Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to reduce the time taken for Serious Further Offence (a) staff investigations to be resolved and (b) cases to reach a Coroner’s Court.

We continually review how we improve services for victims. That is why we have made the Serious Further Offence (SFO) Review Procedures more transparent, so that victims are provided with a clear account of how the Probation Service managed the offender and, where there were failings, how they are being addressed. Trained Victim Liaison Officers contact victims after the offender has been sentenced to offer them information and a redacted copy of the review report at a time of their choice, as well as to provide them with details about local services which can offer emotional support.

HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) has a duty of care to all employees and expects Regional Probation Directors to ensure that staff whose practice is being examined in an SFO review receive appropriate support. Employees have confidential access to a range of well-being services.

Civil servants are provided legal representation at Inquests at public expense in accordance with the Civil Service Management Code.

Where the work to produce an SFO review identifies significant concerns and a decision to commence a disciplinary investigation, that investigation will be conducted under a separate process, in accordance with the relevant policies and to a timescale proportionate to the matters being investigated.

Coroner services are local services funded by individual local authorities; the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has responsibility for coroner law and policy. The Coroners (Inquests) Rules provide that the Coroner must complete an inquest within six months of the date on which the Coroner is made aware of the death or “as soon as is reasonably practicable after that date”. The MoJ publishes annual statistics on GOV.UK, including inquest conclusions, but these do not breakdown the cases further to matters such as whether the death was related to a Serious Further Offence. Statistics for 2020 were published on 13 May 2021 at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/coroners-statistics-2020