Asked by: Elliot Colburn (Conservative - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has taken recent steps to increase the use of restorative justice.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Restorative justice is a valuable approach, but it is not appropriate in all cases. The welfare and safety of the victim is paramount, so restorative justice will only occur where it is safe and appropriate, and both the victim and the offender consent.
In the right cases restorative justice can have a powerful impact on victims and reduce reoffending too.
HMPPS has published an operational framework on restorative justice to support its use in suitable cases and ensure consistent referral processes between PCCs, prisons and probation.
Asked by: Elliot Colburn (Conservative - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the report of the APPG on Restorative Justice entitled Restorative Justice Inquiry Report, published in 2022, whether his Department plans to publish an updated Restorative Justice Action Plan for the Criminal Justice System.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
We are committed to supporting restorative justice as a way to help victims cope and, as far as possible, recover from the impact of crime. That is why, under the Code of Practice for Victims of Crime (‘the Victims’ Code’), all adult victims must be told about the option of restorative justice and how to access it. We also provide Police and Crime Commissioners with grant funding for victim support services, including restorative justice services. They are best placed to assess local need and commission services based on the needs of the population in the local area. Restorative justice services should be targeted to the most appropriate cases, where we have clear evidence for the benefits of that approach and should only take place when both the victim and the offender agree, and it is considered safe.
HMPPS has work underway to look at how to better support MoJ funded restorative justice. This work is aimed at identifying the factors supporting quality practice and to test effective, evidence-based access to, and delivery of RJ services. HMPPS will also work with PCC areas to improve referrals to RJ services. Once complete HMPPS will share the lessons learned more widely.
We do not currently plan to publish a restorative justice action plan because it is not clear that this is necessary or an appropriate fit with the existing activity to improve the consistent and targeted provision of restorative justice services at a local level.
Asked by: Elliot Colburn (Conservative - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress he has made on establishing a pilot programme to understand where there are gaps in provision of restorative justice.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
We are committed to supporting restorative justice as a way to help victims cope and, as far as possible, recover from the impact of crime. That is why, under the Code of Practice for Victims of Crime (‘the Victims’ Code’), all adult victims must be told about the option of restorative justice and how to access it. We also provide Police and Crime Commissioners with grant funding for victim support services, including restorative justice services. They are best placed to assess local need and commission services based on the needs of the population in the local area. Restorative justice services should be targeted to the most appropriate cases, where we have clear evidence for the benefits of that approach and should only take place when both the victim and the offender agree, and it is considered safe.
HMPPS has work underway to look at how to better support MoJ funded restorative justice. This work is aimed at identifying the factors supporting quality practice and to test effective, evidence-based access to, and delivery of RJ services. HMPPS will also work with PCC areas to improve referrals to RJ services. Once complete HMPPS will share the lessons learned more widely.
We do not currently plan to publish a restorative justice action plan because it is not clear that this is necessary or an appropriate fit with the existing activity to improve the consistent and targeted provision of restorative justice services at a local level.
Asked by: Elliot Colburn (Conservative - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of prosecutions for theft of catalytic converters in London in each of the last three years.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
This information may be held on court records but to examine individual court records would be of disproportionate costs.
Asked by: Elliot Colburn (Conservative - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
What steps his Department is taking to support victims of domestic abuse.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
Domestic abuse is a top priority across Government, and we are determined to transform the response to this abhorrent crime.
We passed our landmark Domestic Abuse Bill on 29 April and our forthcoming Victims’ Bill will further transform victims’ experience of the criminal justice system and we have provided unprecedented funding for domestic abuse since the pandemic began, including £51m boost for specialist support services to support victims through the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.
Asked by: Elliot Colburn (Conservative - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate his Department has made of the number of (a) prosecutions for animal cruelty and (b) the number of people found guilty of those offences in each year from 2005 to 2019; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Ministry of Justice holds data on prosecutions and outcomes for offences regarding animal cruelty, in England and Wales, up to the year ending December 2019, available in the ‘Outcomes by offence’ data tool, here:
This tool includes data from the last 10 years; figures for 2005 to 2019 can be found in the table attached.
The following are the offences that were considered:
Asked by: Elliot Colburn (Conservative - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the CPS's use of restorative justice to support victims of crime.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
The Ministry of Justice has not conducted an assessment of the CPS’s use of restorative justice. This is because the CPS has a very limited role in restorative justice (reparative conditions are an option for conditional cautions) and it does not provide or fund restorative justice services.
Under the Code of Practice for Victims of Crime, all victims have the right to receive information about the availability of restorative justice services. The Code also stipulates the obligations on providers of restorative justice, including ensuring that victims are able to give informed consent to participation and that it is in the best interests of the victims.
The Ministry of Justice provides funding to Police and Crime Commissioners to commission a wide range of local support services for victims, including restorative justice services. From April 2018 to March 2019 the Ministry provided about £68m, with about £4.4m spent on restorative justice services. PCCs also spent another £1m from other sources on restorative justice services.