Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effect on (a) victims, (b) witnesses and (c) defendants of replacing jury trials with trials by a judge and two magistrates.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
We are pursuing a number of measures to help our Criminal Courts’ recovery, including searching for new court capacity. It is right that we think ambitiously and consider a full range of options. The Ministry would carry out a detailed assessment of any measure before introducing legislation.
Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 18 June 2020 to Question 58089, of the 230 women who were not deemed suitable for the End of Custody Temporary Release scheme how many (a) lacked suitable accommodation in the community, (b) no longer wished to proceed with their application and (c) were deemed to present an unacceptable level of risk if released.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
236 women in custody asked to be considered for the End of Custody Temporary Release scheme (ECTR).
As of Friday 12 June, 6 women were released under ECTR and 22 were still in the process (undergoing police and probation checks).
49 women did not consent to ECTR.
128 women did not pass the initial risk screening at establishment level, and 31 were screened out later in the process following checks by police and probation.
No women were deemed unsuitable due to a lack of accommodation. The National Probation Service (NPS) established 7 joint NPS/CRC Homelessness Prevention Taskforces (HPT) in England and Wales in March 2020. All homeless prisoners who are otherwise eligible for ECTR, are referred to the HPTs who will work with local housing providers to source appropriate accommodation. During the Covid -19 pandemic, Ministry of Justice funding has also been made available to house ECTR released prisoners in short term accommodation for up to 56 nights. This can include hotel and B&B accommodation. Those who are at risk of homelessness, will be referred to Local Authorities for assistance. Through The Gate case workers will be assigned to each person released on ECTR to support their move into longer term housing as well as other resettlement pathways.
Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent discussions his Department has had with women's (a) organisations and (b) centres on the support that they can provide to women released from custody under the End of Custody Temporary Release Scheme.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
The early release schemes were introduced as one element of a package of measures to create headroom to help contain the spread of coronavirus in prisons, alongside the creation of temporary accommodation and expediting of remand cases. This has enabled us to compartmentalise prisons to isolate the sick, shield the vulnerable and quarantine new arrivals. These measures have helped to contain the spread of the virus and limit deaths significantly, compared to initial estimates.
Measures were taken in April to release a number of pregnant women in custody and mothers and babies living in prison Mother and Baby Units (MBUs). These measures were discussed with those representing women’s organisations, including the regional networks co-ordinated by Clinks, the umbrella body for organisations working with offenders, Women in Prison, Birth Companions and others.
An extra-ordinary meeting of the Advisory Board for Female Offenders, which includes representation from women’s organisations and other external stakeholders, was held on 27 April 2020, and chaired by the Minister of State for Prisons and Probation.
HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) Women’s Team has a single point of contact within Clinks for work relating to women and with whom they have established and maintained regular contact. This has enabled local and regional contacts with third sector providers to be established at pace and their details shared with practitioners in custody and the community to ensure women have access to appropriate support and assistance upon their release.
Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to reduce the risk of covid-19 spreading to (a) prison staff and people serving sentences in custody and (b) people serving sentences in the community and the staff who supervise them.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
HMPPS is working to prevent the spread of COVID-19, based on the very latest scientific and medical advice. We are working closely with Public Health England, the NHS and the Department of Health and Social Care to manage the challenges we face.
The safety and wellbeing of staff, service users and visitors to our estate is paramount and at the heart of our approach.
Prisons and probation have existing, well-developed policies and procedures in place to manage outbreaks of infectious diseases. This means they are well prepared to take immediate action whenever cases or suspected cases are identified.
Basic hygiene is a key part of tackling the virus and good practice is being promoted on posters throughout the estate. Handwashing facilities are available to all prisoners, services users, staff and visitors, and we have worked closely with suppliers to ensure adequate supply of soap and cleaning materials.
We have procedures agreed with our public health colleagues for protecting staff in the workplace but, like any member of the community, some prison and probation staff may need to self-isolate in line with public health advice, or may become infected. We are taking steps to boost staff availability and so enable us to continue to look after prisoners properly and maintain supervision of offenders in the community in the event of staff absences.
Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the provision of testing for covid-19 in prisons.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
HMPPS is working to prevent the spread of COVID-19, based on the very latest scientific and medical advice. We are working closely with Public Health England, the NHS and the Department of Health and Social Care to manage the challenges we face.
The safety and wellbeing of staff, service users and visitors to our estate is paramount and at the heart of our approach.
Prisons and probation have existing, well-developed policies and procedures in place to manage outbreaks of infectious diseases. This means they are well prepared to take immediate action whenever cases or suspected cases are identified.
Basic hygiene is a key part of tackling the virus and good practice is being promoted on posters throughout the estate. Handwashing facilities are available to all prisoners, services users, staff and visitors, and we have worked closely with suppliers to ensure adequate supply of soap and cleaning materials.
We have procedures agreed with our public health colleagues for protecting staff in the workplace but, like any member of the community, some prison and probation staff may need to self-isolate in line with public health advice, or may become infected. We are taking steps to boost staff availability and so enable us to continue to look after prisoners properly and maintain supervision of offenders in the community in the event of staff absences.
Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many episodes were recorded of segregation of (a) women and (b) men in custody in England in each of the past three years.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
The information requested is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost as it would require each prison to obtain the information through their Separation Unit records.
Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has plans to increase the length of sentences for violent offences against shop-workers.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
Everyone has the right to feel safe at work and assaults on shop workers are unacceptable.
There are a range of offences someone can be convicted of if they assault a shop worker. Maximum penalties for offences are set by Parliament and include five years’ custody for assault occasioning actual bodily harm and life imprisonment for the most serious cases of causing grievous bodily harm.
When making sentencing decisions the courts must follow any relevant sentencing guidelines, produced by the independent Sentencing Council. The Overarching Principles: Seriousness Guideline and Assault Guideline require the court to treat the fact that an offence was committed against those working in the public sector or providing a service to the public as an aggravating factor, making the offence more serious. The Council produced expanded explanations in 2019 which made clear that this factor “applies whether the victim is a public or private employee or acting in a voluntary capacity”. The Sentencing Council is reviewing its guidelines on assault and a consultation on a revised guideline is anticipated early this year.
On 5 April 2019 the Home Office launched a call for evidence on violence and abuse towards shop staff. The aim of this work is to strengthen our understanding of the issue, including how existing legislation is being applied. The call for evidence has now closed and the Home Office are carefully analysing the responses before deciding what further action may be required. The government’s response will be published in due course. ’The National Retail Crime Steering Group will continue to provide input on tackling this issue.
Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of (a) the effectiveness of the sentencing, (b) the length of sentencing or (c) the effect of custodial sentencing on levels of violence against shop staff; and whether he will make a statement.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
Everyone has the right to feel safe at work and assaults on shop workers are unacceptable.
There are a range of offences someone can be convicted of if they assault a shop worker. Maximum penalties for offences are set by Parliament and include five years’ custody for assault occasioning actual bodily harm and life imprisonment for the most serious cases of causing grievous bodily harm.
When making sentencing decisions the courts must follow any relevant sentencing guidelines, produced by the independent Sentencing Council. The Overarching Principles: Seriousness Guideline and Assault Guideline require the court to treat the fact that an offence was committed against those working in the public sector or providing a service to the public as an aggravating factor, making the offence more serious. The Council produced expanded explanations in 2019 which made clear that this factor “applies whether the victim is a public or private employee or acting in a voluntary capacity”. The Sentencing Council is reviewing its guidelines on assault and a consultation on a revised guideline is anticipated early this year.
On 5 April 2019 the Home Office launched a call for evidence on violence and abuse towards shop staff. The aim of this work is to strengthen our understanding of the issue, including how existing legislation is being applied. The call for evidence has now closed and the Home Office are carefully analysing the responses before deciding what further action may be required. The government’s response will be published in due course. ’The National Retail Crime Steering Group will continue to provide input on tackling this issue.