Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing new policies to help improve protection for people at risk of domestic homicide in all regions.
Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)
In the 2022 Tackling Domestic Abuse Plan the government outlined a package of measures to reduce domestic homicides and reform the Domestic Homicide Review (DHR) process.
DHRs are reviews into deaths related to domestic abuse which seek to identify what lessons can be learnt and implemented to prevent future deaths.
In June 2023, we launched the online DHR Library to help ensure police and partners have easy access to material to learn from previous homicides and prevent future deaths linked to domestic abuse.
The implementation of reforms to DHRs will improve our understanding and drive down the frequency of domestic homicides.
The Home Office also funds the collection of data on deaths related to domestic abuse through the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s Domestic Homicide Project. The project brings together data and information on prior agency knowledge of victims and risk factors to improve the evidence base and subsequent policy responses for preventing domestic homicides.
To gain protection from domestic abuse a protective order can be applied for. Police can apply for a Domestic Violence Protection Order, victims can apply for a Non-Molestation Order and criminal courts can impose a Restraining Order on acquittal or conviction of a criminal offence. The introduction of the new Domestic Abuse Protection Notice and Order, will help simplify and strengthen the protection for victims avaliable, introducing new features like mandatory notification requirements and electronic monitoring (“tagging”). The new order will be piloted in Greater Manchester, the London Boroughs of Croydon, Sutton, and Bromley, and with the British Transport Police.
Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the policy paper entitled Transforming for a digital future: 2022 to 2025 roadmap for digital and data, updated on 29 February 2024, when his Department first assessed each of the red-rated legacy IT systems in (a) his Department and (b) HM Courts and Tribunals Service to be red-rated.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
We completed an assessment of our critical systems against the CDDO’s legacy technology measures in July 2023, identifying the red rated system during that process.
HMCTS first assessed the red-rated legacy IT systems in October 2022 as part of their Decommissioning and Legacy Risk Mitigation (DLRM) programme.
Asked by: Jonathan Ashworth (Labour (Co-op) - Leicester South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the policy paper entitled Transforming for a digital future: 2022 to 2025 roadmap for digital and data, updated on 29 February 2024, what steps his Department has taken to mitigate the risks of red-rated legacy IT systems used in (a) his Department and (b) HM Courts and Tribunals Service.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
We continue to assess our most critical services using the CDDO legacy IT framework. Now that funding has been secured, we are designing phased plans to mitigate risks for the red-rated services identified in the previous assessment. One of the red-rated services has had technical risks mitigated by being migrated to the MoJ's modernisation platform. Additionally, we are continually improving our overall risk management and mitigation approaches.
Within HMCTS, services have also been assessed against the framework, and we are continuing with the delivery of the Decommissioning and Legacy Risk Mitigation (DLRM) programme that is addressing these risks. DLRM is a SR21-funded, Government Major Project Portfolio programme specifically focussed on legacy system risks and is decommissioning, replacing, or moving them onto secure, modern, cloud-based environments.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many convictions of young people there were in (a) the North West, (b) Lancashire and (c) Preston in each of the last five years; and what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the trend in the number of such convictions.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice holds information on convictions by age group and Police Force Area, covering the period requested. The latest data available, until year ending June 2023, can be obtained in the following published tool: Outcomes by Offence tool: June 2023.
The tool linked above will allow you to select particular age groups of interest through the age group filter, and areas of the country through the police force area filter.
It is not possible to separately identify all convictions in Preston courts specifically, as those at magistrates’ courts in Preston are counted within the wider geographical area of Lancashire outlined in the first part of the question. Figures for the rest of 2023 will be available in the next update of the Criminal Justice Statistics Quarterly publication, expected in May 2024.
The Ministry of Justice has not carried out any recent location-specific assessment of on how our policies have influenced the trend in the number of children convicted since 2019 in Preston, Lancashire and the North West. However, there has been analysis of the broader national trend, which is a fall in the overall number of children entering the criminal justice system more generally in recent years. Since 2012, the number of first-time entrants to the youth justice system has declined by 72%. This can be attributed to a number of drivers. These include changes to policing and criminal justice practices intended to increase police discretion to divert children who had committed low-level offences from the formal justice system, prevention programmes to support vulnerable families and Youth Offending Teams undertaking prevention work with children perceived to be at risk of offending.
Asked by: Tim Loughton (Conservative - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what his Department's procedure is for the verification of religious conversion when cited as a reason for the validity of an application for asylum.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
All asylum and human rights claims, including those based on religion or belief, are carefully considered on their individual merits in accordance with our international obligations, so that we do not remove anyone who faces persecution or serious harm on return to their country of origin.
Detailed Home Office policy guidance provides a framework for considering asylum claims, including those based on religious conversion, and all caseworkers receive extensive training and mentoring support before making such decisions.
Each individual assessment is made against the background of relevant case law and the latest available country of origin information. This is based on evidence taken from a wide range of reliable sources, including reputable media outlets; local, national, and international organisations, including human rights organisations; and information from the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office.
The degree of weight to be given to evidence from church witnesses will depend on how much knowledge and experience a church witness has, and the individuals concerned, and the way in which the claimant may have engaged in church activities. Evidence from a senior church member is not considered to be determinative.
In such cases, decision-makers must decide whether a conversion is genuine on the balance of probabilities. Decision-makers must consider all evidence in the round, including, where relevant, such factors as the claimant’s participation in church activities, the timing of their conversion, their knowledge of the faith, and the opinions of other members of the congregation as to the genuineness of the conversion.
Protection is normally granted where a claimant has a well-founded fear of persecution under the Refugee Convention or a claimant faces a real risk of serious harm. Those found not to need protection are refused, and the decision can be subject to legal challenge where appropriate, either via appeal to the independent courts or through a judicial review, depending on the decision in question. Once appeal rights are exhausted, they are liable for removal and enforcement action pursued where necessary.
Asked by: Tim Loughton (Conservative - East Worthing and Shoreham)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the role of the Church of England is on advising on the validity of religious conversion claims where the threat of religious persecution is given as a material basis for the claim.
Answered by Tom Pursglove - Minister of State (Minister for Legal Migration and Delivery)
All asylum and human rights claims, including those based on religion or belief, are carefully considered on their individual merits in accordance with our international obligations, so that we do not remove anyone who faces persecution or serious harm on return to their country of origin.
Detailed Home Office policy guidance provides a framework for considering asylum claims, including those based on religious conversion, and all caseworkers receive extensive training and mentoring support before making such decisions.
Each individual assessment is made against the background of relevant case law and the latest available country of origin information. This is based on evidence taken from a wide range of reliable sources, including reputable media outlets; local, national, and international organisations, including human rights organisations; and information from the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office.
The degree of weight to be given to evidence from church witnesses will depend on how much knowledge and experience a church witness has, and the individuals concerned, and the way in which the claimant may have engaged in church activities. Evidence from a senior church member is not considered to be determinative.
In such cases, decision-makers must decide whether a conversion is genuine on the balance of probabilities. Decision-makers must consider all evidence in the round, including, where relevant, such factors as the claimant’s participation in church activities, the timing of their conversion, their knowledge of the faith, and the opinions of other members of the congregation as to the genuineness of the conversion.
Protection is normally granted where a claimant has a well-founded fear of persecution under the Refugee Convention or a claimant faces a real risk of serious harm. Those found not to need protection are refused, and the decision can be subject to legal challenge where appropriate, either via appeal to the independent courts or through a judicial review, depending on the decision in question. Once appeal rights are exhausted, they are liable for removal and enforcement action pursued where necessary.
Asked by: Lord Sikka (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business and Trade:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the risk of conflict of interest of Tim Parker holding the position of chairman of the Post Office, when it sought to block appeals by convicted postmasters, while also holding the position of Chair of HM Courts and Tribunals Service.
Answered by Lord Offord of Garvel - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Business and Trade)
When appointments are made, conflicts are routinely addressed as part of the appointments process. The Companies Act sets out that a director must avoid situations where they have conflicts which conflict with the interests of the company, and they must disclose conflicts of interest.
The Department is not however aware of any specific assessment made with regard to Tim Parker’s role as Chair of HMCTS and Post Office Ltd decisions in response to postmaster appeals.
Asked by: Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle (Green Party - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to reduce rates of violence experienced by front line healthcare workers; and what assessment they have made of the effect of such violence on staffing levels.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
In January 2021, and in conjunction with the Social Partnership Forum, NHS England developed and published a national Violence Prevention and Reduction Standard. This supports employers in their efforts to provide a safe and secure working environment for National Health Service staff, with a focus on risk management, training and support for those impacted by incidences of violence or aggression.
£8.4 million has been invested into the ambulance service sector to explore the efficacy of body worn cameras in reducing violence and abuse. All ambulance trusts are now trialling cameras and an independent evaluation is underway with a final report expected towards the end of 2024.
In 2022, the Government legislated through the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act to double the sentence for assaults on emergency workers to a maximum of two years.
We do not currently have a national mechanism to assess the levels of violence and aggression in the NHS on staffing levels. NHS employing organisations have a duty of care to support the health and safety of their staff and they do collect data on incidents. This is used to inform local strategies for reducing and dealing with violence and aggression.
The NHS Staff Survey does ask questions relating to incidences of violence, harassment, and abuse. The 2022 NHS Staff Survey indicated that 14.7% of NHS staff have self-reported that they had experienced at least one incident of physical violence from patients, service users, relatives, or other members of the public in the last 12 months.
Asked by: Matt Rodda (Labour - Reading East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Central Digital & Data Office's guidance entitled, Guidance on the Legacy IT Risk Assessment Framework, published 29 September 2023, how many red-rated IT systems are used by HM Courts and Tribunals Service as of 6 December 2023.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Based on the latest assessment using Central Digital & Data Office’s guidance, as at October 2022 HMCTS had 9 red-rated IT systems.
Asked by: Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that practitioners involved in the transportation of children and young people have access to (1) training, (2) supervision, (3) support, and (4) reporting procedures, to assist them in reducing the use of restraint during transportation.
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The most recent Prisoner Escort and Custody Services (PECS) procurement process, which covers securely moving both adults and children, commenced in August 2020 and runs for ten years. This contract covers a range of services including secure transportation between prisons, police stations and other named places of detention and courts as well as transportation of prisoners between prison establishments and includes transition moves from the youth to adult estate.
The Criminal Justice Act 1991 (as amended) and section 12 and Schedule 2 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 as amended by the 2007 offender management act, covers staffing requirements for moving children. All suppliers must demonstrate their technical and professional ability to deliver services, including compliance with the Equality Act 2010, as well as a sound economic and financial standing during any procurement process.
Requirements for the supplier to implement behavioural management policies are included within the PECS contract outlines and cover Human rights, where use of restraint may be applicable and a requirement that any use is reported. There is an expectation that mechanical restraints would not be routinely used for children unless a risk assessment confirms they are necessary.
The PECS suppliers are required to adhere to Prison Service Instructions covering the use of restraint, and their Standard Operating Procedures, training and supervision will be structured around these policy documents. Further to this the PECS contract requires suppliers to have a programme of development and refresher training for their staff which includes training for dealing with young people. Suppliers are also required to review any use of force and ensure that any appropriate lessons are learned, shared and implemented.