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1454815

registered interest
date	28/03/2022
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Victim Support Schemes
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when the £450 million in funding for victim support services will be made available; whether it is additional funding for his Department or reallocated budget; and what his priorities are on where that funding will be allocated.
tabling member constituency	Cardiff North
tabling member printed	Anna McMorrin
uin	148325
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/03/2022 answer text <p>At the 2021 Budget, the Government announced that it was significantly increasing support for victim support services to £185m by 2024/25, which is an uplift of 85% from core funding in 2020/21.</p><p> </p><p>On Friday 25 March, the Deputy Prime Minister announced that as part of this increased budget, £147m per year will be committed over a multi-year period, from 1 April 2022 until the end of 2024/25. The move to a long-term funding model will enable charities and service providers to recruit and retain essential specialist staff, building capacity and strengthening their services so they can provide consistent and high-quality support for victims.</p><p> </p><p>The money will fund emotional, practical and therapeutic support for victims of crime such as women and girls affected by domestic abuse. This includes helping fund more specialist Independent Domestic Violence Advisors (IDVAs) and Independent Sexual Violence Advisors (ISVAs).</p> answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove question first answered 31/03/2022 16:10:49 answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove
tabling member	4632 label Biography information for Anna McMorrin

1454900

registered interest
date	28/03/2022
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Legal Aid Scheme: Solictors
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many firms of solicitors hold a (a) civil and (b) criminal legal aid contract as of 28 March 2022.
tabling member constituency	Manchester, Gorton
tabling member printed	Afzal Khan
uin	148371
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/03/2022 answer text <p>There are currently 1,058 firms who hold a Criminal Legal Aid Contract and 1,363 firms who hold a Civil Legal Aid Contract. Please note that firms may have one or more office and may hold a contract to provide civil legal aid, criminal legal aid or both services. This data is correct as at 7 March 2022.</p><p> </p><p>The Legal Aid Agency frequently reviews market capacity to make sure there is adequate provision around the country and moves quickly to secure additional provision where necessary.</p> answering member constituency South Suffolk answering member printed James Cartlidge question first answered 31/03/2022 16:36:54 answering member 4519 label Biography information for James Cartlidge
tabling member	4671 label Biography information for Afzal Khan

1455027

registered interest
date	28/03/2022
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	HM Courts and Tribunals Service: ICT
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on how many days users of Common Platform have not been able to access that system for part or all of the day since its inception.
tabling member constituency	Croydon North
tabling member printed	Steve Reed
uin	148210
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/03/2022 answer text <p>Since the Common Platform went live with functionality for Magistrates and Crown court hearings in September 2020 there have been a total of 11 recorded service incidents which have resulted in all users not being able to access the Common Platform.</p><p>These incidents were resolved quickly and during this time normal business continuity plans were enacted.</p> answering member constituency South Suffolk answering member printed James Cartlidge question first answered 31/03/2022 15:42:38 answering member 4519 label Biography information for James Cartlidge
tabling member	4268 label Biography information for Steve Reed

1455140

registered interest
date	28/03/2022
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Reparation by Offenders
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 number of victims who are informed about the option of restorative justice and how to access it.
tabling member constituency	Croydon North
tabling member printed	Steve Reed
uin	148211
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/03/2022 answer text <p>It is already the case that, under the Victims’ Code, all victims are entitled to receive information about how to access restorative justice services in their local area from the police. Also, all other service providers under the Code must consider whether victims would benefit from receiving this information at any stage of the criminal justice process.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is taking steps to ensure that this is happening. We have consulted on placing the Code in the Victims’ Bill to raise its profile and send a clear signal that the justice system must deliver for victims. We have also consulted on providing clearer and sharper lines of accountability in the Bill through more focus on victims’ issues by inspectorates nationally and Police and Crime Commissioners locally. Furthermore, we are working with criminal justice agencies, Police and Crime Commissioners and Local Criminal Justice Boards to develop a set of metrics to allow consistent monitoring and improve the delivery of entitlements under the Victims' Code.</p> answering member constituency Corby answering member printed Tom Pursglove question first answered 31/03/2022 16:09:42 answering member 4369 label Biography information for Tom Pursglove
tabling member	4268 label Biography information for Steve Reed

1455144

registered interest
date	28/03/2022
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Offenders: Employment
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 28 March 2022 to Question 144920 on Offenders: Employment, what steps he is taking to increase the number of prisoners finding work following their release from the worst performing prisons.
tabling member constituency	Croydon North
tabling member printed	Steve Reed
uin	148212
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/03/2022 answer text <p>It is a priority for this government to increase the proportion of prison leavers in employment following release. We will deliver a presumption in favour of offering offenders the chance to work in prison, on Release on Temporary Licence and on release.</p><p>We will hold Governors to account for the opportunities and outcomes to participate in work related activity they achieve for prisoners. In return, we will deliver a new digital tool to inform governors and commissioners about progress and what interventions are working in their prison.</p><p>We are also rolling out dedicated Employment Advisors in all resettlement prisons, to improve how we identify candidates and match them to jobs. This will mean that there is a named person in those establishments accountable for improving these outcomes. Alongside this, we are establishing ‘Employment Hubs’ which are the equivalent of a ‘job centre in a prison’. Prisoners can find out about opportunities sourced by New Futures Network and other partners, as well as access support with applications. There are 23 in operation currently and we plan to have a further 13 by the end of June.</p><p>Last month the government also announced that it would change the law so that prisoners are able to apply for apprenticeship opportunities in vital industries, including hospitality and construction.</p><p>Overall, we will publish an annual dashboard, showing performance against Key Performance Indicators, and league tables to increase transparency around prison performance.</p> answering member constituency North West Hampshire answering member printed Kit Malthouse question first answered 31/03/2022 14:40:20 answering member 4495 label Biography information for Kit Malthouse
tabling member	4268 label Biography information for Steve Reed

1455149

registered interest
date	28/03/2022
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Reoffenders
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners serving custodial prison sentences as of 28 March 2022 have (a) not previously served and (b) previously served (i) between one and four, (ii) between five and nine and (iii) more than 10 community sentences.
tabling member constituency	Croydon North
tabling member printed	Steve Reed
uin	148213
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/03/2022 answer text <p>This data requires linking Police National Computer data with prisons data and would therefore be of disproportionate cost.</p> answering member constituency South Suffolk answering member printed James Cartlidge question first answered 31/03/2022 14:30:53 answering member 4519 label Biography information for James Cartlidge
tabling member	4268 label Biography information for Steve Reed

1455161

registered interest
date	28/03/2022
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Community Orders
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish figures on the number of offenders who have breached the terms of their community sentence years in each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Croydon North
tabling member printed	Steve Reed
uin	148214
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/03/2022 answer text <p>We have interpreted the reference to ‘community sentence’ in the question to mean community orders.</p><p> </p><p>Community orders consist of one or more requirements decided by the court. Where an offender fails to comply with any requirement of a community order, the court has wide powers: it can amend the order to make the requirements more onerous, impose a fine, or revoke the order and resentence the offender.</p><p> </p><p>Sentencing in individual cases is entirely a matter for the independent courts, taking into account the circumstances of the case.</p><p> </p><p>Data showing the number of offenders who have failed to comply with the requirements of their community order in each of the last five years can be viewed in table 1 below.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Table 1: Number of offenders who have had a community order terminated early for failing to comply with requirements, England and Wales, 2016 to 2020 </strong><strong><sup>(1)</sup></strong></p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p><strong>2016</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2017</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2018</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2019</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2020 <sup>(2)</sup></strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Community order</strong></p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Terminated early for failing to comply with requirements <sup>(3)</sup></p></td><td><p>8,446</p></td><td><p>9,754</p></td><td><p>10,285</p></td><td><p>10,783</p></td><td><p>7,860</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>(1) The figures include all terminations of community orders in each year, including multiple terminations of the same type of supervision (e.g. two periods of community order supervision terminating in the same year would be included in the figures).</p><p>(2) In this period, the number of court order completions was substantially reduced as a result of the operational restrictions that were put in place on 23 March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.</p><p>(3) Includes terminated orders where:</p><p>(a) The sentence expiry date has been reached, but there is a Breach Listed and/or Warrant Outstanding for a failure to comply on the Sentence; or</p><p>(b) The order is revoked by the Court as a result of Breach proceedings; or</p><p>(c) The order is revoked by the Court as a result of a failure on another order.</p> answering member constituency South Suffolk answering member printed James Cartlidge question first answered 31/03/2022 14:36:05 answering member 4519 label Biography information for James Cartlidge
tabling member	4268 label Biography information for Steve Reed

1455175

registered interest
date	28/03/2022
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Courts
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to Answer of 24 March 2022 to Question 129213 on Courts, how many court rooms have been in use on average in each court in England and Wales in each month of last five years.
tabling member constituency	Lewisham West and Penge
tabling member printed	Ellie Reeves
uin	148322
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/04/2022 answer text <p>Over the time period provided, the number of court and tribunal rooms available for use has increased by 14%.</p><p> </p><p>We allocated over a quarter of a billion pounds to support court recovery in the last financial year, making court buildings safe, rolling out new technology for remote hearings, recruiting additional staff, and opening Nightingale courtrooms, of which 30 have been extended to March 2023.</p><p> </p><p>The total number of rooms recorded as available for use in all courthouses and tribunal hearing centres in England &amp; Wales since September 2020 is provided below. The data is not available prior to September 2020.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>End of month snapshot</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Number of courthouses &amp; tribunal hearing centres</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Number of rooms available </strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>30 September 2020</p></td><td><p>340</p></td><td><p>2110</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>31 October 2020</p></td><td><p>344</p></td><td><p>2169</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>30 November 2020</p></td><td><p>346</p></td><td><p>2173</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>31 December 2020</p></td><td><p>348</p></td><td><p>2184</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>31 January 2021</p></td><td><p>350</p></td><td><p>2205</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>28 February 2021</p></td><td><p>351</p></td><td><p>2204</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>31 March 2021</p></td><td><p>353</p></td><td><p>2211</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>30 April 2021</p></td><td><p>357</p></td><td><p>2218</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>31 May 2021</p></td><td><p>360</p></td><td><p>2234</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>30 June 2021</p></td><td><p>360</p></td><td><p>2239</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>31 July 2021</p></td><td><p>358</p></td><td><p>2311</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>31 August 2021</p></td><td><p>357</p></td><td><p>2308</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>30 September 2021</p></td><td><p>357</p></td><td><p>2334</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>31 October 2021</p></td><td><p>355</p></td><td><p>2338</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>30 November 2021</p></td><td><p>358</p></td><td><p>2370</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>31 December 2021</p></td><td><p>358</p></td><td><p>2384</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>31 January 2022</p></td><td><p>358</p></td><td><p>2391</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>28 February 2022</p></td><td><p>357</p></td><td><p>2403</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Because a number of locations contain multiple jurisdictions (i.e. include both courts and tribunals) and rooms which are used flexibly, it is not possible to provide data for courtrooms alone without artificially deflating the number of rooms actually available for court use.</p><p> </p><p>The data includes all permanent and Nightingale rooms but excludes the court and other hearing rooms within the Royal Courts of Justice Group.</p> answering member constituency South Suffolk answering member printed James Cartlidge question first answered 01/04/2022 13:40:24 answering member 4519 label Biography information for James Cartlidge
tabling member	4620 label Biography information for Ellie Reeves

1455176

registered interest
date	28/03/2022
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Probation: Termination of Employment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many probation officers have left their role by the lowest possible geographical level in each month of the last three years.
tabling member constituency	Lewisham West and Penge
tabling member printed	Ellie Reeves
uin	148323
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/03/2022 answer text <p>The information on number of probation officers who leave HMPPS for each month in 2019, 2020 and 2021 by region is given in the accompanying excel file.</p><p> </p><p>Information for probation officers who leave the probation officer role to go to another role internally is not always recorded and so have not been included in the figures.</p> answering member constituency North West Hampshire answering member printed Kit Malthouse question first answered 31/03/2022 16:08:25 answering member 4495 label Biography information for Kit Malthouse attachment 1 file name 2022-03-31 148323.xlsx title 148323_table
tabling member	4620 label Biography information for Ellie Reeves

1455181

registered interest
date	28/03/2022
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Legal Aid Scheme: Domestic Abuse
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much has been spent on legal aid for domestic abuse victims in each of the last 10 years; how many domestic abuse victims have been denied access to legal aid in each year since means testing was introduced; and what estimate he has made of savings to the public purse in each year since means testing was introduced.
tabling member constituency	Lewisham West and Penge
tabling member printed	Ellie Reeves
uin	148324
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 31/03/2022 answer text <p>The requested information is not held centrally. It is not a requirement for an individual to disclose if they have been a victim of domestic abuse when applying for legal aid unless they are applying for legal aid in connection with a protective order or private family law cases under the domestic violence gateway. Consequently, it is not possible to specify how much legal aid has been spent across the whole of the legal aid scheme on domestic abuse victims in each of the last ten years.</p><p> </p><p>Expenditure on legal aid for domestic abuse victims to obtain a protective order, such as a non-molestation order, an occupation order or a forced marriage protection order is published within the Legal Aid Agency’s official statistics (table 6.5) <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/legal-aid-statistics-july-to-september-2021" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/legal-aid-statistics-july-to-september-2021</a>. This expenditure only captures the cost of civil representation i.e. where court proceedings are issued and covers the period from 1 April 2008 to 30 September 2021.</p><p>The official statistics (tables 6.8-6.10) also provide data regarding volumes of applications for legal aid received in connection with private family proceedings under the domestic violence gateway introduced on 1 April 2013. The domestic violence gateway requires the applicant to provide evidence that they have experienced or at risk of experiencing domestic abuse in order to bring family legal aid services into scope. The official statistics include information about the number of unsuccessful applications submitted under the domestic violence gateway. Unsuccessful applications will include cases where legal aid was refused (whether due to financial eligibility, application of the merits criteria or failure to provide compliant gateway evidence), where the application was withdrawn or discontinued at the applicant’s request or where the application was rejected for administrative reasons.</p><p>The official statistics (table 6.1) include details of the number of applications that were unsuccessful (for any reason including where the application was withdrawn by the individual) in each category of law, including domestic abuse cases where legal aid was sought specifically in connection with an application for a protective order. However, it is not possible to specify the number of unsuccessful applications submitted by victims of domestic abuse across the whole of the legal aid scheme as this data is not recorded.</p><p> </p><p>The majority of civil legal aid services, including proceedings relating to protective orders and private family law cases, have always been subject to means testing both under current and previous legal aid legislation.</p><p>Under current legal aid legislation, the Director of Legal Aid Casework has a discretion where the application related to proceedings concerning protective orders to waive the financial eligibility limits for both income and capital where she considers it equitable to do so. All applicants seeking protection from domestic abuse may access legal aid irrespective of their financial circumstances, although they may be asked to make a contribution towards the cost of the case from either income or capital.</p><p> </p><p>On 15 March the Government launched a <a href="https://consult.justice.gov.uk/legal-aid/legal-aid-means-test-review/" target="_blank">consultation</a> on its proposals following a review of the legal aid means test, which include specific proposals to support better victims of domestic abuse applying for legal aid in in connection with a protective order or other civil proceedings. For example, any disputed assets – including property – will not be included in a means assessment. This is much fairer for domestic abuse victims who are contesting a property and who cannot use their equity in that property to fund the legal proceedings.</p> answering member constituency South Suffolk answering member printed James Cartlidge question first answered 31/03/2022 16:29:37 answering member 4519 label Biography information for James Cartlidge
tabling member	4620 label Biography information for Ellie Reeves