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1337254

registered interest
date	16/06/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Magistrates
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 17 March 2021 to Question 170517 on the reinstatement, after the enactment of forthcoming legislation, of retired magistrates between the ages of 70 and 75, whether (a) all such magistrates will be invited individually to indicate whether they wish to return to the Bench and (b) the transitional process for those magistrates to be reinstated will provide for (i) preference to be given to the most senior magistrates who are willing to travel to courts throughout designated areas facing backlogs of cases, (ii) decisions on reinstatement to be taken at regional level and not at the level of individual courts to maximise (A) availability and (B) flexibility in the deployment of the most experienced reinstated magistrates and (iii) use to be made of the network of Justices' Training, Approvals, Authorisations and Appraisals Committees in managing the return and reallocation of magistrates who retired at age 70 but are about to become eligible for reinstatement.
tabling member constituency	New Forest East
tabling member printed	Dr Julian Lewis
uin	16778
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/06/2021 answer text <p>When the new mandatory retirement age (MRA) comes into force, there will be a transitional provision to enable retired magistrates to apply to return to the bench, subject to business need. The process by which such applications are to be made and considered will be set out in due course.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 21/06/2021 13:50:32 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	54 label Biography information for Sir Julian Lewis

1336725

registered interest
date	15/06/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Remand in Custody
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he plans to extend beyond the 28 June the provision enabling custody time limits to be extended to eight months.
tabling member constituency	Stockton North
tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
uin	16102
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/06/2021 answer text <p>In September 2020 the Ministry of Justice legislated to extend temporarily the maximum amount of time a defendant can be held in custody pre-trial – the custody time limit (CTL) – from six months to eight months due to the effect that Covid-19 was having on the courts. The legislation was intended to be temporary; it included a sunset clause to ensure that the measure was not in force for any longer than necessary, and this clause states that on 28 June 2021 CTLs will revert to six months. There is no plan to extend this date. Anyone remanded into custody after 28 June will be given a CTL of six months.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 21/06/2021 13:40:38 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

1334034

registered interest
date	14/06/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Parole Board: Meetings
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, for what reason the (a) hearings and (b) deliberations of the Parole Board for England and Wales are not held in public; and if he will take steps to alter this policy in the interests of (i) transparency and (ii) accountability.
tabling member constituency	New Forest East
tabling member printed	Dr Julian Lewis
uin	15158
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/06/2021 answer text <p>It is a statutory requirement under the terms of the current Parole Board Rules for all hearings to be heard in private. That gives the Parole Board no flexibility to consider holding a public hearing even where that may be justified in all the particular circumstances of the case. In February, following a public consultation last year, the Government announced its intention to amend the current rules so that hearings can be held in public when the Parole Board determines it would be in the interests of justice to do so. These changes will be made to the Parole Board Rules later this year.</p><p> </p><p>This is being taken forward as part of the root and branch review of the parole system which was launched in October 2020. The Terms of Reference for the review, and one of the government’s priorities, includes looking at ways to increase the transparency and openness of the parole system so as to improve public confidence and accountability. We plan to build on previous reforms to improve transparency, such as the introduction of Parole Board decision summaries in 2018 which provide reasons for its decisions, mainly to victims. The review is due to report later this year and will set out how the new transparency measures and other reforms to the parole system will be implemented.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk question first answered 17/06/2021 15:37:03 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
tabling member	54 label Biography information for Sir Julian Lewis

1334036

registered interest
date	14/06/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Berwyn Prison: Prison Officers
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison officers in positions as frontline operational staff at HMP Berwyn deployed in (a) each prison block and (b) the care and separation unit have (i) less than two year's experience and (ii) less than one year experience.
tabling member constituency	Dwyfor Meirionnydd
tabling member printed	Liz Saville Roberts
uin	15335
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/06/2021 answer text <p>The breakdown of frontline operational staff deployed in each prison block and the Care and Separation Unit at HMP Berwyn by years’ experience is provided below:</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Area</p></td><td><p>Under 1 Years’ Service (as at 15<sup>th</sup> June 2021)</p></td><td><p>1-2 Years’ Service (as at 15<sup>th</sup> June 2021)</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Alwen</p></td><td><p>22</p></td><td><p>25</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Bala</p></td><td><p>18</p></td><td><p>20</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Ceiriog</p></td><td><p>12</p></td><td><p>16</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Care and Separation Unit</p></td><td><p>0</p></td><td><p>0</p></td></tr></tbody></table> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk question first answered 17/06/2021 15:41:47 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
tabling member	4521 label Biography information for Liz Saville Roberts

1334037

registered interest
date	14/06/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons: Wales
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many inmates have completed accredited rehabilitation programmes at (a) HMP Berwyn and (b) all other Welsh prisons, in each year since 2017.
tabling member constituency	Dwyfor Meirionnydd
tabling member printed	Liz Saville Roberts
uin	15336
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/06/2021 answer text <p>Due to the nature of the populations, HMP Parc, HMP Berwyn and HMP Usk are the only prisons in Wales where accredited programmes are delivered.</p><p>We routinely publish figures for delivery of accredited programmes, including completions in custody by establishment. These are available in the HMPPS Annual Digest, the most recent of which can be found in Chapter 6 at the following link:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hmpps-annual-digest-april-2019-to-march-2020" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hmpps-annual-digest-april-2019-to-march-2020</a></p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk question first answered 17/06/2021 15:45:41 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
tabling member	4521 label Biography information for Liz Saville Roberts

1334038

registered interest
date	14/06/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Berwyn Prison: Drugs
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 availability of illegal substances at HMP Berwyn.
tabling member constituency	Dwyfor Meirionnydd
tabling member printed	Liz Saville Roberts
uin	15337
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/06/2021 answer text <p>HMP Berwyn has benefited from the £100 million investment in prisons security announced by the Government in August 2019, receiving one of the new X-ray body scanners that have been installed at 51 prisons across England and Wales. These have detected drugs and contraband that fuel crime in prisons, and which have resulted in over 4800 positive identifications nationally.</p><p>HMP Berwyn’s drug strategy practices were reviewed in March 2021 as part of an HMPPS Drugs Diagnostic Team visit to assess the current and changing threat level from illegal substances. A number of recommendations have been made to combat the threat as a result of the visit.</p><p>Threats particular to HMP Berwyn include paper impregnated with substances commonly known as Spice, the manufacturing of illicit brewed alcohol (IBA) and other substances, as well as access to illicit items.</p><p>Between March 2019 and February 2020 there were a total of 346 drug finds at HMP Berwyn. This represents 2% of the total drug finds in Public Sector Prisons at the time.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk question first answered 17/06/2021 15:49:08 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
tabling member	4521 label Biography information for Liz Saville Roberts

1334101

registered interest
date	14/06/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Ministry of Justice: Freedom of Information
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has referred any Freedom of Information requests received by his Department to the central Cabinet Office Clearing House on Freedom of Information requests for advice on handling, in the last two years.
tabling member constituency	Tottenham
tabling member printed	Mr David Lammy
uin	15164
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/06/2021 answer text <p>I can confirm that the Ministry of Justice has referred a number of Freedom of Information requests to the Clearing House during the last two years.</p><p>Any FOI requests which are referred to the Clearing House are done so in line with the published criteria available on gov.uk. The Clearing House, which has been in existence since 2004, provides advice to ensure a consistent approach across government to requests for information.</p><p>The Ministry of Justice consistently receives some of the highest volumes of Freedom of Information requests compared to other Government Departments and has sustained performance above the Information Commissioner’s timeliness target of 90% for 43 consecutive months.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 17/06/2021 15:55:43 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	206 label Biography information for Mr David Lammy

1334134

registered interest
date	14/06/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Ministry of Justice: Freedom of Information
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department operates a red, amber and green rating system for categorising Freedom of Information requests according to their presentational sensitivity.
tabling member constituency	Vauxhall
tabling member printed	Florence Eshalomi
uin	15458
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/06/2021 answer text <p>The Ministry of Justice does not operate a red, amber and green rating system for categorising Freedom of Information requests in terms of sensitivity. It does, however, use a process by which requests are assessed according to their complexity and sensitivity of the subject matter. On that basis, requests are assigned as either a “trigger” or a “non-trigger” request. If a request is complex and or concerns a sensitive topic it will be a “trigger” request. Responses to such requests will attract extra levels of compliance check by officials and may include contextual lines to explain any information being disclosed.</p><p> </p><p>The Information Commissioner’s Office’s guidance requires public authorities to be requester and motive blind. This means that responses provided are not influenced by whom has submitted a request, or by the motive that may have prompted it. Any information being disclosed under the terms of the Act will be the same, no matter whom the requester.</p><p> </p><p>The Ministry of Justice consistently receives some of the highest volumes of Freedom of Information requests compared to other Government Departments and has sustained performance above the ICO timeliness target of 90% for 43 consecutive months.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 17/06/2021 14:52:42 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4870 label Biography information for Florence Eshalomi

1332253

registered interest
date	11/06/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Crime: Victims
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to announce proposals for the consultation on a Victims' Bill.
tabling member constituency	Cardiff North
tabling member printed	Anna McMorrin
uin	14185
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/06/2021 answer text <p>This Government is committed to ensuring that victims are supported at every stage of the criminal justice system, so that justice can be secured, victims and the public protected, and offenders punished. This is why we committed to legislation for victims in the Queen’s Speech and will be consulting on a Victims’ Bill later this year. The public consultation will ensure that a truly bipartisan approach can be taken and will allow a wide range of stakeholders and interested parties to input into our careful deliberations.</p><p>The new Victims’ Code, which came into force in April, is the culmination of two years of extensive work, including hearing from victims and victims’ groups, to ensure that we have a clear and comprehensive framework for victims’ rights. This vital work has laid the foundations for effective legislation in this area, and it is our intention to proceed without delay.</p><p>We will consult on how we will enshrine the 12 key rights in the new Victims’ Code in law and ensure that those rights of victims are upheld. We will consult too on the provision of community-based domestic abuse and sexual violence services to set the expectations for the availability of support, as well as a statutory underpinning for the roles of independent sexual and domestic violence advisers to ensure that victims receive a high standard of care.</p><p>Ahead of the consultation, we are working across government and with victims and those who support them to understand the key issues that need to be addressed by the Victims’ Bill. This work is vital to ensure that the Victims’ Bill is as comprehensive and impactful as intended.</p><p>This builds on the huge amount of work already underway from the Government in this area. We will publish new Violence Against Women and Girls and Domestic Abuse strategies this year to help drive a step-change in the response to these crimes, building on the existing landmark legislation in this area, the Domestic Abuse Act and the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill, and we are investing record amounts in support for victims, more than £300 million this year.</p> answering member constituency North West Hampshire answering member printed Kit Malthouse question first answered 16/06/2021 14:33:03 answering member 4495 label Biography information for Kit Malthouse
tabling member	4632 label Biography information for Anna McMorrin

1332291

registered interest
date	11/06/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Homicide: Sentencing
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to publish details of the independent review into the sentencing of domestic homicides.
tabling member constituency	Cardiff North
tabling member printed	Anna McMorrin
uin	14186
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/06/2021 answer text <p>This Government fully recognises the devastation that domestic homicides cause and is committed to improving outcomes for victims of domestic abuse in all its forms and, crucially, preventing more victims in the future.</p><p>A number of concerns have been raised over the way in which sentencing outcomes are reached in cases of domestic homicide, and therefore we have committed to undertake a review of sentencing practice in domestic homicide cases. We have already worked with the Crown Prosecution Service to identify relevant cases, in order that sentencing outcomes and remarks can be analysed. We will provide further detail on the review in due course.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 16/06/2021 14:28:18 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4632 label Biography information for Anna McMorrin