Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to replace custodial sentences of 12 months or fewer with community sentences.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Independent Sentencing Review has recommended that the Government limit the use of short custodial sentences, a position we support.
We know that community orders and suspended sentence orders can more effectively reduce reoffending when compared to short sentences of immediate custody. While short custodial sentences may be useful in some circumstances, they often fall short in the meaningful rehabilitation of offenders and have a limited deterrent effect. Instead, more of those individuals should be dealt with through tough community sentences that incentivise them to turn their lives around.
Following the Independent Sentencing Review, we will bring forward legislation, in the coming months.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many (1) men, and (2) women, over the age of 50 received custodial sentences of 12 months or fewer for non-violent offences over the past three years.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice publishes data on sentences for non-violent offences in England and Wales in the Outcomes by Offences data tool. The data tool can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2024.
The number of over 50-year-old men and women who received custodial sentences of 12 months or less for non-violent offences can be found in the table below.
The number of people aged 50 and above who received a custodial sentence of 12 months or fewer for non-violent offences, in England and Wales (1,2,3,4,5)
Sentenced | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
Male | 2,650 | 2,900 | 3,630 |
Female | 215 | 225 | 269 |
| 2,865 | 3,125 | 3,899 |
Source: Court Proceedings Database
Notes:
1. Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these 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 those data are used.
2. These figures are presented on a principal offence basis - i.e. reporting information relating to the most serious offence that a defendant was dealt with for. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
3. These figures are presented on a principal disposal basis - i.e. reporting the most severe sentence issued for the offence.
4. The figures in the table exclude violence against the person offences but some offences that involved the use of violence can still be recorded under other offence categories.
5. The age recorded is the age at the point of sentencing.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Timpson on 9 June (HL7762), why they are not planning to renew HMP Eastwood Park’s current programme for prisoners aged 50 and over.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
A contract for Creative Engagement provision at HMP Eastwood Park has been put out to tender and will include elements of previous provision plus additionality to engage and support women in their personal development. This provision will be available to all women, including those over 50.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the incidence of animal welfare breaches on farms, including animals being beaten or mutilated, sick animals being left untreated, and animals left in unsanitary conditions; and what steps they are taking to ensure breaches are detected and enforcement action taken.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) investigates all allegations of non-compliance thoroughly. Where breaches of the law are identified, appropriate enforcement action is taken. This may include follow-up, unannounced inspections to ensure that compliance has been achieved and maintained. Where necessary, APHA works closely with Local Authorities to coordinate enforcement measures
According to the latest Multi-Annual National Control Plan (MANCP) annual report for 2022, compliance rates across the farming sector remained high. To promote transparency and accountability, we are actively working with Local Authorities to improve the collection and publication of data relating to on-farm inspections and enforcement activities.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether prisoners over the age of 50 with complex or multiple needs are still considered to be a separate cohort.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
We have always recognised the distinct needs of older prisoners, some of whom can have complex health and social care requirements.
We welcome the Independent Sentencing Review’s recommendation to produce a national strategy for older prisoners, including those with complex or multiple needs and are currently speaking to partners to agree how we take this forward.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what recent assessment they have made of the ecological and environmental damage caused by the collision between two ships in the North Sea on 10 March.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
Defra worked with multiple organisations, including the Centre of Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas). Cefas’s Premiam Monitoring Coordination Cell (PMCC) was set up immediately following this incident. This cell implements post-incident monitoring to assess the impacts of marine pollution incidents and as part of this, shellfish (seafood) and seawater samples were collected in the days and weeks following the incident. The analysis from these samples has indicated that there were no significant adverse ecological or environmental impacts due to fuel or chemicals released from either vessel, or during the response to the incident.
Plastic nurdles and burned debris washed ashore along the Lincolnshire and North Norfolk coast following the incident. Large quantities of plastic pollution and debris were recovered from the shoreline and the sea. Work is still ongoing regarding this, with Environment Agency staff regularly visiting affected sites to assess and if necessary, remove newly visible pollution.
The PMCC has now been stood down, but the impacts of this incident are continuously monitored as part of routine ongoing water and environmental sampling in the area.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is their plan and timetable for ratifying the Global Ocean Treaty.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The Government is completely committed to ratification of the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement, also known as the "High Seas Treaty" or "Global Ocean Treaty"), which is in line with our determination to reinvigorate the UK's wider international leadership on climate and nature. Legislation will be introduced by the end of the year to enable ratification of the BBNJ Agreement.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to ban bottom trawling in marine protected areas, and if so when.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
This Government is committed to protecting and restoring our ocean to good health, delivering on our commitment to protect 30% of the ocean by 2030. We have recently announced a consultation on plans to ban bottom trawling in a further 41 Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), covering 30,000 square kilometres of England’s waters. This is in addition to the 60% of MPAs that already have byelaws in place to protect them from damaging fishing activity, and to existing protections provided by the marine planning and licensing regimes. The consultation on these new proposals will run from 9 June to 1 September 2025.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential carbon savings from equipping all suitable school buildings with solar panels; and what steps they are taking to accelerate the rollout of solar energy across schools in line with net zero commitments.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
The education estate has around 55 million square meters of roof area. The department is already working with Great British Energy to harness the opportunity for solar generation by installing rooftop solar panels in this financial year on around 200 schools in an £80 million partnership programme. The first 11 schools are already benefitting from having had panels installed, as we announced on 3 June here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/first-schools-install-great-british-energy-solar-panels.
The Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme also supports schools and other public sector bodies with funding to switch to cleaner heating and cut building emissions. Additionally, capital funding allocated by the department to the school sector each year can be used for projects that improve the energy efficiency and sustainability of school buildings, as well as improving the condition of the estate to keep schools safe and operational.
This is just one element of the department’s strategy to ensure that the school estate is sustainable. We are providing support for all schools and colleges to get started on their journey towards net zero via our new online sustainability support for education platform and our climate ambassador programme, Sustainability Support for Education, which can be accessed here: https://www.sustainabilitysupportforeducation.org.uk/.
Asked by: Baroness Jones of Moulsecoomb (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to increase global cooperation to tackle illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.
Answered by Baroness Hayman of Ullock - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)
The UK Government is fully committed to preventing, deterring and eliminating illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. Global cooperation and collaboration are key to tackling this issue, as highlighted at this week’s United Nation Oceans Conference in Nice.
To deliver this objective, we are taking forward a wide range of actions, including, but not limited to, being a co-founder and active member of the IUU Fishing Action Alliance; prioritising tackling IUU fishing within all international fisheries governance forums, of which the UK is a Party; and delivering support and capacity-building to combat IUU fishing through international funding programmes, such as the Blue Belt Programme and the Ocean Country Partnership Programme.