps his department is taking to help ensure that non-disclosure agreements are not misused.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	62650
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/06/2020 answer text <p>The legal profession in England and Wales is independent of Government and legal professionals are regulated by a number of regulators including the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) and the Bar Standards Board (BSB). Legal professionals must comply with a detailed Code of Conduct, which ensures that high standards of conduct are met.</p><p>The SRA has issued guidance via a warning notice to all regulated individuals and entities on the use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs). The SRA warning notice confirms that they consider NDAs to be improperly used if they prevent a person from reporting misconduct, making a protected disclosure, reporting an offence or cooperating with criminal activity. The SRA has also been taking enforcement action against solicitors over the misuse of NDAs.</p><p>The Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy has published its response to views on consultation on confidentiality clauses. This proposes new legislation to further protect consumers in the provision of such legal services and deter rogue practice.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk question first answered 25/06/2020 16:48:25 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1198772

	registered interest
	date	28/05/2020
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Criminal Legal Aid Review
	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 potential merits of the recommendations of the Law Society's submission to Criminal Legal Aid Review, published in February 2020.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	52555
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/06/2020 answer text <p>In order to focus on the most pressing issues for practitioners during the COVID-19 pandemic we agreed to temporarily pause our work on the Criminal Legal Aid Review in order to focus on short term sustainability issues. We will return to the review, which has a wider focus on long term sustainability of the criminal legal aid market as quickly as we can, while doing all we can to mitigate the current crisis and support justice recovery.</p><p> </p><p>On 28 February 2020, as part of the review, we launched a consultation on policy proposals for the “Criminal legal Aid Review - An accelerated package of measures amending the criminal legal aid fee schemes”. This consultation remains open and we continue to engage with various stakeholder and representative bodies and value the contributions being made. Once the consultation closes, the Government will publish its response after carefully considering the issues raised by the Law Society and others who respond to the consultation.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk question first answered 09/06/2020 18:00:36 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1178959

	registered interest
	date	21/02/2020
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Terrorism: Rehabilitation
	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 rehabilitate prisoners convicted of terrorism offences; and which (a) organisations and (b) individuals provide rehabilitation programmes to prisoners convicted of terrorism offences.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Zarah Sultana
	uin	18871
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/03/2020 answer text <p>Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) use tailored interventions with offenders - psychological, ideological and theological - to support their disengagement and rehabilitation.</p><p>We continue to regularly review Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) intervention programmes to ensure they are informed by the most up to date research on correctional rehabilitation. Interventions are delivered by in-house HMPPS CT specialists or through a range of external providers. We are unable to disclose further information regarding external providers as we are concerned about the adverse impact disclosure will have on national security.</p><p>More widely, we have trained over 29,000 prison staff to recognise, report and challenge extremist behaviour in prison. HMPPS works closely with partners, including with law enforcement, to understand and manage the risks that terrorist offenders present in prison, using a range of control and rehabilitation measures. This is underpinned by a specialist counter terrorism case management process, which is led by HMPPS Counter Terrorism specialists.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 02/03/2020 15:53:40 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
	tabling member	4786 label Biography information for Zarah Sultana

1156143

	registered interest
	date	24/10/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	British Nationals Abroad: Homicide
	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 ensure that families whose loved ones are murdered abroad have access to criminal injuries compensation.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	4922
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/10/2019 answer text <p>The Ministry of Justice is committed to ensuring effective support to families bereaved by murder and manslaughter. To ensure that these families are appropriately supported, whether the homicide takes place at home or abroad, we have provided up to £3.4m per annum in funding to deliver the Homicide Service.</p><p> </p><p>Families bereaved by violent crime can access the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme where the crime was committed in Great Britain, or the Victims of Overseas Terrorism Compensation Scheme where the crime was a terrorist attack committed overseas. Further, where the crime was committed in an EU member state, it may be possible for families to access any compensation scheme that the member state has under the EU Compensation Directive or the Council of Europe Convention on Compensation for Victims of Violent Crime.</p><p> </p><p>A review of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme is underway, looking at its scope, and eligibility rules and requirements. The recommendations of the Victims’ Commissioner in her report on the entitlements and experiences of bereaved families following homicide abroad will be considered carefully as part of this review.</p> answering member constituency Aldridge-Brownhills answering member printed Wendy Morton question first answered 29/10/2019 17:38:11 answering member 4358 label Biography information for Wendy Morton
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1148187

	registered interest
	date	03/10/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Probation: Reform
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent progress he has made on plans for probation reform.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	294094
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/10/2019 answer text <p>In May, we announced plans to strengthen probation by ending Community Rehabilitation Company contracts early and streamlining responsibilities for public, private and voluntary sector partners.</p><p> </p><p>This means the National Probation Service taking on supervision of all offenders, the private sector continuing to drive innovation in interventions, and greater voluntary sector involvement in rehabilitation.</p><p> </p><p>In July we published a Draft Operating Blueprint setting out further detail on our plans. We are continuing to test and refine the design for the future model with partners and stakeholders as plans for the transition take shape. In Wales we are proceeding with plans to move the responsibility for supervision of all offenders into the NPS by the end of 2019. Our experience there will help inform the approach to transition in England.</p><p> </p><p>We continue to drive improvements in service delivery under existing arrangements, including investing £22m per year to support an additional 500 CRC staff in prisons delivering sustained support for offenders to find accommodation and employment on release.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 08/10/2019 15:47:47 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1147874

	registered interest
	date	02/10/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Legal Aid Scheme
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent steps his Department has taken to tackle legal advice deserts.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	293450
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/10/2019 answer text <p>People across England and Wales should be able to access the right legal support in the right way for them and in February the government set out a range of proposals in the Legal Support Action Plan to ensure this remains the case. The Legal Aid Agency frequently reviews market capacity to make sure there is adequate provision around the country and moves quickly to ensure provision where gaps may appear.</p><p>Wherever you are in England and Wales legal advice remains available through the Civil Legal Advice telephone line. Additionally, we are investing up to £5m to fund innovative new services, and we have recently published a consultation outlining new proposals for the Housing Possession Court Duty Scheme ensuring the sustainability of this vital service for anyone at risk of losing their home</p> answering member constituency Aldridge-Brownhills answering member printed Wendy Morton question first answered 07/10/2019 16:16:12 answering member 4358 label Biography information for Wendy Morton
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1145862

	registered interest
	date	25/09/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Prisons: Violence
	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 trends in the level of violence in prisons.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	290639
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/09/2019 answer text <p>The Government publishes quarterly statistics on violence in prison, and a more detailed annual breakdown, and both are available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/safety-in-custody-quarterly-update-to-march-2019. The relevant link is ‘Assaults in prison custody 2000 to 2018’ and the information can be found in table 3.1: Prison assaults summary statistics by calendar year, England and Wales, 2000-2018.</p><p> </p><p>There are clear challenges at many of our prisons, with levels of violence unacceptably high.</p><p> </p><p>That’s why we are investing £100m to bolster security and stability in prisons, in addition to £70 million announced previously. This will fund tough airport-style security, including X-ray scanners and metal detectors to clamp down on the drugs, weapons and mobile phones that increase the risk to our officers and hinder rehabilitation.</p><p> </p><p>It will take time for improvements to be seen across the estate but we remain determined to make progress and will continue to prioritise this important work.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer grouped question UIN 290641 question first answered 30/09/2019 16:57:11 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1145863

	registered interest
	date	25/09/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Prison Officers: Retirement
	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 merits of reducing the retirement age for prisons officers.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	290640
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/09/2019 answer text <p>There has been no assessment undertaken on the merits of reducing the retirement age for prison officers. The retirement age within the Civil Service Pension Scheme (which Prison Officers are members of) is set by Cabinet Office and not the service.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 30/09/2019 16:58:03 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1145870

	registered interest
	date	25/09/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Prisons: Crimes of Violence
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate she has made of the number of violent incidents against prison officers in prisons in each of last five years.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	290641
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/09/2019 answer text <p>The Government publishes quarterly statistics on violence in prison, and a more detailed annual breakdown, and both are available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/safety-in-custody-quarterly-update-to-march-2019. The relevant link is ‘Assaults in prison custody 2000 to 2018’ and the information can be found in table 3.1: Prison assaults summary statistics by calendar year, England and Wales, 2000-2018.</p><p> </p><p>There are clear challenges at many of our prisons, with levels of violence unacceptably high.</p><p> </p><p>That’s why we are investing £100m to bolster security and stability in prisons, in addition to £70 million announced previously. This will fund tough airport-style security, including X-ray scanners and metal detectors to clamp down on the drugs, weapons and mobile phones that increase the risk to our officers and hinder rehabilitation.</p><p> </p><p>It will take time for improvements to be seen across the estate but we remain determined to make progress and will continue to prioritise this important work.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer grouped question UIN 290639 question first answered 30/09/2019 16:57:11 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1145079

	registered interest
	date	05/09/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Hate Crime
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress has been made on the review of hate crime legislation in England and Wales.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	287449
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/09/2019 answer text <p>The Law Commission were invited to review the law on hate crime and to make recommendations for its reform. The review began in March 2019 and will also consider which characteristics (for example gender, age, disability) deserve enhanced protection by the criminal law and on what basis.</p><p> </p><p>The Law Commission plan to issue a consultation on this matter in early 2020. Further information on the review can be found on the Law Commission webpage at: <a href="https://www.lawcom.gov.uk/project/hate-crime/" target="_blank">https://www.lawcom.gov.uk/project/hate-crime/</a></p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 25/09/2019 16:43:33 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1142004

	registered interest
	date	25/07/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Prisons: Radicalism
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for the Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the system for collating statistics on extremist behaviours in prisons.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	282183
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/09/2019 answer text <p>Extremist behaviours in prison are identified and monitored through a robust case management process reviewing Terrorism Act (TACT) and TACT-related prisoners throughout their sentence. Information and statistics relating to extremist behaviours are routinely collected at local, regional and national levels. Related statistics for persons in custody and released from custody are routinely provide as part of Home Office Official Counter Terrorism statistics, published quarterly as statistical bulletins [see link below]. These statistics present details regarding the number of persons in custody for terrorism-related offences in Great Britain, including details of ethnicity, nationality, ideology and religion.</p><p> </p><p>The latest statistics can be found at: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/counter-terrorism-statistics" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/counter-terrorism-statistics</a></p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 03/09/2019 14:54:56 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1140287

	registered interest
	date	22/07/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Universal Credit: Disability
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the average waiting time for an appeal for universal credit by a tribunal for people with a disability in the most recent period for which figures are available.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	278907
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/07/2019 answer text <p>Waiting times for appeals against decisions made about Universal Credit (UC) are published at:</p><p>www.gov.uk/government/collections/tribunals-statistics</p><p> </p><p>The specific information requested is not held: Her Majesty’s Courts &amp; Tribunals Service does not record whether UC appeals have been made by people with a disability.</p> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard question first answered 23/07/2019 16:20:25 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1140295

	registered interest
	date	18/07/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Universal Credit: Appeals
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will introduce targets for the waiting time for a universal credit appeal case to be heard by a tribunal.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	278908
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/07/2019 answer text <p>We do not have targets for waiting times. The listing of appeals, including consideration of whether a hearing should be expedited, is a judicial function.</p><p> </p><p>Nevertheless, MoJ are working to reduce waiting times for appeals by increasing judicial resource. This includes recruiting up to 250 judges across the First-tier Tribunal, 125 disability qualified members and up to 230 medical members. Once this is completed we expect more cases to be listed, improving the throughput in the Tribunal.</p> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard question first answered 23/07/2019 16:17:04 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1138673

	registered interest
	date	12/07/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Legal Aid Scheme
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of not-for-profit legal aid providers that have closed in each year for the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	276509
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/07/2019 answer text <table><tbody><tr><td><p>The LAA does not hold data on Not For Profit (NfP) organisation closures, only whether they hold a contract to deliver legal aid services. Under the LAA’s contracting regime, an organisation may be contracted to deliver services from one or multiple offices. Contracts may be ended by either party; providers may choose to withdraw from the whole contract, an office or a category of law or the LAA may take action should a provider breach its contract obligations. All contracted providers make their own commercial decisions and withdrawal from a legal aid contract may not be as a result of a closure. For example, NfPs may withdraw from a legal aid contract but continue to operate reliant on other funding, or may choose to consolidate offices but continue to deliver larger volumes of work across a wider area. The table below shows the number of NfP providers (at office level) holding a legal aid contract in any given year. While NfP organisations play a role in helping people access justice, they are not the sole means. We have 1,439 organisations delivering legal aid contracts across the England and Wales – 1,356 of which are with legal firms rather than the not-for-profit sector which includes law centres. We spent £1.6 billion on legal aid last year and in addition to the Civil Legal Advice Telephone service, we are investing £5m in innovative technologies to help people access legal support wherever they are. <table><tbody><tr><td colspan="11"><p>Financial Year</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010/11</p></td><td><p>2011/12</p></td><td><p>2012/13</p></td><td><p>2013/14</p></td><td><p>2014/15</p></td><td><p>2015/16</p></td><td><p>2016/17</p></td><td><p>2017/18</p></td><td><p>2018/19</p></td><td><p>2019 September</p></td><td><p>2019/20</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>596</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>495</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>456</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>395</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>397</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>320</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>311</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>295</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>285</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>233</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>213</strong></p></td></tr></tbody></table></p></td></tr></tbody></table> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard question first answered 17/07/2019 15:50:20 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1138145

	registered interest
	date	10/07/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Legal Aid Scheme: Housing
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of local authority areas that do not have a housing legal aid provider in England and Wales.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	275673
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/07/2019 answer text <p>The LAA commissions services on a ‘Procurement Area’ basis. Procurement Areas align to one or a number of combined local authority areas and have been developed based on various local factors.</p><p> </p><p>Individuals are not limited to accessing legal advice providers in the Procurement Area where they live and may access services from providers located in neighbouring local authorities, or at other contracted legal advice providers located locally.</p><p> </p><p>The LAA has recently tendered for new face-to-face housing contracts across the 134 housing and debt procurement areas across England and Wales. As of 30 June 2019, there is at least one provider offering housing and debt services in all but 4 procurement areas, and the LAA is considering how to secure provision in these areas and will set out next steps shortly.</p><p> </p><p>Legal advice is still available in these areas through the Civil Legal Advice telephone service and irrespective of a client’s location in England and Wales, legal advice for housing remains available through a telephone service as well.</p><p> </p><p>The following table shows the number of providers in each of the locations enquired about, and the number of procurement areas which fall within each.</p><p> </p><p>The Legal Aid Agency keeps availability of legal support under constant review and takes urgent action whenever it has concerns.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Geographical Location</p></td><td><p># of Procurement Areas</p></td><td><p># of Providers</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>London</p></td><td><p>30</p></td><td><p>235</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Wales</p></td><td><p>8</p></td><td><p>35</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Other</p></td><td><p>96</p></td><td><p>212</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>This government spent £1.6 billion on legal aid last year and in addition to the Civil Legal Advice Telephone service, we are investing £5m in innovative technologies to help people access legal support wherever they are.</p> answering member constituency Blackpool North and Cleveleys answering member printed Paul Maynard question first answered 15/07/2019 16:06:15 answering member 3926 label Biography information for Paul Maynard
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1136586

	registered interest
	date	03/07/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Females: Prisoners
	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 trends in the level of training for prison officers working with women with a mental health need.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	272741
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/07/2019 answer text <p>All Prison Officers complete the Prison Officer Entry Level Training which includes sessions on mental heallth, self-harm and suicide and personality disorder. There has very recently been the development of a new course specifically for the female estate called POWER – Positive Outcomes for Women: Empowerment &amp; Rehabilition. This is a two-day programme and is due to be rolled out shortly across the estate. One of the modules specifically refers to mental health in the female estate, with an aim to ensure delegates gain an overview of the mental health needs of female offenders and how this impacts on offending – including understanding the main disorders found in women in prison; the challenges caused by psychosis and schizophrenia; and explores the personality disorder pathway and personality disorder services.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 08/07/2019 16:45:14 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1134167

	registered interest
	date	24/06/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Television Licences: Older People
	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 18 June 2019 to Question 264316 on Television Licensing, how many of the people committed to prison since 2014 for non-payment of the fine associated with the use of television equipment without a licence were over the age of 75.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	268358
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/06/2019 answer text <p>Since 2014 there have been zero prison admissions for those aged over 75 for non-payment of fines associated with the use of television equipment without a licence.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency South Swindon answering member printed Robert Buckland question first answered 27/06/2019 11:01:29 answering member 4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1134173

	registered interest
	date	24/06/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Prisons: Overcrowding
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate his Department has made of the number of overcrowded prisons in England and Wales.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	268359
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/06/2019 answer text <p>The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) publishes monthly individual prison population and capacity information through the following link: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/prison-population-statistics" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/prison-population-statistics</a></p><p> </p><p>As at 31 May 2019, 72 prisons operated with a population above their Certified Normal Accommodation (CNA) but not above their operational capacity. There are no prisons operating above their operational capacity in England and Wales. The operational capacity of a prison is the total number of prisoners that an establishment can hold taking into account control, security and the proper operation of the planned regime. It is determined by the Prison Group Director on the basis of operational judgement and experience.</p><p> </p><p>CNA, or uncrowded capacity, is the Prison Service’s own measure of accommodation. CNA represents the good, decent standard of accommodation that the Service aspires to provide all prisoners.</p><p> </p><p>Where the operational capacity of a prison is higher than the CNA it will be classed as having the potential to be 'crowded', which can mean prisoners share cells. In the financial year 2017/18, 24.2% of the prison population was being held in crowded conditions, down from 24.5% in the previous year.</p><p> </p><p>Reducing crowding is a central aim of our modernisation of the prison estate. Our plan for reducing prison crowding is to replace prisons that are operating over their certified normal accommodation levels with new accommodation that is safe, decent, and uncrowded and close current (crowded or partially crowded) capacity. The first steps in this direction have already been taken with the opening of 2,100 uncrowded prison places at HMP/YOI Berwyn; 206 uncrowded places in a houseblock at Stocken; and a commitment to construct modern, decent, uncrowded prisons at the former HMP Wellingborough and HMP Glen Parva sites, which are due to open in 2021 and 2023 respectively.</p> answering member constituency South Swindon answering member printed Robert Buckland grouped question UIN 268360 question first answered 27/06/2019 11:03:39 answering member 4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1134174

	registered interest
	date	24/06/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Prisons: Overcrowding
	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 reduce overcrowding in prisons in England and Wales.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	268360
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/06/2019 answer text <p>The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) publishes monthly individual prison population and capacity information through the following link: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/prison-population-statistics" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/prison-population-statistics</a></p><p> </p><p>As at 31 May 2019, 72 prisons operated with a population above their Certified Normal Accommodation (CNA) but not above their operational capacity. There are no prisons operating above their operational capacity in England and Wales. The operational capacity of a prison is the total number of prisoners that an establishment can hold taking into account control, security and the proper operation of the planned regime. It is determined by the Prison Group Director on the basis of operational judgement and experience.</p><p> </p><p>CNA, or uncrowded capacity, is the Prison Service’s own measure of accommodation. CNA represents the good, decent standard of accommodation that the Service aspires to provide all prisoners.</p><p> </p><p>Where the operational capacity of a prison is higher than the CNA it will be classed as having the potential to be 'crowded', which can mean prisoners share cells. In the financial year 2017/18, 24.2% of the prison population was being held in crowded conditions, down from 24.5% in the previous year.</p><p> </p><p>Reducing crowding is a central aim of our modernisation of the prison estate. Our plan for reducing prison crowding is to replace prisons that are operating over their certified normal accommodation levels with new accommodation that is safe, decent, and uncrowded and close current (crowded or partially crowded) capacity. The first steps in this direction have already been taken with the opening of 2,100 uncrowded prison places at HMP/YOI Berwyn; 206 uncrowded places in a houseblock at Stocken; and a commitment to construct modern, decent, uncrowded prisons at the former HMP Wellingborough and HMP Glen Parva sites, which are due to open in 2021 and 2023 respectively.</p> answering member constituency South Swindon answering member printed Robert Buckland grouped question UIN 268359 question first answered 27/06/2019 11:03:39 answering member 4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1132022

	registered interest
	date	13/06/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Television Licences: Non-payment
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have received a custodial sentence for failure to pay the television license fee in the last five years.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	264316
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/06/2019 answer text <p>Failure to pay television licence fees is not an imprisonable offence. However, courts have power to commit to prison for failure to pay criminal fines, which can be imposed for non-payment of television licence fees.</p><p>The number of committals to prison imposed in the last five years for failure to pay fines imposed for non-payment of the BBC licence fee can be viewed in the table.</p> answering member constituency South Swindon answering member printed Robert Buckland question first answered 18/06/2019 16:53:07 answering member 4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland attachment 1 file name PQ 264316_final.xlsx title Table
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1129670

	registered interest
	date	04/06/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Alternatives to Prison
	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 increase the use of alternatives to prison sentences.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	259852
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/06/2019 answer text <p>There is a case to abolish or restrict the use of sentences of six months or less, with some exceptions, and we are working towards having firm proposals by the summer.</p><p>The sentencing framework already gives courts the flexibility to select community order requirements which are a robust alternative to custody, and are tailored to address the specific issues that contribute to reoffending. Community sentences, in certain circumstances, are more effective in reducing reoffending, and therefore keeping the public safe. We must ensure the public and judiciary have confidence in effective community orders, including those which address offenders’ behaviour, answer their mental health and substance misuse needs and provide reparation for the benefit of the wider community.</p><p>Confidence in community sentences starts with confidence in the probation services that deliver them and our probation reforms are designed to achieve this. Bringing all offender management responsibilities under the National Probation Service and having a more clearly defined role for the private and voluntary sectors in delivering interventions are intended to strengthen sentencer and public confidence in probation. Our changes will also ensure a wider range of rehabilitative programmes, so that courts can better tailor community sentences to the individual needs of offenders.</p> answering member constituency South Swindon answering member printed Robert Buckland question first answered 10/06/2019 14:26:49 answering member 4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1129672

	registered interest
	date	04/06/2019
	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	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 potential merits of ending the use of prison sentences of less than eight weeks duration.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	259853
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/06/2019 answer text <p>There is a case to abolish or further restrict the use of sentences of six months or less, with some exceptions, and we are working towards having firm proposals by the summer.</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>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 South Swindon answering member printed Robert Buckland question first answered 10/06/2019 14:41:47 answering member 4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1124216

	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	Rape: British Nationals Abroad
	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 enable allegations of rape committed abroad by UK citizens to be investigated and prosecuted in the UK.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	249836
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/05/2019 answer text <p>Existing law already provides for a UK national or a UK resident accused of raping a person under the age of 18 abroad to be brought to trial in the UK.</p><p> </p><p>The draft Domestic Abuse Bill includes provision to extend the jurisdiction of our courts to offences of rape committed abroad against a victim aged 18 or over as required by the Istanbul Convention.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 08/05/2019 16:40:22 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1105190

	registered interest
	date	26/03/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Theft: Prosecutions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of Out of Court Disposals for shop theft.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	236997
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/04/2019 answer text <p>We recognise that shoplifting is not a victimless crime. It causes cost and disruption to businesses, as well as damage to communities and consumers. We encourage all victims, including shop workers, to report these crimes to the police so that they can be recorded and dealt with accordingly.</p><p> </p><p>Out of Court Disposals are one important tool available in addressing shop theft – they allow the police to deal quickly and proportionately with low-level offending. Where an Out of Court Disposal is appropriate, we encourage the use of disposals which have a condition attached (be that rehabilitative, reparative, punitive or restrictive). This can achieve rapid compensation and/or divert vulnerable offenders with substance misuse or mental health issues into rehabilitative services to address the root causes of their offending behaviour.</p><p> </p><p>We pay attention to trends and changes in the use of Out of Court Disposals on an ongoing basis.</p> answering member constituency Penrith and The Border answering member printed Rory Stewart question first answered 01/04/2019 16:58:47 answering member 4137 label Biography information for Rory Stewart
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1048034

	registered interest
	date	25/01/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Debt Collection
	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 adequacy of current regulations on the conduct of bailiffs.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	212591
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/01/2019 answer text <p>The Government is committed to ensuring that the enforcement of court judgments is effective whilst protecting debtors from aggressive behaviour from enforcement agents. We have launched a call for evidence on how enforcement agents operate as part of our review of the implementation of the enforcement agent provisions in the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007. The call for evidence closes on 17 February 2019. We shall consider the need for further reform of the powers and regulation of enforcement agents in the light of that evidence.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 31/01/2019 13:49:11 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer previous answer version 98595 answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1046832

	registered interest
	date	23/01/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Criminal Injuries Compensation: Crimes of Violence
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the application process for victims of violent crime to apply for compensation; and if he will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	211638
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/01/2019 answer text <p>In our Victims Strategy published in September 2018, we set out our commitment to review the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme. The terms of reference for the review were published on 18 December 2018. The review will consider how the Scheme can best reflect the changing nature of violent crime, effectively support victims in their recovery and opportunities for simplification. As part of this work, we will be considering the recommendations made by the Victims’ Commissioner in her report (Compensation without re-traumatisation) which was published on 23 January. We intend to publish proposals later this year.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 28/01/2019 13:17:56 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1043026

	registered interest
	date	17/01/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Courts: Repairs and Maintenance
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment his Department has made of the number of courts that require repair work.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	209748
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/01/2019 answer text <p>All court and tribunal buildings require routine maintenance to resolve issues that arise, and to keep them operational. Since 2015/16, as at January 2019 we have invested approximately £123m on capital maintenance to improve our estate.</p><p> </p><p>HM Courts &amp; Tribunals Service has undertaken a programme of surveys over the last 12 months to identify the capital maintenance repairs required at courts and tribunals across the UK.</p><p> </p><p>A rolling programme of repairs and investment is in place to deal with the areas of highest maintenance priority and in December 2018, it was announced an extra £15 million was being set aside this year for security and maintenance work.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 23/01/2019 15:32:13 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer previous answer version 96835 answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1023195

	registered interest
	date	11/12/2018
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Prisons: Industrial Health and Safety
	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 adequacy of health and safety conditions in prisons for staff.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	201103
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/12/2018 answer text <p>We do not underestimate the challenges faced by all staff working in prisons and continue to support our staff to help them maintain safe, decent and secure prisons. Standards of Health and Safety for prison staff are actively monitored, considered and acted upon on an ongoing basis. It is important to recognise that the health and safety of prison staff is closely influenced by the arrangements in place to manage the security, safety, conditions, behaviour and experience of prisoners in those same communities. Most recently, assessments relating to the risk of violence, fire safety, secondary impacts of drug misuse, staff wellbeing, infection and pandemic control and facilities are driving a range of improvement measures and activities that will influence prison staff’s experience of health and safety at their workplaces.</p><p> </p><p>In support of staff safety, we are now rolling out the use of PAVA spray and police style rigid bar handcuffs, which is in addition to other measures such as the increased staffing numbers and investment in drug and mobile phone detection should improve health and safety conditions in prisons.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Penrith and The Border answering member printed Rory Stewart question first answered 17/12/2018 17:46:39 answering member 4137 label Biography information for Rory Stewart
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1006936

	registered interest
	date	14/11/2018
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Legal Aid Scheme
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have used legal aid to fund their legal case in each year since 2010.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	191279
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/11/2018 answer text <p>The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) does not track expenditure by the person/s involved. Our data is indexed by individual grants of funding. One individual may receive multiple grants of funding over the course of their life, and one legal aid certificate may cover more than one legal case.</p><p> </p><p>The MoJ regularly publishes statistical data which includes volumes of successful applications for legal aid funding. The most recent published information is recorded here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/legal-aid-statistics-april-to-june-2018" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/legal-aid-statistics-april-to-june-2018</a>.</p><p> </p><p>Mapping this information to specific individuals or legal cases would only be possible at disproportionate cost.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 19/11/2018 15:40:24 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

1006044

	registered interest
	date	13/11/2018
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Prisoners: Pregnancy
	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 ensure that pregnant female prisoners receive adequate medical care (a) during their pregnancy and (b) when giving birth.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	190753
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/11/2018 answer text <p>All pregnant women in custody have an individual care and management plan that is communicated to all staff and all pregnant women are seen by a mid-wife at least fortnightly or as required. Healthcare in prisons is provided by trained medics and nurses, but we have also made training on dealing with pregnant women available to all prison officers.</p><p>We know it is extremely rare for a woman to give birth in prison - because every step is taken to get them to hospital - but those unique cases are invariably down to the unpredictability of labour.</p><p> </p><p>Our new Female Offenders Strategy made clear that we want fewer women serving short sentences in custody and more remaining in the community, making use of women’s centres to address needs such as substance misuse and mental health problems.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 20/11/2018 10:46:59 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar previous answer version 85793 answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

943825

	registered interest
	date	18/07/2018
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Debt Collection
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his Department's press release, Crackdown on rogue bailiffs, published on 2 April 2018, on how many occasions (a) he and (b) officials in his Department have met with representatives of the bailiff industry to discuss bailiff reform.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	165459
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/07/2018 answer text <p>The Government intends to launch its call for evidence to evaluate the enforcement agent reforms introduced by Tribunals, Court and Enforcement Act 2007 soon after the summer recess.</p><p> </p><p>Minsters have had no recent meetings with representatives from the bailiff industry to discuss bailiff reform. My officials have met with representatives of the bailiff industry on one occasion since the publication of the one-year review of the 2007 Act in April this year, when the issue of reform was raised.</p><p> </p><p>My officials plan meetings both with representatives of the bailiff industry and with debt advice organisations to inform the call for evidence. I recently met with a representative from StepChange at a meeting where I also met the family of Jerome Rogers, where we discussed the bailiff reforms.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer grouped question UIN 165460 165461 question first answered 24/07/2018 15:23:42 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

943826

	registered interest
	date	18/07/2018
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Debt Collection
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to meet debt advice charities to discuss the scope of the upcoming call for evidence on bailiff reform announced by his Department on 2 April 2018.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	165460
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/07/2018 answer text <p>The Government intends to launch its call for evidence to evaluate the enforcement agent reforms introduced by Tribunals, Court and Enforcement Act 2007 soon after the summer recess.</p><p> </p><p>Minsters have had no recent meetings with representatives from the bailiff industry to discuss bailiff reform. My officials have met with representatives of the bailiff industry on one occasion since the publication of the one-year review of the 2007 Act in April this year, when the issue of reform was raised.</p><p> </p><p>My officials plan meetings both with representatives of the bailiff industry and with debt advice organisations to inform the call for evidence. I recently met with a representative from StepChange at a meeting where I also met the family of Jerome Rogers, where we discussed the bailiff reforms.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer grouped question UIN 165459 165461 question first answered 24/07/2018 15:23:42 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

943827

	registered interest
	date	18/07/2018
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Debt Collection
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his Department's press release, Crackdown on rogue bailiffs, published on 2 April 2018, when his Department plans to launch its call for evidence.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry South
	tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
	uin	165461
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/07/2018 answer text <p>The Government intends to launch its call for evidence to evaluate the enforcement agent reforms introduced by Tribunals, Court and Enforcement Act 2007 soon after the summer recess.</p><p> </p><p>Minsters have had no recent meetings with representatives from the bailiff industry to discuss bailiff reform. My officials have met with representatives of the bailiff industry on one occasion since the publication of the one-year review of the 2007 Act in April this year, when the issue of reform was raised.</p><p> </p><p>My officials plan meetings both with representatives of the bailiff industry and with debt advice organisations to inform the call for evidence. I recently met with a representative from StepChange at a meeting where I also met the family of Jerome Rogers, where we discussed the bailiff reforms.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer grouped question UIN 165459 165460 question first answered 24/07/2018 15:23:42 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
	tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham