To match an exact phrase, use quotation marks around the search term. eg. "Parliamentary Estate". Use "OR" or "AND" as link words to form more complex queries.


Keep yourself up-to-date with the latest developments by exploring our subscription options to receive notifications direct to your inbox

Written Question
Young Offender Institutions: Women
Monday 5th June 2023

Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many females were placed in youth offending estates intended for males in 2022-2023; and how many females are detained in youth offending estates intended for males as of 23 May 2023.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

In 2022-23 no females were held in spaces intended as male-only, which remained the case on 23 May 2023.

Girls committed into custody will be located in Secure Children's Homes, Oakhill Secure Training Centre, or Wetherby Young Offenders Institution, depending on their specific circumstances. All are mixed-gender settings, and girls may mix with boys in education and other activities, where appropriate. Youth Custody Service staff are trained to work with girls in a gender-responsive way, and regimes, services, activities, and interventions are tailored to meet their individual needs.

Where girls are placed into units which previously housed boys only, significant work is done to refurbish and ensure the environment is appropriate.


Written Question
Electronic Tagging
Monday 24th April 2023

Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to recommendation eight of HM Inspectorate of Probation's report entitled The use of electronic monitoring as a tool for the Probation Service in reducing reoffending and managing risk, published in January 2022, in how many and what proportion of probation cases HM Prison and Probation Service conducted domestic abuse and safeguarding checks before recommending a sentence or release on electronically monitored curfew in (a) 2021 and (b) 2022.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

The information requested is not held for the period specified. HM Prison and Probation Service mandated that enquiries to police and children’s services should be made in all cases where there is a recommendation for an electronically monitored curfew from April 2022 (in addition to those cases where they were already required).


Written Question
Electronic Tagging
Monday 24th April 2023

Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the policy paper entitled Thematic inspection on electronic monitoring, published on 22 January 2023, what steps his Department has taken to implement the recommendation that Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service work with the police and children’s social care at a national level to ensure that probation practitioners in every region are provided with domestic abuse and safeguarding checks in a timely manner.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

We are investing an extra £5.5 million a year to recruit probation staff who are specifically responsible for accessing domestic abuse information held by police forces and children’s safeguarding information held by local authorities. HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) has worked with the Association of Directors of Children’s Services, the Department for Education and the National Police Chiefs’ Council leads for Domestic Abuse and Public Protection to provide support at national level to Probation Regions to access information from police and children’s services. The then Chief Probation Officer also wrote to all Children’s Services Directors and Chief Constables to alert them to the introduction of mandatory checks for domestic abuse and in relation to child safeguarding in electronic monitoring cases. The Chief Probation Officer highlighted the additional investment and placed the new mandatory checks in the context of the shared priority of the safety and welfare of adults and children who may be at risk.

HM Inspectorate of Probation published the Thematic Inspection on Electronic Monitoring in January 2022. HMPPS mandated that enquiries to police forces and children’s services should be made in all cases where there is a recommendation for an electronically monitored curfew from April 2022 (in addition to those cases where they were already required). The then Chief Probation Officer and the Executive Director for HMPPS Wales and Public Protection held an all staff event to reinforce the importance of making enquiries. The new Chief Probation Officer has been clear with all staff that this is one of her top priorities.


Written Question
Electronic Tagging
Monday 24th April 2023

Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to HM Inspectorate of Prison and Probation Service's report on Thematic inspection on electronic monitoring, published 22 January 2023, what steps his Department has taken to implement the recommendation that HMPPS mandate the requirement to make domestic abuse and safeguarding checks before recommending a sentence or release on electronically monitored curfew.

Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)

We are investing an extra £5.5 million a year to recruit probation staff who are specifically responsible for accessing domestic abuse information held by police forces and children’s safeguarding information held by local authorities. HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) has worked with the Association of Directors of Children’s Services, the Department for Education and the National Police Chiefs’ Council leads for Domestic Abuse and Public Protection to provide support at national level to Probation Regions to access information from police and children’s services. The then Chief Probation Officer also wrote to all Children’s Services Directors and Chief Constables to alert them to the introduction of mandatory checks for domestic abuse and in relation to child safeguarding in electronic monitoring cases. The Chief Probation Officer highlighted the additional investment and placed the new mandatory checks in the context of the shared priority of the safety and welfare of adults and children who may be at risk.

HM Inspectorate of Probation published the Thematic Inspection on Electronic Monitoring in January 2022. HMPPS mandated that enquiries to police forces and children’s services should be made in all cases where there is a recommendation for an electronically monitored curfew from April 2022 (in addition to those cases where they were already required). The then Chief Probation Officer and the Executive Director for HMPPS Wales and Public Protection held an all staff event to reinforce the importance of making enquiries. The new Chief Probation Officer has been clear with all staff that this is one of her top priorities.


Written Question
Domestic Abuse: Legal Representation
Monday 14th November 2022

Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) accredited domestic abuse specialists and (b) other advocates his Department (i) has and (ii) plans to employ in the special advocates scheme provided for under section 65 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 to avoid perpetrator-victim cross examination in domestic abuse cases.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

Sections 65 and 66 of the Act prohibit domestic abuse perpetrators from cross-examining their victims, and vice versa, and enables the court to appoint a ‘qualified legal representative’ (QLRs) to cross-examine on their behalf.

We have already had 385 QLRs register for the scheme and we will continue to register individuals on a rolling basis to ensure that a sufficient number of representatives are available as cases continue to come through.

We are also conducting a targeted communications campaign, working with representatives from the legal sector and senior judiciary to increase awareness of the scheme and encourage QLR applications.


Written Question
Members: Correspondence
Monday 14th November 2022

Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the letter dated 27 June 2022 from Lorraine Harris, Area Coroner for Kingston Upon Hull and the East Riding of Yorkshire, to the Secretary of State for Justice setting out the coroner's recommendations as a result of the inquest into the death of Jessica Louise Laverack and requesting a response by 23 August 2022, for what reason his Department has not responded to the letter.

Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

I can confirm that we received the Area Coroner’s Report to Prevent Future Deaths and the findings of fact on 29 June 2022. The Victims Minister replied on 1 December to apologise for the delay in acknowledging receipt and thanking her for the comprehensive report into this terrible and tragic case.

We are aware that the Home Office responded to the Coroner within the 56-day timescale and we are supportive of the work that they have referenced in the cross Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan (published in March 2022) that is looking to address a number of these issues including:

  • developing the evidence base and interventions to prevent suicides linked to domestic abuse, as well as support a package of measures to tackle suicides which take place following domestic abuse;
  • updating police guidance on suicide so that it explicitly includes references to domestic abuse and for the police to consider whether domestic abuse was a contributing factor in cases of unexplained deaths and suspected suicides; and
  • promoting the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Statutory Guidance (published in August 2022) which sets out what best practice in supporting victims looks like, including for multi-agency working and Multi Agency Risk Assessment Conferences.

Written Question
Domestic Abuse: Homicide
Tuesday 8th November 2022

Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to point 5 on Timing in the Domestic Homicide Sentencing Review: Terms of Reference, published on 2 November 2021, when he plans to publish (a) the review and (b) his Department's response to it.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

Last year the government commissioned an independent expert, Clare Wade KC, to undertake a review of domestic homicide sentencing. The Terms of Reference stated that the review would be submitted to the Secretary of State for Justice by the end of 2021 and that we would then consider the review and its recommendations before determining whether further consultation is needed or publishing the report.

The independent reviewer required more time than anticipated to complete the review and it was delivered to the department in June this year. The Review examines a number of important and complex issues. Therefore prior to publication of the review and response, the government is carefully considering its recommendations and next steps.

This government is fully committed to ensuring that the sentencing framework responds appropriately to cases of domestic homicide and that sentences reflect the severity of these crimes.


Written Question
Prisoners: Disclosure of Information
Wednesday 26th October 2022

Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners serving a sentence for murder or manslaughter had an indictment for rape or sexual assault that has been ordered to lie on file.

Answered by Rob Butler

As at 30 June 2022, there were 6,731 prisoners serving a sentence for murder or manslaughter. Manual checks of paper records for each prisoner would be required to provide the answer to this question, which can be achieved only at disproportionate cost.


Written Question
Sexual Offences: Reoffenders
Tuesday 13th September 2022

Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, in the context of delays to cases of alleged sexual offences reaching trial, what recent estimate his Department has made of the rate of reoffending among people awaiting trial for those offences.

Answered by Rachel Maclean

The government does not currently hold data on the behaviours of those who have not yet been convicted of a crime but are nevertheless awaiting trial.

As part of the Rape Review Action Plan, the government also set out its action plan to drive improvements across the system; ensuring that victims of rape do not have to wait years to see justice and that our streets are made safer as quickly as possible.


Written Question
Crimes of Violence
Monday 23rd May 2022

Asked by: Jess Phillips (Labour - Birmingham, Yardley)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what training his Department provides for staff involved in dealing with strangulation and suffocation crimes.

Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care

The new offence of non-fatal strangulation, in section 70 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, comes into force early next month. There will be media communications to mark the introduction and the Government will continue to highlight the dangers that can result from strangulation and suffocation.

Regarding training, NHS England is also funding a free online training event to occur in late June which is aimed at NHS front line staff including paramedics, GP practices and A&E staff, Domestic Abuse Partnerships, non-Government offices, staff in the statutory domestic abuse and sexual assault sector, the police, prosecutors, social work, judges and magistrates, probation and psychologists. The judiciary, who are independent of Government, will – through the Judicial College – consider whether specific training and/or wider training on domestic abuse is necessary.

Building on the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, the Government has made substantial commitments in the Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan, published by the Home Office in March 2022, to better support victims of domestic abuse. Commitments include multi-year funding for victim support services which are crucial for helping victims engage in the criminal justice process. As part of this, the Ministry of Justice is bolstering support for victims by increasing its funding from £150.5m in 2021/22 to £185 million by 2024/25. This will ensure support is available to more victims and includes funding to increase the number of Independent Sexual and Domestic Violence Advisers to over 1,000, and other key services like crisis helplines. The Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan also contains a perpetrator Strategy which sets out clear commitments to prioritise addressing domestic abuse, with the aim of preventing people becoming perpetrators and victims in the first place. Additionally, through the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, victims will be given more time to report domestic abuse-related assaults by extending the time limit for prosecutions to six months from a formal report to the police within an overall limit of two years from the offence.