Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to ensure political impartiality among magistrates and judges in judicial proceedings.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
An independent and impartial judiciary is one of the cornerstones of the United Kingdom’s constitution and vital to the proper functioning of our democracy based on the rule of law.
There is a statutory prohibition on salaried judges undertaking any kind of political activity or having ties with a political party. This prohibition includes holding political office. The Lord Chief Justice and the Senior President of Tribunals set out guidance for judicial conduct in the Guide to Judicial Conduct which applies to judges, coroners and magistrates. The basic principles guiding judicial conduct are judicial independence, impartiality and integrity and the Guide to Judicial Conduct explains that judges should avoid any appearance of political ties.
As the judiciary is independent of government, it is not appropriate for the government to comment on the actions of a judge during a case. Complaints of judicial conduct may be referred to the independent Judicial Conduct Investigations Office (JCIO). What does and does not constitute a question of misconduct is for the JCIO to determine.
Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent steps his Department has taken to help clear the backlog of cases in rural courts.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
We continue to take action to tackle the impact the pandemic has had on our criminal justice system, and we are seeing the impact of our actions.
The backlog in the Crown Court has reduced from around 61,000 cases in June 2021 to around 58,700 cases at the end of November 2021 and in the magistrates’ court, the caseload is close to recovering to pre-pandemic levels. In the civil courts, volumes of final hearings increased from around half of pre-Covid levels in June 2020 to around 80% in May 2021. While the family courts’ sitting day figures for 2021 are yet to be published, 2020 saw us sit our highest ever number of days. The volume of disposals also increased significantly in both public and private family law between Q2 2020 and Q2 2021. In public law there were 6,229 disposals and in private law there were 26,672 disposals in Q2 2021, a 20% and 23% increase on Q2 2020 respectively.
We have continued to ensure our court buildings are safe, rolled out new technology for remote hearings, recruited additional staff and we will be retaining 32 Nightingale Crown Court rooms until the end of March 2022. Furthermore, we are now extending magistrates’ court sentencing powers from 6 to 12 months for a single Triable Either Way offence to allow more cases to be heard in the magistrates' court. This measure will provide vital additional capacity in the Crown Courts to drive down the backlog of cases over the coming years. We estimate that this will save nearly 2,000 Crown Court sitting days per year.
To ensure the regions most at need get the resources required, we are working with the judiciary to move cases across regional boundaries to areas with spare capacity where appropriate, and using a national, flexible pool of judges for regions to draw from as required. We are also taking steps to extend Nightingale Court arrangements, on a case-by-case basis, dependant on local need.
We are investing £477 million in the Criminal Justice System over the next three years to help reduce the backlog and deliver the swift access to justice that victims deserve.
Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to prevent violence against women in prisons.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Violence against any prisoner or member of staff is unacceptable and we continue to take action to reduce violence across the entire prison estate.
Staffing levels are important to managing prison violence. 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 Offender Management in Custody (OMiC) model in the women’s estate.
We continue to deliver on our £100m investment in security to reduce crime in prison, clamping down on weapons, drugs and phones that fuel violence behind bars.
We have also introduced the Challenge, Intervention and Support Plan (CSIP) to case manage those who pose a raised risk of violence towards others.
Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of the impact of rural court closures on crime and policing.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Impact assessments are conducted and published alongside all court closure proposals. These are then updated and considered to take into account any additional potential impacts identified through the public consultation process. These assessments include careful consideration of journey times to alternative courts, the challenges of rural access and the needs of vulnerable users.
Consultations on proposed court closures invited the views of a wide range of stakeholders, including local residents and those directly involved in delivering justice, such as police forces and professional court users. All views were carefully considered before final decisions were made.
The decision to close any court is not taken lightly; it only happens following full public consultation and only where sufficient capacity existed in other nearby courts to accommodate the work of the closing courts. Courts that have closed were either underused, dilapidated or too close to one another.
Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the potential cost to the public purse arising from the closure of courts in rural communities.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
All court closure proposals must meet our key estates principle of providing value for money and are subject to full public consultation. Impact assessments are conducted and published alongside all court closure proposals and any potential impacts, including those on rural communities, are carefully considered before final decisions are made.
Since 2015, HMCTS has raised over £210m in sales proceeds from the disposal of underused and dilapidated buildings. This funding is being reinvested into the HMCTS £1.2bn Reform Programme to transform the justice system, including introducing 21st Century technology and online services to increase access to justice and improve efficiency.
The decision to close any court is not taken lightly; it only happens following full public consultation and only where sufficient capacity existed in other nearby courts to accommodate the work of the closing courts. Courts that have closed were either underused, dilapidated or too close to one another.
Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to clear the backlog of cases awaiting trial in rural areas.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
We continue to take action to tackle the impact the pandemic has had on our criminal justice system
We have allocated over a quarter of a billion pounds on recovery in the 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 Court rooms until the end of March 2022.
We are now focused both on increasing capacity of the criminal courts and maximising use of that which we already have in areas where it is 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.
We are also working with the judiciary to explore moving cases across regional boundaries to areas with spare capacity where appropriate, and using a national, flexible pool of judges for regions to draw from as required, to manage regional discrepancies in pressure across the courts system.
The Spending Review will also provide an extra £477m for the criminal justice system to meet the increased demand from additional police officers and to recover performance following the pandemic.
Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to encourage junior barristers to specialise in criminal law.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
Criminal defence lawyers play a crucial role in upholding the rule of law and ensuring access to justice is maintained, and the Government greatly values the work they do.
As part of the Criminal Legal Aid Review, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) worked with the Bar Council and other stakeholders to combine key datasets which were summarised in a published Data compendium. This data shows that, in 2019-20, of the barristers who carried out some publicly-funded criminal work and reported themselves as specialising in crime, 87% were junior barristers and 13% were QCs (Table 5.13).
Sir Christopher Bellamy QC is leading an independent review of the criminal legal aid market, seeking to ensure it is sustainable into the future. Supporting a diverse workforce and ensuring a pipeline of new entrants and career progression within the professions is an objective within the review’s Terms of Reference. I understand the review is close to completing and the Government aims to publish Sir Christopher's report together with its response as soon as possible.
Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 13 November to Question 111268, what guidance his Department issues to prisons on the promotion of (a) Holocaust Memorial Day, (b) Black History Month and (c) National Hate Crime Awareness Week.
Answered by Phillip Lee
Prisons are free to decide locally how they promote events such as Holocaust Memorial Day, Black History Month and National Hate Crime Awareness Week. National Prison Radio promotes national support for local initiatives, and Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service also provides information to offenders and staff including via its staff networks.
Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department has taken to support prisons to participate in (a) Holocaust Memorial Day, (b) Black History Month and (c) National Hate Crime Awareness Week.
Answered by Phillip Lee
Prisons are free to decide locally how they participate in Holocaust Memorial Day, Black History Month and National Hate Crime Awareness Week. Such participation will reflect the needs of individual prisons in terms of their offender and staffing profiles. National Prison Radio promotes national support for local initiatives, and Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service also provides information to prisons via its staff networks to support prison staff in their participation in local events.
Asked by: Andrew Percy (Conservative - Brigg and Goole)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure that more prisoners obtain employment on release.
Answered by Andrew Selous - Second Church Estates Commissioner
Supporting offenders into meaningful employment is a vital aspect of the Government’s approach to rehabilitation. We already work with a wide range of employers in prison through One3One Solutions and engagement by Prison Governors. And we want Governors to do more so we are putting the tools to drive this change in the hands of those at the frontline who best know what works. We are keen to increase the number of employers who can provide valuable vocational work for offenders while in prison and who are able to offer them support in preparation for release and employment opportunities following their release. I regularly meet businesses across the country including at 2 successful roadshows at HMP Sudbury and HMP/YOI Drake hall. New businesses are now coming on board as a consequence. The Employers Forum for Reducing Reoffending brings together employers willing to employ offenders and we are working with the Department for Work and Pensions to increase the involvement of more businesses. The Prime Minister has announced changes to recruitment practises across the civil service to ensure that people are considered on their merits and not on their criminal conviction and we want to encourage more employers to do the same.