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1331015

registered interest
date	08/06/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisoners: Females
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to their Safety in custody quarterly: update to December 2020, published on 29 April, what steps they are taking to address self-harm in women’s prisons.
tabling member printed	Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick
uin	HL884
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/06/2021 answer text <p>We recognise that the level of self-harm in the women’s estate is too high and are determined to reduce this. A task force was set up in April 2020 in response to our increasing concerns about the level of self-harm in the women’s estate. We know that many of the drivers and protective factors linked to women’s risk of self-harm in prisons have been affected by Covid-19 and the restricted regimes that have been put in place to control the spread of infection.</p><p>The task force worked to introduce a number of specific interventions to counteract the impact of Covid-19 on the women’s estate, including bespoke well-being checks, increased phone credit and more access to video calls with family and friends.</p><p>We have prioritised women’s prisons for the roll out of the revised version of the Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork (ACCT) multi-disciplinary case management system used in prisons to support people at risk of suicide and self-harm. We also introduced the Offender Management in Custody model in the female estate in April. This will provide each woman with a dedicated key worker or equivalent who will be able to better support them and identify concerns at an early stage so that women can receive the right support at the right time.</p><p>We have produced a range of products to support Governors in devising and implementing local safety and welfare plans designed to mitigate risks and promote wellbeing. We have developed new guidance for staff on understanding and supporting someone who is self-harming. We continue to make the Samaritans phone service available and are working with this charity to ensure that the Listener peer support scheme continues to function effectively.</p><p>Importantly, we have also invested £5m in alternatives to prison, including new women’s centres which help people address issues such as alcohol or drug addiction which leads them to crime.</p> answering member printed Lord Wolfson of Tredegar question first answered 22/06/2021 15:30:42 answering member 4901 label Biography information for Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
tabling member	4130 label Biography information for Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick

1331016

registered interest
date	08/06/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Legal Opinion: Low Incomes
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they plan to take to address so-called "legal advice deserts".
tabling member printed	Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick
uin	HL885
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/06/2021 answer text <p>We continue to work to ensure that civil legal aid advice remains accessible to those who need it. The Legal Aid Agency keeps market capacity under continual review to ensure adequate provision across England and Wales. Wherever you are in England and Wales, legal advice is available through the CLA telephone service.</p><p>We are currently considering the sustainability of the civil legal aid market broadly, looking at a range of factors, from the current remuneration rates, to the pipeline into a career in legal aid, as well as the ability of providers to offer legal aid services into the future. We intend to continue working very closely with stakeholders to increase our understanding of the challenges currently faced by the whole sector.</p><p> </p><p>Legal Aid is central to access to justice, but it is only one part of a broader picture. We know that early intervention is key to help people resolve their legal problems as swiftly as possible, potentially without the need to receive legally aided advice or attend court at all. We are delivering pilots for early resolution of legal problems and to test what works. This includes looking at how we can improve signposting and enhance access to existing online and in person legal support services, and a targeted expansion of funding for early legal advice in a specific area of social welfare law to test its impact.</p><p> </p><p>Charities in the advice sector play a crucial role to help people resolve their legal problems across England and Wales, which has been vital throughout Covid-19. MoJ has provided £5.4m in funding for not-for-profit providers of specialist legal advice. £3m was given to Law Centres and the remaining £2.4m to the Community Justice Fund administered by the Access to Justice Foundation. In 2020, we launched the two-year, £3.1m Legal Support for Litigants in Person Grant. We’re delighted to be working in partnership with the Access to Justice Foundation to deliver the grant, which is designed to fund services provided at local, regional and national levels with the aim of understanding more about how they can combine to help people.</p> answering member printed Lord Wolfson of Tredegar question first answered 22/06/2021 16:31:50 answering member 4901 label Biography information for Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
tabling member	4130 label Biography information for Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick

1331018

registered interest
date	08/06/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Probation: Nationalisation
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made towards the restoration of the probation service in England and Wales to public ownership and control.
tabling member printed	Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick
uin	HL887
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/06/2021 answer text <p>We are on track to launch a new unified Probation Service for England and Wales on 26 June this year. The new Service will bring together staff from the previous National Probation Service (NPS) and 21 Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) and will strengthen public protection by bringing together management of offenders of all levels of risk into one organisation.</p><p>The new unified service will strengthen rehabilitation by delivering unpaid work and behavioural change programmes in England and Wales. Specialist organisations will continue to play a role in the probation system, delivering resettlement and rehabilitative services such as education, training and employment and accommodation and other rehabilitative interventions. 110 contracts are now in place for these commissioned services. We are also in the final stages of the estates and digital transfers needed to support transition.</p><p>Once we have completed transition to the new organisation, we will begin implementing the new operating model for the unified service. We have already recruited a record 1,000 new trainee probation officers in 2020/21 and plan to recruit a further 1,500 in this financial year.</p><p>Our progress in delivering these crucial reforms will ensure a joined up and improved Probation Service to cut crime and reduce reoffending, meet the needs of our communities, offer more support in rehabilitating offenders and protect the public from crime.</p> answering member printed Lord Wolfson of Tredegar question first answered 22/06/2021 16:35:14 answering member 4901 label Biography information for Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
tabling member	4130 label Biography information for Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick

1330290

registered interest
date	07/06/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Judicial Review
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to reform judicial review.
tabling member printed	Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick
uin	HL793
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/06/2021 answer text <p>The Independent Review of Administrative Law made recommendations for reform and the Government consulted on these and other proposals. We are considering the responses to the consultation before deciding on the measures to take forward but the Government will introduce legislation in the current session.</p> answering member printed Lord Wolfson of Tredegar question first answered 21/06/2021 15:41:24 answering member 4901 label Biography information for Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
tabling member	4130 label Biography information for Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick

1330292

registered interest
date	07/06/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Crimes of Violence: 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 improve support in the justice system for the victims of violence against women and girls.
tabling member printed	Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick
uin	HL794
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/06/2021 answer text <p>Protecting women and girls from violence and abuse, and supporting victims, are key priorities for this Government. These crimes are extremely serious and have a huge impact both for those subjected to such violence and more broadly on our economy, health services, and the criminal justice system.</p><p>In 2021-22, we will provide just under £151m for victim and witness support services. This includes an extra £51m to increase support for rape and domestic abuse victims, building on the emergency funding already provided to help domestic abuse and sexual violence services meet Covid-driven demand. This compares to a total budget of £48.5m in 2010-2011.</p><p>This funding includes £27m for 700 Independent Sexual Violence and Domestic Abuse Advisers and £20.7m for local sexual violence and domestic abuse services.</p><p>We continue to work closely with the Home Office on the development of the Government’s forthcoming Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy. The new Strategy will focus on prevention, drive forward improvements in the effort to target perpetrators, respond to the changing nature of crimes against women and girls and, most importantly, will continue to put victims at the heart of our approach.</p><p>In addition, the forthcoming Victims’ Bill, which we will consult on later this year, will ensure that all victims are supported, and their rights are recognised, at every stage of the criminal justice system and beyond</p> answering member printed Lord Wolfson of Tredegar question first answered 21/06/2021 16:02:03 answering member 4901 label Biography information for Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
tabling member	4130 label Biography information for Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick

1330293

registered interest
date	07/06/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Crimes of Violence: Females
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to increase minimum sentences for perpetrators of violence against women and girls.
tabling member printed	Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick
uin	HL795
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/06/2021 answer text <p>The government keeps offences and penalties under review, including those in relation to violence against women and girls. Minimum sentences are rarely used; there are currently no plans to introduce minimum sentences in this area.</p><p> </p><p>The government is committed to keeping people safe from all forms of sexual violence. In 2020 we legislated to end the automatic halfway release of serious violent and sexual offenders who receive a standard determinate sentence (SDS) of 7 years or more. The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill will extend this change further by ensuring certain serious violent and sexual offenders who receive a SDS of between 4 and 7 years will also have to spend two thirds of their sentence in custody, demonstrating how seriously the government takes this type of offending.</p><p> </p><p>The government will also be publishing a new cross-government “Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy” later this year which will help further transform the response to these crimes, from prevention and raising awareness, to ensuring perpetrators are brought to justice.</p> answering member printed Lord Wolfson of Tredegar question first answered 21/06/2021 16:10:22 answering member 4901 label Biography information for Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
tabling member	4130 label Biography information for Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick

1330296

registered interest
date	07/06/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Youth Custody: Self-harm and Violence
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to tackle (1) violence, and (2) self-harm, on the youth secure estate.
tabling member printed	Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick
uin	HL797
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/06/2021 answer text <p>We are committed to reducing violence in youth custody. Whilst there are fewer young people in custody than ever before – those in the youth estate are a cohort with complex needs. Children and young people (including 18-year olds) serving sentences for violence against the person offences accounted for more than half (55%) of the youth custody population in 2019/20.</p><p>We are investing in staff, education, psychology services and mental health support, alongside a package of interventions within the Behaviour Management Strategy that address the needs of children and young people through early intervention and multi-agency work. This is underpinned by ‘SECURE STAIRS’ - the framework of integrated care jointly led by the NHS and Youth Custody Service (YCS), which provides the foundations as to how the YCS works with children – which has adapted its approach during the COVID-19 pandemic to take into account the vulnerabilities of children at this time. In addition, the YCS has been progressing work with a focus on some of the most vulnerable and challenging young people in custody alongside NHS colleagues through the Critical Case Pathway. This provides a greater level of oversight and support to professionals working with children who self-harm, and those with the most complex needs to ensure effective assessment, planning and co-ordination. Additionally the ‘COVID-19 Support Plan’, a less intensive and physically distanced version of the Custody Support Plan (which provides children with a named officer to work with on a weekly basis) is also being delivered, to maintain key relationships between staff and children.</p><p>The roll out of the youth justice specialist roles has continued with funding provided for every prison officer to take up a degree level qualification in youth justice. As of March, there were 201 youth justice specialist officers already in post. A further 319 staff are currently signed up or undertaking the learning, with the last cohort due to start in October 2022 with up to 110 more frontline staff participating.</p><p>We are continuing to look to further open up regime opportunities in a manner that is safe and sustainable, to provide further support to children. Given the uncertainty this period has presented, it has been encouraging to see that levels of self-harm have fallen during the pandemic with - the annualised rate of self-harming per 100 children falling by 56% in the three months to December 2020. We are also carrying out work to ensure that lessons learned from the COVID-19 period are taken into account going forwards, and the YCS has commissioned a programme of research, in collaboration with academics, to evaluate these lessons with the results used to further inform recovery planning.</p> answering member printed Lord Wolfson of Tredegar question first answered 21/06/2021 15:50:02 answering member 4901 label Biography information for Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
tabling member	4130 label Biography information for Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick

1330298

registered interest
date	07/06/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Courts and Tribunals: Standards
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to tackle the backlog of cases in (1) courts, and (2) tribunals.
tabling member printed	Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick
uin	HL798
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/06/2021 answer text <p>Restoring the ability of courts and tribunals to hear cases, even within the continuing operational constraints presented by the pandemic, is crucial in tackling the increase in outstanding cases. We have allocated over £250m, we have made courts COVID-secure, opened 60 Nightingale courtrooms, and enabled remote hearings in their thousands.</p><p>As a result of our actions so far, we are completing cases in the Crown Court at the same level as before the pandemic began. This progress means that increases in outstanding cases caused by COVID have stabilised, and in some areas – like the Magistrates’ Court – the outstanding cases are reducing.</p><p>As restrictions ease, we will maximise the system and enable judges to safely hold as many hearings as possible. We will run each Crown Court site to its fullest, with no limit on sitting days this financial year, so more cases can be heard and waiting times can come down. There are also additional sitting days compared to the allocation last year in other jurisdictions.</p><p>To go further, we will continue to recruit more judges and staff, continue to make use of efficiencies and technology, and make legislative changes to protect court time. For example, the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill will allow for more virtual hearings to support the ongoing use of live links and remote hearings (using video and audio technology), underpinning open justice by allowing remote observation of proceedings. We plan to legislate to give the Crown Court new powers to send such cases back to the Magistrates’ Court for trial and for sentencing, where appropriate.</p> answering member printed Lord Wolfson of Tredegar question first answered 21/06/2021 15:47:30 answering member 4901 label Biography information for Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
tabling member	4130 label Biography information for Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick