Asked by: Lord Blunkett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to update the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
This government has recently reviewed and made significant changes to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA) 1974. The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 amended the ROA to significantly reduce the length of time that someone needs to disclose most criminal records. These reforms will improve access to employment, which we know is a key factor in supporting rehabilitation and enabling former offenders to reintegrate into the community. Serious violent, sexual, or terrorist offences are excluded from these changes and continue to never be spent.
Where a person has a conviction disclosed, we are clear that this should not be an automatic bar to employment. Our guidance for employers states that they should make a balanced judgment on whether someone’s convictions make them unsuitable for a particular job. This should take into account the person’s age at the time of the offence, how long ago it took place, the nature of the offence and its relevance to the position in question, among other factors.
The ROA is kept under review. There are no current plans to make further changes, but please see further the answer I gave on 4 April to Question HL3362.
Asked by: Lord Blunkett (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government, excluding sexual or violent offences, under what circumstances can someone subject to an Imprisonment for Public Protection sentence who has completed their license period have earlier, minor offences dropped from their record.
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (the ROA) sets out when an offender is considered to be ‘rehabilitated’ for the purposes of the Act and the relevant rehabilitation periods for cautions and convictions (also referred to as when a caution or a conviction become ‘spent’). This does not mean that an offence is dropped from their record, rather that the offender only needs to disclose the spent caution or conviction in some circumstances.
The ROA also provides that where a person commits another offence before the first has become spent, then the rehabilitation periods are extended to the longest period. The ROA sets out that, as with other indeterminate sentences, IPP sentences can never become spent, regardless of whether the licence is terminated or not. The same, therefore, applies to any unspent caution or conviction imposed on the offender prior to the IPP sentence.
We have taken action through the Victims and Prisoners Bill to curtail IPP licence periods to give offenders the opportunity to move on with their lives. Whether the ROA should be reviewed in the light of these changes would require further consideration in the context of indeterminate sentences generally.
Asked by: Kevin Brennan (Labour - Cardiff West)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment his Department has made of the efficacy of its data collection systems in regard to victims.
Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)
There are two main services for victims, the Domestic Abuse Safety Officer Service and the Victim Contact Scheme.
The Probation Service runs the Victim Contact Scheme (VCS) for victims of offenders convicted of serious violent or sexual offences, who are sentenced to twelve months or more imprisonment. It has carried out changes in 2021 to ensure efficacy of its systems in relation to data collection to support the Victims’ Code of Practice.
There is also ongoing work to develop a set of national performance measures which can be used to measure the impact of the scheme and inform future development and decision making.
A change to the referral process in 2021, outlined in the Victims’ Code of Practice, now directs that victim’s contact details are automatically sent to Probation Service Victim Contact Units. These details are then recorded on the Probation Service Victim Contact Management System. This ensures timely offers of the VCS to victims, allowing them the choice of whether or not to engage in the scheme. To ensure the receipt of referrals, Probation staff also run reports from court and probation systems to ensure the receipt of qualifying cases. Figures from the Victim Satisfaction Survey linked to the scheme continues to show positive satisfaction of above 80% from victims who engage in the scheme.
To date, there has been no evaluation of the effectiveness of the Domestic Abuse Safety Officer service. This is a service that is offered to all victims and new partners of people attending Probation Service-run domestic abuse rehabilitation programmes. In July 2023, a national case management database was launched. This is a robust system, which enabled efficient collation, monitoring, and analysis of victim data. There is ongoing work to develop a set of national performance measures which can be used to measure the impact of the scheme and inform future development and decision making.
Furthermore, in September 2023, the new digital service to apply for criminal injuries compensation was made available to 100% of applicants. The number of questions asked as part of applying for compensation was reduced where possible - by 20-30% on some application journeys - compared to the older service we replaced.
This approach was supported by user research and trauma-informed practice, to ensure the data we are collecting is proportionate and required to enable the decision-making process - for example, we removed the mandatory need for victims to describe the nature of the incident as part of the application process, to reduce the risk of re-traumatisation.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference his Oral Statement of 16 October 2023 on Prison Capacity, Official Report, column 68, whether he (a) has had and (b) plans to have discussions with the Parole Board on the process for reviewing sentences of imprisonment for public protection; how such cases will be prioritised for review; and what consideration will be given to length of sentence served.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The Government’s view is that retrospectively changing the sentence of imprisonment for public protection (IPP) which was lawfully passed would give rise to unacceptable risks to the public protection. It would inevitably result in the release of many offenders who have committed serious sexual or violent offences, where the Parole Board has not assessed them as safe to be released.
However, it remains a priority for the His Majesty’s Government that all those serving the IPP sentence receive the support which they need to progress towards safe release from custody or, where they are being supervised on licence in the community, towards having their licence terminated altogether. In that respect, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Justice, advised in his statement to this House on 16 October that he would be looking at options to curtail the licence period to restore greater proportionality to IPP sentences in line with recommendation 8 of the report by the Justice Select Committee’ (JSC) report, published on 28 September 2022. He will come back to the House on that in due course.
In the meantime, the Government continues to focus on the rehabilitation of IPP prisoners through a refreshed and updated Action Plan, published on 26 April 2023 as a response to the JSC’s report. The Plan provides a renewed focus on supporting those serving IPP sentences in both custody and the community, by ensuring that each prisoner has a robust and effective sentence plan, tailored to their individual needs, by to supporting those in the community on licence to comply with their conditions.
The independent Parole Board is responsible for considering whether prisoners serving indeterminate sentences are suitable for release following a referral of the prisoner’s case by the Secretary of State.
The priority given when listing cases for a review is a matter for the Parole Board which is independent of Government. The Lord Chancellor does, however, maintain regular engagement with the Parole Board to ensure that the parole process continues to be effectively managed and that HMPPS is accurately sharing information with the Parole Board in a timely manner.
Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference his Oral Statement of 16 October 2023 on Prison Capacity, Official Report, column 68, if he will take steps to ensure that all sentences of imprisonment for public protection are reviewed in the next 12 months.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The Government’s view is that retrospectively changing the sentence of imprisonment for public protection (IPP) which was lawfully passed would give rise to unacceptable risks to the public protection. It would inevitably result in the release of many offenders who have committed serious sexual or violent offences, where the Parole Board has not assessed them as safe to be released.
However, it remains a priority for the His Majesty’s Government that all those serving the IPP sentence receive the support which they need to progress towards safe release from custody or, where they are being supervised on licence in the community, towards having their licence terminated altogether. In that respect, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Justice, advised in his statement to this House on 16 October that he would be looking at options to curtail the licence period to restore greater proportionality to IPP sentences in line with recommendation 8 of the report by the Justice Select Committee’ (JSC) report, published on 28 September 2022. He will come back to the House on that in due course.
In the meantime, the Government continues to focus on the rehabilitation of IPP prisoners through a refreshed and updated Action Plan, published on 26 April 2023 as a response to the JSC’s report. The Plan provides a renewed focus on supporting those serving IPP sentences in both custody and the community, by ensuring that each prisoner has a robust and effective sentence plan, tailored to their individual needs, by to supporting those in the community on licence to comply with their conditions.
The independent Parole Board is responsible for considering whether prisoners serving indeterminate sentences are suitable for release following a referral of the prisoner’s case by the Secretary of State.
The priority given when listing cases for a review is a matter for the Parole Board which is independent of Government. The Lord Chancellor does, however, maintain regular engagement with the Parole Board to ensure that the parole process continues to be effectively managed and that HMPPS is accurately sharing information with the Parole Board in a timely manner.
Asked by: Ellie Reeves (Labour - Lewisham West and Penge)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much the Probation Service spent on running specialist sex offender units in each of the last five years.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Each probation region has a sexual offending unit, the purpose of which is to deliver accredited sexual offending programmes. Therefore, PQ156218 and PQ156220 are asking the same question, as it is the role of those specialist units to deliver the programmes. HMPPS does not disaggregate spend on sexual offending programmes from the overall spend on all its programme delivery therefore we are not able to provide the data requested.
In relation to PQ156219, all probation practitioners are trained to assess and address offending behaviour. Responsibility for the risk management and rehabilitation of people convicted of sexual offences is allocated to appropriately trained probation staff.
Trainee probation officers receive specialised input on their course in working with this cohort, and we have introduced an advanced training course for relevant experienced staff to help them develop and maintain their skills in their work with those convicted of sexual offences. In addition, 193 probation staff nationally are trained to run the accredited sexual offending programmes.
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 staff in the Probation Service are trained specialists in sexual offending.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Each probation region has a sexual offending unit, the purpose of which is to deliver accredited sexual offending programmes. Therefore, PQ156218 and PQ156220 are asking the same question, as it is the role of those specialist units to deliver the programmes. HMPPS does not disaggregate spend on sexual offending programmes from the overall spend on all its programme delivery therefore we are not able to provide the data requested.
In relation to PQ156219, all probation practitioners are trained to assess and address offending behaviour. Responsibility for the risk management and rehabilitation of people convicted of sexual offences is allocated to appropriately trained probation staff.
Trainee probation officers receive specialised input on their course in working with this cohort, and we have introduced an advanced training course for relevant experienced staff to help them develop and maintain their skills in their work with those convicted of sexual offences. In addition, 193 probation staff nationally are trained to run the accredited sexual offending programmes.
Asked by: Ellie Reeves (Labour - Lewisham West and Penge)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much the Probation Service has spent on programmes for sex offenders in each of the last five years.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Each probation region has a sexual offending unit, the purpose of which is to deliver accredited sexual offending programmes. Therefore, PQ156218 and PQ156220 are asking the same question, as it is the role of those specialist units to deliver the programmes. HMPPS does not disaggregate spend on sexual offending programmes from the overall spend on all its programme delivery therefore we are not able to provide the data requested.
In relation to PQ156219, all probation practitioners are trained to assess and address offending behaviour. Responsibility for the risk management and rehabilitation of people convicted of sexual offences is allocated to appropriately trained probation staff.
Trainee probation officers receive specialised input on their course in working with this cohort, and we have introduced an advanced training course for relevant experienced staff to help them develop and maintain their skills in their work with those convicted of sexual offences. In addition, 193 probation staff nationally are trained to run the accredited sexual offending programmes.
Asked by: Stephanie Peacock (Labour - Barnsley East)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer of 8 February 2022 to Question 117868, in what particular exceptional circumstances serving personnel listed on the sex offender register will not be discharged from the armed forces.
Answered by Leo Docherty - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence) (Minister for the Armed Forces)
The Ministry of Defence’s Zero Tolerance to Sexual Offences policy came into force on 31 March 2022. Under this policy, all Service persons who are convicted of a sexual offence, or who are placed on the Sex Offenders Register, will be dismissed from the Armed Forces as a matter of course. My answer to Question 117868 refers to those few situations where a decision to discharge would be legally unsafe as it conflicts with existing law; for example, cases that are subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. However, we continue to review this area and are committed to making further improvements to ensure that Defence is a safe and respectful environment.
Asked by: Ellie Reeves (Labour - Lewisham West and Penge)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent steps he has taken to assess the potential success of rehabilitation programme, Horizen.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The design of our rehabilitation programmes is informed by various evaluations of existing and predecessor programmes, and all programmes are subject to ongoing quality assurance and monitoring. More detailed impact evaluations on reoffending programmes require large samples and study of offenders’ behaviour over time and therefore, it can take several years before there is a sufficient sample to produce such findings.
We expect to carry out evaluations of the Thinking Skills Programme (TSP) delivered in custody in England and Wales, and to conduct studies to assess Horizon and Becoming New Me Plus (BNM+). For Building Better Relationships (BBR), the Department is currently producing a feasibility study to assess the extent to which BBR can be evaluated in a robust way.
The Department published a substantial impact evaluation of the RESOLVE accredited programme in January 2021. This evaluation assessed the programme’s effectiveness as delivered in custody in England and Wales, and can be found by visiting https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/957855/RESOLVE_report.pdf.
A supplementary appendix was also published in October 2021 which provided further insight into the circumstances which affected the impact of the programme. This appendix can be found by visiting https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/justice-data-lab-statistics-october-2021.