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1300870

registered interest
date	09/03/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Legal Aid Scheme: Finance
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to support the long-term financial sustainability of criminal legal aid.
tabling member constituency	Bury North
tabling member printed	James Daly
uin	165704
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/03/2021 answer text <p>The Government is taking steps to review the long-term sustainability of the Criminal Legal Aid market. Last year, as part of phase one of this review, we injected up to £51m per annum into Criminal Legal Aid, in areas of work that practitioners told us mattered the most. This year we launched the second phase, an independent review, led by Sir Christopher Bellamy QC, that will consider the sustainability of the whole Criminal Legal Aid system so that it can meet demand now and into the future, provide an effective and efficient service that ensures value for money for the taxpayer and provide defendants with high-quality advice from a diverse range of practitioners. Sir Christopher will submit his recommendations to the Lord Chancellor later this year.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk question first answered 17/03/2021 17:36:55 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
tabling member	4854 label Biography information for James Daly

1300905

registered interest
date	09/03/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Crown Court
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what comparative information his Department holds on the number of cases going through the Crown Court in the (a) 2020-21 and (b) 2011-12 financial years. .
tabling member constituency	Belfast South
tabling member printed	Claire Hanna
uin	165696
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/03/2021 answer text <p>The latest published criminal court statistics can be found at www.gov.uk/government/collections/criminal-court-statistics.</p><p> </p><p>Data relating to Q4 2020 will be published on 24 March 2021, and data covering Q1 2021 will be published on 24 June 2021.The table below provides data from the latest 12 month period and the corresponding 12 month period 2011 and the total number of cases for the 2011/2012 financial year.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td rowspan="2"><p><strong>Period</strong></p></td><td colspan="3"><p><strong> All Cases</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Receipts</p></td><td><p>Disposals</p></td><td><p>Outstanding</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>January 2011 to December 2011 inclusive</p></td><td><p>148,663</p></td><td><p>150,156</p></td><td><p>45,030</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011-12 financial year</p></td><td><p>145,626</p></td><td><p>148,094</p></td><td><p>42,123</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>January 2020 to December 2020 inclusive</p></td><td><p>100,340</p></td><td><p>83,069</p></td><td><p>55,189</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>February 2020 to January 2021 inclusive</p></td><td><p>99,390</p></td><td><p>81,731</p></td><td><p>56,544</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>The above are estimates of receipts<sup>1</sup>, disposals<sup>2</sup> and outstanding<sup>3</sup> cases in the Crown Court in England and Wales, January 2011 to December 2011 (inclusive), 2011-12 financial year, January 2020 to December 2020 (inclusive) and February 2020 to January 2021(inclusive, latest available).</p><p>Notes:</p><p>1) Receipts include cases sent direct from magistrates' courts and cases transferred in.</p><p>2) Disposals include cases where a disposal is recorded against each defendant and all their offences; and cases that are transferred out.</p><p>3) The outstanding case estimate is a cumulative count of ongoing cases within the Crown Court which have not reached disposal. It is not the number of receipts minus disposals due to exclusions made to the data. The outstanding estimates exclude cases which have a bench warrant issued – e.g. where a defendant cannot be bought before the court and the police have been directed to arrest them in order to bring them before the court as required. Once the bench warrant is executed and the individual is brought back before the court, the case will then form part of the outstanding case counts again.</p><p>4) Estimates for Q3 2020 exclude a small number of cases which have transitioned to the Common Platform system in the early adopter site (Derby Crown Court) from September 2020.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 17/03/2021 17:40:06 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4827 label Biography information for Claire Hanna

1300938

registered interest
date	09/03/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisoners' Release: Females
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to make permanent the accommodation provision for vulnerable women leaving prison.
tabling member constituency	Swansea East
tabling member printed	Carolyn Harris
uin	165607
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/03/2021 answer text <p>We are investing more than £20m in supporting prison leavers at risk of homelessness into temporary accommodation. Individuals released from prison will be provided up to 12 weeks of temporary accommodation and will be supported into long-term settled accommodation before the end of that 12-week period. The service will support around 3,000 offenders in its first year and will be commencing in Summer. It will be in operation during the next financial year 2021-22, with a view to scaling up and rolling out nationally, though the Spending Review 2021 will set out the approach for future years.</p><p> </p><p>The service will take account of the needs of women, including those with complex needs and accommodation provision will be dedicated to single gender usage as required. Community Offender Managers, working together with local partners, will be responsible for ensuring that vulnerable female prison leavers with complex needs receive appropriate support and are provided with housing beyond the 12 weeks emergency accommodation.</p><p> </p><p>To support its COVID-19 response, HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) set up seven Homelessness Prevention Taskforces (HPT) to help find accommodation for offenders upon release. HMPPS are considering how the regional HPTs might be a feature of the future landscape going forward.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk question first answered 17/03/2021 17:35:34 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
tabling member	4480 label Biography information for Carolyn Harris

1301013

registered interest
date	09/03/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons: 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 ensure that best practices and lessons learned are (1) shared, (2) adopted, and (3) maintained, among prisons.
tabling member printed	Lord Hylton
uin	HL14042
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/03/2021 answer text <p>Throughout the pandemic HMPPS has been identifying and sharing lessons learned. We have been listening to different perspectives and have paid attention to the challenges for staff and prisoners. We have considered the many examples of positive practice and have focussed our efforts to do the best for both staff and prisoners in very difficult circumstances. Learning lessons is an ongoing process and we continue to gather and share a range of information, including feedback from scrutiny bodies, staff, those in our care and the voluntary sector.</p><p> </p><p>We are feeding what we have learned into prison safety and wellbeing initiatives, regime redesign, planning and ongoing mitigations for prisoners. Prisons are also using lessons learned from the Covid-19 pandemic to prioritise resources to focus on safety and wellbeing, adapt provision, reinforce fair and decent behaviours and to show visible leadership. We are building on learning with a programme of events in the Spring which will be an opportunity for operational staff to share and reflect on learning from Covid to inform practice and both recovery and future reforms.</p><p> </p><p>More routinely, bespoke service improvement and work developed in response to common issues uses best practice and lessons learned. This takes place through line management activity, between peers, and through central support such as the Prison Performance Support Programme.</p><p> </p><p>HMPPS Scrutiny Intelligence unit routinely reviews all external scrutiny and internal assurance reports to draw out good practice and themes which are communicated to prisons and more widely across HMPPS. They also identify where lessons could be learned or implemented more effectively. Good practice and the areas requiring improvement are also reported each month to the Prison Performance Committee to ensure best practices and lessons learned are maintained among prisons.</p> answering member printed Lord Wolfson of Tredegar question first answered 23/03/2021 17:17:05 answering member 4901 label Biography information for Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
tabling member	2018 label Biography information for Lord Hylton

1301015

registered interest
date	09/03/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisoners on Remand
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to reduce the average length of time that prisoners spend on remand awaiting trial.
tabling member printed	Lord Hylton
uin	HL14044
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/03/2021 answer text <p>Judges are prioritising the most urgent cases. We were one of the first among other comparable jurisdictions globally to resume jury trials, and Crown Courts currently list thousands of cases each week.</p><p> </p><p>Our systems show that where a defendant is in custody and had a first hearing in February 2021, most cases are listed for trial in the Crown Court prior to September 2021.</p><p> </p><p>In September 2020, Her Majesty’s Prison Probation Service (HMPPS) began a trial of a dedicated and proactive Bail Information Service (BIS) in several courts and prisons in the North West of England and Wales. This service provides the courts with timely information relating to the defendant and availability of alternative provisions, such as suitable accommodation, to help to reduce unnecessary remands and increase the appropriate use of bail and bail conditions. In tandem with this trial, HMPPS are rolling-out a Covid-19 response BIS in all public sector remand prisons. A key aim of both initiatives is to inform the design, resourcing and delivery of a future dedicated and proactive national BIS.</p> answering member printed Lord Wolfson of Tredegar question first answered 23/03/2021 17:23:39 answering member 4901 label Biography information for Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
tabling member	2018 label Biography information for Lord Hylton

1300223

registered interest
date	08/03/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Magistrates: Retirement
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 the Under Secretary of State to the Rt Hon Member for New Forest East on 20 January 2021, Official Report, col 980, on reinstating recently retired magistrates, if he will make it his policy to permit people aged 70 or over to resume their duties if this would enable them to serve for a significant further period prior to reaching any newly-raised maximum age for magistrates to continue in post.
tabling member constituency	New Forest East
tabling member printed	Dr Julian Lewis
uin	164329
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/03/2021 answer text <p>On 8 March 2021 the government announced its intention to legislate to increase the mandatory retirement age for judicial office holders, including magistrates, to 75. The legislation will include 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 11/03/2021 17:32:01 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	54 label Biography information for Sir Julian Lewis

1300229

registered interest
date	08/03/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons: Visits
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the update posted on www.gov.uk on 23 February 2021, what steps he is taking to allow prison visits to resume.
tabling member constituency	Bristol East
tabling member printed	Kerry McCarthy
uin	164385
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/03/2021 answer text <p>Social visits to prisons are currently suspended given the risks from Covid-19 and the need to minimise non-essential travel at this time. We continue to support social visits in compassionate circumstances, including visits to children in custody.</p><p>In line with the community position, over the coming weeks and months we will support establishments to ease some of the restrictions currently in place, guided by public health advice and as it becomes safe to do so. To support the delivery of greater regime activity, significant additional measures have been put in place to reduce the risk of Covid-19 as much as possible. The mitigations we have introduced mean that we are now much better prepared for managing Covid-19 in prisons.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk question first answered 11/03/2021 17:19:46 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
tabling member	1491 label Biography information for Kerry McCarthy

1300241

registered interest
date	08/03/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons: Crimes of Violence
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many violent incidents were recorded in August (a) 2018, (b) 2019 and (c) 2020 in the following prisons (i) Hull, (ii) Humber, (iii) Leeds, (iv) Lindholme, (v) Moorland, Hatfield Woodhouse, South Yorkshire, (vi) Wealstun, near Wetherby, West Yorkshire, (vii) Nottingham, (viii) Ranby, Nottinghamshire, (ix) Wormwood Scrubs, and (x) Isis, south-east London.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	164425
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/03/2021 answer text <p>The number of assaults in each of the prisons listed for the months requested can be found in the Safety in Custody summary tables available at the following link:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/safety-in-custody-quarterly-update-to-september-2020" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/safety-in-custody-quarterly-update-to-september-2020</a>.</p><p>Despite the progress made, the level of violence in prisons remains too high. We are continuing work to address this by giving all staff the tools and training needed to help them reduce violence.</p><p>We are spending £100 million across the estate to bolster prison security, clamping down on the weapons, drugs and mobile phones that fuel violence and crime behind bars.</p><p>We are also giving officers tools like PAVA pepper spray and body-worn cameras to make their jobs safer.</p><p>Violence in prison is a crime and will never be tolerated. Any prisoner who commits an act of violence should expect to have action taken against them, including being imprisoned for far longer.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk question first answered 16/03/2021 17:32:41 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

1300243

registered interest
date	08/03/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prison Service: Training
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many officials in the Prison Service have completed a military-style leadership course while in employment.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	164426
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/03/2021 answer text <p>Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) would not characterise any of its leadership offer as ‘military-style’ and so the answer is none.</p><p>Since 2016 HMPPS has, however, built a successful partnership with the Ministry of Defence Academy, Shrivenham. Fifty-two leaders from across all parts of HMPPS, including the Prison Service, National Probation Service and Youth Custody Service have attended the Command, Leadership and Management course at Shrivenham. This is a one-week stand-alone leadership course which, for the military attendees, is part of a one-year programme.</p><p> </p><p>Breakdown of numbers of HMPPS delegates by year is given below.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Year</p></td><td><p>Number of HMPPS leaders in attendance.</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016</p></td><td><p>1</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017</p></td><td><p>10</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018</p></td><td><p>25</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2019</p></td><td><p>16</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2020</p></td><td><p>0</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>This has been targeted for those in senior roles (i.e. Prison Governors) or those with the potential to move to this level.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk question first answered 16/03/2021 17:35:27 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

1300302

registered interest
date	08/03/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prison Officers: Pay
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 2 March 2021 to Question 158908, Prison Officers: Pay, if he will place a redacted copy of that Equality Impact Assessment in the Library.
tabling member constituency	Dwyfor Meirionnydd
tabling member printed	Liz Saville Roberts
uin	164558
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/03/2021 answer text <p>In line with the practice of successive administrations, the Government does not routinely publish Equality Impact Assessments (EIA). The scope of the legal advice in the EIA was surrounding options that the Department was considering as part of the its decision-making regarding prison officer pay and allowances. These options were ultimately not pursued as they were not cost viable.</p><p> </p><p>The EIA recognised that rejecting recommendation 3 from the PSPRB 20/21 report would adversely impact staff on Fair &amp; Sustainable (F&amp;S) terms and conditions, who (as per the data published on 2 March) are a more diverse staffing group than their counterparts on closed-grades terms. The Government’s consideration of recommendation 3 took this into account, alongside other factors such as the exceptional costs associated with implementing this recommendation, the impact on the overall pay structure, and the changing labour market conditions due to the exceptional economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.</p><p> </p><p>The Department identified as part of the EIA that the adverse impact of rejecting recommendation 3 would be addressed by efforts to close the pay differential between staff on closed-grades terms and those on F&amp;S terms. This remains a key component of the Department’s longer-term pay strategy.</p><p> </p><p>The Government’s Public Sector pay restraint policy for the current (2021/22) financial year was announced by the Chancellor on the 25 November 2020. He detailed that pay rises in the public sector will be restrained and targeted, and that anyone earning less than £24,000 will be protected and will receive a minimum uplift of £250, or the National Living Wage (whichever is the higher) should they qualify. An equalities impact assessment was undertaken as part of the Chancellor’s decision and it did not find that the implementation of public sector pay restraint will result in any unjustified differential impact to individuals with protected characteristics. It can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/2020-spending-review-public-sector-pay-policy-full-impact-assessment.</p><p> </p><p>The national equivalent basic pay of Band 3 prison staff on F&amp;S terms (our largest staffing group), as well as both F&amp;S and closed grade Band 2 operational support grades is below the protected earnings floor of £24,000. The Department’s proposals on how the uplift should apply to prison staff will be published and submitted to the PSPRB for their consideration shortly.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk grouped question UIN 164559 164560 164562 question first answered 11/03/2021 17:22:26 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
tabling member	4521 label Biography information for Liz Saville Roberts