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106165

registered interest
date	04/11/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prerogative of Mercy
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many times the royal prerogative of mercy has been exercised in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland respectively in the past five years; and of that number, how many, if any, in each of the countries have been without consultation with the relevant police authorities.
tabling member printed	Lord Rogan
uin	HL2637
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 18/11/2014 answer text <p>The exercise of the Royal Prerogative of Mercy may currently take one of three forms:</p><p> </p><p>i) The grant of a Free Pardon;</p><p>ii) The grant of a conditional Pardon;</p><p>iii) Remission of all or part of a penalty by either a) a pledge of public faith, which most commonly occurs when an offender's release dates are incorrectly calculated or b) for meritorious conduct, such as saving the life of another offender/member of staff or coming to the aid of a member of staff.</p><p> </p><p>By Constitutional convention, the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice (in succession to the Home Secretary) is responsible, in England and Wales (and the Channel Islands), for recommending to Her Majesty the Queen the exercise of the prerogative of mercy to grant a Royal Pardon. In Northern Ireland the responsibility lies with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland for reserved matters and the Justice Minister for Northern Ireland for devolved matters, and in Scotland it is devolved to the First Minister. The Secretary of State for Defence also has the responsibility in relation to members of the armed forces.</p><p> </p><p>In the past five years, only two free pardons were granted by Her Majesty the Queen in England in 2009 and 2014 respectively.</p><p> </p><p>With regard to Remission Pardons the Royal Prerogative of Mercy has not been exercised on this basis. However, for England &amp; Wales no records are held for the period prior to 1 February 2013.</p><p> </p><p>In respect of the two free pardons that have been issued, the Police Authority was consulted in one of these decisions while the other pardon was granted posthumously and the Police Authority was not consulted.</p> answering member printed Lord Faulks question first answered 18/11/2014 13:37:45 answering member 4183 label Biography information for Lord Faulks
tabling member	2478 label Biography information for Lord Rogan

105749

registered interest
date	03/11/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Criminal Proceedings: Autism
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they currently provide training to staff in the criminal justice system who engage with people with autism spectrum disorder; and, if not, whether they have any plans to do so.
tabling member printed	Baroness Uddin
uin	HL2566
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/11/2014 answer text <p /> <p>In March 2010 the Department of Health published the three year cross-Government strategy, <em>Fulfilling and rewarding lives: the strategy for adults with autism in England</em>. The strategy was updated in April 2014 and the Ministry of Justice is one of the signatories. As a result, a variety of different pieces of online training guidance were published for those delivering public services in order to meet the needs of those with autism. The criminal justice system has benefited from this guidance and training, which continues to be available. The guidance can be accessed at the following web address: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/autism-training-resources</p><p> </p><p>A number of charities have developed guidance on Autism specifically for criminal justice professionals, and, the MoJ provides disability and diversity guidance and training, including on learning disabilities that staff can access.</p> answering member printed Lord Faulks question first answered 17/11/2014 17:32:32 answering member 4183 label Biography information for Lord Faulks
tabling member	1827 label Biography information for Baroness Uddin

105788

registered interest
date	03/11/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Marriage: Humanism
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they intend to introduce legislation enabling humanist marriages to be recognised.
tabling member printed	Lord Lester of Herne Hill
uin	HL2601
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/11/2014 answer text <p /> <p>The Government has consulted on whether the law should be changed to allow legally valid humanist and potentially other non-religious belief marriages. We are considering the responses we received and the implications for marriage law and practice if a change were to be made. We plan to publish the Government’s response to the review before 1 January 2015.</p> answering member printed Lord Faulks question first answered 17/11/2014 16:28:44 answering member 4183 label Biography information for Lord Faulks
tabling member	2037 label Biography information for Lord Lester of Herne Hill

105790

registered interest
date	03/11/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons: Parcels
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 effects of the ban on the receipt by prisoners in England and Wales of parcels containing for example books, underwear, clothing, stationery and Christmas presents.
tabling member printed	Lord Lester of Herne Hill
uin	HL2603
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/11/2014 answer text <p /> <p>There have always been controls on the sending of parcels into prisons; the revised Incentives and Earned Privileges (IEP) national policy framework has simply ensured greater consistency across the prison estate. We now have simple rules that allow prisoners a parcel of items when they first arrive in prison, and then only further items in exceptional circumstances. The restrictions were introduced to enhance existing security measures and to prevent the IEP policy framework from being undermined.</p><p> </p><p>There is no longer a numerical limit on the amount of underwear that prisoners can have in possession; the amount they can have is subject only to overarching volumetric control limits.</p> answering member printed Lord Faulks question first answered 17/11/2014 16:19:40 answering member 4183 label Biography information for Lord Faulks
tabling member	2037 label Biography information for Lord Lester of Herne Hill

101739

registered interest
date	30/10/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Extradition: Legal Aid Scheme
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they last considered the High Level Cost Benefit Analysis of Removing Legal Aid Means Testing in Extradition Cases prepared by the Ministry of Justice for Sir Scott Baker’s review of the United Kingdom’s extradition arrangements of September 2011; and when they next intend to do so.
tabling member printed	Lord Inglewood
uin	HL2548
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/11/2014 answer text <p /> <p>Her Majesty’s Government last considered the Cost Benefit Analysis in October 2012 shortly before it published its response to Sir Scott Baker’s Review of the United Kingdom’s Extradition Arrangements.</p><p> </p><p>Her Majesty’s Government has no plans to re-consider the Cost Benefit Analysis in the immediate future.</p> answering member printed Lord Faulks question first answered 17/11/2014 12:42:45 answering member 4183 label Biography information for Lord Faulks
tabling member	1980 label Biography information for Lord Inglewood

101679

registered interest
date	29/10/2014
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 how many women were in prisons in England on 30 June in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014 respectively.
tabling member printed	Baroness Corston
uin	HL2501
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/11/2014 answer text <p /> <p>The decision to sentence a person to a custodial sentence, or to remand a person into custody prior to trial or sentencing, is a matter for the independent judiciary and courts will take into account all the circumstances of the offence and the offender in determining this.</p><p> </p><p>For the last two years, the female prison population has been consistently under 4,000 for the first time in a decade. Data on the number of women in prison is published annually at:</p><p>https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/339036/prison-population-2014.xls</p><p> </p><p>The numbers of women in prisons in England on 30<sup>th</sup> June on each of the years in question were:</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>2006</p></td><td><p>2007</p></td><td><p>2008</p></td><td><p>2009</p></td><td><p>2010</p></td><td><p>2011</p></td><td><p>2012</p></td><td><p>2013</p></td><td><p>2014</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>4,463</p></td><td><p>4,283</p></td><td><p>4,505</p></td><td><p>4,307</p></td><td><p>4,267</p></td><td><p>4,185</p></td><td><p>4,123</p></td><td><p>3,853</p></td><td><p>3,929</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p>We are committed to making sure that sentencers have robust community options at their disposal. The Female Offenders Advisory Board are working in Greater Manchester on a pathfinder aimed at providing sentencers with robust and effective sentencing options in the community which may divert women from custody, where appropriate. Learning from the pathfinder will inform a new operating model for working differently with women in the criminal justice system. We are also testing a new model of liaison and diversion in police custody and the courts. The trial scheme, in 10 areas, will aim to identify, assess and refer people with mental health, learning disability, substance misuse and social vulnerabilities into treatment or support services.</p><p> </p><p>We are also working to make sure that female offenders have the support they need to turn their lives around. In March 2014, we published a first year progress report on delivery of our strategic objectives for female offenders, which sets out clearly our key priorities for addressing the needs of female offenders and reducing the number of women in custody. Our Transforming Rehabilitation reforms also mean that those serving under 12 month sentences will, for the first time in recent history, be subject to statutory supervision including a licence period in the community, aimed at supporting successful community reintegration and rehabilitation. Proportionally, more women than men are serving short sentences so they will benefit particularly from this element of the reforms.</p> answering member printed Lord Faulks question first answered 17/11/2014 14:18:29 answering member 4183 label Biography information for Lord Faulks
tabling member	215 label Biography information for Baroness Corston

101264

registered interest
date	28/10/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Forced Marriage Protection Orders
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many Forced Marriage Protection Orders have been issued since the Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act 2007 came into force.
tabling member printed	Lord Lester of Herne Hill
uin	HL2469
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/11/2014 answer text <p>Forced marriage is an appalling crime and should not be tolerated.</p><p> </p><p>Since the 2007 Act came into force on 25 November 2008 and up to the end of June 2014, 719 Forced Marriage Protection Orders have been made.</p><p> </p><p>We have also created a new criminal offence that will enable faster and more effective action to be taken against those who breach forced marriage protection orders by forcing someone to get married against their will. This offence is designed to prosecute individuals who force somene to get married against their will; the person who has been forced to get married will not be prosecuted.</p> answering member printed Lord Faulks question first answered 11/11/2014 16:49:11 answering member 4183 label Biography information for Lord Faulks
tabling member	2037 label Biography information for Lord Lester of Herne Hill

101269

registered interest
date	28/10/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Judges: Training
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the annual budget for the training of district judges (magistrates' courts) and deputy district judges (magistrates' courts) for each of the last five years, and for the current year.
tabling member printed	Lord Beecham
uin	HL2474
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/11/2014 answer text <p>The responsibility for the training of District Judges (magistrates’ courts) and deputies lies with the Lord Chief Justice as head of the judiciary and is exercised through the Judicial College.</p><p> </p><p>It is not possible to fully separate the budget figures between the DJ(MC)s and deputies as some continuation training events are attended jointly. Where it is possible to show separation it has been done.</p><p> </p><p /> <p /><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Financial Year</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Attending</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Sub Totals</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Total (£000s)</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2009/10</strong></p></td><td><p>DDJ &amp; DJ</p></td><td><p>£185</p></td><td><p><strong>£185</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong> </strong></p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2010/11</strong></p></td><td><p>DDJ</p></td><td><p>£22</p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>DDJ &amp; DJ</p></td><td><p>£162</p></td><td><p><strong>£184</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong> </strong></p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2011/12</strong></p></td><td><p>DDJ</p></td><td><p>£23</p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>DDJ &amp; DJ</p></td><td><p>£205</p></td><td><p><strong>£228</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong> </strong></p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2012/13</strong></p></td><td><p>DDJ</p></td><td><p>£20</p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>DJ</p></td><td><p>£83</p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>DDJ &amp; DJ</p></td><td><p>£133</p></td><td><p><strong>£236</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong> </strong></p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2013/14</strong></p></td><td><p>DDJ</p></td><td><p>£31</p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>DDJ &amp; DJ</p></td><td><p>£137</p></td><td><p><strong>£168</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong> </strong></p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2014/15</strong></p></td><td><p>DDJ</p></td><td><p>£28</p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>DDJ &amp; DJ</p></td><td><p>£122</p></td><td><p><strong>£150</strong></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>These figures reflect a half-day sitting fee paid to DDJ(MC) attending training. However, recent Court decisions require the College to pay a full day’s sitting fee to certain fee-paid judiciary whilst attending training seminars, and this is not reflected in these figures. [For previous years the College paid a half-day sitting fee whilst attending training.]</p> answering member printed Lord Faulks question first answered 17/11/2014 12:02:40 answering member 4183 label Biography information for Lord Faulks
tabling member	4181 label Biography information for Lord Beecham

101270

registered interest
date	28/10/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Magistrates
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many lay magistrates were asked to step down by advisory committees in the last year for which there are data on the ground of failing to maintain the required competences; and how many magistrates each year undergo appraisal.
tabling member printed	Lord Beecham
uin	HL2475
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/11/2014 answer text <p /> <p>The assessment of magistrates’ competence is a matter for the local Bench Training and Development Committee (BDTC), which reports to the advisory committee for the local justice area. Where the BDTC has concluded that a magistrate has failed, over a period of time, to reach the required standard the advisory committee may make a recommendation to the Lord Chancellor and the Lord Chief Justice that the magistrate should be removed from office.</p><p> </p><p>The process for removing a magistrate on such a basis is managed by the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office. One magistrate has been removed from the magistracy during the last year for failing to maintain the required competences.</p><p> </p><p>Magistrates are appraised on their performance once every three years for each jurisdiction (adult court, family court, youth court) in which they sit. Appraisals are carried out locally by trained appraisers in line with a nationally approved framework. On account of the three-yearly cycle, roughly a third of the approximately 21,000 magistrates in England and Wales could expect to undergo appraisal in any given year.</p> answering member printed Lord Faulks question first answered 11/11/2014 16:54:55 answering member 4183 label Biography information for Lord Faulks
tabling member	4181 label Biography information for Lord Beecham

101271

registered interest
date	28/10/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Magistrates: Training
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty’s Government how much HM Courts and Tribunal Service has spent on the expenses of magistrates undergoing training or development not provided by the Judicial College in each of the last five years; and what proportion of those expenses costs were taken up by travel.
tabling member printed	Lord Beecham
uin	HL2476
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/11/2014 answer text <p /> <p>The table below provides details of expenditure by HM Courts and Tribunals Service on the expenses of magistrates undergoing local training or development in each of the last five years.</p><p> </p><p><strong> </strong></p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Period</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Travel &amp; Subsistence </strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Loss of Earnings (Financial Loss Allowance) </strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Total *</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2009/10</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>£628,566</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>£284,231</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>£912,797</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2010/11</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>£525,091</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>£188,745</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>£713,837</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2011/12</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>£405,888</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>£159,786</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>£565,674</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2012/13</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>£456,120</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>£145,741</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>£601,861</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2013/14</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>£374,554</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>£94,646</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>£469,200</strong></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>* Figures may not sum to total due to rounding</strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p><p>The training consists of the minimum annual provision which has to be provided to Magistrates as agreed between the Judicial College and HMCTS. It also includes any training deemed necessary by each Magistrates Area Training Committee (MATC).</p><p> </p><p>It is not possible to break down the travel expenses separately, due to the way the information is recorded on the database.</p> answering member printed Lord Faulks question first answered 17/11/2014 12:00:17 answering member 4183 label Biography information for Lord Faulks
tabling member	4181 label Biography information for Lord Beecham