Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average weekly time out of cell for prisoners in HMP Wandsworth has been for each week in 2024.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

Prison governors set a regime for each day specifying when prisoners will ordinarily be unlocked. There will be occasions, however, where certain prisoners will remain in their cell during these times. Reasons for this will include illness, the management of operational incidents, and other operational reasons such as staff needing to be deployed to other duties. There will also be occasions where prisoners will be out of cell at times when they are scheduled to be locked in, for example to attend medical appointments at hospital, a late arrival from court, or a transfer between prisons.

To accurately record the amount of time prisoners spend out of cell, His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service would therefore be required to record information for each individual prisoner, taking into account their unique movements on a daily basis.

There is no central mandate which governs the amount of time that prisoners should spend out of their cells. Governors are instead afforded the flexibility to deliver balanced regimes that maintain an appropriate level of time out of cell on a range of activities, including association, which meet the needs of the establishment’s population.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people were released under the Release following Risk Assessed Recall review process between 7 September and 31 December 2023.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

In the case of recalled standard determinate sentence and extended sentence offenders, the Secretary of State has an executive power to re-release them, if he considers that the statutory release test is met - that is, that it is no longer necessary on the grounds of public protection for the offender to remain confined. Thus, the Secretary of State’s power is exercised with regard to the same test to which the Parole Board has regard.

The power is exercised by officials in the Public Protection Group (PPG), in His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service under approved delegated authority. In exercising that power, PPG works closely with the Probation Service, in order to put in place a robust risk management plan before a final decision is made to re-release the prisoner.

The number of recalled offenders released using the Secretary of State’s re-release power for each year between 2017 and 2023 is set out in the table below. Executive re-release was refreshed and relaunched as Risk Assessed Recall Review (RARR) on 30 May 2023. Between 7 September and 31 December 2023, 89 people were released following a RARR.

The figures in these tables 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. As such, figures are subject to change as information is updated.

Data source: Public Protection Unit Database (PPUD)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people were released under the executive release scheme in each year between 2017 and 2023.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

In the case of recalled standard determinate sentence and extended sentence offenders, the Secretary of State has an executive power to re-release them, if he considers that the statutory release test is met - that is, that it is no longer necessary on the grounds of public protection for the offender to remain confined. Thus, the Secretary of State’s power is exercised with regard to the same test to which the Parole Board has regard.

The power is exercised by officials in the Public Protection Group (PPG), in His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service under approved delegated authority. In exercising that power, PPG works closely with the Probation Service, in order to put in place a robust risk management plan before a final decision is made to re-release the prisoner.

The number of recalled offenders released using the Secretary of State’s re-release power for each year between 2017 and 2023 is set out in the table below. Executive re-release was refreshed and relaunched as Risk Assessed Recall Review (RARR) on 30 May 2023. Between 7 September and 31 December 2023, 89 people were released following a RARR.

The figures in these tables 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. As such, figures are subject to change as information is updated.

Data source: Public Protection Unit Database (PPUD)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when and with whom he has had discussions on drugs use in HMP Wandsworth this year.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

HMP Wandsworth has benefitted from our £100 million investment in tough security measures, introducing x-ray body scanning for prisoners and enhanced gate security provisions for visitors and staff, which includes archway metal detectors, drugs dogs and x-ray baggage scanners. These measures are helping to tackle the supply of drugs and other contraband into prisons, and as of October 2023, our x-ray body scanners had recorded more than 46,900 positive indications across the prison estate since their introduction.

We are also expanding the number of Incentivised Substance-Free Living Units (ISFLs), where prisoners commit to remaining free of illicit drugs and alcohol, with regular drug testing and incentives. 80 prisons, including HMP Wandsworth, now have an ISFL. The ISFL at HMP Wandsworth is a 16-bed unit where residents have access to additional support, privileges and substance misuse interventions whilst undergoing voluntary drug testing twice a month.

HMP Wandsworth also works closely with their Substance Misuse Service Provider, “Change, Grow, Live” to deliver a comprehensive programme of recovery workshops, and is currently in the process of recruiting a new, dedicated Drug Strategy Lead to better co-ordinate efforts to keep drugs out of the prison.

As the responsible minister for prisons, I receive regular updates on their conditions and performance, including those at HMP Wandsworth, via a variety of means, including through formal face to face discussion such as the quarterly Ministerial Performance Review Board meetings.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to reduce drugs use by prisoners in HMP Wandsworth.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

HMP Wandsworth has benefitted from our £100 million investment in tough security measures, introducing x-ray body scanning for prisoners and enhanced gate security provisions for visitors and staff, which includes archway metal detectors, drugs dogs and x-ray baggage scanners. These measures are helping to tackle the supply of drugs and other contraband into prisons, and as of October 2023, our x-ray body scanners had recorded more than 46,900 positive indications across the prison estate since their introduction.

We are also expanding the number of Incentivised Substance-Free Living Units (ISFLs), where prisoners commit to remaining free of illicit drugs and alcohol, with regular drug testing and incentives. 80 prisons, including HMP Wandsworth, now have an ISFL. The ISFL at HMP Wandsworth is a 16-bed unit where residents have access to additional support, privileges and substance misuse interventions whilst undergoing voluntary drug testing twice a month.

HMP Wandsworth also works closely with their Substance Misuse Service Provider, “Change, Grow, Live” to deliver a comprehensive programme of recovery workshops, and is currently in the process of recruiting a new, dedicated Drug Strategy Lead to better co-ordinate efforts to keep drugs out of the prison.

As the responsible minister for prisons, I receive regular updates on their conditions and performance, including those at HMP Wandsworth, via a variety of means, including through formal face to face discussion such as the quarterly Ministerial Performance Review Board meetings.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans he has to reduce over-crowding in HMP Wandsworth.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

In prisons where we have crowding in place, a rigorous cell certification process is undertaken that ensures the use of cells is subject to a formal assessment of safety and decency.

We continue to pursue the package of longer-term measures the Lord Chancellor announced on 16 October 2023 to reform the justice system and address the prison capacity challenges. The measures include: the extension of the Early Removal Scheme to deport Foreign National Offenders (FNOs), introducing a presumption to suspend sentences of 12 months or less, curtailing the licence period for IPP sentences and extending the use of Home Detention Curfew. On 11 March, the Lord Chancellor announced the next steps in our plan, to allow us to go further and faster in removing FNOs. This includes expediting prisoner transfers with our priority partners, such as Albania, and the creation of a new taskforce across the Home Office and Ministry of Justice to change the way we process FNO cases radically.

To meet pressing demand, we are building c.20,000 modern, rehabilitative prison places – the biggest prison build programme since the Victorian era. We have already delivered c.5,900 of these, including through our two new 1,700 places prisons, HMP Five Wells and HMP Fosse Way, and c.590 Rapid Deployment Cells across 11 sites. By the end of 2025, we are on track to have delivered around 10,000 places in total.

The Government will continue to monitor the evolving situation with demand for prison places carefully, so that we can make sure we have the right approaches in place to maintain the capacity required for a safe and effective criminal justice system.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what guidelines his Department has issued on ensuring the (a) anonymity and (b) safety of jurors in high-profile cases.

Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

There is no expectation of anonymity for jurors in trials. It is standard procedure that jurors’ names are called out to allow the defendant, or the defence’s legal representative, the opportunity to object to any person called, if for example they have knowledge of the defendant or of the case, which may be prejudicial to the trial.

However, Criminal Procedure Rule 25.6(4) allows for jurors to be announced by an identifying number assigned by the court officer to that person (rather than by their name) where the court is satisfied that that is necessary.

We take the safety of jurors and all those who attend the crown court seriously. Jurors are advised to make immediate contact with HMCTS staff if they are approached by anyone they think may be connected to the case they are part of the jury for, or if they feel threatened or concerned. If they are not in the courthouse and think they are in immediate danger, jurors are advised to dial 999.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions he has had with the Sentencing Council on the implementation of guidelines that require judges to consider factors such as poverty and social deprivation in sentencing; and whether his Department will provide training on these factors.

Answered by Gareth Bacon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

On 1 April 2024, the Sentencing Council for England and Wales introduced a new mitigating factor ‘difficult and/or deprived background or personal circumstances’ across all offence specific guidelines, following consultation. As a statutory consultee, the Lord Chancellor made clear in his response his opposition to the inclusion of this new mitigating factor. However, as an independent body, the Government cannot require the Council to review particular guidelines.

Regarding the implementation of the guidelines, under the Coroners and Justice Act 2009, the Council is required to monitor the operation and effect of its guidelines once published. The Council decides on its own priorities and work plan for producing and monitoring guidelines.

In relation to judicial training, in order to preserve the independence of the judiciary, the Lady Chief Justice has statutory responsibility under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 for the maintenance of appropriate arrangements for the welfare, training and guidance of the judiciary. The Lady Chief Justice exercises this responsibility through the Judicial College.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many convictions under joint enterprise legislation have been successfully overturned on appeal.

Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)

The Ministry of Justice does not currently collate data on whether a prosecution or conviction relied on the doctrine of joint enterprise or whether an appeal in such a case resulted in the conviction being quashed or the sentence changed.

The Crown Prosecution Service has recently updated their case management system to enable better tracking of homicide and attempted homicide cases involving joint enterprise.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many convictions there were for rape in each year since 2005; and what the conviction rate was in the same period.

Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)

This Government is committed to improving the criminal justice system’s response to rape. In 2019, we commissioned our end-to-end Rape Review, publishing this in 2021 alongside a clear Action Plan that committed to delivering sustained improvements for victims. In this Action Plan, we set ourselves stretching ambitions to return the volumes of adult rape cases being referred by the police, charged by the CPS, and going to court back to 2016 levels by the end of this Parliament.

We have exceeded each of these ambitions ahead of schedule. In practice, this means we have more than doubled the volumes of police referrals, charges, and cases reaching court compared to when the Review was commissioned in 2019.

Increases to conviction volumes or conviction rates were not included as ambitions for the Rape Review. The right to a fair trial means that juries should rightly make decisions independently and based on the facts of the case.

Whilst not being a Rape Review ambition, the Ministry of Justice does hold data on convictions for rape offences.

Published data for calendar years (from 2010 to 2022) can be found in the following tool: Outcomes by Offence tool: December 2022.

The most recent published data available, providing data for the years ending in June from 2011 until 2023, can be found in the following tool: Outcomes by Offence tool: June 2023.

The full calendar year for 2023 will be available in the next update of the Outcomes by Offence tool, expected in May 2024.

This can be accessed by navigating to the ‘Prosecutions and convictions’ tab and using the Offence filter to select the following offences in the Outcomes by Offence data tool:

• 19C Rape of a female aged 16 or over
• 19D Rape of a female aged under 16
• 19E Rape of a female child under 13 by a male
• 19F Rape of a male aged 16 or over
• 19G Rape of a male aged under 16
• 19H Rape of a male child under 13 by a male

To cover the full period requested, previously unpublished convictions for rape offences from 2005 to 2009 have now been provided in Table 1.

It is not advised to use this data to calculate conviction rate (the number of convictions as a proportion of the number of prosecutions). This is due to the Court Proceedings Database counting two separate records at two separate stages (one for prosecution, one for conviction). We cannot track the defendant throughout their court journey and an individual may appear at each court in separate years, or for a different principal offence at different stages. As a result, this rate is not an accurate measure of the proportion of prosecutions that result in a conviction.

However, the most accessible published data for conviction rates is in the quarterly data summaries for the period 2019/20 onwards published by the CPS in the CPS quarterly data summaries | The Crown Prosecution Service. Furthermore, convictions rates 2007/8 to 2013/14 are available in the CPS Violence against Women and Girls crime report 2013-2014.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many convictions there were for murder in each year since 2005; and what the conviction rate was in the same period.

Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)

The Ministry of Justice holds data on convictions for murder offences.

The published data, from 2010 to 2022, can be found in the following tool: Outcomes by Offence tool: December 2022.

The most recent published data available, from year ending June 2011 until the year ending June 2023, can be found in the following tool: Outcomes by Offence tool: June 2023.

The full calendar year for 2023 will be available in the next update of the Outcomes by Offence tool, expected in May 2024.

The data can be accessed by navigating to the ‘Prosecutions and convictions’ tab and using the offence code filer to select the following offences in the Outcomes by Offence data tool:

• 00101 Murder – victim aged 1 year or over
• 00102 Murder – victim under one year old

To cover the full period requested, convictions for murder offences from 2005 to 2009 have been provided in Table 1.

It is not advised to use this data to calculate conviction rate due to the Court Proceedings Database counting two separate records at two separate stages. We cannot track the defendant throughout their court journey and an individual may appear at each court in separate years, or for a different principal offence at different stages. As a result, this rate is not an accurate measure of the proportion of prosecutions that result in a conviction.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of inmates in prisons were drug tested at least once in (a) 2022 and (b) 2023.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

All prisons have a zero-tolerance approach to drugs. Our drug testing contract also enables us to deliver key commitments in the Cross-Government Drug Strategy such as: testing of offenders who receive a Drug Rehabilitation Requirement, the pilot of Intensive Supervision Courts and increased flexibility to test for a broader range of drugs. In addition, all prisons have been provided with access to forensic testing of items seized or found within the estate.

Our £100 million Security Investment Programme completed in March 2022 and delivered 75 additional X-ray body scanners, supplying full coverage across the closed male estate. We have also installed 84 X-ray baggage scanners at 49 sites, drug detection machines and metal detection archways. Furthermore, we are taking steps to support individuals with substance misuse issues in prison. We have dramatically increased the number of incentivised substance-free living units (ISFLs), where prisoners commit to living drug-free with incentives and regular testing. 80 prisons now have an ISFL, up from 25 in summer 2022.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many police detectives are employed by the counter corruption unit in HM Prison and Probation Service.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

No Police Detectives are directly employed by HMPPS. HMPPS has, however, funded 20 dedicated Police Detectives employed in Police Regional Organised Crime Units, to support in the investigation of corruption within the organisation.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the reoffending rate was for people convicted of murder in each year since 2005.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

Between 2011/12 and 2021/22, the overall proven reoffending rate decreased from 31.3% to 25.2%. As shown in the attached table, the most recent data shows that reoffending rates for both murderers and rapists are at their lowest levels since 2005. In particular, the proportion of rapists who reoffend has fallen from 10.2% in 2005/06 to 5.3% in 2021/22.

We are taking action to drive down the reoffending rate for all offenders by investing in a wide range of rehabilitative interventions to get them into skills training, work, and stable accommodation. Since 2021, we’ve rolled out Employment Hubs and Prison Employment Leads in all resettlement prisons and are delivering our temporary accommodation service for all prisoners at risk of homelessness.

The full information requested can be found in the attached table.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the reoffending rate was for people convicted of rape in each year since 2005.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

Between 2011/12 and 2021/22, the overall proven reoffending rate decreased from 31.3% to 25.2%. As shown in the attached table, the most recent data shows that reoffending rates for both murderers and rapists are at their lowest levels since 2005. In particular, the proportion of rapists who reoffend has fallen from 10.2% in 2005/06 to 5.3% in 2021/22.

We are taking action to drive down the reoffending rate for all offenders by investing in a wide range of rehabilitative interventions to get them into skills training, work, and stable accommodation. Since 2021, we’ve rolled out Employment Hubs and Prison Employment Leads in all resettlement prisons and are delivering our temporary accommodation service for all prisoners at risk of homelessness.

The full information requested can be found in the attached table.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many appeals for all types of benefit case (a) are awaiting a hearing and (b) were awaiting a hearing on 22 April 2010 (i) nationally, (ii) by region, (iii) by Tribunal Office and (iv) by hearing venue.

Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The table below sets out the number of appeals for all types of benefit awaiting a hearing (i) nationally, (ii) by region, and (iv) by hearing venue as at end of December 2023 (the latest period for which data are available). There is no separate data collated at (iii) Tribunal office level.

Data for 22 April 2010 could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

From April 2023 the SSCS Tribunal started to list cases using a new Scheduling and Listing solution. This, alongside HMCTS migrating to a new Strategic Data Platform, has resulted in some cases heard and decided using this new listing solution not currently being included in the data above.

1. Data pulled 24/4/2024

2. Unallocated relates to appeals that have not yet been allocated to a venue.

Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that the data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when data are used.

Management information reflects the data held on the case management system, which is subject to change, and can differ from the quality-assured MOJ official statistics, which form the agreed definitive position.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of bringing forward legislative proposals to require the Office of the Public Guardian to notify all nominated persons when a (a) power of attorney and (b) lasting power of attorney is made.

Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

General, otherwise known as ordinary, powers of attorney are governed by the Powers of Attorney Act 1971. They allow a donor to give power to an attorney to manage their affairs for a defined period of time. There is no requirement to name or notify nominated persons and the Public Guardian is not involved in the process. Powers of attorney are an important mechanism for supporting agency arrangements, often in a commercial context, and there are no plans to change this arrangement to require notification of nominated persons.

Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs) are governed by the Mental Capacity Act 2005 which requires that any nominated persons are notified at the point when an application is made to the Office of the Public Guardian to register the LPA. An application to register an LPA can be made either by the donor or by one or more attorneys named in the LPA. Currently, it is the applicant’s responsibility to notify any nominated persons. The Public Guardian maintains a register of all registered LPAs and anyone can request a free search to check if there is a registered LPA for a relative or friend.

The Powers of Attorney Act 2023, when implemented, will improve the process for notification and objections for LPAs. The Public Guardian will in future be responsible for issuing notices to the donor, their attorneys and any persons to be notified that the LPA has been received for registration and appears to be validly made. Furthermore, anyone who is aware that an LPA is being made will be able to object to its registration at an earlier stage in the process if they have concerns. These changes will strengthen the existing safeguards in the system.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to tackle (a) fraud and (b) misuse of Lasting Power of Attorney.

Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

Under the Mental Capacity Act 2005, execution of a lasting power of attorney (LPA) must be witnessed and a certificate provider must confirm that the donor understands the powers they are conferring on their attorney or attorneys and is not being coerced to make the LPA. A mandatory 4-week period must elapse before registration, allowing time for objections to be raised prior to registration.

Following consultation on ways to strengthen these protections, my department is working with the Office of the Public Guardian to implement a modernised LPA, facilitated by the Powers of Attorney Act 2023.

The modernised LPA will introduce identity checks for donors and certificate providers to reduce the risk that an unknown party could obtain an LPA in another person’s name without their knowledge. The certificate provider will be required to be present at execution of the LPA by the donor and a more streamlined objection process will allow anyone to object, making it easier for potential abuses to be challenged earlier in the process. These measures collectively should reduce the risk of fraudulent LPAs and abuse of the powers they confer.

Once the LPA is registered, any concerns about its use can be reported to the Office of the Public Guardian, which has authority to investigate. It can, if necessary, ask the court to remove the power for an attorney to act.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the report by the University of Manchester Racial Bias and the Bench: A response to the Judicial Diversity and Inclusion Strategy (2020-2025), published in November 2022, what support they will give to recommendations to overhaul judicial appointment processes to deliver a more diverse judiciary and embed equalities within the judiciary.

Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) is independent of government and has a statutory duty to select candidates for judicial appointment solely on merit; select only people of good character and have regard to the need to encourage diversity in the range of persons available for judicial selection. The JAC keeps its selection processes under continual review to ensure they are transparent, fair, and attract talented candidates from a wide range of backgrounds. In 2022-2023, across all legal JAC exercises, 51% of those recommended for appointment were women and 16% were ethnic minorities, contributing to a more diverse judiciary.

The Ministry of Justice, as a member of the Judicial Diversity Forum (JDF), works closely with the judiciary, the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC), the Legal Services Board (LSB) and the three largest legal professions on actions to improve judicial diversity. The Forum’s 2024 action plan (https://judicialappointments.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Judicial-Diversity-Forum-Priorities-and-Actions-for-2024.pdf) which was published in January, sets out our shared priorities.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many vacancies there were for band 3 prison officers in the Long Term High Security Estate - South at the start of each year from 2017 to 2023.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

Following a period of staffing challenges after the COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen a substantial improvement in the national staffing picture within prisons. The number of Band 3-5 prison officers has increased by 1,634 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) between December 2022 - 2023, and resignation rates have fallen over the same period. This is the result of significant efforts across the agency, including substantial increases in pay for staff and launching our first-ever nationwide advertising campaign.

Table One below shows the number of indicative vacancies for Band 3 Prison Officers in the Long Term & High Security Estate (for prisons in the South) for January 2018, January 2019, January 2020, January 2021, January 2022 and January 2023. Data is not held for the period January 2017 and has not been provided.

In reality, many establishments will routinely sit marginally below their Target Staffing level due to normal attrition and time to hire and so we would not expect establishments to run consistently at 100% staffing.

Where prisons are not at their Target Staffing level, these are routinely supplemented (e.g., by using Payment Plus, a form of overtime) which is not accounted for in the indicative vacancy data provided. Use of detached duty, a long-standing mechanism to deploy staff from one prison or region to support another, is also not reflected in the data.

Table One: Total Band 3 Prison Officer Indicative Vacancies across Long Term & High Security Estate (LTHSE) South, January 2018 to January 2023

Notes

• All data is taken from Workforce Planning Tool returns and show the average position across January for each year, adjusted for joiners and leavers in the month.
• Workforce Planning Tool returns are manually completed by Prisons each month and, as with any manual returns, are subject to human error.
• Data shows average resource across the month, adjusted for joiners and leavers in the month.
• The Long Term & High Security Estate South includes: Belmarsh, Isle of Wight, Long Lartin, Swaleside, Whitemoor and Woodhill.
• Indicative vacancies are the difference between Target Staffing levels and Staff in Post at an individual establishment level. Where Staff in Post (FTE) exceeds Target Staffing (FTE) for an establishment, the number of indicative vacancies has been shown as 0 FTE. Indicative vacancies have been summed across establishments to give the number of indicative vacancies for LTHSE South.
• Target Staffing level is the number of staff required to run an optimal regime in each prison. This level is greater than the minimum number of staff required for a prison to operate safely, and includes allowances for staff taking leave, being off sick or being on training.
• The Target Staffing Figures are set on a site-specific basis and vary in size. Over the reporting period in question, Target Staffing levels for the LTHSE estate has increased which in part explains the increase in vacancies.
• Band 3 Prison Officers include 'Prison Officer - Band 3' and 'Prison Officer - Youth Justice Worker - Band 3'.
• Target Staffing levels are established based on a 39-hour working week. Staff in Post (FTE) is set at 1.0 FTE for those on a 39-hour contract / 1.05 FTE for those on a 41-hour contract and 0.95 FTE for those on a 37-hour contract.
• Target Staffing levels cannot be used to directly calculate vacancies due to the discretion governors have to change establishment level staffing requirements through Governors' Freedoms. As a result, the Ministry of Justice does not regularly present vacancy data and the data presented should be treated with caution.
• Staff in Post data used to calculate an indicative number of vacancies does not take into account those on long-term absences (e.g. career breaks / loans / secondments / agency staff or other forms of overtime).
• Where prisons are not at their Target Staffing level, these are routinely supplemented (e.g., by using Payment Plus, a form of overtime) which is not accounted for in the indicative vacancy data provided. Use of detached duty, a long-standing mechanism to deploy staff from one prison or region to support another, is also not reflected in the data.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners have been released early under the end of custody supervised license scheme since October 2023.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The number of releases under End of Custody Supervised Licence will be published when sufficient robust and comprehensive data is available. To support orderly release, its publication will be announced through the GOV.UK release calendar.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to tackle the backlog in the Crown Court.

Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

We remain committed to tackling the outstanding caseload in the Crown Court and have introduced a range of measures to achieve this aim.

We expect to have sat around 107,000 days at the Crown Court in the last financial year (FY2023/24), representing around a 30% increase on sitting day levels during the 2019/20 financial year. We have also recruited around 1,000 judges and tribunal members across all jurisdictions in the last financial year so we can hear more cases.

Judges have worked tirelessly to complete more cases. HMCTS Management Information shows that disposals have increased throughout the last calendar year, with February disposals being at their highest level than at any other point in the last 12 months, with 9,958 disposals in February 2024, up 18% on February 2023 (8,451).

We are also investing more in our criminal courts. In August 2023, we announced we are investing £220 million for essential modernisation and repair work of our court buildings across the next two years, up to March 2025. We have also continued the use of 20 Nightingale courtrooms into the 2024/25 financial year, to allow courts to work at full capacity.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the adequacy of resources allocated to the Criminal Cases Review Commission.

Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

As part of the departmental allocation process, we assess the needs of individual organisations against the overarching backdrop of the wider departmental finances. The CCRC’s budget has increased year on year since 2020-21 both to increase the size of its caseworker team and to carry out more outreach work with people who may need their services. The budget for 2023/24 was set at just under £8 million, which is an increase of £1.26 million or 18% since 2021/22. Its 2024-25 allocation is under consideration.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help tackle parental alienation.

Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Government does not recognise the concept of “parental alienation” and does not accept that it is a syndrome capable of diagnosis.

In his judgment in the case of Re C the President of the Family Division detailed that the courts focus should be on the “identification of ‘alienating behaviour’” rather than seeking “to determine whether the label ‘parental alienation’ can be applied”. In providing advice to the court, Cafcass does not recognise “parental alienation” and instead looks at the individual behaviours of a parent. In cases where a child is resistant, or refuses, to see a parent Cafcass Family Court Advisers must first consider whether domestic abuse or other forms of harmful parenting are a contributing factor.

The Government is aware of concerns of about unregulated “parental alienation” experts being instructed in the family courts. To address this issue, we are working with the Family Procedure Rule Committee to make changes to the Family Procedure Rules and their associated Practice Directions to prevent the instruction of these unregulated experts.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if his Department will end the use on children of (a) the inverted wrist hold and (b) other pain-inducing restraints.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The syllabus for training staff in under-18 young offender institutions and the secure training centre in Managing and Minimising Physical Restraint (MMPR) focuses exclusively on behaviour management and restraint.

It is essential that staff are trained for every aspect of their role, including in techniques they may need to use to prevent serious physical harm to a child or adult. Staff will continue to be trained in the safe use of pain-inducing techniques, as part of a separate package of interventions for use only in situations where that is the only means of preventing serious physical harm.

Any response must be necessary, reasonable, and proportionate in view of the risk of harm which is present. All instances where a pain-inducing technique is used are subject to detailed scrutiny by on site MMPR Coordinators, as well as by members of the Independent Restraint Review Panel.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when and with whom he has had discussions on conditions in HMP Wandsworth in the last six months.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

As the responsible minister for prisons, I receive regular updates on their conditions and performance, including those at HMP Wandsworth, via a variety of means, including through formal face to face discussion such as the quarterly Ministerial Performance Review Board meetings. Additionally, the Lord Chancellor and I met Keith Bristow on 16 November 2023 regarding Mr Bristow’s independent investigation into the alleged escape from HMP Wandsworth by Daniel Khalife. I most recently met with and discussed the conditions at HMP Wandsworth with the Governor of HMP Wandsworth on 18 March 2024, as part of one of my regular roundtable forums with prison governors.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have been convicted of criminal damage to war memorials in the last five years.

Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)

The Ministry of Justice publishes information on the number of defendants prosecuted and sentencing outcomes for criminal damage offences across the last 5 years, in the Outcomes by Offence data tool: June 2023.

However, for criminal damage offences, the specific target of the criminal damage is not recorded in the Court Proceedings Database and so it is not possible to distinguish criminal damage to memorials from wider criminal damage. This information may be held on court records but to examine individual court records would be of disproportionate cost.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department is taking steps to support people who have lasting power of attorney for an individual who has been assessed as lacking mental capacity with accessing funds held outside the UK; and if he will take steps to ratify the Hague Convention of 13 January 2000 on the International Protection of Adults.

Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

There are existing ways in which a Property and Financial Affairs Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) made in England and Wales under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 can be accepted abroad for the purpose of accessing funds. A certified copy of the LPA, signed off by a notary public with an apostille (a special sealed certificate) attached by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office provides one method. Alternatively, a translation of the LPA can be formally recognised by the appropriate court of the country in which funds are held.

Although the UK has ratified the 2000 Hague Convention on the International Protection of Adults in respect of Scotland, we have not yet done so in relation to England and Wales or Northern Ireland. However, in respect of England and Wales, the majority of its provisions are contained in Schedule 3 of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005. Schedule 3 provides a framework for recognition and enforcement of ‘protective measures’ such as LPAs in the place of an individual’s habitual residence.

We recognise the importance of ratifying the 2000 Hague Convention, as this will bring about international co‐operation to deal with the affairs of individuals across member states. We will progress this work when legislative time allows.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the end of custody supervised licence scheme on rates of recidivism among early-release prisoners.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

We are constantly monitoring the use of End of Custody Supervised Licence (ECSL) and its impact.

We are taking action to drive down the reoffending rate for all offenders by investing in a wide range of rehabilitative interventions to get them into skills training, work, and stable accommodation. This includes delivering our ground-breaking transitional accommodation service, known as Community Accommodation Service – Tier 3 (CAS-3), so prison-leavers have a guaranteed 12 weeks of basic, temporary accommodation to provide a stable base on release. By January 2023, the proportion of offenders housed on the first night of their release from custody was 7.6 percentage points higher in CAS3 regions versus non-CAS3 regions.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the speech entitled Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s statement on the plan to stop the boats, published by the Prime Minister’s office on 22 April 2024, what the evidential basis is for the statement that the judiciary have identified 150 judges who could provide over 5,000 sitting days to deal with challenges to the removal of asylum seekers from the UK under the provisions of the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Act 2024.

Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Illegal Migration Act 2023 (IMA) provides for First-tier Tribunal judges to be deployed to sit in the Upper Tribunal to hear IMA appeals. As the Lord Chancellor set out in his Written Ministerial Statement of 16 January 2024: “The judiciary have identified relevant judges, which could provide over 5,000 additional sitting days. The decision on whether to deploy additional judges temporarily to the Upper Tribunal, including when they sit and the courtrooms they use, is for the independent judiciary and will be taken by the relevant leadership judges at the time and in the interests of justice”.

It is standard practice not to comment on discussions between Ministers and the judiciary. However, the Ministry of Justice is working closely with the judiciary in preparation for implementation of the Illegal Migration Act and I refer you to the Lord Chancellor’s Written Ministerial Statement of 16 January 2024, which addressed the topic (https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2024-01-16/hcws188).

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent discussions he has had with the (a) Lady Chief Justice and (b) Senior President of Tribunals on the deployment of judges to deal with cases specifically related to the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Act 2024.

Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Illegal Migration Act 2023 (IMA) provides for First-tier Tribunal judges to be deployed to sit in the Upper Tribunal to hear IMA appeals. As the Lord Chancellor set out in his Written Ministerial Statement of 16 January 2024: “The judiciary have identified relevant judges, which could provide over 5,000 additional sitting days. The decision on whether to deploy additional judges temporarily to the Upper Tribunal, including when they sit and the courtrooms they use, is for the independent judiciary and will be taken by the relevant leadership judges at the time and in the interests of justice”.

It is standard practice not to comment on discussions between Ministers and the judiciary. However, the Ministry of Justice is working closely with the judiciary in preparation for implementation of the Illegal Migration Act and I refer you to the Lord Chancellor’s Written Ministerial Statement of 16 January 2024, which addressed the topic (https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-statements/detail/2024-01-16/hcws188).

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average time taken is for a child maintenance case to come before a tribunal.

Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The information requested is not held centrally.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of (a) the detection of and (b) testing methods for synthetic cannabinoids in the prison estate; and what steps he is taking to improve effectiveness in these areas.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

All prisons have a zero-tolerance approach to drugs, and we are highly aware of the threat synthetic drugs present. In response, HMPPS has developed capabilities to drug test prisoners who are suspected to have used, or are at risk of using, these dangerous substances. In addition, all prisons have been provided with access to forensic testing of items seized or found within the estate.

Our drug testing contract enables us to deliver key commitments in the cross-Government drug strategy such as: testing of offenders who receive a Drug Rehabilitation Requirement, the pilot of Intensive Supervision Courts, and increased flexibility to test for a broader range of drugs.

Our £100 million Security Investment Programme, aimed at reducing crime in prisons, including reducing the conveyance of illicit items such as drugs, was completed in March 2022. This investment delivered 75 additional X-ray body scanners, resulting in full coverage across the closed adult male estate. Under this programme, all public sector sites have also been provided with next-generation drug trace detection machines. This technology enables prisons to detect attempts to convey drugs, including synthetic cannabinoids, into prisons. The equipment is effective in identifying synthetic cannabinoids that have been soaked onto letters, clothing and other items.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department have made a risk assessment of prison officer vacancies in the Long Term High Security Estate.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

We closely monitor staffing levels across the estate via a number of internal governance forums, which assess the vacancy levels for individual prisons and across regions and functions, including the Long Term High Security Estate (LTHSE). Vacancies are one of a number of contributory factors that determine HMPPS' assessment of risk and stability within prisons. We will always ensure that prisons are sufficiently staffed to deliver safe and secure regimes. Where establishments feel that their staffing levels will affect stability or regime, including because of vacancies, there are a number of ways they can maximise the use of their own resource and seek support from other establishments in the short term, through processes managed nationally at Agency level. These include overtime payments and support via Detached Duty staff from other prisons.

We are continuing recruitment activity at all sites with a current or future need, including in the LTHSE. Nationally, we have seen a substantial improvement in the national staffing picture within prisons over the past year. The number of Band 3-5 prison officers increased by 1,634 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) between December 2022 and December 2023, and resignation rates have fallen over the same period. This is the result of significant efforts across the agency, including substantial increases in pay for staff, our first-ever nationwide advertising campaign, incentivized recruitment schemes where we incentivised applicants to relocate to ‘harder-to-staff’ sites, and the Prison Officer Alumni Network, where we have fast-tracked former staff back into the service.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have been convicted of illegal working since the introduction of that offence.

Answered by Gareth Bacon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Ministry of Justice holds data on convictions for illegal working covering the period requested and this can be viewed in the Outcomes by Offence tool: June 2023.

The offence ‘illegal working’ can be found using the following HO code; 19464.

This can be accessed by navigating to the ‘Prosecutions and convictions’ tab and using the HO Offence Code filter to select the above offence in the Outcomes by Offence data tool.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an estimate of the average time taken for (a) drug dealing, (b) domestic violence, (c) GBH, (d) domestic burglary and (e) theft cases to be completed in court in each year since 2010.

Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

We have interpreted waiting time to refer to the time between the date of first hearing at the magistrates’ court to completion of the case at the Crown Court.

The median number of days from first listing to completion at the Crown Court for a) drug dealing, b) GBH, c) domestic burglary, d) theft cases offences has been provided in the attached table. To note, Crown Court data is only available from 2014 onwards and domestic violence offences cannot be separately identified as they are not defined as such in legislation.

While the Crown Court is still recovering from the impact of the pandemic and disruptive action from the Bar which reduced our ability to hear cases swiftly, the latest published statistics show, across all cases currently in the outstanding caseload, the median age for those cases was around 6 months.

We are committed to ensuring the delivery of swift justice for all victims and have introduced a raft of measures to achieve that aim. This includes funding around 107,000 sitting days during the most recent financial year (FY23/24), recruiting up to 1,000 judges annually across all jurisdictions and investing in the continued use of 20 Nightingale courtrooms into this financial year (FY24/25) to allow the courts to work at full capacity.

Judges do prioritise cases involving vulnerable complainants and witnesses, and seek to ensure that domestic abuse, serious sexual offences and those with vulnerable witnesses are listed at the first available opportunity.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average number of hours spent out of their cell by inmates was on (a) weekdays and (b) weekend days in each young offender institution in March 2024.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The information requested regarding average time-out-of-room spent by children and young people in young offender institutions during March 2024 is shown in the table below.

We know the importance of ensuring that time in custody is purposeful and are committed to ensuring that children and young people have the necessary and appropriate access to education, skills, and work provision with a consistent daily programme of activities.

The Youth Custody Service is reviewing regime models and staff deployment to maximise time out of room, creating as open a regime as it is safe to do so, as well as providing education and enrichment for those who cannot safely be in a classroom setting.  Additionally, work done to reduce conflict and manage behaviour, to increase the size of groups who are mixing in the regime, has increased time out of room.

The Government should review the law around youth sentencing and justice. We think young people who commit crimes should receive the same punishments as adults.

We believe the law needs to change. Although 16 is the age of consent, we believe it should be illegal for anyone aged 18 or over to engage in sexual activity with anyone aged 16 or 17, and that it should be illegal for anyone over 25 to engage in sexual activity with anyone under 21.

Evidence used in a trial can include non-corroborated evidence, hearsay evidence and bad character evidence. Using such evidence may be of benefit, however we believe it may also mean that innocent people are convicted of crimes.

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Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many prisoners were transferred to hospital for (a) physical and (b) mental health concerns in each year since 2010.

Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)

Information is not collected centrally on the number of prisoners transferred to hospital for physical health concerns. Prisoners with mental illness are usually treated by secondary mental health services in prison unless their mental health needs require them to be transferred to hospital, under the Mental Health Act 1983. The following table shows the number of prisoners transferred from prison to hospital under the act, as a restricted patient, each year from 2010 to 2023:

Source: Restricted Patients Statistics, Ministry of Justice.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps she is taking in the (a) prison service and (b) secure hospital service to reduce harm from synthetic drugs.

Answered by Maria Caulfield - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade) (Minister for Women)

We are actively monitoring, and responding to, the continued threat posed by the growing levels of potent synthetic opioids in the United Kingdom. NHS England is working with the Department, the Ministry of Justice, and HM Prison and Probation Service to establish an effective early warning system in prisons to share information and intelligence on the prevalence of synthetic opioids.

NHS England is also establishing a Task and Finish group for their Clinical Reference Group (CRG), working to adapt the current framework for healthcare staff management of people suspected of having internally secreted drugs. The updated framework for healthcare staff will help enhance responses to suspected or potential drug poisonings, including those related to synthetic opioids. To enhance our first aid response in prisons, feedback is also being sought from the CRG in relation to the administration of naloxone under circumstances where a drug poisoning may be related to stronger synthetic opioids.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to help tackle violence against women and girls in East Devon constituency.

Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)

It is difficult to determine the specific activity to tackle violence against women in the East Devon constituency as services are mostly commissioned at a national level, and not monitored by the Home Office by constituency.

To help support local service commissioners, we published a revised National Statement of Expectations in March 2022, which sets out how local areas should commission effective services. It also aims to increase understanding of the need for specialist services and the value of those designed and delivered by and for the users and communities they aim to serve.

As part of the effort to tackle these crimes across England and Wales, in 2021 we published our cross-Government Tackling Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy to help ensure that women and girls are safe everywhere - at home, online, at work and in public. This was followed by a complementary cross-Government Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan in 2022.

These documents aim to transform the whole of society’s response to these crimes with actions to prevent abuse, support victims and pursue perpetrators, as well as to strengthen the systems that underpin the response. The actions set out in both strategy documents benefit all regions across England and Wales, including East Devon.

The Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan committed to over £230 million from 2022-2025. As part of this commitment, the joint Home Office-Ministry of Justice VAWG Support and Specialist Service Fund will provide up to £8.3 million (in total) from 2023-2025 for specialist organisations to support victims often facing the greatest barriers to getting the help they need.

The Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan funding also includes the Children Affected by Domestic Abuse (CADA) Fund, which allocated £10.3 million over three years (2022-2025) to eight organisations across England and Wales to provide specialist support within the community to children who have been impacted by domestic abuse. Part of this includes c.£1.25m for the Children’s Society to provide direct support for children and young people and families, including those from rural and hard to reach communities, covering Devon, Shropshire, Rochdale and Merseyside.

In May 2023, the Home Office also launched a £300,000 ‘flexible fund’ trial in partnership with Women’s Aid Federation for England to make direct cash payments of £250 to victims and survivors of domestic abuse (£500 to those with children and those who are pregnant) to help remove barriers to leaving an abusive relationship. In November 2023, the Government commitment to support victims was renewed with a further £2m investment into the Flexible Fund until March 2025.

Through the current Round Five of the Safer Streets Fund, the Home Office has directly awarded £34 million to Police and Crime Commissioners across England and Wales to deliver interventions to tackle neighbourhood crime, anti-social behaviour and VAWG. Devon and Cornwall received £819,998.64 (2024-2025) to support projects covering Paignton, Camborne and Redruth and are delivering educational training packages such as bystander training to help address behaviour and attitudes on VAWG and using night-time economy marshalls for patrols in the town centres.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if his Department will publish the revised Mental Capacity Act Code of Practice before the end of this parliament.

Answered by Helen Whately - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

We are continuing to discuss revisions to the Mental Capacity Act Code of Practice, consulted on in 2022, with the Ministry of Justice. Further details on next steps will be shared with the sector in due course.

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of undertaking post-legislative scrutiny of the Fraud Act 2006 and its potential impact on female welfare claimants.

Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)

No assessment has been made as this is not a matter for the Department for Work and Pensions.

The Ministry of Justice carried out a post-implementation review on the Fraud Act 2006: Post-legislative Assessment of the Fraud Act 2006 (publishing.service.gov.uk) and the Home Office have confirmed that on 12 October 2023 the Government launched the Independent Review of Disclosure and Fraud Offences. Part two of the Review will evaluate the operation of the Fraud Act: Independent Review of Disclosure and Fraud Offences - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).’

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the letter to his Department on Tackling the Recruitment & Retention Crisis from Leading Violence Against Women and Girls organisations, published on 20 March 2024.

Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)

Home Office officials are discussing the concerns and proposals raised in the correspondence you refer to directly with some of the signatories and have also engaged with officials at the Ministry of Justice and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing, and Communities to ensure a co-ordinated consideration of the concerns raised.

Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of calls from a coalition of Violence Against Women and Girls organisations for an independent taskforce to tackle recruitment and retention in that sector.

Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)

Home Office officials are discussing the concerns and proposals raised in the correspondence you refer to directly with some of the signatories and have also engaged with officials at the Ministry of Justice and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing, and Communities to ensure a co-ordinated consideration of the concerns raised.

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