Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what data his Department holds on the awarding of compensation to victims of vehicle crime by criminal courts.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Ministry of Justice has published information on prosecutions, convictions and sentencing outcomes for vehicle offences, including the number and amount of compensation orders imposed by the courts, in England and Wales, up to December 2020, available in the ‘Outcomes by Offence’ data tool, available here:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/987715/outcomes-by-offence-2020.xlsx.
To find the number and amount of compensation orders issued by the courts, follow the steps below:
It is important to note that the figures presented in this data tool are on a principal disposal basis - i.e. reporting the most severe sentence for the principal offence; therefore it is likely that, for more serious offences such as ‘37.1 Causing Death by Aggravated Vehicle Taking (MOT)’, there will be a more serious disposal issued.
Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure that women on low incomes are able to access legal aid in cases where a child arrangement order has been breached.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
Legal aid is available for certain specific private family law proceedings, including a breach of a child arrangement order (CAO), where a child is a party to those proceedings or where there is evidence of domestic violence or child abuse. The Government ensures that legal aid is available for victims of domestic abuse in all private family proceedings subject to evidence requirements and statutory means and merits criteria being met. In April 2020 we laid an SI to widen the acceptable forms of evidence of domestic abuse.
In June 2020 we published the ‘Assessing Risk of Harm to Children and Parents in Private Law Children Cases’ and our Implementation Plan in which we committed to a number of measures that aim to improve the outcomes for those who go through private law children proceedings, especially those who are most vulnerable. The Domestic Abuse Bill focusses on further improving the effectiveness of the justice system in providing protection for victims of domestic abuse. The Domestic Abuse Bill completed its Commons stage on 6 July 2020. The Post-Implementation Review of LASPO (PIR), published in February 2019, also considered the impact of LASPO on victims of domestic abuse. In the Legal Support Action Plan, published alongside the PIR, we announced a review of the legal aid means tests, including a commitment to specifically considering the impact of the means test on victims of domestic abuse. This review will report in Spring 2021, at which point we will publish a full consultation paper setting out our future policy proposals in this area.
Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department plans to fund therapy services for child victims of sexual abuse who are aged under 13.
Answered by Phillip Lee
On 25 April, the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse published its Interim Report. The Report contains a series of recommendations for specific changes, several of which are directed at Government. The Government welcomes the Report and is now considering the Inquiry’s recommendations very carefully. The Government will respond fully in due course.
The Government’s Tackling Child Sexual Exploitation: Progress Report, published in February 2017, announced a £40m package of measures to protect children and young people from sexual abuse, exploitation and trafficking. The package included £7.5m for a new Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse, and a £7m uplift in funding for non-statutory organisations supporting the victims and survivors of sexual abuse.
The Ministry of Justice have provided around £68m to Police and Crime Commissioners in 2017/18 to locally commission emotional and practical support services for victims of crime, including for child victims of sexual abuse.
Asked by: Karin Smyth (Labour - Bristol South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to increase employment opportunities for people (a) on community sentences and (b) released from prison.
Answered by Andrew Selous - Second Church Estates Commissioner
Prisons should be places of hard work, rigorous education and high ambition, with incentives for prisoners to learn and for prison staff to prioritise education and work. Dame Sally Coates’ review of education in prisons published on 18 May sets out a clear blueprint for reform of education, with Governors given the tools to ensure education provision meets the needs of their prisoners
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. We want Governors to do more and 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 a number of successful roadshows across the estate. 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.
Our reforms to probation services mean that virtually all those sentenced to less than 12 months now receive support both in custody and on release. Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) were created as part of these reforms and manage low to medium risk offenders, including those serving community sentences. CRCs have been given the flexibility to do what they think works to reduce reoffending, which should increase opportunities for offenders to turn their lives around.
Offenders serving community sentences can access services available in the community such as education and training courses; mental health provision and support to obtain employment and accommodation. Where an offender is subject to an unpaid work requirement, they have the opportunity to give back to their local community.