Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
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 using alternative methods of determining eligibility for compensation in the event of an acquittal following a re-trial.
Answered by Heidi Alexander - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice is responsible for the statutory Miscarriages of Justice Application Service (MOJAS). Individuals who have had their convictions quashed in an out of time appeal are eligible to apply for compensation, including those who have subsequently been acquitted of all offences at a retrial. The Law Commission is currently undertaking a review of the criminal appeals process which includes MOJAS. I will be considering their findings once their review is complete.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether the HM Courts and Tribunals Service has provided recent guidance to magistrates on the bulk approval of requests for warrants of entry by energy firms.
Answered by Mike Freer
The judiciary is independent and not subject to direction by HM Courts and Tribunals Service or the Lord Chancellor. Justices’ Legal Advisers are employed by HMCTS, but their independence is guaranteed by sections 28 and 29 of the Courts Act 2003 which provides that, in the giving of advice and guidance, they are not subject to the direction of the Lord Chancellor or any other person apart from the Lord Chief Justice or his nominee.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what role HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) has in allocating court warrants to energy firms to individual magistrates courts; what factors influence its decision making when deciding which court to send cases to; and what checks HMCTS takes to ensure that no requests for warrants are made against vulnerable households.
Answered by Mike Freer
Listing is a judicial responsibility and function, and cases are listed by HMCTS under the supervision of the judiciary. Applications for a warrant to authorise entry to premises under section 2 of the Rights of Entry (Gas and Electricity Boards) Act 1954 may be made to a magistrate either in private or sitting in open court. If such an application is uncontested it may be heard over a live link without a public hearing and the applicant and the magistrate may be in different places. Contested applications are listed in open court at a magistrates' court selected by the energy firm’s customer. It is the responsibility of the energy company, prior to making their application, in accordance with Ofgem’s Gas and Electricity Codes of Practice for Domestic Suppliers, to undertake checks on the vulnerability of the occupiers of the premises in respect of which the application is made. Applicants confirm on oath that such checks have been undertaken.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 2 March 2021 to Question 158908, Prison Officers: Pay, what matters were identified in the equality impact assessment that informed the effect of rejecting recommendation three on (a) unlawful discrimination and (b) advancing equality of opportunity.
Answered by Alex Chalk
The 20/21 Prison Service Pay Review Body report was received on 5 June 2020 and included a recommendation, recommendation 3, to uplift the pay of Band 3 prison staff on modernised terms and conditions by £3,000. This recommendation was not accepted by the Government. An Equality Impact Assessment (EIA) was conducted and considered in reaching the decision to reject recommendation 3.
The EIA recognised that rejecting recommendation 3 from the PSPRB 20/21 report would adversely impact staff on Fair & Sustainable (F&S) terms and conditions, who (as per the data published on 2 March) are a more diverse staffing group than their counterparts on closed-grades terms.
The Government’s consideration of recommendation 3 took this into account, alongside other factors such as the exceptional costs associated with implementing this recommendation, the impact on the overall pay structure, and the changing labour market conditions due to the exceptional economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Department identified as part of the EIA that the adverse impact of rejecting recommendation 3 would be addressed by efforts to close the pay differential between staff on closed-grades terms and those on F&S terms. This remains a key component of the Department’s longer-term pay strategy.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure that acquitted defendants in criminal cases who were deemed ineligible for legal aid are able to recover costs to cover their legal fees.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
If a defendant is acquitted at the magistrates’ court and did not apply for criminal legal aid or applied and was financially ineligible, he/she can recover their legal costs at legal aid rates; at the Crown Court, an acquitted defendant can only recover their legal costs at legal aid rates if he/she first applied for and was refused criminal legal aid.
On 7 February 2019, the Government announced a review of the legal aid means tests. The review will consider the thresholds for legal aid entitlement and their interaction with the wider criteria, as well as assessing the effectiveness with which the means testing arrangements appropriately protect access to justice, particularly for the vulnerable.
Upon conclusion of the review, expected by Summer 2020, we will publish a full public consultation paper setting out our future policy proposals in this area.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans his Department has to close the Youth Justice Board Cymru at 4-6 Orchard Street, Swansea.
Answered by Edward Argar - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Department has no plans to close the Youth Justice Board Cymru at 4-6 Orchard Street, Swansea.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people in prison in (a) Wales and (b) England were formerly members of the armed forces in each of the last five years.
Answered by Phillip Lee
We are unable to provide a breakdown as requested. The Ministry began collecting data on military service from 2015, when we made changes so every prisoner coming into custody in England and Wales is asked if they have served in the Armed Forces.
Latest figures published in April 2018 show approximately 3% of offenders who responded to the question were former members of the Armed Forces. This figure has remained reasonably consistent over an 18 month period.
The Ministry recognises the unique nature of those who served in the Armed Forces and those prisoners who declare a military background are able to access a range of specialist support, including from military charities who deliver services in prisons.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what his Department's implementation plan is for banning the box on job applications.
Answered by Phillip Lee
On 8 February 2016, as part of a wider set of measures to support the rehabilitation of offenders, the Prime Minister announced that the Civil Service would not ask for details of criminal convictions at the initial recruitment stage, subject to any exceptions for jobs with specific security requirements.
The MoJ implemented this policy in October 2016 and removed the criminal conviction declaration ‘tick box’ to declare a criminal record from application forms at the front end of the recruitment process. If an applicant is successful, security clearances will be carried out prior to appointment (Applying Criminal Records Policy).
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of job roles advertised within his Department in (a) 2016 and (b) 2017 excluded the box under the Ban the Box initiative.
Answered by Phillip Lee
On 8 February 2016, as part of a wider set of measures to support the rehabilitation of offenders, the Prime Minister announced that the Civil Service would not ask for details of criminal convictions at the initial recruitment stage, subject to any exceptions for jobs with specific security requirements.
Therefore, to ensure we have the best possible mix of talent and act to remove barriers for all individuals, including ex-offenders, the MoJ fully implemented the Ban the Box initiative that aims to provide fairer opportunities for offenders to compete for jobs by removing the tick box asking about criminal convictions from application forms.
The MoJ implemented this initiative in October 2016 and removed the criminal conviction declaration ‘tick box’ to declare a criminal record from application forms at the front end of the recruitment process. If an applicant is successful, security clearances will be carried out prior to appointment (Applying Criminal Records Policy) and each case will be judged on its merits where such offences are identified.
Data prior to this date is unavailable due to a change in recruitment system in December 2016.
Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether the use of nutritional supplements has been trialled in Young Offenders Institutions in England and Wales to reduce violence levels in the last 10 years.
Answered by Phillip Lee
Safety in prisons and young offender institutions is fundamental to the proper functioning of our justice system and addressing safety concerns is at the heart of our reform plans. We are committed to reforming youth custody so that it is safer for both young people and staff and better equipped to help young people turn their lives around.
The use of nutritional supplement has not been trialled in Young Offender Institutions in England and Wales in the last 10 years.