Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Southgate and Wood Green)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to help ensure the prompt rectification of errors that are identified in reports submitted in family court proceedings.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
The manner in which errors or alleged errors contained within a report submitted in family court proceedings are rectified is a matter for the court to decide, however in all cases the court will seek for such errors to be dealt with promptly and without undue delay.
Under the Family Procedure Rules 2010 (FPR) Part 1 “the overriding objective” requires the court to deal with cases expeditiously and fairly and for the parties to assist the court in this objective. This general obligation could require the court, or the parties, to act to ensure any issues with a report are rectified.
Depending on the nature of the error contained within a report, if the court considers that the error needs to be rectified in the written report, the court could use its general case management powers (FPR rule 4.1) to direct that an amended or addendum report be submitted to the court.
Where it is alleged by one or more of the parties that a report contains errors, the accuracy and veracity of the information included within the report can be tested during the court hearing, in order for the court to make a determination on this issue.
Proceedings for contempt of court may be brought against anyone who makes, or causes to be made, a false statement in a document verified by a statement of truth without an honest belief in its truth. (FPR, rule 17.6)
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Southgate and Wood Green)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to help ensure that accurate information is provided to the family courts by the criminal courts when allegations of abuse or criminal convictions are made in family court proceedings.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
The ‘2013 Protocol and Good Practice Model’ for disclosure of information in cases of alleged child abuse provides for the local authority to notify the police on issue of family court proceedings, if not before. This notification serves as a request for disclosure to the police.
In April 2021, amendments were made to rules 3.3 and 3.5 of the Criminal Procedure Rules. These changes imposed a duty on parties to criminal proceedings to alert the criminal court to any related family proceedings and encourage the exchange of relevant information with a court dealing with those proceedings. Information about criminal proceedings may be obtained from criminal courts under Part 5 of the Criminal Procedure Rules by those who are parties to the criminal proceedings and by members of the public generally.
The Government regularly considers how the join up between the criminal and family jurisdictions can be improved. In 2022, we aim to pilot a new “one family, one judge” approach to hearing cases where the same judge will hear the criminal and family court proceedings.
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Southgate and Wood Green)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to tackle the backlog of cases in the family courts.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
The protection of children, particularly those who are most vulnerable, is a priority for this government and this has never been more important than during this period. The family courts were quick to respond to the pandemic and I am extremely grateful for the dedication of family justice professionals at this unprecedented time.
In March, we launched the £1 million Family Mediation Voucher Scheme, to encourage and support separating parents to explore mediation before coming to court. We want to ensure that every parent coming to court is able to resolve their case in the most effective way, including through mediation where safe and appropriate. Last month, we invested a further £800,000 into the scheme, which is expected to help around 2000 more families.
We continue to focus on bringing down the outstanding caseload by investing in more judicial sitting days and increasing the overall level of disposals. Cases with the most significant safeguarding issues remain our priority, and where suitable, cases are being heard remotely to continue maximising our use of our estate.
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Southgate and Wood Green)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many temporary accommodation cells were installed in the women's prison estate since April 2020 as part of the Government's plans to limit the spread of covid-19 in prisons.
Answered by Alex Chalk
A total of 112 temporary accommodation cells have been installed in the women’s estate at HMP & YOI Drake Hall, HMP & YOI East Sutton Park, HMP Foston Hall and HMP & YOI Askham Grange to limit the spread of covid-19 in the women’s prison estate.
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Southgate and Wood Green)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether temporary cells were installed in women's prisons since April 2020 as part of the government's plans to limit the spread of covid-19 in prisons.
Answered by Alex Chalk
We expanded the prison estate by introducing temporary accommodation cells to increase space and help reduce the spread of coronavirus. A total of 112 temporary accommodation cells have been installed in the women’s estate at HMP & YOI Drake Hall, HMP & YOI East Sutton Park, HMP Foston Hall and HMP & YOI Askham Grange. This accommodation is part of the quick and decisive action we have taken to limit the spread of the virus across all prison establishments including restricting regimes, minimising inter-prison transfers and compartmentalising our prisons into different units to isolate the sick, shield the vulnerable and quarantine new arrivals.
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Southgate and Wood Green)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the announcement on the 23 January 2021 that up to 500 new prison places will be built in existing women’s prisons, if his Department will publish the modelling used in the programme’s Strategic Case that the recruitment of an extra 20,000 police officers is expected to cause a temporary increase in the female prison population.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
Our prison population projections published in November last year, show that the female prison population is projected to rise by around two-fifths by 2026 (1,300 women) with most of that rise coming in the next two years. Our projections took in to consideration the impact of the planned recruitment of a further 23,400 police officers – which is likely to increase charge volumes and future prison populations.
Our projections further assumed the future gender composition of the prison population will be broadly consistent with the pre-COVID 19 composition, although there is a fair degree of uncertainty here however particularly due to the additional police recruitment. As such we modelled a total of four scenarios which included a 20% higher/lower throughput from the Police and a fast court recovery scenario. Table 2.1 and 4.1 taken from our prison population projections, illustrate this below:
Table 2.1 below shows the two extra scenarios of a lower and a higher impact police scenario for both men and women.
| Central Scenario | Lower Police Scenario | Higher Police Scenario | Fast Court Recovery Scenario |
September 2020 | 79,235 | 79,235 | 79,235 | 79,235 |
September 2021 | 83,200 | 83,000 | 83,500 | 85,900 |
September 2022 | 88,100 | 87,200 | 89,100 | 88,600 |
September 2023 | 93,000 | 91,300 | 94,700 | 91,900 |
September 2024 | 96,000 | 93,800 | 98,300 | 94,900 |
September 2025 | 97,700 | 95,000 | 100,300 | 97,000 |
September 2026 | 98,700 | 95,900 | 101,600 | 98,400 |
All figures are rounded to the nearest hundred. Components may not sum due to rounding. | ||||
Table 4.1 below shows the projections separately for children, females over 18 years and males over 18 specifically for the central scenario.
| Total | Children | Female 18+ | Male 18+ |
September 2020 | 79,235 | 395 | 3,217 | 75,623 |
September 2021 | 83,200 | 600 | 3,800 | 78,900 |
September 2022 | 88,100 | 600 | 4,100 | 83,500 |
September 2023 | 93,000 | 700 | 4,300 | 88,100 |
September 2024 | 96,000 | 700 | 4,400 | 90,900 |
September 2025 | 97,700 | 700 | 4,500 | 92,500 |
September 2026 | 98,700 | 700 | 4,500 | 93,500 |
All figures are rounded to the nearest hundred. Components may not sum due to rounding. | ||||
Both tables are available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/prison-population-projections-2020-to-2026
The business case has not yet reached a position where it could be published. We intend to continue dialogue with stakeholders as to how best to meet the needs of those women sentenced to a custodial sentence
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Southgate and Wood Green)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his Department's press release, Extra funding for organisations that steer women away from crime, published on 23 January 2021, if will publish the Programme business case for the 500 new prison places to be built in existing women's prisons.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
Our prison population projections published in November last year, show that the female prison population is projected to rise by around two-fifths by 2026 (1,300 women) with most of that rise coming in the next two years. Our projections took in to consideration the impact of the planned recruitment of a further 23,400 police officers – which is likely to increase charge volumes and future prison populations.
Our projections further assumed the future gender composition of the prison population will be broadly consistent with the pre-COVID 19 composition, although there is a fair degree of uncertainty here however particularly due to the additional police recruitment. As such we modelled a total of four scenarios which included a 20% higher/lower throughput from the Police and a fast court recovery scenario. Table 2.1 and 4.1 taken from our prison population projections, illustrate this below:
Table 2.1 below shows the two extra scenarios of a lower and a higher impact police scenario for both men and women.
| Central Scenario | Lower Police Scenario | Higher Police Scenario | Fast Court Recovery Scenario |
September 2020 | 79,235 | 79,235 | 79,235 | 79,235 |
September 2021 | 83,200 | 83,000 | 83,500 | 85,900 |
September 2022 | 88,100 | 87,200 | 89,100 | 88,600 |
September 2023 | 93,000 | 91,300 | 94,700 | 91,900 |
September 2024 | 96,000 | 93,800 | 98,300 | 94,900 |
September 2025 | 97,700 | 95,000 | 100,300 | 97,000 |
September 2026 | 98,700 | 95,900 | 101,600 | 98,400 |
All figures are rounded to the nearest hundred. Components may not sum due to rounding. | ||||
Table 4.1 below shows the projections separately for children, females over 18 years and males over 18 specifically for the central scenario.
| Total | Children | Female 18+ | Male 18+ |
September 2020 | 79,235 | 395 | 3,217 | 75,623 |
September 2021 | 83,200 | 600 | 3,800 | 78,900 |
September 2022 | 88,100 | 600 | 4,100 | 83,500 |
September 2023 | 93,000 | 700 | 4,300 | 88,100 |
September 2024 | 96,000 | 700 | 4,400 | 90,900 |
September 2025 | 97,700 | 700 | 4,500 | 92,500 |
September 2026 | 98,700 | 700 | 4,500 | 93,500 |
All figures are rounded to the nearest hundred. Components may not sum due to rounding. | ||||
Both tables are available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/prison-population-projections-2020-to-2026
The business case has not yet reached a position where it could be published. We intend to continue dialogue with stakeholders as to how best to meet the needs of those women sentenced to a custodial sentence
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Southgate and Wood Green)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when the Government plans to respond to the consultation on the mandatory retirement age for judicial office holders which closed on 16 October 2020.
Answered by Alex Chalk
The Government’s consultation on proposals to increase the mandatory retirement age for judicial office holders received over 1000 responses from the magistracy, the judiciary and their associated bodies, as well as stakeholders from the legal profession.
We are currently finalising the consultation response and will publish this shortly, with a view to legislate for any changes we decide to make at the earliest opportunity.
Asked by: Bambos Charalambous (Labour - Southgate and Wood Green)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans he has to (a) extend existing notices of intention to marry and (b) waive the fee for a further notice of intention to marry for couples whose wedding ceremonies have been cancelled due to covid-19 restrictions.
Answered by Alex Chalk
The Government acknowledges the significant upheaval that Covid-19 is causing for couples who were looking to marry at this time.
The requirement to solemnize a marriage within twelve months of giving notice to marry is set out in primary legislation, which does not provide for extending this period. It would require primary legislation to change this. The Law Commission is currently undertaking a broader review of the law on marriage ceremonies. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it is also considering whether a revised scheme should allow rules to adapt to the situation of a national emergency. While that work cannot provide solutions for the current pandemic it could lead to a reformed and more resilient scheme for weddings in future.
The notice fee is usually £35 per person and is paid to local authorities for the service they provide in the taking of the notice and entering it into the notice book. Local authorities are able to waive, reduce or refund fees on compassionate grounds or in cases of hardship. It is for each local authority to determine depending on the individual circumstances.