Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what support is provided to veterans with mental health conditions in prison.
Answered by Edward Argar - Shadow Secretary of State for Justice
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to support veterans who are released from prison.
Answered by Edward Argar - Shadow Secretary of State for Justice
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether prison staff undergo veteran awareness training.
Answered by Edward Argar - Shadow Secretary of State for Justice
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether jurors undergo veteran awareness training.
Answered by Mike Freer
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what safeguards his Department has in place within the County Court system to help ensure that the names of parties to court cases are accurately recorded and are updated if a person's name is changed, including following a divorce, during the course of court proceedings.
Answered by Mike Freer
It is the responsibility of the parties involved in court proceedings to ensure that the court is informed of the correct names of the parties, as well as any change of name during proceedings.
Most applications issued using the digital services of HMCTS automatically update the courts’ case management system with the names provided by the applicant. Whilst paper applications will usually require manual data entry by HMCTS, management checks are undertaken on sample of cases to ensure that case records accurately reflect the information provided on the application form.
In a divorce case further checks are also carried out at the decree nisi/conditional order and decree absolute/final order stage as a final check before the divorce is legally granted.
Throughout court proceedings any party can inform the court of a change of name or request a correction if an error has been made.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to support prison leavers find employment.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Shadow Secretary of State for Education
There is evidence that prison leavers who get a job within a year after release are up to nine per cent less likely to re-offend than those who do not.
We have put in place a series of measures to give prisoners the chance to work while in prison, while released on temporary licence, and following release. Dedicated Prison Employment Leads will identify candidates and match them to jobs. They will also oversee our new Employment Hubs, where prisoners can access support with job applications.
Building strong links with employers is a key part of the steps we are taking. We are working with James Timpson to roll out Employment Advisory Boards, which will link prisons with industry, so that local businesses can provide challenge and advice on the training prisoners can be given in prison to meet the needs of the local labour market.
We are on track to roll out Prison Employment Leads, Employment Hubs and Employment Advisory Boards across all 92 resettlement prisons by April 2023.
We have recently changed the law so that prisoners can become apprentices. The first prisoner apprentices started on 30 September and employers recruiting prisoner apprentices include construction firm Kier Group.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of unemployment on re-offending rates.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Shadow Secretary of State for Education
There is evidence that prison leavers who get a job within a year after release are up to nine per cent less likely to re-offend than those who do not.
We have put in place a series of measures to give prisoners the chance to work while in prison, while released on temporary licence, and following release. Dedicated Prison Employment Leads will identify candidates and match them to jobs. They will also oversee our new Employment Hubs, where prisoners can access support with job applications.
Building strong links with employers is a key part of the steps we are taking. We are working with James Timpson to roll out Employment Advisory Boards, which will link prisons with industry, so that local businesses can provide challenge and advice on the training prisoners can be given in prison to meet the needs of the local labour market.
We are on track to roll out Prison Employment Leads, Employment Hubs and Employment Advisory Boards across all 92 resettlement prisons by April 2023.
We have recently changed the law so that prisoners can become apprentices. The first prisoner apprentices started on 30 September and employers recruiting prisoner apprentices include construction firm Kier Group.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential impact waiting times for investigations to be made by the Birmingham and Solihull Coroner Service on people with religious obligations to conduct burials within a particular timeframe.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
The Coroner Statistics for the Birmingham and Solihull coroner area show that, in 2020, the average time from a death being reported to the conclusion of the inquest was 10 weeks. This was a decrease from 14 weeks in 2019 and 12 weeks in 2018, and below the 2020 average of 27 weeks in England and Wales. Statistics for 2021 will be published next month.
We recognise that delays in the inquest process may cause additional anguish and distress for the relatives and friends of the deceased. It is a matter for coroners, as independent judicial office holders, to determine how their investigations are carried out. However, we expect that they will continue to work sensitively with bereaved families to address any faith-based concerns.
The Chief Coroner has issued practical Guidance for coroners on situations where a bereaved family has requested urgent consideration of the death of a loved one, which may also include a request for early release of the body; or where the coroner or coroner’s officers become aware that a particular death may have aspects which justify especially urgent consideration. This may include consideration on the basis of religious obligations. The guidance says that coroners should pay appropriate respect to those wishes, within the framework of their legal duties and in the context of their other responsibilities.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent estimate he has made of waiting times for investigations to be made by the Birmingham and Solihull Coroner Service.
Answered by Tom Pursglove
The Coroner Statistics for the Birmingham and Solihull coroner area show that, in 2020, the average time from a death being reported to the conclusion of the inquest was 10 weeks. This was a decrease from 14 weeks in 2019 and 12 weeks in 2018, and below the 2020 average of 27 weeks in England and Wales. Statistics for 2021 will be published next month.
We recognise that delays in the inquest process may cause additional anguish and distress for the relatives and friends of the deceased. It is a matter for coroners, as independent judicial office holders, to determine how their investigations are carried out. However, we expect that they will continue to work sensitively with bereaved families to address any faith-based concerns.
The Chief Coroner has issued practical Guidance for coroners on situations where a bereaved family has requested urgent consideration of the death of a loved one, which may also include a request for early release of the body; or where the coroner or coroner’s officers become aware that a particular death may have aspects which justify especially urgent consideration. This may include consideration on the basis of religious obligations. The guidance says that coroners should pay appropriate respect to those wishes, within the framework of their legal duties and in the context of their other responsibilities.
Asked by: Steve McCabe (Labour - Birmingham, Selly Oak)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have been prosecuted for drink spiking-related offences in the West Midlands in the last three years.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
The Ministry of Justice publishes information on the number of defendants prosecuted for a wide range of offences up to the end of December 2020, in our ‘Principal offence proceedings and outcomes by Home Office offence code data tool’, here:
These offence codes relate to the following detailed offences:
- 08805 - Administer substance with intent to stupefy or overpower to engage in sexual activity
- 00505 - Using chloroform, etc., to commit or assist in committing an indictable offence
- 00510 - Endangering life or causing harm by administering poison
- 00802 - Administering poison with intent to injure or annoy
The number of defendants prosecuted will populate row 32.
It is important to note that these offences will include a broader range of offences than just drink spiking, and that drink spiking offences may be included as a subset of another offence not listed above.