Tag: Ministry of Justice

The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 24 September 2024.

The Government plans to reduce the number of women in custody by using early intervention and tackling the root causes of offending, the Lord Chancellor announced today.

A Women’s Justice Board will be established to bring together senior leaders in the criminal justice system, charities and government departments and publish a new strategy in the spring, Shabana Mahmood has confirmed.

Female offenders are often vulnerable, with over 60 per cent of women in prison reporting having experienced domestic violence and more than half having experienced abuse as a child.

The creation of the Women’s Justice Board recognises these distinct needs and advocates for a tailored approach to divert women away from custodial sentences. It will meet regularly to discuss and implement ways to intervene earlier before women’s offending becomes serious and better tackle the root causes of their offending.

The strategy will also focus on enhancing alternatives to prison, such as community sentences and residential women’s centres. Only around one third of female offenders sentenced to custody have committed a violent offence and prisons are not working to rehabilitate this group, with women serving short custodial sentences significantly more likely to reoffend than those serving community sentences.

The Board will be chaired by Lord Timpson, Minister of State for Prisons, Probation and Reducing Reoffending.

It will be held to account by experts from the voluntary and community sector, recruited by open competition to the new Women in Justice Partnership Delivery Group. This Group will regularly review and publish reports on the on the Board’s progress towards its goal of reducing the number of women in custody.

The Lord Chancellor also announced that free independent legal advocates will be in place from next year to support adult victims of rape across England and Wales.

Almost two-thirds of rape victims drop out of their case before it reaches trial so this service will help victims understand their rights and ensure access to mobile phones and medical data is proportionate to the investigation. When trialled in Northumberland, two-thirds of challenges to a request for victims’ data were successful and, in turn, reduced the volume of indiscriminate police requests in the first place.

More information on the scheme will be published in the coming months.

The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 17 September 2024.

UK legal services will be at the forefront of one of the world’s biggest legal gatherings this week to promote the UK as a place to do business.

The British Embassy in Mexico City will host a series of networking events on Tuesday 17 and Wednesday 18 September to bolster connections between the UK legal sector and global partners to highlight the UK Government’s commitment to driving economic growth through legal services exports.

Taking place alongside the International Bar Association (IBA) Annual Conference, the world’s largest global legal sector gathering, these events, held jointly with The Law Society of England and Wales, build on the success of previous GREAT Legal Services campaign activity which has resulted in millions of pounds worth of business deals.

In the last financial year, the campaign generated over £5 million in projected business wins for UK lawyers, and more than 800 business connections for UK legal professionals, and reached over 2.6 million online in key markets across the world.

Justice Minister, Heidi Alexander, said:

I’m proud of our legal services’ world-leading reputation. These networking events allow us to share our expertise with others and learn from them to maintain our competitive edge.

Importantly, promoting the UK’s legal sector abroad helps build connections and ultimately bring investment back to the UK. I would like to thank The Law Society for their role in helping to bring UK and international legal professionals together.

The GREAT Legal Services campaign was launched in 2017 to promote and support the strength of English and Welsh Law, the UK’s world-renowned independent judiciary, and our legal expertise to the global market.

Overall the UK’s legal sector generates billions for the UK economy with the latest figures showing it contributed £34 billion in 2022. In recent months key agreements have been made with other nations to strengthen the sector – including agreements with Japan, Greece and Malaysia – by allowing UK lawyers to practise abroad.

The IBA conference is the legal sector’s largest international event, with more than 5,000 attendees expected from law firms, governments, and regulators globally.

Further information

• Tuesday’s discussions on arbitration will cover key trends in Latin America, particularly in sectors such as energy, natural resources, renewables and infrastructure, with the aim of fostering dialogue and creating opportunities for UK lawyers in Latin American markets and related jurisdictions.
• Wednesday’s finance roundtable will highlight Mexico’s growing significance as a market, assessing the key challenges and opportunities that face financial institutions and businesses in the region and how the legal sector can effectively support businesses and the market to thrive.
• Also on Wednesday, for younger international lawyers, there is an event focusing on the Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE), providing the opportunity to learn more about working with English and Welsh Law.
• Rounding off the events, the Ministry of Justice and The Law Society of England and Wales will co-host a drinks reception to celebrate relationships and partnerships forged, and enable more business connections to be made.
• The events in Mexico City were supported by the Department of Business and Trade as part of broader work to grow trade between the UK and Mexico.

The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 11 September 2024.

Tech-savvy owners of Bitcoin and other digital assets will benefit from greater legal protection thanks to an important clarification to the law.

The Property (Digital Assets etc) Bill, introduced in Parliament today, will mean that for the first time in British history, digital holdings including cryptocurrency, non-fungible tokens such as digital art, and carbon credits can be considered as personal property under the law.

The Bill will also ensure Britain maintains its pole position in the emerging global crypto race by being one of the first countries to recognise these assets in law.

Previously, digital belongings were not definitively included in the scope of English and Welsh property law – leaving owners in a legal grey area if their assets were interfered with.

The new law will therefore also give legal protection to owners and companies against fraud and scams, while helping judges deal with complex cases where digital holdings are disputed or form part of settlements, for example in divorce cases.

Justice Minister Heidi Alexander said:

Our world-leading legal services form a vital part of our economy, helping to drive forward growth and keep Britain at the heart of the international legal industry.

It is essential that the law keeps pace with evolving technologies and this legislation will mean that the sector can maintain its position as a global leader in cryptoassets and bring clarity to complex property cases.

Today’s news also means the UK legal sector will be better equipped to respond to new technologies, attracting more business and investment to the legal services industry which is already worth £34 billion a year to the economy.

It is estimated that English law governs £250 billion of global mergers and acquisitions, and 40 per cent of global corporate arbitrations, so keeping the law up to date is vital to ensuring that the UK remains the law of choice internationally.

Notes to editors

• Digital asset is an extremely broad term, encompassing a variety of things such as digital files, digital records, email accounts, digital carbon credits, cryptoassets and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The Law Commission’s recommendations only apply to a subset of digital assets, of which the main one is cryptotokens.
• Currently there are two categories of property, “things in possession” (e.g. gold, money, cars) and “things in action” (e.g. debts, shares). This Bill introduces a third category of “thing” to allow for certain digital assets to attract personal property rights.
• The action being taken on digital assets is in response to the Law Commission’s report in 2023. The MOJ commissioned the report to identify any barriers to the recognition of digital assets as property under English and Welsh private law and to recommend solutions.
• The Law Commission’s report summary can be found here.

The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 5 September 2024.

Lord Chancellor Shabana Mahmood signs first legally-binding treaty governing safe use of artificial intelligence.

Human rights, democracy and the rule of law will be further protected from potential threats posed by artificial intelligence (AI) under a new international agreement to be signed by Lord Chancellor Shabana Mahmood today (5 September 2024).

The new framework agreed by the Council of Europe commits parties to collective action to manage AI products and protect the public from potential misuse.

AI is likely to bring significant benefits like boosting productivity and increasing cancer detection rates. But the new convention includes important safeguards against its risks, such as the spread of misinformation or using biased data which may prejudice decisions.

The treaty will ensure countries monitor its development and ensure any technology is managed within strict parameters. It includes provisions to protect the public and their data, human rights, democracy and the rule of law. It also commits countries to act against activities which fall outside of these parameters to tackle the misuse of AI models which pose a risk to public services and the wider public.

Once the treaty is ratified and brought into effect in the UK, existing laws and measures will be enhanced.

As the first legally-binding international treaty on AI, the Convention will ensure there is a united front across the world to managing the dangers of the technology in line with our shared values. Countries outside the Council of Europe are also being invited to become signatories, including the United States of America and Australia.

Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said:

Artificial Intelligence has the capacity to radically improve the responsiveness and effectiveness of public services, and turbocharge economic growth.

However, we must not let AI shape us – we must shape AI.

This convention is a major step to ensuring that these new technologies can be harnessed without eroding our oldest values, like human rights and the rule of law.

The new agreement has 3 over-arching safeguards:

• protecting human rights, including ensuring people’s data is used appropriately, their privacy is respected and AI does not discriminate against them
• protecting democracy by ensuring countries take steps to prevent public institutions and processes being undermined
• protecting the rule of law, by putting the onus on signatory countries to regulate AI-specific risks, protect its citizens from potential harms and ensure it is used safely

The government will work closely with regulators, the devolved administrations, and local authorities as the Convention is ratified to ensure it can appropriately implement its new requirements.

The UK continues to play a key role as an international leader in safe, secure, and trustworthy AI, having hosted the AI Safety Summit and co-hosted the AI Seoul Summit, establishing the world-first AI Safety Institute, and playing a key role in the negotiations which have framed the Convention signed today.

Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, Peter Kyle said:

AI holds the potential to be the driving force behind new economic growth, a productivity revolution and true transformation in our public services, but that ambition can only be achieved if people have faith and trust in the innovations which will bring about that change.

The Convention we’ve signed today alongside global partners will be key to that effort. Once in force, it will further enhance protections for human rights, rule of law and democracy, – strengthening our own domestic approach to the technology while furthering the global cause of safe, secure, and responsible AI.

The Lord Chancellor also reiterated the UK’s commitment to supporting Ukraine and ensuring Russia is held accountable for its full-scale invasion. She discussed with international counterparts, the progress on establishing a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression to hold Putin’s Russia to account for its illegal war.

 Notes to editors

• The use of AI to kickstart economic growth and deliver transformative change across the UK’s public services are central pillars of the government’s 5 key missions. The Technology Secretary has recently launched the AI Opportunities Action Plan led by Matt Clifford, which will play a central role in ensuring the UK can reap the benefits of AI across the economy.
• The UK’s AI Safety Institute was launched in November 2023, and is the world’s first state-backed body dedicated to AI safety. It continues to drive forward international collaboration on AI safety research, signing a new agreement on AI safety with the United States earlier this year.
• In the King’s Speech, the government also confirmed plans to introduce highly-targeted legislation which will focus on the most powerful AI models being developed.

Further announcements on this legislation will follow in due course.

The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 19 August 2024.

A temporary measure to manage pressures in prisons in the north of England has been reactivated, following longstanding capacity failures and recent outbreaks of far-right disorder.

In recent weeks, prisons in the north of England have seen hundreds of people enter the prison estate, after the Government took decisive action to tackle violent thuggery on our streets. This has exacerbated longstanding capacity issues in our prisons, which have been operating at critical levels for the last several years, often with under 1% capacity.

To manage these pressures, HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) has reactivated an existing contingency mechanism, Operation Early Dawn, providing extra oversight of prisoner transfers between the police, courts and custody.

This means that offenders will be summoned to a magistrates’ court only when it is confirmed that a cell in the prison estate is ready for them, should they be remanded into custody. They will be held in a police station until they are summoned to court.

The activation of Operation Early Dawn helps to manage the prison capacity pressure felt in the short-term in a small number of regions. This action has been taken to ensure that we always have enough prison places to lock up those who choose to break the law.

Prisons and Probation Minister, Lord Timpson, said: 

We inherited a justice system in crisis and exposed to shocks. As a result, we have been forced into making difficult but necessary decisions to keep it operating.

However, thanks to the hard work of our dedicated staff and partners, we have brought forward additional prison places and now introduced Operation Early Dawn to manage the pressure felt in some parts of the country.

The police have reassured the public that this will not impact their ability to arrest criminals, and anyone who poses a risk to the public will not be bailed.

National Police Chiefs’ Council Lead for Custody, Deputy Chief Constable Nev Kemp, said: 

We are working closely with criminal justice system partners to manage demand in the system and ensure that the public are safe.

Policing will continue to arrest anyone that they need to in order to keep the public safe, including policing protests and events and ensuring that people are arrested as expected.

The Government has already brought forward a number of measures to increase capacity as a result of violent disorder, making hundreds of prison places available including a new houseblock at HMP Stocken, the repurposed HMP Cookham Wood, and accelerated maintenance work in other prisons.

In the first week of forming a new Government, action was also taken to address the longstanding capacity issues in our prisons, announcing difficult but necessary changes to certain prison sentences.

These changes will come into to force in early September, giving the Probation Service the time they need to safely release offenders, making such each person has somewhere to live once they leave prison and support into work.

Operation Early Dawn involves an operational assessment being made each morning and throughout the day by the Prison Service, courts and police on which defendants can be transferred from police cells and taken to courts to ensure there is a safe and secure location if a defendant is remanded to custody.

When previously operated, Operation Early Dawn has helped to minimise disruption to bail hearings and manage the movement of prisoners across the justice estate.

Operation Early Dawn is expected to be implemented to address capacity concerns in the following areas:

• North East and Yorkshire
• Cumbria and Lancashire
• Manchester, Merseyside and Cheshire
• East and West Midlands

The government will keep this measure under constant review and will activate or deactivate as necessary. Ongoing trials in the Crown Court will not be directly impacted and prisoners being held for Crown Court hearings will be brought to court and taken back to prison as usual.

Notes to Editors

As part of a long-term plan to address the capacity crisis the government is temporarily reducing the proportion of certain custodial sentences served in prison from 50% to 40%. These measures, which come into force in September and October, will include important safeguards and exemptions to keep the public safe and clear release plans to manage them safely in the community.

Sentences for terrorism, sex offences, and serious violent offences of four years or more, will be automatically excluded, and, in an important distinction from the End of Custody Supervised Licence scheme, the early release of offenders in prison for domestic abuse-connected crimes will also be excluded. This includes:

• stalking offences
• controlling or coercive behaviours in an intimate or family relationship
• non-fatal strangulation and suffocation
• breach of restraining order, non-molestation order, and domestic abuse protection order

Anyone released will be strictly monitored on licence by the Probation Service through measures which can include electronic tagging and curfews. They face being recalled to prison if they breach their licence conditions.

The new rules will also not apply to most serious offenders, who already either spend two-thirds of their sentence behind bars or have their release determined by the Parole Board.

Alongside the changes to early release the Government will build the prisons the country needs, review how sentencing and criminal justice works, and recruit an additional thousand probation officers.

The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 16 August 2024.

Victims and witnesses of crime will benefit from improved waiting rooms in 10 court buildings across England and Wales.

These rooms provide a safe haven for victims or witnesses while they wait to give evidence and the results of the work will help the most vulnerable visitors feel safe and supported before giving evidence.

The upgrades include improved video link rooms to facilitate pre-recorded evidence, new refreshment stations, and more comfortable seating as well as damp-proofing, re-painting and re-carpeting.

By providing a welcoming and inclusive place for vulnerable people coming to court, the upgraded suites will improve wellbeing, helping witnesses to participate fully in the legal process and see justice done.

Justice Minister Heidi Alexander said:

Giving evidence can be an emotional experience for anyone, especially for victims, who deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.

This refurbishment project will make the experience more comfortable for witnesses and victims, ensuring they can participate fully in our justice system and that their day in court runs as smoothly as possible.

The refurbishment project across multiple sites in the UK has upgraded witness suites, creating clean, comfortable, and calming atmospheres.

Courts with completed refurbishments are:

• Gloucester Crown Court
• Mold Crown Court
• Highbury Magistrates’ court
• Wolverhampton Combined Court
• Bolton Crown Court
• Crewe Magistrates’ Court
• Kirklees Magistrates’ Court
• Winchester Crown Court
• Truro Magistrates’ Court
• Chelmsford Crown Court

The move comes as the government works to put victims at the heart of every stage of the criminal justice system. During this month’s King’s Speech, the government announced plans for a new Victims, Courts and Public Protection Bill which will deliver a justice system that gives victims of crimes  the support they deserve.

The Bill will include measures that:

• strengthen powers for the Victims’ Commissioner to ensure that they are empowered to hold the system to account for the needs of victims not being met
• require offenders to attend their sentencing hearings so that victims and bereaved family members of deceased victims see criminals face the consequences of their actions
• protect the public from sex offenders, restricting parental responsibility for child sex offenders and implementing restrictions on sex offenders changing their names

The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 16 August 2024.

Data released today (16 August 2024) confirms 460 people arrested in connection with the violent disorder earlier this month have faced their day in court and at least 99 have already been sentenced.

This means over 300 more people have appeared in court since last week.

The rapid action taken across the justice system by police, prosecutors and those working in courts has led to over 300 of those individuals being remanded into custody. This is thanks to a collective effort to keep communities safe and free from further violence.

The data released today shows that as of yesterday (15 August 2024):

• 480 defendants had a first hearing scheduled in the magistrates’ court and 460 have already taken place
• 99 were sentenced in either the magistrates’ court or Crown Court
• 185 have been sent to Crown Court for sentencing
• 153 have been sent to Crown Court for trial
• 69 have received a custodial sentence in the Crown Court

All these numbers will continue to increase over the rest of the month as more suspects are arrested, charged and sent to court.

It comes as more than 500 prison places are also being brought online to boost capacity over the coming weeks and ensure there are cells ready to receive all those sent to custody by the courts.

Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, said:

We continue to see swift justice being done and more people feeling the full force of the law as a consequence of their actions.

It is thanks to the hard work of people around the country and across the justice system that guilty offenders are being held to account.

The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 9 August 2024.

More than 150 of the people arrested in connection with this month’s violent disorder have already faced their day in court, data released today (9 August 2024) has revealed.

The rapid action taken across the justice system by police, prosecutors and those working in courts has led to 118 of those individuals being remanded into custody in a collective effort to keep communities safe and free from further violence.

More than 500 prison places are also being brought online to boost capacity over the coming weeks and ensure there are cells ready to receive all those sent to custody by the courts.

The data released today shows that as of yesterday (8 August 2024):

• 176 defendants had a first hearing scheduled in the magistrates’ court and 154 have already taken place
• 6 were sentenced in the magistrates’ court
• 50 have been sent to Crown Court for sentencing
• 72 have been sent to Crown Court for trial
• 26 cases will have another hearing in the magistrates’ court

All these numbers will increase over the coming days and weeks as more and more suspects are arrested, charged and sent to court.

Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, said:

The mindless minority who caused and took part in the disgraceful scenes we witnessed were warned they would soon feel the full force of the law. This data shows that many have already seen the inside of a courtroom and will see a stint behind bars too. Where they have gone, more will follow.

I would like to pay tribute to the thousands of dedicated professionals across the criminal justice system who have worked tirelessly so such swift action could be taken.

The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 6 August 2024.

Additional staff and extra funding are being deployed at one of the most troubled prisons in the country following a damning inspection report which highlighted significant concerns.

His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) issued an Urgent Notification in May after finding that HMP Wandsworth had alarmingly high rates of self-harm, dangerous levels of violence and nearly 50 per cent of prisoners taking drugs.

As the inspectorate recognised, the level of chaos at HMP Wandsworth was typical of a prison system crippled by the overcrowding crisis with over 80 per cent of offenders at the jail sharing cells designed to hold one person.

The report also revealed how crumbling infrastructure, inadequate security measures and consistent staffing pressures had contributed to the prison’s unacceptable rating.

The government is immediately addressing the inspectorate’s concerns by deploying extra specialist staff to help turn the jail around and redirecting £100 million from across the Prison Service that will be spent over 5 years to deliver urgent improvements. This includes cell windows being repaired, shower refurbishments and investment in fire safety measures.

Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, said:

This is the reality of a prison system in crisis. Cells are overcrowded, infrastructure is crumbling and our hard-working prison staff are at risk of violence and harm.

Our staff deserve better and we are taking immediate action at HMP Wandsworth to do what is necessary to protect the public, lock up dangerous offenders and make prisons safe for the brave staff who work there.

Other measures to bolster prison security and safety at HMP Wandsworth include:

• the deployment of specialist security and drug staff and introduction of new leadership
• regular beefed-up drug searches from specialist drug detection teams
• advanced violent reduction training sessions available to prison staff
• improved access to rehabilitative services, such as education and employment workshops for prisoners

The inspection of HMP Wandsworth was the sixth since May 2022 that resulted in an Urgent Notification – the worst possible result under HMIP’s current inspection framework – and is why the Lord Chancellor has today published an urgent action plan to address the prison’s failings.

The Lord Chancellor took immediate action in her first week to avoid a breakdown of law and order due to the overcrowding crisis in prisons that risked a breakdown of law and order with police unable to make arrests.

This includes being able to stop the End of Custody Supervised Licence Scheme and giving probation staff more time to plan for an offender’s release by temporarily reducing the release point of some standard determinate sentences from 50 to 40 per cent with important safeguards and exemptions to keep the public safe.

Sentences for serious violent offences of four years or more, as well as sex offences, will be automatically excluded, and, in an important distinction from the End of Custody Supervised Licence scheme, the early release of offenders in prison for domestic-abuse connected crimes will also be excluded.

The Urgent Notification process was introduced in 2017 to ensure immediate, urgent action was taken when necessary to address serious concerns identified by inspectors.

The press release issued on Ministry of Justice on 2 August 2024.

The worst murderers serving whole life sentences no longer have the right to get married behind bars as a new law comes into force today (2 August 2024).

Prisoners serving whole life orders – which means they will never be released – will now be automatically blocked from getting married or entering a civil partnership after the new Lord Chancellor signed a measure in the Victims and Prisoners Act into law.

This will deny the most heinous criminals from enjoying the important life events they callously took from their victims, while preventing families from the trauma of seeing them getting married or entering civil partnerships.

It will also ensure that their horrific crimes are treated with the severity they deserve and maintain confidence in the justice system.

Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, said:

Victims should not be tormented by seeing those who commit the most depraved crimes enjoy the moments in life that were stolen from their loved ones.

That is why I have acted as soon as possible to stop these marriages and give victims the support they deserve.

Prior to these new laws coming into force, these prisoners could make a formal application for marriage or a civil partnership and could only be refused by a prison Governor on the grounds of security concerns.

The measure is part of the Victims and Prisoners Act which strengthens oversight of how criminal justice agencies treat victims and enshrines the principles of the Victims’ Code into law.

The Lord Chancellor will retain the right to permit ceremonies in the most exceptional circumstances.

Whole life orders are reserved for exceptionally serious offences, such as serial or child murders which involved a substantial degree of premeditation or sexual or sadistic conduct.

Note to editors

The prisoner marriage provisions of the Victims and Prisoners Act were commenced via a statutory instrument.