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1132779

registered interest
date	18/06/2019
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 recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of imprisonment for public protection sentences.
tabling member constituency	East Londonderry
tabling member printed	Mr Gregory Campbell
uin	266110
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/06/2019 answer text <p>The assessment of the sentence of imprisonment for public protection (IPP) found that they had been used far more widely than intended, and the IPP sentence was subsequently abolished in 2012 and replaced with a new regime of determinate sentences alongside life sentences for the most serious offenders.</p><p> </p><p>Attention is now focused on reducing the risk and thereby the successful rehabilitation of those prisoners who continue to serve the IPP sentence. A joint action plan is in place, co-owned by Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) and the Parole Board, with the specific aim of providing opportunities for prisoners to progress towards safe release. The plan reviewed regularly to ensure that the actions in it meet the changing needs of the IPP population.</p><p> </p><p>This approach is working, with high numbers of unreleased IPP prisoners achieving a release decision year on year: 562 in 2015, 576 in 2016, 616 I 2017 and 506 in 2018. However, it is important to remember that prisoners serving IPP sentences have committed serious sexual or violent offences - and many remain in prison because the independent parole board has assessed their risk of serious harm to the public to be too great to warrant their release.</p> answering member constituency South Swindon answering member printed Robert Buckland question first answered 24/06/2019 15:50:16 answering member 4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland
tabling member	1409 label Biography information for Mr Gregory Campbell

1131703

registered interest
date	12/06/2019
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, how many and what proportion of offenders sentenced to immediate custody had (a) zero, (b) between one and four, (c) between five and nine, (d) between 10 and 15, (e) between 16 and 25, (f) between 26 and 50 and (g) more than 50 previous community orders; and how many and what proportion of offenders sentenced to immediate custody had (i) zero, (ii) between one and four, (iii) between five and nine, (iv) between 10 and 15, (v) between 16 and 25, (vi) between 26 and 50 and (vii) more than 50 suspended sentences, in each year since 2007.
tabling member constituency	Harborough
tabling member printed	Neil O'Brien
uin	263847
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/06/2019 answer text <p>The information requested is provided in the table attached with this answer. The table includes data, covering the period 2007 – 2018, on:</p><ul><li>The number of offenders with a specified number of previous community sentences who were sentenced to immediate custody.</li><li>The proportion of offenders with a specified number of previous community sentences who were sentenced to immediate custody.</li><li>The number of offenders with a specified number of suspended sentences who were sentenced to immediate custody.</li><li>The proportion of offenders with a specified number of suspended sentences who were sentenced to immediate custody.</li></ul> answering member constituency South Swindon answering member printed Robert Buckland question first answered 17/06/2019 16:56:55 answering member 4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland attachment 1 file name Copy of 263847 Response Table.xlsx title Table
tabling member	4679 label Biography information for Neil O'Brien

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

1129856

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, how many individuals are serving an imprisonment for public protection sentence in England and Wales.
tabling member constituency	Swansea East
tabling member printed	Carolyn Harris
uin	260065
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/06/2019 answer text <p>The information you ask for is available in the public domain in so far as it relates to those serving the IPP sentence in prison; however, I have provided it for ease of reference. As at 31 March 2019, 2,403 prisoners were serving IPP sentences and who have never been released, and a further 1,063 prisoners were in custody having been recalled from the community.</p><p> </p><p>Data on prisoners serving IPP sentences are published quarterly as part of the Offender Management Statistics bulletin: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/offender-management-statistics-quarterly-october-to-december-2018" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/offender-management-statistics-quarterly-october-to-december-2018</a></p><p> </p><p>It is for the independent Parole Board to review the detention of those prisoners serving an IPP sentence who have completed their tariff period. The Board will direct the release of these prisoners only if it is satisfied that the levels of risk posed to the general public are reduced enough that the National Probation Service and its partner agencies can safely manage them in the community under supervision.</p> answering member constituency South Swindon answering member printed Robert Buckland question first answered 10/06/2019 14:45:27 answering member 4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland
tabling member	4480 label Biography information for Carolyn Harris

1127027

registered interest
date	15/05/2019
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	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many (1) women, and (2) men, currently serving indeterminate prison sentences have exceeded the tariff relating to the crime for which they were originally convicted.
tabling member printed	Lord Trefgarne
uin	HL15788
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/05/2019 answer text <p>The following table gives the unreleased IPP and life sentence prison population as at 31 March 2019 as well as showing how many prisoners, in each sentence category and according to gender, remain in custody beyond the expiry of their original tariff or are still serving their tariff period.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p><strong>IPP</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Life</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Total population</p></td><td><p>2,403</p></td><td><p>7,038</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Post-tariff total</p></td><td><p>2,198</p></td><td><p>1,784</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Post-tariff male</p></td><td><p>2,155</p></td><td><p>1756</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Post-tariff female</p></td><td><p>43</p></td><td><p>28</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Pre-tariff total</p></td><td><p>204</p></td><td><p>5,041</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Pre-tariff male</p></td><td><p>204</p></td><td><p>4,780</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Pre-tariff female</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>261</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Tariff expiry date not available*</p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>213</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>* Includes cases where a confirmed tariff expiry date has yet to be received and any unmatched records. As with any large-scale recording system, administrative IT systems are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.</p> answering member printed Lord Keen of Elie question first answered 30/05/2019 14:00:09 answering member 4538 label Biography information for Lord Keen of Elie
tabling member	1813 label Biography information for Lord Trefgarne

1125620

registered interest
date	09/05/2019
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, how many prisoners were serving an indeterminate public protection sentence in each year since 2012.
tabling member constituency	Dwyfor Meirionnydd
tabling member printed	Liz Saville Roberts
uin	252602
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/05/2019 answer text <p>It is for the independent Parole Board to review the detention of those prisoners serving an IPP sentence who have completed their tariff period. The Board will direct the release of these prisoners only if it is satisfied that the levels of risk posed to the general public are reduced enough that the National Probation Service and its partner agencies can safely manage them in the community under supervision.</p><p> </p><p>Whilst HM Prison and Probation Service is focused on giving all prisoners serving IPP sentences opportunities to progress towards release, public protection must remain our priority.</p><p> </p><p>The information you ask for is available in the public domain; however, I have provided it below for ease of reference.</p><p> </p><p>The following table provides the number of first releases from IPP sentences in each of the last 5 years:</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p><strong>2014</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2015<strong>[1]</strong></strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2016</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2017</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2018</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Releases</p></td><td><p>419</p></td><td><p>562</p></td><td><p>576</p></td><td><p>616</p></td><td><p>506</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>[1] Due to improvements in IT systems, the 2015 prison admissions data is now taken from a different source and, for statistical reporting purposes only, are produced using a different method. The 2015 figures from both the old and new systems have been presented to aid comparison.</p><p> </p><p>The following table provides the number of offenders recalled from IPP licences in each of the last 5 years. It should be noted that these are incidences of recall and that offenders may appear more than once if they have been recalled on multiple occasions. It should also be noted that the recall and release numbers in each corresponding year do not necessarily relate to the same individuals.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p><strong>2014</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2015</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2016</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2017</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2018</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Recalls</p></td><td><p>96[2]</p></td><td><p>363</p></td><td><p>482</p></td><td><p>492</p></td><td><p>637</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>2 Published data for IPP recalls was not collated separately to other types of indeterminate sentence prior to September 2014, and so can only be provided at disproportionate cost.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The following table shows the population of prisoners serving IPP sentences who have never been released as at the end of March each year since 2012:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>31 March 2012</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>31 Mar 2013</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>31 Mar 2014</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>31 Mar 2015</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>31 Mar 2016</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>31 Mar 2017</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>31 Mar 2018</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>31 March 2019</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>6,017</p></td><td><p>5,809</p></td><td><p>5,206</p></td><td><p>4,756</p></td><td><p>4,133</p></td><td><p>3,528</p></td><td><p>2,884</p></td><td><p>2,403</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>As with any large-scale recording system, administrative IT systems are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency South Swindon answering member printed Robert Buckland grouped question UIN 252600 question first answered 17/05/2019 12:10:06 answering member 4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland
tabling member	4521 label Biography information for Liz Saville Roberts

1124721

registered interest
date	03/05/2019
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, how many people given a sentence of six months or less, have previously served (a) 19 short sentences of six months or less, (b) 20 short sentences of six months or less, (c) 50 short sentences of six months or less and (d) 100 short sentences of 6 months or less between 31 October 2017 and 1 September 2018.
tabling member constituency	North Durham
tabling member printed	Mr Kevan Jones
uin	250789
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/05/2019 answer text <p>For those offenders sentenced to an immediate custodial sentence of six months or less between 31<sup>st</sup> October 2017 and 1<sup>st</sup> September 2018:</p><p>a) 246 had 19 previous immediate custodial sentences of six months or less,</p><p>b) 223 had 20 previous immediate custodial sentences of six months or less,</p><p>c) 12 had 50 previous immediate custodial sentences of six months or less, and</p><p>d) 0 had 100 previous immediate custodial sentences of six months or less.</p> answering member constituency South Swindon answering member printed Robert Buckland question first answered 13/05/2019 16:16:32 answering member 4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland
tabling member	1438 label Biography information for Mr Kevan Jones

1124525

registered interest
date	02/05/2019
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, how many prisoners sentenced under an imprisonment for public protection sentence remain in custody.
tabling member constituency	Leeds East
tabling member printed	Richard Burgon
uin	250483
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/05/2019 answer text <p>The information you ask for is available in the public domain; however, I have provided it below for ease of reference.</p><p> </p><p>As of 31 March 2019, there were 2,403 unreleased prisoners in custody serving Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentences. In addition, a further 1,063 prisoners were serving an IPP sentence following recall from the community.</p><p> </p><p>The table below shows the tariff-expired, unreleased population of prisoners serving IPP sentences by original tariff length and time over tariff, as at 31 March 2019.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td rowspan="2"><p><strong>Time over tariff</strong></p></td><td colspan="4"><p><strong>Original Tariff length</strong></p></td><td rowspan="2"><p><strong>Total</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Less than 2 years</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2 years to less than or equal to 4 years</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Greater than 4 years to less than or equal to 6 years</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Greater than 6 years to less than or equal to 10 years</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Greater than 10 years </strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Less than 1 year</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>18</p></td><td><p>97</p></td><td><p>3</p></td><td><p><strong>118</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>From 1 year to less than 2 years</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>58</p></td><td><p>80</p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p><strong>139</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>From 2 years to less than 3 years</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>12</p></td><td><p>86</p></td><td><p>49</p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p><strong>148</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>From 3 years to less than 4 years</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>61</p></td><td><p>82</p></td><td><p>38</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p><strong>181</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>From 4 years to less than 5 years</p></td><td><p>10</p></td><td><p>103</p></td><td><p>66</p></td><td><p>26</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p><strong>205</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>From 5 years to less than 6 years</p></td><td><p>31</p></td><td><p>131</p></td><td><p>70</p></td><td><p>13</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p><strong>245</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>From 6 years to less than 7 years</p></td><td><p>28</p></td><td><p>134</p></td><td><p>59</p></td><td><p>8</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p><strong>229</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>From 7 years to less than 8 years</p></td><td><p>32</p></td><td><p>145</p></td><td><p>54</p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p><strong>232</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>From 8 years to less than 9 years</p></td><td><p>53</p></td><td><p>185</p></td><td><p>33</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p><strong>271</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>From 9 years to less than 10 years</p></td><td><p>53</p></td><td><p>136</p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p><strong>190</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>10 years or more</p></td><td><p>168</p></td><td><p>71</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p><strong>240</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Total</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>375</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>978</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>527</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>312</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>6</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2,198</strong></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>As with any large-scale recording system, administrative IT systems are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.</p><p> </p><p>It is for the independent Parole Board to review the detention of those prisoners serving an IPP sentence who have completed their tariff period. The Board will direct the release of these prisoners only if it is satisfied that the levels of risk posed to the general public are reduced enough that the National Probation Service and its partner agencies can safely manage them in the community under supervision.</p><p> </p><p>Whilst HM Prison and Probation Service is focused on giving all prisoners serving IPP sentences opportunities to progress towards release, public protection must remain our priority.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer grouped question UIN 250484 question first answered 09/05/2019 16:35:09 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	4493 label Biography information for Richard Burgon

1124528

registered interest
date	02/05/2019
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, how many IPP prisoners sentenced under an imprisonment for public protection sentence have been in prison over their tariff for more than (a) one, (b) two, (c) three, (d) four, (e) five, (f) six, (g) seven and (h) eight or more years.
tabling member constituency	Leeds East
tabling member printed	Richard Burgon
uin	250484
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/05/2019 answer text <p>The information you ask for is available in the public domain; however, I have provided it below for ease of reference.</p><p> </p><p>As of 31 March 2019, there were 2,403 unreleased prisoners in custody serving Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentences. In addition, a further 1,063 prisoners were serving an IPP sentence following recall from the community.</p><p> </p><p>The table below shows the tariff-expired, unreleased population of prisoners serving IPP sentences by original tariff length and time over tariff, as at 31 March 2019.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td rowspan="2"><p><strong>Time over tariff</strong></p></td><td colspan="4"><p><strong>Original Tariff length</strong></p></td><td rowspan="2"><p><strong>Total</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Less than 2 years</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2 years to less than or equal to 4 years</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Greater than 4 years to less than or equal to 6 years</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Greater than 6 years to less than or equal to 10 years</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Greater than 10 years </strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Less than 1 year</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>18</p></td><td><p>97</p></td><td><p>3</p></td><td><p><strong>118</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>From 1 year to less than 2 years</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>58</p></td><td><p>80</p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p><strong>139</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>From 2 years to less than 3 years</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>12</p></td><td><p>86</p></td><td><p>49</p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p><strong>148</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>From 3 years to less than 4 years</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>61</p></td><td><p>82</p></td><td><p>38</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p><strong>181</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>From 4 years to less than 5 years</p></td><td><p>10</p></td><td><p>103</p></td><td><p>66</p></td><td><p>26</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p><strong>205</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>From 5 years to less than 6 years</p></td><td><p>31</p></td><td><p>131</p></td><td><p>70</p></td><td><p>13</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p><strong>245</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>From 6 years to less than 7 years</p></td><td><p>28</p></td><td><p>134</p></td><td><p>59</p></td><td><p>8</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p><strong>229</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>From 7 years to less than 8 years</p></td><td><p>32</p></td><td><p>145</p></td><td><p>54</p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p><strong>232</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>From 8 years to less than 9 years</p></td><td><p>53</p></td><td><p>185</p></td><td><p>33</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p><strong>271</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>From 9 years to less than 10 years</p></td><td><p>53</p></td><td><p>136</p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p><strong>190</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>10 years or more</p></td><td><p>168</p></td><td><p>71</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p><strong>240</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Total</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>375</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>978</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>527</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>312</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>6</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2,198</strong></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>As with any large-scale recording system, administrative IT systems are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.</p><p> </p><p>It is for the independent Parole Board to review the detention of those prisoners serving an IPP sentence who have completed their tariff period. The Board will direct the release of these prisoners only if it is satisfied that the levels of risk posed to the general public are reduced enough that the National Probation Service and its partner agencies can safely manage them in the community under supervision.</p><p> </p><p>Whilst HM Prison and Probation Service is focused on giving all prisoners serving IPP sentences opportunities to progress towards release, public protection must remain our priority.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer grouped question UIN 250483 question first answered 09/05/2019 16:35:09 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	4493 label Biography information for Richard Burgon

1122633

registered interest
date	24/04/2019
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, how many people since 2016, who have been given a sentence of six months or less, have previously served (a) 20 short sentences of six months or less, (b) 50 short sentences six months or less and (c) 100 short sentences of 6 months or less.
tabling member constituency	North Durham
tabling member printed	Mr Kevan Jones
uin	246959
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/04/2019 answer text <p>For those offenders sentenced to an immediate custodial sentence of six months or less between 1<sup>st</sup> January 2017 and 30<sup>th</sup> September 2018, 339 offenders had 20 previous custodial sentences of six months or less, 20 offenders had 50 previous custodial sentences of six months or less and 1 offender had 100 previous custodial sentences of six months or less.</p><p>There is a strong case to abolish sentences of six months or less, with some exceptions. We are exploring options to restrict the use of short custodial sentences, but we have not at this stage reached any conclusions.</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 involved around 350,000 sentencing occasions over 4 years and used 130 different variables to construct matched groups of offenders and examine the effect of short sentences relative to community sentences. This study found a reduction of around 3 percentage points in proven reoffences if offenders receiving sentences of less than 12 months were to get a community order instead. This is statistically significant and equates to around 30,000 proven reoffences in total over a one-year period. This means fewer victims of crime.</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 Penrith and The Border answering member printed Rory Stewart question first answered 29/04/2019 16:47:45 answering member 4137 label Biography information for Rory Stewart
tabling member	1438 label Biography information for Mr Kevan Jones