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1626348

	registered interest
	date	09/05/2023
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Domestic Abuse: Homicide
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the report prepared for the Home Office by Analytics Cambridge and QE Assessments Ltd entitled Domestic Homicide Reviews: Quantitative Analysis of Domestic Homicide Reviews October 2020 – September 2021, published in June 2022, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the severity of punishments for domestic homicide.
	tabling member constituency	Hendon
	tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
	uin	184069
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/05/2023 answer text <p>In March 2023 this government published the independent Domestic Homicide Sentencing Review and announced that we will be changing the law so that sentencing reflects the severity of these crimes. We will introduce statutory aggravating factors to increase sentences for murderers with a history of controlling or coercive behaviour against the victim, and for murders involving ‘overkill’ which is the use of excessive or gratuitous violence beyond that necessary to kill. Building on our ban of the ‘rough sex defence’ in the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, we also want to see longer sentences for perpetrators of so-called rough sex manslaughter and have requested that the Sentencing Council update their guidelines so that the courts can impose a higher sentence in these circumstances.</p><p> </p><p>The Review makes a number of other recommendations which we are carefully considering, and our full response will be published before summer recess.</p><p> </p><p>The Home Office commission the 'Quantitative Analysis of Domestic Homicide Reviews’ (DHR) reports by QE Assessments Ltd to share learning and insights from the DHR process. The cases reviewed in the QE Assessments report are likely to also feature in the cases reviewed by Clare Wade KC in the Domestic Homicide Sentencing Review.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar grouped question UIN 184368 question first answered 18/05/2023 15:21:18 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
	tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

1168294

	registered interest
	date	19/12/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Criminal Proceedings: Interpreters
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether translators in criminal trials are remunerated in cases where the foreign-speaking defendant does not turn up for their trial.
	tabling member constituency	Hendon
	tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
	uin	92
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/01/2020 answer text <p>If an interpreter has attended a booking, but is no longer required to deliver service, at a minimum they will be paid a cancellation fee. Depending on the circumstances the interpreter may also receive a payment for the time spent waiting to provide a service at the venue.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 07/01/2020 12:45:30 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
	tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

1179756

	registered interest
	date	24/02/2020
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Prisoners: Voting Rights
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether it remains Government policy that convicted prisoners are ineligible to vote in (a) local and (b) national elections.
	tabling member constituency	Hendon
	tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
	uin	19843
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/04/2020 answer text <p>The UK Government’s position is clear that no convicted prisoner should vote. We have maintained that position for all elections that fall within the UK Parliament’s competence</p><p><br> The Scottish Parliament has competence over criminal justice and prisons in Scotland. Since 2016 it has also had competence over local government and Scottish parliamentary elections. The Scottish Government has subsequently extended the right to vote in these elections to convicted prisoners sentenced to 12 months or less.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 15/04/2020 16:57:58 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
	tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

1625382

	registered interest
	date	02/05/2023
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Prisoners: Literature
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department restricts the availability of literature to different categories of prisoners.
	tabling member constituency	Hendon
	tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
	uin	183401
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/05/2023 answer text <p>HMPPS does not restrict the availability of literature based on categories of prisoners.</p><p> </p><p>Chapter 10 of the Public Protection Manual (PPM) PSI 18/2016 outlines HMPPS policy requirements to restrict or control prisoners’ access to certain material, including literature, and can be found at <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/public-protection-manual-psi-182016-pi-172016" target="_blank">Public protection manual: PSI 18/2016 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)</a>.</p><p> </p><p>Prisons automatically restrict every prisoner’s access to material which is ‘banned’ as defined in the Public Protection Manual. Prisons may also restrict access to other material on a case-by-case basis where it is assessed that this is necessary and proportionate in order to regulate a prisoner’s offending behaviour, to prevent crime, to promote rehabilitation and the reduction of re-offending and to allow good order and discipline to be maintained.</p> answering member constituency East Hampshire answering member printed Damian Hinds question first answered 12/05/2023 08:38:40 answering member 3969 label Biography information for Damian Hinds
	tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

1626165

	registered interest
	date	09/05/2023
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Guardianship: Legal Aid Scheme
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department is taking steps to ensure that legal aid is available to extended family members who are seeking guardianship of vulnerable children.
	tabling member constituency	Hendon
	tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
	uin	184061
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/05/2023 answer text <p>We recently expanded the family legal aid scheme, which will provide an additional £13m per year in general to family legal aid, to support carers making a decision as to whether to become a special guardian. Special Guardianship Orders brought in private family proceedings are now in scope of legal aid so prospective special guardians can receive legal aid for advice and assistance before making an informed decision.</p> answering member constituency Finchley and Golders Green answering member printed Mike Freer question first answered 17/05/2023 15:08:29 answering member 4004 label Biography information for Mike Freer
	tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

1653387

	registered interest
	date	17/07/2023
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Coroners: Standards
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has a target for the length of time an inquest should take from its opening to its conclusion.
	tabling member constituency	Hendon
	tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
	uin	194385
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/07/2023 answer text <p>The Ministry of Justice publishes <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/coroners-and-burials-statistics" target="_blank">Coroner Statistics</a> each May covering the preceding calendar year. The information is collated from data provided by each of the 81 coroner areas across England and Wales.</p><p> </p><p>Data from the published statistics is set out in the table below, across all coroner areas for each of the last five years, on the total number of inquests recorded, the average length of inquests, the total number of inquests open for more than two years, and the total number of inquests suspended and not resumed. The requested information for inquests adjourned for longer than two years in England, London and Barnet only is not collated as part of the annual statistics. <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1155711/coroners-statistics-2022-csvs.zip" target="_blank">Table CSV</a> included in the annual publication provides further information for adjourned inquests by coroner area.</p><p>The published statistics also record the average length of an inquest in individual coroner areas and Barnet is part of the North London Coroner area with Brent, Harrow, Haringey and Enfield. Table 13 collates this information by region.</p><p> </p><p>The Ministry of Justice does not have a target for the length of time an inquest should take. Coroners are independent judicial office holders and the way they manage their caseload is a matter for them. Following the Covid-19 pandemic the Chief Coroner issued <a href="https://www.judiciary.uk/guidance-and-resources/chief-coroners-guidance-no-39-recovery-from-the-covid-19-pandemic/" target="_blank">guidance</a> to coroners on how their services can best recover and tackle backlogs that accumulated in some areas.</p><p> </p><p>Regulation 26 of the Coroners (Investigations) Regulations 2013 require coroners to notify the Chief Coroner of any investigation which has not been completed or discontinued within a year of the death being reported to them, and provide reasons for this. They must also notify the Chief Coroner when such investigations are completed or discontinued.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p><strong>2022</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2021</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2020</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2019</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2018</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Number of inquests recorded </strong></p></td><td><p>36,273</p></td><td><p>32,762</p></td><td><p>31,991</p></td><td><p>29,969</p></td><td><p>29,094</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Average length of inquest </strong></p></td><td><p>30 weeks</p></td><td><p>31 weeks</p></td><td><p>27 weeks</p></td><td><p>27 weeks</p></td><td><p>26 weeks</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Inquests open for more than 2 years at year end </strong></p></td><td><p>1,760</p></td><td><p>1,366</p></td><td><p>1,104</p></td><td><p>601</p></td><td><p>472</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Inquests suspended due to criminal proceedings and not resumed </strong></p></td><td><p>748</p></td><td><p>729</p></td><td><p>599</p></td><td><p>849</p></td><td><p>834</p></td></tr></tbody></table> answering member constituency Finchley and Golders Green answering member printed Mike Freer grouped question UIN 194381 194382 194383 194384 194390 question first answered 25/07/2023 09:48:26 answering member 4004 label Biography information for Mike Freer
	tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

1626164

	registered interest
	date	09/05/2023
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Sentencing
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to require prisoners to attend their sentencing hearing.
	tabling member constituency	Hendon
	tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
	uin	184060
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/05/2023 answer text <p>The Government fully appreciates that an offender’s refusal to attend their sentencing hearing can cause anger and upset for victims and their families. We are looking carefully at changing the law so that offenders face up to their actions and victims can see justice being served.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 17/05/2023 10:16:54 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
	tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

1254123

	registered interest
	date	20/11/2020
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Rape: Scotland
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has received representations on the potential merits of the Scottish Government bringing forward legislative proposals to ensure the anonymity of rape victims in Scotland.
	tabling member constituency	Hendon
	tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
	uin	118514
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/11/2020 answer text <p>Whether to bring forward legislation to ensure the anonymity of rape victims in Scotland would be a matter for the Scottish Government, which has not made representations on the subject to the Ministry of Justice.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk question first answered 26/11/2020 17:30:13 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
	tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

1669584

	registered interest
	date	13/11/2023
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Legal Aid Scheme
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has made recent representations to the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the level of legal aid funding.
	tabling member constituency	Hendon
	tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
	uin	1542
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/11/2023 answer text <p>The Department works closely with HM Treasury to support the justice system, and ministers and officials have regular discussions with Treasury colleagues on a range of issues including legal aid. We make representations for funding in the usual way and continue to look at how to use departmental funding in a fiscally responsible way.</p><p>Last year we spent just under £2 billion on legal aid – approximately £1bn on civil and just over £900m on criminal.</p><p>In response to the Criminal Legal Aid Independent Review (CLAIR) we introduced a 15% uplift across most fee schemes, increasing expenditure by up to £141 million a year and taking expected annual criminal legal aid spend to £1.2 billion per year.</p><p>On 25 May 2023 we published our response to the consultation on the Means Test Review. When implemented, we estimate that spending on legal aid will rise by circa £25 million.</p><p>We are also investing a further £13m into family legal aid per year, and a further £10m per year into housing legal aid through the new Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service, which launched on 01 August.</p> answering member constituency Finchley and Golders Green answering member printed Mike Freer question first answered 21/11/2023 13:44:52 answering member 4004 label Biography information for Mike Freer
	tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

1247654

	registered interest
	date	30/10/2020
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Criminal Justice Royal Commission
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when the proposed Royal Commission on Criminal Justice announced in the Queen's Speech of December 2019 will begin taking evidence.
	tabling member constituency	Hendon
	tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
	uin	109306
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/11/2020 answer text <p>The Royal Commission presents an opportunity to undertake a significant independent review to investigate some key challenges in the criminal justice system alongside building greater resilience following the impact of this pandemic.</p><p>We are therefore carefully considering the precise remit and timing of this Commission and will update the House in due course.</p> answering member constituency North West Hampshire answering member printed Kit Malthouse question first answered 09/11/2020 17:01:12 answering member 4495 label Biography information for Kit Malthouse
	tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord