Asked by: David Davis (Conservative - Haltemprice and Howden)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what steps his Department has taken to prevent miscarriages of justice as a result of the UK-US extradition treaty.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK-US Extradition Treaty continues to produce tangible results, bringing justice to victims in both the UK and US. All individual extradition requests are subject to the Extradition Act 2003, which requires a UK judge to decide whether the requested person's extradition would be appropriate based on the safeguards and protections included in the Act. Extradition continues to be a vital tool in our fight against transnational crime. The US is one of our main extradition partners and it is in our national interest to have an effective extradition relationship.
Asked by: Lord Taylor of Warwick (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Cabinet Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, following the wrongful convictions that occurred as a result of faulty Post Office Horizon software, what plans they have to integrate advanced oversight technologies that ensure accuracy and reliability of software used in public service systems to prevent any future issues.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
This was one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in our nation’s history, which is why we set up an independent inquiry to establish culpability and are bringing forward legislation to make sure those convicted as a result of the Horizon scandal are swiftly exonerated and compensated.
It is right that we do not pre-empt the conclusions of the ongoing, formal inquiry, but once the full facts are established we will consider all options.
The Central Digital and Data Office (CDDO), in the Cabinet Office, established in April 2021 to lead the Government’s Digital and Data Function, is the strategic centre for digital transformation which includes measuring services against digital and technical standards.
CDDO is defining best practice patterns and practices for software delivery to ensure high quality software delivery via the automation and regular testing of software quality throughout development. Use of ‘oversight technologies’ such as automated testing would follow user technology good practice, user needs and the risk profile of the system.
In addition to the software testing, a core requirement of the development process, the Service Assessment Model assesses newly created services, checking for evidence that departments are regularly monitoring and mitigating quality and reliability issues.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will take legislative steps to issue automatic compensation payments to individuals wrongly convicted of serious crimes.
Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)
There are no plans to amend section 133(2) of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 to introduce automatic payments of compensation following a qualifying miscarriage of justice. The statutory scheme sets out the eligibility criteria which must be met before an assessment of the amount of compensation can be made.
On 06 August 2023, the Lord Chancellor announced that wrongly convicted people will no longer face having “saved living costs” deducted from compensation for a miscarriage of justice. The Miscarriages of Justice Compensation Scheme guidance has been updated with immediate effect to reflect that change.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will take legislative steps to issue automatic compensation payments to individuals wrongly convicted of serious crimes.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.
Asked by: Ellie Reeves (Labour - Lewisham West and Penge)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many babies have been born on the prison estate in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
We began collecting information on the number of babies born to women in the prison estate in 2020-21. Information is not available for previous years.
During the nine months to 31 March 2021, and the twelve months to 31 March 2022, fewer than five babies were born within the prison estate in England and Wales in each period. We have not provided the exact figure, as that could lead to the identification of individuals.
Any information relating to the number of women who have experienced miscarriages would be held by the National Health Service, and not by the Ministry of Justice.
Asked by: Ellie Reeves (Labour - Lewisham West and Penge)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many women have experienced miscarriages whilst in prison in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
We began collecting information on the number of babies born to women in the prison estate in 2020-21. Information is not available for previous years.
During the nine months to 31 March 2021, and the twelve months to 31 March 2022, fewer than five babies were born within the prison estate in England and Wales in each period. We have not provided the exact figure, as that could lead to the identification of individuals.
Any information relating to the number of women who have experienced miscarriages would be held by the National Health Service, and not by the Ministry of Justice.
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if his Department can provide data on the (a) number of claimants (b) number of successful claimants and (c) the total awarded in compensation for a miscarriage of justice in each year since 2018.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The number of claimants in each financial year, the number of successful claimants and the total amount of compensation they were awarded under the Miscarriages of Justice Application Service (MOJAS) is set out in the table below. Data from 2000 has also been provided for context.
Please note that the number of successful claimants in any given year does not relate to the number of claims made in that year. The amount of compensation awarded in any given year relates to the successful decisions taken in that year, but the amount of money should not be divided by the number of successful claimants as each award is individual to the circumstances of the case. Where an individual has been found to meet the criteria of the statutory compensation scheme, but has not yet been awarded their compensation, this is highlighted in the table.
It should also be noted that the information provided below is internal management information and not quality assured to the same level as published statistics and is subject to change.
Financial Year | Number of claimants in the financial year | No of successful decisions in the financial year | Amount of compensation for successful applicants |
1999/2000 | n/k | 32 | £7,461,573.37 |
2000/2001 | n/k | 56 | £14,400,929.51 |
2001/2002 | n/k | 41 | £10,297,352.81 |
2002/2003 | 95 | 34 | £8,241,042.26 |
2003/2004 | 89 | 36 | £10,919,984.48 |
2004/2005 | 86 | 48 | £7,769,144.21 |
2005/2006 | 90 | 31 | £14,682,776.36 |
2006/2007 | 79 | 29 | £7,206,847.83 |
2007/2008 | 41 | 9 | £2,439,725.74 |
2008/2009 | 38 | 7 | £1,664,795.00 |
2009/2010 | 38 | 1 | £981,864.00 |
2010/2011 | 61 | 1 | £2,189,151.00 |
2011/2012 | 38 | 3 | £1,284,725.00 |
2012/2013 | 36 | 1 | £50,480.00 |
2013/2014 | 45 | 7 | £239,140.36 |
2014/2015 | 43 | 2 | £261,705.82 |
2015/2016 | 29 | 2 | £12,492.60 |
2016/2017 | 51 | 1 | £93,000.00 |
2017/18 | 36 | 0 | £0.00 |
2018/19 | 59 | 0 | £0.00 |
2019/20 | 98 | 5 | £713,500.00 |
2020/21 | 80* *4 cases have been placed on hold so have not received a decision | 4 | £480,400.00 |
2021/22 | 73 | 4 / 1 | £231,600.00 / Amount still to be determined by Independent Assessor |
2022/23 *to 24/02/2023) | 95* *Not all 95 cases have received a decision | 12 | Amounts still to be determined by Independent Assessor |
Asked by: Barry Sheerman (Labour (Co-op) - Huddersfield)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the rate of miscarriages of justice in relation to convictions under Joint Enterprise.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
No assessment has been made as the Ministry of Justice does not collate data on whether a prosecution or conviction relied on the doctrine of joint enterprise or whether an appeal in such a case resulted in a conviction being quashed or a sentence being changed. Such information may be held on court records but there are no means for this information to be collated centrally.
Asked by: Catherine West (Labour - Hornsey and Wood Green)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will respond to the Westminster Commission on Miscarriages of Justice's report into the Criminal Cases Review Commission, published on 5 March 2021.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
On 13 April 2021, Alex Chalk MP, then Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice, responded to the Westminster Commission on Miscarriages of Justice’s report into the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) at a Westminster Hall debate. During that debate, the Minister noted the CCRC’s good performance, the additional funding provided to it, and the position on the most significant recommendations in the report.
Asked by: Gareth Thomas (Labour (Co-op) - Harrow West)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, how many postmasters were dismissed between April 2006 and March 2010 as a result of the failings associated with the Post Office Horizon system.
Answered by Paul Scully
The Post Office has recently received an FOI request for the same information and that request is currently going through the appropriate process. As the information relates to data which is 10-15 years old, Post Office does not have immediately available information and so in responding to the FOI will seek to identify what, if any, information may be held.