Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the compliance of repealing the Human Rights Act 1998 with the Good Friday Agreement.
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government is fully committed to upholding the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement and to protecting and respecting human rights. We have a longstanding tradition of ensuring that rights and liberties are protected domestically and of fulfilling our international human rights obligations. The Government remains committed to a human rights framework that is up to date, and works for all the people of the UK.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many (1) prosecutions, and (2) convictions, there have been for money laundering offences in the domestic and corporate property sector in each year from 1 April 2015 to 31 April 2022.
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice publishes information on the number of defendants who received prosecutions and convictions for the offence of money laundering, for the years 2017-2021 in the Outcomes by Offence data tool 2021 (file too large to be attached), and for the years 2010-2016 in the Outcomes by Offence tool 2020 (attached).
However, the number of defendants who received a prosecution or conviction for money laundering offences specific to the domestic and corporate property sector is not held centrally in the Court Proceedings database. This information may be held on court records but to examine individual court records would be of disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when responses to the consultation on modernising lasting powers of attorney will be published.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
The Ministry of Justice is in the process of analysing the responses it received to the consultation on modernising lasting powers of attorney. We intend to publish a response in spring 2022.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when the report of their review of the Human Rights Act 2001 will be published.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
In line with our manifesto commitment, the Government plans to overhaul the Human Rights Act (HRA) to make sure it meets the needs of the society it serves and commands public support.
The Government established the Independent Human Rights Act Review to examine the framework of the HRA, how it is operating in practice and whether any change is required. We have received the Panel’s report and are carefully considering its conclusions as part of a wider reform programme. We will publish the Panel’s report imminently and will consult on any proposed legislative changes.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure the safety of women in prison.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
Safety of prisoners in our custody is a key priority. We have established a Women’s Estate Self-Harm taskforce which is co-ordinating longer-term work to address the factors driving self-harm.
Our Offender Management in Custody (OMiC) model is transforming how we support prisoners and significant investments have been made to recruit an additional 2,500 prison officers to improve safety and deliver key work. In April 2021 we began implementing a gender specific OMiC model in the women’s estate.
The Challenge, Intervention and Support Plan (CSIP) is also in place for the effective case management of those prisoners who are at a raised risk of violence towards other prisoners. While the newly revised version of the Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork (ACCT) framework includes a stronger person-centred approach and improved focus on risks, triggers, and protective factors.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address safety concerns across the youth custody estate in England and Wales.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
We are clear that levels of violence within the youth secure estate are too high, which is why we are continuing to reform youth custody so that children are safer, and better able to lead positive, constructive lives upon their release. We have also been using the COVID-19 period to ensure that benefits or lessons learned are built into future delivery.
We continue to train and upskill our staff so they are better able to meet the needs of children in custody. Having introduced the youth justice specialist role, providing funding for every prison officer to take up a foundation degree in youth justice, as of August 2021, 249 youth justice specialist officers were already in post with a further 260 staff signed up or undertaking the learning at this point.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of how long it will take to clear the backlog of Crown Court cases resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
We are already seeing the effects of our efforts to tackle the impact the pandemic has had on our justice system.
We allocated over a quarter of a billion pounds on recovery last financial year, making court buildings safe, rolling out new technology for remote hearings, recruiting additional staff and opening Nightingale courtrooms, including retaining 32 Nightingale courtrooms until the end of March 2022.
We are now focused both on increasing capacity of the criminal courts and maximising use of existing facilities in areas where they are needed most. There is no limit on the number of days Crown Courts can sit this financial year. The department is also working closely with the judiciary to ensure we have the capacity required to maximise the number of court hearings taking place this year and to minimise disruption to cases listed for hearings.
The Ministry of Justice’s Spending Review settlement provides £477 million to improve waiting times for victims and to reduce Crown Court backlogs caused by the pandemic.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what recent steps they have taken to increase confidence in the criminal justice system.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
The overall changes we are making to improve the criminal justice system are designed to give all communities increased confidence in it. This includes recruiting 20,000 extra police officers, improving handovers between agencies, and addressing the backlog in the criminal courts through our Court Recovery Plan. We are increasing the transparency of the Criminal Justice System by publishing quarterly scorecards detailing national and regional performance.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to reform the rules regarding judicial review.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
In March and April this year the Government consulted on reforms to judicial review, taking account of the excellent work of the Independent Review of Administrative Law chaired by Lord Faulks.
The Government’s response to the consultation, published in July, confined itself to the matters of substantive law reform raised in the consultation and explained the rationale for the judicial review measures contained in the Judicial Review and Courts Bill.
The Government has yet to publish a response which deals with the proposed changes to the Civil Procedure Rules on which it consulted. It will do so in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to reform human rights legislation.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
As the Deputy Prime Minister has set out, we will overhaul the Human Rights Act (HRA) to end its abuse by dangerous criminals and restore common sense to our justice system. In line with our manifesto commitment we will make sure it meets the needs of the society it serves and commands public support. The Government established the Independent Human Rights Act Review to examine the framework of the HRA, how it is operating in practice and whether any change is required. We have received the Panel’s report and are carefully considering its conclusions as part of a wider reform programme. We will publish the Panel’s report in due course and will consult on any proposed legislative changes.