Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Reform UK - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 11 November 2024 to Question 12200 on Reoffenders: Foreign Nationals, how many (a) non-violent and (b) violent foreign national reoffences there were in each of the last five years.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
It is not possible to identify which reoffences committed by foreign nationals are ‘violent’ and ‘non-violent’ from the Ministry of Justice extract of the Police National Computer. This would require a manual search of court records and would therefore be of disproportionate cost.
We refer all foreign national offenders in receipt of custodial sentences to the Home Office. Those sentenced to 12 months, or more are automatically considered for deportation.
Foreign national offenders who commit crime should be in no doubt that the law will be enforced and, where appropriate, we will work with the Home Office to pursue their deportation. This will help to manage prison pressures, keep the public safe and reduce crime. We are currently on track to remove more foreign national offenders this year than at any time in recent years and we are working across government to explore the ways we accelerate this work further.
Asked by: Rupert Lowe (Reform UK - Great Yarmouth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of convictions for child sex offences did not result in a custodial sentence in in each of the last ten years.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Ministry of Justice publishes data on the sentencing outcomes for offences at criminal courts in England and Wales in the Outcomes by Offence data tool, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal Justice Statistics.
Although child sex offences is not a defined category within the tool, you can filter offences using the HO Offence code to select the specific offences of interest.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many convictions for burglary there were in the last 12 months.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Ministry of Justice publishes data on prosecutions for a wide range of offences, including burglary up to and including June 2024 in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal justice statistics - GOV.UK.
This can be accessed by navigating to the ‘Prosecutions and Convictions’ tab and using the Offence filter to search ‘Burglary’ in the Outcomes by Offence Tool.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Reform UK - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of work to reintegrate prisoners released via the early release scheme.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The government inherited a prisons system in crisis and was forced to change the release point for standard determinate sentences in order to avert disaster and total gridlock of the criminal justice system.
Once released, offenders are subject to the same set of strict licence conditions that would apply had they been released at a 50% automatic release point, and are liable to recall to prison if they do not comply with these conditions or are judged by probation practitioners to be a risk to public safety.
There is robust and varied support available informed by an assessment of individual needs, to ensure effective resettlement into the community. This includes Prison Employment Leads, Employment Hubs, ID and Banking Administrators and Employment Advisory Boards in every resettlement prison.
Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of proposed changes to employer national insurance contributions on the financial sustainability of the prison and probation service.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The settlement agreed for Ministry of Justice through Phase 1 of the Spending Review provides funding of £13.8 billion in 2025-26. The settlement is an increase of £1.3 billion compared to 2023-24 and ensures an above inflation pay rise for prison and probation staff, helping with recruitment and retention, whilst meeting demand increases across prisons, courts and probation.
The impact of the rise in employer National Insurance Contribution for 2025/26 on public sector organisations is being met by public funds, independently of the investment to be allocated to HM Prison and Probation Service by the Ministry of Justice.
Asked by: Chris Vince (Labour (Co-op) - Harlow)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to ensure that victims of (a) violence against women and girls and (b) rape (i) receive adequate access to justice and (ii) do not have long waits for court dates.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government was elected with a landmark mission to halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) within a decade. Timely and effective justice are central to this mission and to increasing victim confidence in the justice system.
We have announced that we will be piloting Domestic Abuse Protection Orders from November, and in the family court we will further expand the Pathfinder courts model and ensure that children and families are better supported with access to domestic abuse specialists. We have also committed to banning the creation of sexually explicit deepfakes, as well as strengthening the law to help the police better respond to the crime of spiking. These are just some of the early steps we are taking to ensure more victims see justice for these crimes. I am also working closely with my cross-government colleagues to ensure every department is focused on tackling VAWG.
For victims of rape, we have committed to fast-track rape cases through the criminal justice system, driving down waiting times for this abhorrent offence. In addition, we have announced that we plan to roll out free, independent legal advocates for victims of adult rape, ensuring that they have support to enforce their legal rights, for example in relation to use of their personal records during an investigation or in court.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the implementation of restorative justice in the criminal justice system.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
This Government supports the use of restorative justice, which is why, under the Code of Practice for Victims of Crime (‘the Victims’ Code’), all adult victims must be told about the option of restorative justice and how to access it. We also provide Police and Crime Commissioners with grant funding for victim support services, including restorative justice services. They are best placed to assess local need and commission services based on the needs of the population in the local area. Restorative justice can also be used as part of out of court resolutions, depending on the circumstances of the case.
We know that restorative justice can improve victim satisfaction and reduce reoffending when delivered in the right circumstances. This not only benefits the victims and the offender but also their community.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of enabling (a) non-religious belief organisations and (b) Humanists to conduct legally binding weddings as religious organisations.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
We are aware that non-religious belief organisations, such as humanists, have long been campaigning to conduct legally binding weddings. Given marriage is such a valued part of our society, I hope you will understand that as a new Government we will need time to properly consider our marriage law, including the Law Commission’s 2022 wedding report, before publicly setting out our position.
Asked by: Neil O'Brien (Conservative - Harborough, Oadby and Wigston)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 11 November 2024 to Question 12200 on Reoffenders: Foreign Nationals, if she will publish a breakdown of the offences committed by reoffending foreign nationals by main offence group.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
I refer the honourable Member to the response I gave on 11 November 2024 to PQ 13567.
Asked by: Kieran Mullan (Conservative - Bexhill and Battle)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment she has made of the potential barriers to successful prosecution using information from the Acquisitive Crime GPS tagging programme.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The effectiveness of the acquisitive crime project is currently subject to robust evaluation and conclusions will be made available following the publication of the upcoming process and impact evaluations. It is not possible to provide any information prior to the impact evaluation being published.