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1693569

registered interest
date	04/03/2024
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Sentencing: Attendance
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 number of offenders refusing to attend sentencing hearings who were convicted of an offence where (a) a life sentence must or may be imposed and (b) where the maximum sentence does not permit a life sentence to be imposed in each of the last three years.
tabling member constituency	North West Norfolk
tabling member printed	James Wild
uin	16953
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/03/2024 answer text <p>The information requested is not held centrally. However, our data shows that from January 2021 to June 2023, 182 cases in the Crown Court were sentenced in absence of the defendant where the defendant was remanded in custody. However, the data does not provide the reason for non-attendance and therefore includes non-attendance due to reasons other than refusal, such as transportation issues or legitimate illness.</p><p>We are introducing legislation to compel offenders to attend their sentencing hearings to meet the growing public concern relating to offenders who have committed the most serious of offences, including Koci Selamaj, Thomas Cashman and Lucy Letby, who refuse to face up to their crimes and hear how they have impacted the victims and their families.</p><p>An offender’s refusal to attend their hearing can cause anger and upset for victims and their families - offenders should attend court to face the consequences of their crimes.</p><p>The legislation makes it clear in law that a court can order the production of any offender in the Crown Court to attend their sentencing hearing and that reasonable force can be used to secure their attendance where necessary and proportionate.</p><p>In addition, we want courts to have the powers to punish offenders convicted of the most serious offences who do not attend their sentencing hearing without good reason, to ensure that they face up to their crimes and hear how they have impacted the victims and their families. This measure will capture offences such as murder, manslaughter, rape and robbery.</p> answering member constituency Orpington answering member printed Gareth Bacon question first answered 12/03/2024 16:44:00 answering member 4798 label Biography information for Gareth Bacon
tabling member	4787 label Biography information for James Wild

1675920

registered interest
date	06/12/2023
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, how many and what proportion of community sentences were completed (a) successfully and (b) unsuccessfully due to (i) the committal of an additional offence and (ii) a breach of sentence stipulations in each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	North West Norfolk
tabling member printed	James Wild
uin	5599
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/12/2023 answer text <p>We have increased funding for the Probation Service by an additional £155m a year to recruit staff and to deliver better and more consistent supervision of offenders in the community. The data shows that since 2018, the proportion of successfully completed community sentences has increased from 70% to 74%. Please find the full dataset requested in the accompanying table.</p><p> </p><p>Delivering public protection and cutting crime is not just about custody. There is persuasive evidence that suspended and community sentences are more effective than short custodial sentences in reducing reoffending and promoting rehabilitation. Community sentences can include a range of robust requirements to punish the offender, protect the public and deliver rehabilitation. Electronic monitoring of curfews, exclusion zones, attendance at appointments, location monitoring and alcohol bans are all available requirements which the courts can use. Courts can also impose up to 300 hours of unpaid work to make sure that offenders are visibly and publicly making reparations for their crimes. Any breach of these requirements could see them returned to court and face immediate custody.</p><p> </p><p>Please note that where there is a significant risk of harm to an individual or where the offender has breached an order of the court, the courts will retain full discretion to impose a sentence of immediate custody.</p><p> </p><p>Data sources and quality:</p><p>The figures in this table have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large-scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.</p><p> </p><p>Source:</p><p>National Delius case management system.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 14/12/2023 15:26:17 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar attachment 1 file name 2023-12-14 PQ 5599 Table.xlsx title Table
tabling member	4787 label Biography information for James Wild

1672010

registered interest
date	21/11/2023
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Aarhus Convention
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 adequacy of the limit on costs recoverable from an individual party in an Aarhus Convention claim.
tabling member constituency	North West Norfolk
tabling member printed	James Wild
uin	3061
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/11/2023 answer text <p>The Government introduced a revised Environmental Costs Protection Regime (ECPR) in 2018, which allows certain environmental claims to be brought without prohibitive expense.</p><p>The Government is committed to conducting a review of the ECPR and will publish a call for evidence in due course.</p> answering member constituency Finchley and Golders Green answering member printed Mike Freer question first answered 28/11/2023 10:33:47 answering member 4004 label Biography information for Mike Freer
tabling member	4787 label Biography information for James Wild

1660281

registered interest
date	12/09/2023
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prison Sentences
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many referrals he has made to the Parole Board for eligible Imprisonment for Public Protection offenders; and how many such offenders have been released in the last 12 months.
tabling member constituency	North West Norfolk
tabling member printed	James Wild
uin	199260
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/09/2023 answer text <p>In the period between 1 April 2022 – 31 March 2023, which is the latest 12 months period with published information, the Secretary of State for Justice has made 1550 referrals to the Parole Board for offenders serving indeterminate sentences of Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP). In that same period, a total of 610 IPP offenders were released (including those being re-released) from custody in accordance with a direction by the Parole Board.</p> answering member constituency East Hampshire answering member printed Damian Hinds question first answered 19/09/2023 16:55:32 answering member 3969 label Biography information for Damian Hinds
tabling member	4787 label Biography information for James Wild

1611908

registered interest
date	18/04/2023
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Norwich Prison: Prisoners' Release
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 effectiveness of HMP Norwich’s Employment Advisory Board in developing links with private sector employers.
tabling member constituency	North West Norfolk
tabling member printed	James Wild
uin	181451
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/04/2023 answer text <p>We know that employment reduces the chance of reoffending significantly, by up to nine percentage points. The Boards are part of our plans to improve prison leavers’ employment outcomes and build stronger links with employers.</p><p>I am grateful to James Timpson for his support in setting up the Boards, as well as to business leaders from household names such as Lotus Cars at HMP Norwich, Greggs at HMP Kirklevington Grange and TalkTalk at HMP Thorn Cross for stepping up to the challenge of chairing them.</p><p>I understand that the Board at HMP Norwich has brought new employer partnerships to the prison and supported events such as an employer’s open day for employers and prisoners, as well as providing valuable links with the Chamber of Commerce and the High Sherriff, who attend the Board’s meetings.</p> answering member constituency East Hampshire answering member printed Damian Hinds question first answered 21/04/2023 15:58:32 answering member 3969 label Biography information for Damian Hinds
tabling member	4787 label Biography information for James Wild

1611909

registered interest
date	18/04/2023
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, what plans he has to bring forward measures to make a defendant’s refusal to appear in court for sentencing an aggravating factor judges can take into account.
tabling member constituency	North West Norfolk
tabling member printed	James Wild
uin	181452
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/04/2023 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 how best to address this issue 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 25/04/2023 08:21:09 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
tabling member	4787 label Biography information for James Wild

1551845

registered interest
date	14/12/2022
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisoners on Remand: Sentencing
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of defendants on remand who have refused to attend their sentencing hearing.
tabling member constituency	North West Norfolk
tabling member printed	James Wild
uin	110897
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/12/2022 answer text <p>This information is not centrally recorded and to obtain it would involve a manual interrogation of prisoner records which would result in a disproportionate cost to the department.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 21/12/2022 10:37:30 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
tabling member	4787 label Biography information for James Wild

1545456

registered interest
date	24/11/2022
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Probate: Standards
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, for what reasons the probate application service standard has been increased to 16 weeks.
tabling member constituency	North West Norfolk
tabling member printed	James Wild
uin	95948
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/12/2022 answer text <p>The service standard for a grant of probate has not been increased to 16 weeks but our messaging to applicants has changed to reflect the longer waiting times that a minority of cases can wait for their grant.</p><p> </p><p>Despite the unprecedented challenges faced by the probate service during the Covid 19 pandemic, and the increased volume of applications that have been seen since, the average length of time taken for a grant of probate following receipt of the documents required has been maintained at between five and seven weeks – with the average responses being almost 1 week faster in quarter 2 of 2022 than the yearly average for 2020 and 2021.</p><p> </p><p>HMCTS has increased resources to meet the higher demand following an increased number of estates requiring probate and is further increasing resourcing to further bring down overall timeliness on digital and paper applications.</p><p> </p><p>Average waiting times for probate grants, from April 2022 to June 2022, are published on gov.uk via Family Court Statistics Quarterly (Table 25):</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/family-court-statistics-quarterly-april-to-june-2022" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/family-court-statistics-quarterly-april-to-june-2022</a></p><p>In June 2022, the average percentage of cases taking longer than 8 weeks to issue was 39%, with 27% of people waiting more than 8 weeks for the grant of Probate and 86% for letters of administration. Existing staff have now been trained to examine letters of administration applications to improve the timeliness.</p> answering member constituency Finchley and Golders Green answering member printed Mike Freer grouped question UIN 95949 95950 question first answered 01/12/2022 14:38:12 answering member 4004 label Biography information for Mike Freer
tabling member	4787 label Biography information for James Wild

1545457

registered interest
date	24/11/2022
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Probate: Standards
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent progress his Department has made on reducing the time it takes to process probate applications.
tabling member constituency	North West Norfolk
tabling member printed	James Wild
uin	95949
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/12/2022 answer text <p>The service standard for a grant of probate has not been increased to 16 weeks but our messaging to applicants has changed to reflect the longer waiting times that a minority of cases can wait for their grant.</p><p> </p><p>Despite the unprecedented challenges faced by the probate service during the Covid 19 pandemic, and the increased volume of applications that have been seen since, the average length of time taken for a grant of probate following receipt of the documents required has been maintained at between five and seven weeks – with the average responses being almost 1 week faster in quarter 2 of 2022 than the yearly average for 2020 and 2021.</p><p> </p><p>HMCTS has increased resources to meet the higher demand following an increased number of estates requiring probate and is further increasing resourcing to further bring down overall timeliness on digital and paper applications.</p><p> </p><p>Average waiting times for probate grants, from April 2022 to June 2022, are published on gov.uk via Family Court Statistics Quarterly (Table 25):</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/family-court-statistics-quarterly-april-to-june-2022" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/family-court-statistics-quarterly-april-to-june-2022</a></p><p>In June 2022, the average percentage of cases taking longer than 8 weeks to issue was 39%, with 27% of people waiting more than 8 weeks for the grant of Probate and 86% for letters of administration. Existing staff have now been trained to examine letters of administration applications to improve the timeliness.</p> answering member constituency Finchley and Golders Green answering member printed Mike Freer grouped question UIN 95948 95950 question first answered 01/12/2022 14:38:12 answering member 4004 label Biography information for Mike Freer
tabling member	4787 label Biography information for James Wild

1545458

registered interest
date	24/11/2022
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Probate: Standards
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people are waiting more than 8 weeks for (a) the grant of probate and (b) letters of administration.
tabling member constituency	North West Norfolk
tabling member printed	James Wild
uin	95950
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/12/2022 answer text <p>The service standard for a grant of probate has not been increased to 16 weeks but our messaging to applicants has changed to reflect the longer waiting times that a minority of cases can wait for their grant.</p><p> </p><p>Despite the unprecedented challenges faced by the probate service during the Covid 19 pandemic, and the increased volume of applications that have been seen since, the average length of time taken for a grant of probate following receipt of the documents required has been maintained at between five and seven weeks – with the average responses being almost 1 week faster in quarter 2 of 2022 than the yearly average for 2020 and 2021.</p><p> </p><p>HMCTS has increased resources to meet the higher demand following an increased number of estates requiring probate and is further increasing resourcing to further bring down overall timeliness on digital and paper applications.</p><p> </p><p>Average waiting times for probate grants, from April 2022 to June 2022, are published on gov.uk via Family Court Statistics Quarterly (Table 25):</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/family-court-statistics-quarterly-april-to-june-2022" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/family-court-statistics-quarterly-april-to-june-2022</a></p><p>In June 2022, the average percentage of cases taking longer than 8 weeks to issue was 39%, with 27% of people waiting more than 8 weeks for the grant of Probate and 86% for letters of administration. Existing staff have now been trained to examine letters of administration applications to improve the timeliness.</p> answering member constituency Finchley and Golders Green answering member printed Mike Freer grouped question UIN 95948 95949 question first answered 01/12/2022 14:38:12 answering member 4004 label Biography information for Mike Freer
tabling member	4787 label Biography information for James Wild