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1019283

registered interest
date	03/12/2018
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Sentencing: Females
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that, when convicting women, sentencers consider using community sentences and residential requirements rather than custodial sentences.
tabling member printed	Lord Judd
uin	HL11972
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/12/2018 answer text <p>The Female Offender Strategy sets out our vision to see fewer women in custody by developing more options for supporting women in the community. Across government, we are investing £5 million of funding over two years in community provision for women. The first tranche of this funding was announced last month, and saw £3.3 million invested in women’s provision, including enhancing existing services, creating new services for women with specific needs, such as domestic abuse, and supporting the development of new women’s centres.</p><p>As part of the Female Offender strategy, we also committed to working with local and national partners to develop a ‘residential women’s centre’ pilot in at least five sites across England and Wales. The aim of the pilot will be to develop a robust evidence base about what could be effective, sustainable and scalable models for improving outcomes for female offenders and reducing the numbers and frequency of women entering and re-entering custody on short custodial sentences.</p><p>We are making sure the National Probation Service’s pre-sentence reports – which assist the court in making sentencing decisions - offer the courts robust community sentencing options which balance punitive and rehabilitative requirements and set out how women will be supported to comply. This may mean that, in some cases, the courts will sentence a woman to a community order rather than a short custodial sentence.</p> answering member printed Lord Keen of Elie question first answered 17/12/2018 16:59:06 answering member 4538 label Biography information for Lord Keen of Elie
tabling member	1660 label Biography information for Lord Judd

1017374

registered interest
date	29/11/2018
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	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have made to address the issue of overcrowding in prisons.
tabling member printed	Lord Stevens of Kirkwhelpington
uin	HL11934
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/12/2018 answer text <p>As part of prison reform, the long-term goal is to reduce crowding, while maintaining sufficient capacity in the prison estate to manage the demands of the courts and the sentenced population as efficiently as possible. This level is kept under constant review, considering fluctuations in the prison population and useable capacity across the estate. Prison governors ensure that the level of operational capacity is set to reflect the provision of safe and decent accommodation and the operation of suitable regimes and that levels of crowding in prisons are carefully managed.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is committed to delivering up to 10,000 decent uncrowded prison places providing the physical conditions for Governors to achieve better educational, training and rehabilitative outcomes. We will reform and modernise our prison estate, starting with the construction of two new 1,680-place prisons at the former HM Prison and Young Offender Institution Glen Parva and former HM Prison Wellingborough as well as a new houseblock at HM Prison Stocken which will create 206 modern prison places and is expected to open in early 2019. In July 2018, The Verne, a former HM Prison and Probation Service operated immigration removal centre in Dorset, reopened as a prison and can hold up to 580 offenders.</p> answering member printed Lord Keen of Elie question first answered 06/12/2018 15:48:28 answering member 4538 label Biography information for Lord Keen of Elie
tabling member	3733 label Biography information for Lord Stevens of Kirkwhelpington

1017375

registered interest
date	29/11/2018
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Sentencing
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure sentencing of offenders is cost-effective and provides value for money for taxpayers.
tabling member printed	Lord Stevens of Kirkwhelpington
uin	HL11935
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/12/2018 answer text <p>Sentencing in individual cases is a matter for our independent courts. When deciding what sentence to impose the courts take into account the circumstances of each case in line with any relevant sentencing guidelines issued by the independent Sentencing Council. The Council has a statutory duty to produce resource assessments when it publishes its draft guidelines, as well as an assessment each year of the impact of sentencing practice on the resources required for the provision of prison places, probation and youth justice services.</p><p> </p><p>There is persuasive evidence that community sentences, in certain circumstances, are more effective in reducing reoffending than short custodial sentences. In the event that a community order is imposed, courts have the flexibility to select requirements that provide opportunities to address the specific issues which contribute to a risk of re-offending. For example, treatment requirements enable access to specialist help with mental health or substance misuse problems, whilst electronically monitored curfews can provide stability and structure in offenders’ lives while maintaining family ties, accommodation or employment.</p><p> </p><p>Prior to sentencing, the National Probation Service will conduct an assessment of the offender, covering their circumstances and the reasons for their offending. NPS staff will then advise the court on the sentencing options which are likely to be most effective in managing risk and tackling the problems which are leading to offending. The NPS are taking steps to improve the quality of this advice by rolling out the Effective Proposal Tool, which helps NPS staff identify the interventions that match the assessed risks and rehabilitative needs in each case, and aims to be supported by detailed information on the range of locally available interventions and services. We recently consulted on what more we can do to improve the effectiveness of pre-sentence advice as part of the ‘Strengthening Probation, Improving Confidence’ consultation. The Government will publish its response in due course.</p> answering member printed Lord Keen of Elie grouped question UIN HL11936 question first answered 13/12/2018 14:13:02 answering member 4538 label Biography information for Lord Keen of Elie
tabling member	3733 label Biography information for Lord Stevens of Kirkwhelpington

1017376

registered interest
date	29/11/2018
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Sentencing
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to their response to the House of Commons Justice Committee report, Cutting crime: the case for justice reinvestment, published in March 2010 (Cm 7819), what steps they have taken to make sentencing more evidence-based and non-partisan.
tabling member printed	Lord Stevens of Kirkwhelpington
uin	HL11936
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 13/12/2018 answer text <p>Sentencing in individual cases is a matter for our independent courts. When deciding what sentence to impose the courts take into account the circumstances of each case in line with any relevant sentencing guidelines issued by the independent Sentencing Council. The Council has a statutory duty to produce resource assessments when it publishes its draft guidelines, as well as an assessment each year of the impact of sentencing practice on the resources required for the provision of prison places, probation and youth justice services.</p><p> </p><p>There is persuasive evidence that community sentences, in certain circumstances, are more effective in reducing reoffending than short custodial sentences. In the event that a community order is imposed, courts have the flexibility to select requirements that provide opportunities to address the specific issues which contribute to a risk of re-offending. For example, treatment requirements enable access to specialist help with mental health or substance misuse problems, whilst electronically monitored curfews can provide stability and structure in offenders’ lives while maintaining family ties, accommodation or employment.</p><p> </p><p>Prior to sentencing, the National Probation Service will conduct an assessment of the offender, covering their circumstances and the reasons for their offending. NPS staff will then advise the court on the sentencing options which are likely to be most effective in managing risk and tackling the problems which are leading to offending. The NPS are taking steps to improve the quality of this advice by rolling out the Effective Proposal Tool, which helps NPS staff identify the interventions that match the assessed risks and rehabilitative needs in each case, and aims to be supported by detailed information on the range of locally available interventions and services. We recently consulted on what more we can do to improve the effectiveness of pre-sentence advice as part of the ‘Strengthening Probation, Improving Confidence’ consultation. The Government will publish its response in due course.</p> answering member printed Lord Keen of Elie grouped question UIN HL11935 question first answered 13/12/2018 14:13:03 answering member 4538 label Biography information for Lord Keen of Elie
tabling member	3733 label Biography information for Lord Stevens of Kirkwhelpington

1014634

registered interest
date	26/11/2018
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Forced Marriage
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case for enacting legislation to provide financial relief under the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 to victims of forced marriages whose religious marriages are not binding under UK law as outlined in section 121(4) of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014.
tabling member printed	Baroness Berridge
uin	HL11773
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 06/12/2018 answer text <p>The Government is clear that forced marriage is a terrible form of abuse and that we will not allow political or cultural sensitivities to get in the way of tackling it.</p><p> </p><p>However, the purpose of Part II of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 is to set out how the Court orders financial provision on the legal ending of marriage.</p><p> </p><p>Since forced marriage was made a criminal offence in England and Wales in 2014, the Government has continued to introduce measures to protect victims, including lifelong anonymity in 2017. Last month, the Home Secretary launched a consultation to seek views on whether it is necessary to introduce a new legal mandatory reporting duty relating to cases of forced marriage. That consultation also seeks views on how the current guidance on forced marriage could be improved and strengthened.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is committed to keeping this area of family justice under review.</p> answering member printed Lord Keen of Elie question first answered 06/12/2018 15:49:07 answering member 4538 label Biography information for Lord Keen of Elie
tabling member	4218 label Biography information for Baroness Berridge

1012510

registered interest
date	22/11/2018
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	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many individuals were (1) cautioned, (2) charged, and (3) convicted as a result of non-payment of the BBC licence fee in each of the last three years; and how many Magistrate Court cases arose as a result of such non-payment.
tabling member printed	Lord Borwick
uin	HL11702
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/12/2018 answer text <p>No offenders have been cautioned by the police for television licence evasion: the TV Licencing Organisation, rather than the police are the prosecuting authority in these cases. The Ministry of Justice does not hold charge data. However, data on cases heard and convictions is as follows:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td colspan="2"><p><strong>Television Licence Evasion Figures</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Year</p></td><td><p>Cases Heard</p></td><td><p>Convictions</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015</p></td><td><p>190,336</p></td><td><p>166,695</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016</p></td><td><p>172,957</p></td><td><p>152,713</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017</p></td><td><p>138,698</p></td><td><p>129,245</p></td></tr></tbody></table> answering member printed Lord Keen of Elie question first answered 03/12/2018 16:46:16 answering member 4538 label Biography information for Lord Keen of Elie
tabling member	4281 label Biography information for Lord Borwick

1012511

registered interest
date	22/11/2018
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prosecutions
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many (1) individuals were charged, and (2) Magistrate Court cases (a) were heard, and (b) ended in conviction, in England and Wales in each of the last three years.
tabling member printed	Lord Borwick
uin	HL11703
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/12/2018 answer text <p>The Ministry of Justice does not hold charge data. However, data on cases heard and convictions is as follows:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td colspan="2"><p><strong>Magistrates' Courts Figures</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Year</p></td><td><p>Cases Heard</p></td><td><p>Convictions</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015</p></td><td><p>1,492,160</p></td><td><p>1,179,919</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016</p></td><td><p>1,456,177</p></td><td><p>1,176,117</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017</p></td><td><p>1,392,139</p></td><td><p>1,146,720</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Keen of Elie question first answered 03/12/2018 16:49:48 answering member 4538 label Biography information for Lord Keen of Elie
tabling member	4281 label Biography information for Lord Borwick

1012172

registered interest
date	21/11/2018
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Children: Custody
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether children of single parent families would fall within the provisions of article 10(1)(e)(iii) of the draft agreement on the withdrawal of the UK from the EU in circumstances where the custody of a child has been disputed.
tabling member printed	Lord Wigley
uin	HL11699
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/11/2018 answer text <p>It is the Government’s intention to implement this aspect of the Withdrawal Agreement in the UK by way of the EU Settlement Scheme, which will allow EU citizens living in the UK before we leave the EU to apply for status to remain once the UK has left. However, when determining the custody of a child in the UK whether or not the parent is a single parent is not a relevant factor. It will continue to be the case that the court with jurisdiction will decide on custody (with whom the child is to live and when) on the facts of the individual case.</p> answering member printed Lord Keen of Elie question first answered 29/11/2018 15:48:13 answering member 4538 label Biography information for Lord Keen of Elie
tabling member	547 label Biography information for Lord Wigley

1007484

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	Prisoners: Childbirth
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many female prisoners gave birth in custody in each of the last five years; and, of those, how many did so in cells.
tabling member printed	Lord Beecham
uin	HL11487
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/11/2018 answer text <p>The information is not centrally held and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, 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.</p><p>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> answering member printed Lord Keen of Elie question first answered 28/11/2018 13:55:32 answering member 4538 label Biography information for Lord Keen of Elie
tabling member	4181 label Biography information for Lord Beecham

1007488

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	Prisoners: Per Capita Costs
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the average annual cost of incarcerating a prisoner in (1) 2015, (2) 2016, and (3) 2017.
tabling member printed	Lord Browne of Belmont
uin	HL11490
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/11/2018 answer text <p>An average cost per prisoner, costs per prison place and overall prison unit costs for each private and public sector prison in England and Wales are routinely published by Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service. This information is produced on an annual basis and is published after the end of each financial year.</p><p> </p><p>Information on prison expenditure can be accessed in the Prison and Probation Performance Statistics pages for each financial year on the <a href="http://www.gov.uk" target="_blank">www.gov.uk</a> website. Prison unit costs can be found within the Excel document titled Costs per prison place and cost per prisoner by individual prison establishment under the ‘Cost by Establishment’ tab.</p><p> </p><p>The most recent published figures for financial year 2017-18 can be accessed on the www.gov.uk website from the following link:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/prison-performance-statistics-2017-to-2018" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/prison-performance-statistics-2017-to-2018</a></p><p> </p><p>The table below shows the average annual overall cost per prisoner for financial years 2015-16 to 2017-18.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Financial years</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Average Annual Overall Cost per prisoner</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017-18</p></td><td><p>£37,543</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016-17</p></td><td><p>£35,371</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015-16</p></td><td><p>£33,931</p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p>To note within the table:</p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><p>1. Figures are expressed in nominal terms as per published for respective years.</p></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><p>2. Figures are not always comparable across a period due to changes in accounting treatments and scope of business which do not provide a consistent basis.</p></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><p>3. Overall costs include the direct establishment costs plus expenditure met at regional or national level by HMPPS/MOJ.</p></td></tr></tbody></table> answering member printed Lord Keen of Elie question first answered 28/11/2018 13:56:25 answering member 4538 label Biography information for Lord Keen of Elie
tabling member	3801 label Biography information for Lord Browne of Belmont