Show Search Form

Search Results

registered interest	true false
date	exactly: or between: and
answering body
answering dept id
answering dept short name
answering dept sort name
hansard heading
house id
legislature	pref label
question text
tabling member constituency
tabling member printed
uin
answer	is ministerial correction true false date of answer exactly: or between: and answer text answering member constituency answering member printed grouped question UIN question first answered answering member label
tabling member	label

Search

1330734

registered interest
date	08/06/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Offenders: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
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 improve the quality of care for adults in the criminal justice system with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
tabling member constituency	East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow
tabling member printed	Dr Lisa Cameron
uin	12176
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/06/2021 answer text <p>We are committed to improving the interaction that individuals with neurodivergent conditions have with the criminal justice system (CJS), and we are exploring what improvements can be made. An independent call for evidence on neurodiversity has been completed and the findings are expected to be reported in the summer. This will enable us to understand current practices and how we can improve these to realise better outcomes.</p><p>Once the MoJ receive the full written report from the Call for Evidence, a ‘Neurodiversity Toolkit’ is to be developed, as announced in the Sentencing White Paper. This will aim to improve our staff’s awareness and understanding of neurodivergent needs, including ADHD, and enable them to feel confident to make referrals to health services if needed.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk question first answered 16/06/2021 14:29:36 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
tabling member	4412 label Biography information for Dr Lisa Cameron

1330989

registered interest
date	08/06/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons: Equality
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government (1) how many prison service staff have attended intersectionality courses, (2) what is the cost of any such courses, and (3) how the courses help prison officers deal with prisoners.
tabling member printed	Lord Blencathra
uin	HL840
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/06/2021 answer text <p>There are no courses on intersectionality but Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) had a package on intersectionality as part of its ‘Let’s Talk’ series.</p><p>Involvement in the ‘Let’s Talk’ series was not mandatory. As a result, HMPPS does not collect or hold data on the number of staff who have participated. All HMPPS diversity and inclusion training is developed internally as part of wider learning and development activity, and so no additional cost was incurred for any of the ‘Let’s Talk’ toolkit.</p> answering member printed Lord Wolfson of Tredegar question first answered 22/06/2021 14:14:48 answering member 4901 label Biography information for Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
tabling member	497 label Biography information for Lord Blencathra

1331013

registered interest
date	08/06/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Legal Aid Scheme: Domestic Abuse
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what recent assessment they have made of the adequacy of support provided through the legal aid system for victims of domestic abuse.
tabling member printed	Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick
uin	HL882
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/06/2021 answer text <p>Domestic abuse is an abhorrent crime and we are determined to protect and support the victims of abuse and their children and bring perpetrators to justice.</p><p>The legal aid scheme is designed to target funding at those that need it most, and this government has always been clear that publicly-funded legal advice is available to victims of domestic abuse in private family proceedings and for specific domestic abuse injunctions, subject to certain criteria being met.</p><p>Legal aid is and remains available for the purpose of obtaining urgent protection, such as non-molestation orders, without any evidence requirements and the Legal Aid Agency (LAA) has the power to waive all upper financial eligibility limits. This means victims can receive legal aid even if they would not otherwise pass the means test, though they may have to pay a financial contribution towards their legal costs.</p><p>We recently widened the evidence requirements for domestic abuse victims, making it easier for victims to obtain and provide the evidence they need to access legal aid.</p><p>We are currently conducting a review of the means test, where we are specifically considering the experiences of victims of domestic abuse. The review is scheduled to conclude in Autumn 2021, at which point we will publish a full consultation paper.</p> answering member printed Lord Wolfson of Tredegar question first answered 22/06/2021 16:52:22 answering member 4901 label Biography information for Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
tabling member	4130 label Biography information for Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick

1331014

registered interest
date	08/06/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Reoffenders
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what changes they plan to make to the prison and probation systems to reduce re-offending.
tabling member printed	Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick
uin	HL883
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/06/2021 answer text <p>This Government is committed to reducing crime by tackling reoffending, which accounts for around 80% of cautioned or convicted crime. We are committed to keeping the public safe by addressing the complex issues that lead to offending, while also strengthening the supervision of offenders in the community and monitoring them more closely after they are released from prison to protect the public. Prison and probation provide an opportunity to address the complex drivers of reoffending which is why we will continue to not only recover from the pandemic but use this opportunity to reform and build back safer.</p><p> </p><p>As announced in the Spending Review last year, we have committed over £4 billion funding to make significant progress in delivering 18,000 additional prison places across England and Wales, which forms a major part of our plans to transform the prison estate. These new prison places will provide safe, decent and secure environments to support the delivery of effective interventions to reduce reoffending.</p><p> </p><p>Funding announced in January also demonstrates this Governments commitment to tackling some of the underlying causes of reoffending. It comprised:</p><ul><li>£70 million investment to enhance the Department’s Approved Premises, provide transitional accommodation to those leaving prison who would otherwise be homeless, and to test new innovative approaches to ensure offenders resettle back into the community and turn their backs on crime.</li><li>£80m on expanding drug treatment services in England to address offenders’ substance misuse issues, divert them on to effective community sentences and reduce drug-related crime and deaths.</li></ul><p> </p><p>As part of the £70 million package we are working collaboratively with 16 prisons to design, implement and test new processes and initiatives across accommodation, education, employment and substance misuse treatment. This is in addition to fulfilling the Government’s manifesto commitments around increasing the number of DWP prison work coaches and development of the Prison Education Service focused on employment and skills. By supporting people into a job, a home and treatment for substance misuse, we can help them escape the vicious cycle of crime and prevent victims.</p><p> </p><p>Our reforms to probation, starting with the launch of the new unified Probation Service for England and Wales on 26 June this year, also aim to strengthen our approach to reducing reoffending. It will strengthen how offenders are supervised and supported to desist from offending through investment in more probation officers and better learning and development. It will improve how we address offending behaviour by bringing together and investing in behavioural change programmes and interventions. Probation regions will also be able to refer offenders to a range of organisations commissioned to deliver specialist rehabilitative services, such as accommodation support, education, training and employment, and support to address other issues such as access to mental health services or managing complex family relationships. 110 contracts are now in place across England and Wales to deliver these services from 26 June.</p><p>Together these important steps demonstrate this Government’s commitment to build back safer, fairer and stronger by reducing crime and tackling reoffending to protect the public.</p> answering member printed Lord Wolfson of Tredegar question first answered 22/06/2021 16:54:17 answering member 4901 label Biography information for Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
tabling member	4130 label Biography information for Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick

1331015

registered interest
date	08/06/2021
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, further to their Safety in custody quarterly: update to December 2020, published on 29 April, what steps they are taking to address self-harm in women’s prisons.
tabling member printed	Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick
uin	HL884
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/06/2021 answer text <p>We recognise that the level of self-harm in the women’s estate is too high and are determined to reduce this. A task force was set up in April 2020 in response to our increasing concerns about the level of self-harm in the women’s estate. We know that many of the drivers and protective factors linked to women’s risk of self-harm in prisons have been affected by Covid-19 and the restricted regimes that have been put in place to control the spread of infection.</p><p>The task force worked to introduce a number of specific interventions to counteract the impact of Covid-19 on the women’s estate, including bespoke well-being checks, increased phone credit and more access to video calls with family and friends.</p><p>We have prioritised women’s prisons for the roll out of the revised version of the Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork (ACCT) multi-disciplinary case management system used in prisons to support people at risk of suicide and self-harm. We also introduced the Offender Management in Custody model in the female estate in April. This will provide each woman with a dedicated key worker or equivalent who will be able to better support them and identify concerns at an early stage so that women can receive the right support at the right time.</p><p>We have produced a range of products to support Governors in devising and implementing local safety and welfare plans designed to mitigate risks and promote wellbeing. We have developed new guidance for staff on understanding and supporting someone who is self-harming. We continue to make the Samaritans phone service available and are working with this charity to ensure that the Listener peer support scheme continues to function effectively.</p><p>Importantly, we have also invested £5m in alternatives to prison, including new women’s centres which help people address issues such as alcohol or drug addiction which leads them to crime.</p> answering member printed Lord Wolfson of Tredegar question first answered 22/06/2021 15:30:42 answering member 4901 label Biography information for Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
tabling member	4130 label Biography information for Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick

1331016

registered interest
date	08/06/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Legal Opinion: Low Incomes
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they plan to take to address so-called "legal advice deserts".
tabling member printed	Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick
uin	HL885
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/06/2021 answer text <p>We continue to work to ensure that civil legal aid advice remains accessible to those who need it. The Legal Aid Agency keeps market capacity under continual review to ensure adequate provision across England and Wales. Wherever you are in England and Wales, legal advice is available through the CLA telephone service.</p><p>We are currently considering the sustainability of the civil legal aid market broadly, looking at a range of factors, from the current remuneration rates, to the pipeline into a career in legal aid, as well as the ability of providers to offer legal aid services into the future. We intend to continue working very closely with stakeholders to increase our understanding of the challenges currently faced by the whole sector.</p><p> </p><p>Legal Aid is central to access to justice, but it is only one part of a broader picture. We know that early intervention is key to help people resolve their legal problems as swiftly as possible, potentially without the need to receive legally aided advice or attend court at all. We are delivering pilots for early resolution of legal problems and to test what works. This includes looking at how we can improve signposting and enhance access to existing online and in person legal support services, and a targeted expansion of funding for early legal advice in a specific area of social welfare law to test its impact.</p><p> </p><p>Charities in the advice sector play a crucial role to help people resolve their legal problems across England and Wales, which has been vital throughout Covid-19. MoJ has provided £5.4m in funding for not-for-profit providers of specialist legal advice. £3m was given to Law Centres and the remaining £2.4m to the Community Justice Fund administered by the Access to Justice Foundation. In 2020, we launched the two-year, £3.1m Legal Support for Litigants in Person Grant. We’re delighted to be working in partnership with the Access to Justice Foundation to deliver the grant, which is designed to fund services provided at local, regional and national levels with the aim of understanding more about how they can combine to help people.</p> answering member printed Lord Wolfson of Tredegar question first answered 22/06/2021 16:31:50 answering member 4901 label Biography information for Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
tabling member	4130 label Biography information for Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick

1331017

registered interest
date	08/06/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Sexual Offences: Disclosure of Information
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to protect the anonymity of victims of sexual assault.
tabling member printed	Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick
uin	HL886
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/06/2021 answer text <p>Complainants in rape and sexual offence cases are protected by automatic reporting restrictions, which impose a lifetime ban on publishing any matter likely to identify a victim, from the moment the offence is reported. Anyone who publishes such material is liable to a fine.</p><p>Interfering with the administration of justice and publicly commenting on a court case on social media or other channels may lead to a charge for the more serious offence of contempt of court, for which the maximum penalty is 2 years’ imprisonment.</p> answering member printed Lord Wolfson of Tredegar question first answered 22/06/2021 16:55:24 answering member 4901 label Biography information for Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
tabling member	4130 label Biography information for Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick

1331018

registered interest
date	08/06/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Probation: Nationalisation
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made towards the restoration of the probation service in England and Wales to public ownership and control.
tabling member printed	Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick
uin	HL887
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/06/2021 answer text <p>We are on track to launch a new unified Probation Service for England and Wales on 26 June this year. The new Service will bring together staff from the previous National Probation Service (NPS) and 21 Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) and will strengthen public protection by bringing together management of offenders of all levels of risk into one organisation.</p><p>The new unified service will strengthen rehabilitation by delivering unpaid work and behavioural change programmes in England and Wales. Specialist organisations will continue to play a role in the probation system, delivering resettlement and rehabilitative services such as education, training and employment and accommodation and other rehabilitative interventions. 110 contracts are now in place for these commissioned services. We are also in the final stages of the estates and digital transfers needed to support transition.</p><p>Once we have completed transition to the new organisation, we will begin implementing the new operating model for the unified service. We have already recruited a record 1,000 new trainee probation officers in 2020/21 and plan to recruit a further 1,500 in this financial year.</p><p>Our progress in delivering these crucial reforms will ensure a joined up and improved Probation Service to cut crime and reduce reoffending, meet the needs of our communities, offer more support in rehabilitating offenders and protect the public from crime.</p> answering member printed Lord Wolfson of Tredegar question first answered 22/06/2021 16:35:14 answering member 4901 label Biography information for Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
tabling member	4130 label Biography information for Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick

1331027

registered interest
date	08/06/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Life Imprisonment: Prisoners' Release
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people serving a life sentence were released at their first eligible parole date in each year since 2000.
tabling member printed	Lord Bradley
uin	HL845
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/06/2021 answer text <p>The information needed to provide a comprehensive answer to each question could be provided only at disproportionate cost as central data was not stored in a way that it can be filtered by the required fields to obtain the information, until 2009. As a result, the tables below provide data for each year from 2009.</p><p>The Government is committed to the protection of the public and the effective management of offenders. By law, prisoners serving indeterminate sentences who have completed their tariff will be released only when the independent Parole Board concludes that the risk they present to the public is capable of being safely managed in the community under probation supervision.</p><p>The total number of prisoners serving a life sentence who were released at their first eligible parole date in each year since 2009, is shown in the following table:</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Outcome year</p></td><td><p>Count of release decisions at first eligible parole date</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2009</p></td><td><p>81</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010</p></td><td><p>86</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011</p></td><td><p>82</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012</p></td><td><p>86</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013</p></td><td><p>101</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014</p></td><td><p>71</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015</p></td><td><p>76</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016</p></td><td><p>96</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017</p></td><td><p>121</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018</p></td><td><p>127</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2019</p></td><td><p>115</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2020</p></td><td><p>122</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>The total number of prisoners serving a sentence of imprisonment for public protection who were released at their first eligible parole date in each year since 2009, is shown in the following table:</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Outcome year</p></td><td><p>Count of release decisions at first eligible parole date</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2009</p></td><td><p>45</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010</p></td><td><p>37</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011</p></td><td><p>77</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012</p></td><td><p>72</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013</p></td><td><p>81</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014</p></td><td><p>58</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015</p></td><td><p>61</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016</p></td><td><p>69</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017</p></td><td><p>66</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018</p></td><td><p>59</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2019</p></td><td><p>30</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2020</p></td><td><p>25</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Notes for all tables:</p><p>1. These figures have been drawn from the Public Protection Unit Database and Prison-NOMIS held by Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service. As with any large scale recording systems, the figures are subject to possible errors with data migration and processing.</p><p>2. The figures in these tables do not include recalled indeterminate-sentence prisoners.</p><p> </p><p>Statistics on the indeterminate sentence population in prisons are routinely published as part of the Quarterly Offender Management Statistics on Gov.uk - <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/offender-management-statistics-quarterly" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/offender-management-statistics-quarterly</a></p> answering member printed Lord Wolfson of Tredegar grouped question UIN HL846 question first answered 22/06/2021 14:43:47 answering member 4901 label Biography information for Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
tabling member	452 label Biography information for Lord Bradley

1331028

registered interest
date	08/06/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisoners' Release
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people serving an imprisonment for public protection sentence were released at their first eligible parole date in each year since 2005.
tabling member printed	Lord Bradley
uin	HL846
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/06/2021 answer text <p>The information needed to provide a comprehensive answer to each question could be provided only at disproportionate cost as central data was not stored in a way that it can be filtered by the required fields to obtain the information, until 2009. As a result, the tables below provide data for each year from 2009.</p><p>The Government is committed to the protection of the public and the effective management of offenders. By law, prisoners serving indeterminate sentences who have completed their tariff will be released only when the independent Parole Board concludes that the risk they present to the public is capable of being safely managed in the community under probation supervision.</p><p>The total number of prisoners serving a life sentence who were released at their first eligible parole date in each year since 2009, is shown in the following table:</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Outcome year</p></td><td><p>Count of release decisions at first eligible parole date</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2009</p></td><td><p>81</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010</p></td><td><p>86</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011</p></td><td><p>82</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012</p></td><td><p>86</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013</p></td><td><p>101</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014</p></td><td><p>71</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015</p></td><td><p>76</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016</p></td><td><p>96</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017</p></td><td><p>121</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018</p></td><td><p>127</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2019</p></td><td><p>115</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2020</p></td><td><p>122</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>The total number of prisoners serving a sentence of imprisonment for public protection who were released at their first eligible parole date in each year since 2009, is shown in the following table:</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Outcome year</p></td><td><p>Count of release decisions at first eligible parole date</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2009</p></td><td><p>45</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010</p></td><td><p>37</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011</p></td><td><p>77</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012</p></td><td><p>72</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013</p></td><td><p>81</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014</p></td><td><p>58</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015</p></td><td><p>61</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016</p></td><td><p>69</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017</p></td><td><p>66</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018</p></td><td><p>59</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2019</p></td><td><p>30</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2020</p></td><td><p>25</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Notes for all tables:</p><p>1. These figures have been drawn from the Public Protection Unit Database and Prison-NOMIS held by Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service. As with any large scale recording systems, the figures are subject to possible errors with data migration and processing.</p><p>2. The figures in these tables do not include recalled indeterminate-sentence prisoners.</p><p> </p><p>Statistics on the indeterminate sentence population in prisons are routinely published as part of the Quarterly Offender Management Statistics on Gov.uk - <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/offender-management-statistics-quarterly" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/offender-management-statistics-quarterly</a></p> answering member printed Lord Wolfson of Tredegar grouped question UIN HL845 question first answered 22/06/2021 14:43:47 answering member 4901 label Biography information for Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
tabling member	452 label Biography information for Lord Bradley