Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent steps he has taken to ensure that judges receive training in restorative justice.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
To preserve the independence of the judiciary, the Lord Chief Justice (LCJ), the Senior President of the Tribunals, and the Chief Coroner have statutory responsibility for judicial training, under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007, and Coroners and Justice Act 2009 respectively. These responsibilities are exercised through the Judicial College. The judiciary and professional staff in the Judicial College are responsible for the design, content, and delivery of judicial training.
The Judicial College uses sentencing exercises as part of both induction and continuation training. One of the topics covered in those exercises is restorative justice.
Asked by: Lord Hylton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have (1) to improve awareness of restorative justice throughout the criminal justice system, and (2) to increase the capacity of (a) professional, and (b) volunteer, restorative justice practitioners.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
The Government continues to support the provision of good quality, victim-focussed restorative justice to help victims cope and recover from the effects of crime.
Under the Code of Practice for Victims of Crime (Victims’ Code), all victims have the right to receive information about how to access restorative justice services in their local area.
The new Victims’ Code, which was published in November last year and came into force on 1 April this year, includes information which explains what restorative justice is and how it works. As part of the launch of the new Code, the Ministry of Justice engaged in publicity to raise awareness of the Code and victims’ rights therein. Criminal justice agencies also used internal communications to raise awareness of victims’ rights among practitioners.
The Ministry of Justice funds Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) to provide victim support services including commissioning restorative justice services to meet local need. Individual PCCs determine the capacity of restorative justice services required and the model of service appropriate for their area. PCCs are also able to utilise other funding streams outside of their MoJ grant for restorative justice.
In addition to the PCC commissioned schemes, the Government-funded national Homicide Service includes access to restorative justice services as part of the package of support it provides to families bereaved by homicide. Further restorative justice capacity is also made available in the youth justice system and by HM Prison and Probation Service.
Asked by: Lord Hylton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans, if any, they have to provide dedicated funding for restorative justice to provide equal access across the country and avoid discriminating against either (1) offenders, or (2) victims.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The Government recognises the value of restorative justice and the benefits it can bring to enable victims to cope and recover, and for offenders to be part of that process.
As part of the core funding provided to Police Crime and Commissioners (PCCs) for victim support services, they are able to commission restorative justice services according to their local need. This year, MoJ has allocated around £64.3m to PCCs for core funding. For information, in 20/21, PCCs spent around £3.7m from their core funding on restorative justice. PCCs are also able to utilise other funding streams outside of their MoJ grant for restorative justice.
In addition, the Government has provided £4.6m this financial year to fund the Homicide Service. This service provides practical and emotional support to families bereaved by Homicide, including access to restorative justice services
Asked by: Navendu Mishra (Labour - Stockport)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the effectiveness of restorative justice when dealing with anti-social behaviour in (a) England and (b) Stockport.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 provides flexible powers to authorities in local areas. As the powers are local in nature, the Home Office does not centrally collate data on the use of powers under the 2014 Act.
Data on injunctions that have been issued for incidents relating to anti-social behaviour is not collated centrally or published.
The Home Office does not collate data on the use of the Community Trigger mechanism. The 2014 Act includes a statutory duty for relevant bodies in a local government area to publish, at least annually, the number of applications for Community Trigger reviews received, the number of times the threshold for review was not met, the number of reviews carried out, and the number of the reviews that resulted in recommendations being made.
The Home Office updated statutory guidance in January 2021 to support local authorities to make effective use of the powers in the 2014 Act and provide enhanced clarity on the Community Trigger process. The 2014 Act and the statutory guidance also supports agencies determine whether restorative approaches are appropriate, depending on the specific behaviour.
Asked by: Lord Hylton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the effectiveness of restorative justice; and what plans, if any, they have for encouraging its use.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
The Government remains committed to the provision of good quality, victim-focused restorative justice to help victims cope and recover from the effects of crime. From April 2019 to March 2020, the Ministry of Justice provided about £76m to Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs), with about £3.9m spent on restorative justice services. PCCs also spent another £1.8m from other sources on restorative justice services. PCCs are responsible for evaluating victim services that they commission locally, including restorative justice.
In addition to the PCC funded schemes, restorative justice is also available in the youth justice system and provided by some probation Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs). From 26 June 2021, probation services delivery arrangements will change, bringing services together under 12 regional probation directors (RPDs) with responsibility and funding for commissioning specialist rehabilitative services from other sectors. The new commissioning framework includes a category for restorative justice services and has been designed to support local co-commissioning between PCCs, RPDs, health commissioners and local government. This is important for improving standards and ensuring safe and effective practice.
Under the Code of Practice for Victims of Crime, all victims have the right to receive information about how to access restorative justice services in their local area to participate if they wish to do so. The revised Code was published in November 2020 and will come into effect on 1 April 2021 and will be widely communicated to victims and criminal justice practitioners. The revised Code includes information which explains what restorative justice is and how it works. The Government will work with criminal justice agencies and organisations providing support to victims of crime to raise awareness of victims’ rights under the Code.
Asked by: Zarah Sultana (Labour - Coventry South)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has made representations to his counterpart in Bahrain on (a) securing the release from prison of 17-year-old Kameel Juma Hasan and (b) the full realisation of his human rights and rights as a child.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We are aware of the conviction and detention of Kameel Juma Hasan on terrorism charges and are monitoring his case. In response to recommendations in the BICI report and its obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, Bahrain is undertaking reform of its juvenile justice system. A new 'Child Restorative Justice and Protection from Abuse' Law awaits approval by the Shura Council (the appointed Upper House). As currently drafted, the new law includes a revised definition of a child as someone under the age of 18 years and a revision of the age of criminal responsibility to 15 years (it is currently 7 years). Specialist child courts and prosecutors will be established for all under 18 years on trial, with separate detention facilities for 15-18 year olds, those below 15 years old and welfare cases. We continue to encourage the Government of Bahrain to deliver on its international and domestic human rights commitments.
Asked by: Peter Kyle (Labour - Hove)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Government's Victim Strategy, what steps he has taken to require that Police and Crime Commissioners ensure that restorative justice services are available in their areas.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
The Ministry of Justice provides funding to Police and Crime Commissioners. The Grant Agreement in place requires Police and Crime Commissioners to provide or commission a wide range of local support services for victims, including Restorative Justice services, supporting the commitment in the Victim Strategy.
Restorative Justice services are well established within local commissioned victim support services commissioned through Police and Crime Commissioners. Under the Code of Practice for Victims of Crime (Victims’ Code), all victims have the right to receive information about how to access Restorative Justice services in their local area in order to participate if they wish to do so.
Asked by: Elliot Colburn (Conservative - Carshalton and Wallington)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the CPS's use of restorative justice to support victims of crime.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
The Ministry of Justice has not conducted an assessment of the CPS’s use of restorative justice. This is because the CPS has a very limited role in restorative justice (reparative conditions are an option for conditional cautions) and it does not provide or fund restorative justice services.
Under the Code of Practice for Victims of Crime, all victims have the right to receive information about the availability of restorative justice services. The Code also stipulates the obligations on providers of restorative justice, including ensuring that victims are able to give informed consent to participation and that it is in the best interests of the victims.
The Ministry of Justice provides funding to Police and Crime Commissioners to commission a wide range of local support services for victims, including restorative justice services. From April 2018 to March 2019 the Ministry provided about £68m, with about £4.4m spent on restorative justice services. PCCs also spent another £1m from other sources on restorative justice services.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the recommendations to the UN Human Rights Council in the report Visit to Iraq: Report of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons, published on 13 May, what discussions they intend to have with the government of Iraq about (1) adopting "a comprehensive legal and policy framework to address the situation of survivors of conflict-related sexual violence, many of whom remain in displacement, including by providing reparation through a comprehensive, inclusive and survivor centred reparation programme and expanding the proposed Yazidi reparations law and survivors’ grants" and (2) undertaking "comprehensive dialogue with communities affected by ISIL atrocities, in particular ethnic and religious minorities, to establish transitional justice mechanisms, to seek the truth about violations and to provide reparation, rebuilding trust between the population and the State and providing institutional guarantees of non-repetition".
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is committed to championing wider restorative justice efforts for survivors of conflict-related sexual violence and holding perpetrators to account. The UK has provided significant support to survivors of sexual violence in Iraq. Our Embassy in Baghdad has regular discussions with the Government of Iraq and the UN Investigative Team for the Accountability of Daesh (UNITAD), encouraging close co-operation between them to achieve justice for the victims of Daesh's crimes in Iraq. We welcome the fact that UNITAD is expanding its engagement with witnesses, survivors and impacted communities.
We are supporting the development of inclusive and representative reconciliation processes, involving Yazidis and other minorities who faced appalling suffering under Daesh, at both national and community levels in Iraq. We also remain committed to supporting Iraq to prevent Daesh resurgence, as the Foreign Secretary reaffirmed to new Iraqi Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein on 25 June.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his oral contribution of 11 June 2020 on Probation Services, Official Report, column 426, whether (a) accommodation, (b) employment, training, and education, (c) finance, benefits, and debt, (d) dependency and recovery, (e) family and significant others, (f) lifestyle and associates, (g) emotional wellbeing, (h) social inclusion, (i) cognitive and behavioural change, (j) women, (k) young adults, (l) black, asian, and minority ethnic, (m) restorative justice and (n) service user involvement services are included among the specialist resettlement and rehabilitative services that will be prioritised in order to build a solid foundation that can be delivered within the specified timeframe.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
In his statement to the House on 11 June 2020, the Lord Chancellor confirmed plans for a Probation Services Dynamic Framework through which the National Probation Service and other public bodies can commission rehabilitative and resettlement services. It opened on 11th June for registration by prospective suppliers with an interest in provision of one or more of 14 service categories.
I want to be clear that registration for the Probation Services Dynamic Framework is open to all organisations that provide accommodation, employment, training, and education, finance, benefits, and debt, dependency and recovery, family and significant others, lifestyle and associates, emotional wellbeing, social inclusion, cognitive and behavioural change, women, young adults, black, Asian, and minority ethnic, restorative justice and service user involvement services.
Our plans for the first set of contracts to be commissioned through the Framework reflect our assessment of the relative distribution of offender needs, the availability of existing local provision, and the capacity of both the third sector and HMPPS (in light of the impact of COVID-19) to complete call-off competitions and mobilise services in time for the start of future arrangements in June 2021. We initially intend to run competitions for lots which cover the following Probation Services Dynamic Framework service categories:
We will expect Regional Probation Directors to use their established relationships with local commissioners to secure high quality interventions via other funding means in relation to dependency and recovery and finance, benefits and debt, and to assess the need for services in relation to the additional categories. The Probation Services Dynamic Framework will enable Regional Probation Directors, over a period of time, to secure a suite of services across the range of service categories above which matches their locally-identified needs.