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Mark Hendrick – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Mark Hendrick on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, (a) how many and (b) what proportion of prisoners released on licence to a bail hostel have been subsequently recalled to prison in 2016 to date.

Mr Sam Gyimah

Between January 2016 and March 2016 (the latest date for which figures are available), 715 offenders were recalled to prison whilst residing in an approved premises.

We are unable to give an accurate figure for the proportion of departures from an approved premises that were attributable to the offender being recalled to custody. This is because some residents of an approved premises are not offenders released from custody on licence; in terms of departures, these cannot be distinguished from other residents.

Approved premises provide for effective supervision of certain high risk of harm offenders, particularly on release from custody. It would not be possible to provide such effective supervision elsewhere in the community, which is the only alternative for offenders who have completed the custodial part of their sentence. Offenders who breach their licence conditions (including the rules of residence of an approved premises in which they are required to reside) are liable to be recalled to custody, in order to protect the public.

01/01/2023
Andrew Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Smith on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to increase capacity at the Asylum and Immigration Chamber.

Sir Oliver Heald

The First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) is administered by HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS). HMCTS have provided an additional 4,500 tribunal sitting days for this financial year compared to 2015/16. HMCTS keeps performance and resource levels under close review.

01/01/2023
Julian Knight – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Julian Knight on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will make an assessment of potential measures to make access to courts (a) easier and (b) substantially faster for a landowner seeking to get an order to evict travellers.

Sir Oliver Heald

The accelerated procedure for obtaining a possession order to evict trespassers (which may include travellers) is set out in the Civil Procedure Rules, Part 55.

There is no notice period once a landowner has obtained an order to evict. The standard order for a successful claim for possession would be an order for immediate possession.

The Government does not consider that the process requires change.

01/01/2023
Andrew Bridgen – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andrew Bridgen on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether non-payment of the television licence for solely accessing the BBC iPlayer will be treated as a criminal or civil offence.

Matt Hancock

Section 363 of the Communications Act 2003 provides that a person who installs or uses a television receiver without being authorised by a licence is guilty of a criminal offence. As of 1 September 2016, this includes watching BBC on-demand services such as the iPlayer.

01/01/2023
Angela Smith – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Angela Smith on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, in what proportion of child contact cases presided over by the family judiciary in each year since 2010, where there was an allegation of domestic abuse, either party were litigants in person.

Dr Phillip Lee

This information is not held centrally.

01/01/2023
Helen Goodman – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Helen Goodman on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what information her Department holds on how many times provisions under Section 67 of the Serious Crime Act 2015 have been used to convict people in (a) Northern Ireland and (b) Scotland.

Sir Oliver Heald

We do not hold statistics on the number of offenders found guilty under Section 67 of the Serious Crime Act 2015, as the offence has yet to be commenced.

01/01/2023
Frank Field – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Frank Field on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, (a) how many and (b) what proportion of people released from each prison in England and Wales (i) reoffended and (ii) went into employment within six months of their release in each of the last five years.

Mr Sam Gyimah

Information on the employment status of prisoners beyond the point of release is not available centrally and can only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.

All other information requested can be found on GOV.UK.

01/01/2023
Amanda Solloway – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Amanda Solloway on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department has taken to ensure first-time offenders entering the prison system are (a) made aware of gang culture in prisons and (b) discouraged from becoming involved in that culture.

Mr Sam Gyimah

Safety in prisons is fundamental to the proper functioning of our justice system and a vital part of our reform plans. We do not tolerate violence or bullying in prisons and take appropriate action against victimisation of any kind.

Gang membership and youth violence cause serious harm to those involved and their communities. The Government is committed to reducing the likelihood of young people joining gangs, and to responding effectively when they do.

Many young and vulnerable people come into contact with the criminal justice system as a result of their involvement with gangs.

Prison gives young people the opportunity to leave gangs behind and lead safe and productive lives in their communities. Prison staff work with the police to tackle gang related activity in prison, and to provide new opportunities for young people.

All offenders entering prison participate in induction programmes designed to help them make the most from their time in that prison. Some prisons have appointed a gangs officer, and prison staff work closely with the police to respond where gang members are coming into prison.

The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) will shortly issue guidance to all prison staff to help them identify gang members, take action against gang related violence and help them use their time in prison to leave gangs behind. The Identity Matters programme is specifically designed to help prisoners disengage from gangs and stop offending.

01/01/2023
William Wragg – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by William Wragg on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what safeguards are in place to protect the privacy of victims and witnesses in historic sex abuse cases.

Dr Phillip Lee

Victims of specific sexual offences, including historical sex abuse cases, are automatically provided with lifetime anonymity, by way of reporting restrictions, from the point of complaint. Anonymity is granted in recognition of the nature of the offence against them and to encourage other victims to come forward.

01/01/2023

David Hanson – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Hanson on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many arrest warrants were issued for defendants who failed to attend court in each year since 2010.

Sir Oliver Heald

The number of arrest warrants issued for defendants who failed to attend court in England and Wales for the period 2010 to 2014, the latest data available, can be viewed in the table below.

Number of Failure to Appear (FTA) Warrants received⁽¹⁾ in England and Wales, 2010- 2014.

Year	Total warrants issued
2010	93,473
2011	88,788
2012⁽²⁾	72,819
2013	70,225
2014⁽³⁾	70,016

(1) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from live systems used by police forces principally for operational reasons. As such, they are subject to change over time. For these reasons, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

(2) West Midlands constabulary are unable to supply any FTA warrant data from 1 April 2012.

(3) Lincolnshire Police were unable to supply any data for Q4 of 2014 because of technical issues related to the introduction of a new warrant management system. Data presented are for the first three quarters of 2014 only.

Notes:

These data are reported to the Ministry of Justice by police forces. As such, they are not directly comparable with other data presented in the Criminal Statistics bulletin, which are returned directly from administrative data systems used by magistrates’ courts and the Crown Court.

01/01/2023