Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent discussions she has had with the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman on its planned timetable for the inquiry into abuse at the former Medomsley Detention Centre in County Durham.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The abuse that took place at Medomsley Detention Centre was appalling. The previous government, after years of campaigning by victims and survivors, commissioned the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO) in October 2023 to undertake a thorough review of the abuse at Medomsley Detention Centre. The investigation commenced in November 2023 and is looking into what the authorities knew about the abuse over this period, if there were opportunities for them to take action or intervene, and what action they took.
At the outset, the PPO expected the review to take 18 months and therefore would conclude in May 2025 (although the Terms of Reference, which are available on the PPO website, do include the options for an extension if required, subject to approval).
It is important that the review has enough time to fully investigate what happened, to get the whole truth for victims and survivors. In the coming weeks, my officials and I will discuss the review’s progress with the PPO and his team to ensure that it can be completed as thoroughly but as quickly as possible.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions for non-payment of the BBC licence fee there have been in each of the last 15 years, by (i) parliamentary constituency and (ii) local authority.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
MOJ has published prosecutions, convictions and sentencing outcomes for England and Wales, with a filter for sex, from December 2010 to December 2020, available in the ‘Outcomes by Offence data tool’, available here:
These figures can be found for 2005 to 2015, using the same filters as above, here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/524326/cjs-outcomes-by-offence.xlsx
The number of prosecutions and convictions for television licence evasion between 2005 to 2020, broken down by sex, can be found in the attached tables for ease.
The Ministry of Justice does not hold information broken down by constituency.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions for non-payment of the BBC licence fee there have been in each of the last 15 years; and how many of those (i) prosecutions and (ii) convictions were of (A) men and (B) women.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
MOJ has published prosecutions, convictions and sentencing outcomes for England and Wales, with a filter for sex, from December 2010 to December 2020, available in the ‘Outcomes by Offence data tool’, available here:
These figures can be found for 2005 to 2015, using the same filters as above, here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/524326/cjs-outcomes-by-offence.xlsx
The number of prosecutions and convictions for television licence evasion between 2005 to 2020, broken down by sex, can be found in the attached tables for ease.
The Ministry of Justice does not hold information broken down by constituency.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment has been made of the adequacy of support for problem gamblers serving (a) custodial and (b) suspended sentences.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) delivers a broad range of interventions to address individual’s criminogenic risks and needs, including an accredited offending behaviour programme to improve thinking skills. While it was not specifically formulated with problem gambling including addiction in mind, the programme aims to enable participants to be less impulsive, more flexible and less rigid in their thinking. It also tackles a number of the cognitive deficits common to gamblers.
A number of prisons provide access and signposting to external, specialist organisations such as Gamblers Anonymous and “Gamcare” or using debt counselling services and services provided through the chaplaincy and education services. In addition, all prisoners are seen by NHS healthcare services on reception and can be referred to addiction services to help address problem gambling.
Probation staff also assess individual needs and can assist with referrals to local or national services to address gambling or to access debt counselling services where suitable, including those on suspended sentences. A support guide for staff supervising those with gambling issues has been produced.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many parents in each local authority area have taken Local Education Authorities (LEA) to appeal at a tribunal against an Education, Care and Health Plan decision in each of the last five years; and what proportion of those appeals were determined in favour of the (a) parents and (b) LEA.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
Due to the volume of data required to answer the question in respect of appeals against special education needs decisions made by local authorities, the information is attached as an annex to this answer.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many inquests there have been where (a) Article 2 of the Human Rights Act 1998 has been engaged, (b) Article 2 of that Act was engaged in relation to gambling-related harm and (c) gambling-related harm was a relevant factor in each year since 2005.
Answered by Alex Chalk
The Ministry of Justice publishes annual data on coroners including, amongst other things, the number of inquests they have held and the types of conclusion they have recorded. These statistics, however, are not further sub-categorised and therefore we are not in a position to provide accurate information on the number of inquests where Article 2 of the Human Rights Act 1998 was engaged or on whether gambling-related harm was a relevant factor.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans the Government has to extend the marriage licence during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Alex Chalk
We understand the frustration couples who have had to postpone their wedding or civil partnership must be feeling.
The requirement to solemnize a marriage within twelve months of giving notice to marry is set out in primary legislation, which does not provide for extending this period. It would require primary legislation to change this. In the meantime, the fees charged by local authorities for giving notice can be reduced, waived or refunded on compassionate grounds or in cases of hardship. It is for each local authority to determine when this can be applied.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions there have been for persecuting a hen harrier in England in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
It is not possible to identify from centrally held data the number of prosecutions and convictions for persecuting a hen harrier in England. This particular bird cannot be disaggregated from broader offences under sections 1 and 21 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the (a) maximum and (b) average sentence is for people convicted of stealing pets in England and Wales.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Leader of the House of Commons
There are different theft offences under the Theft Act 1968 any of which could relate to the theft of pets depending on the individual circumstances of the case. Centrally held information on theft offences does not identify if a pet specifically was stolen. The information may be held on court records but to be able to identify cases in which pets were stolen would require access to individual court records which would be of disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Richard Holden (Conservative - Basildon and Billericay)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people are in custody for acquisitive crimes associated with gambling addiction.
Answered by Alex Chalk
In answering these questions we have interpreted people who are in custody for acquisitive crimes associated with gambling addiction as people who are in custody for these crimes because of their gambling addiction.
It has not been possible to estimate the numbers of people who are in custody for acquisitive crimes because of their gambling addiction, and the numbers of people who are remanded in custody post-conviction for these crimes, because this specific data could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost to the department.