Tag: Ministry of Justice

The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 4 March 2024.

Ordinary people mistreated or wronged by big, powerful companies will have a better chance of bringing them to court to access justice, thanks to plans unveiled today (4 March 2024).

The Lord Chancellor, Alex Chalk, will introduce a new law to make it easier for members of the public to secure the financial backing of third parties when launching complex claims against moneyed corporations with sizeable legal teams which they could otherwise ill-afford.

Today’s news will restore the position that existed before the Supreme Court’s ruling last year, which made many litigation funding agreements unenforceable. As a result, cases can continue being funded.

The new legislation makes it easier for members of the public to secure funding for their legal fights against powerful corporations – such as those caught up in the Horizon scandal.

This move has been called for by people who have needed third-party litigation funding in the past, including former sub-postmaster Alan Bates, who described his case as a David vs Goliath. The post-masters’ claim was only possible due to the backing of a litigation funder.

Lord Chancellor, Alex Chalk, said:

It’s crucial victims can access justice – but it can feel like a David and Goliath battle when they’re facing powerful corporations with deep pockets.

This important change will mean more victims can secure vital third party funding to level the playing field and support their fight for justice.

The sub-postmasters were able to secure third party funding in their legal action against the Post Office. Now others will too.

The government is also considering options for a wider review of the sector and how third-party litigation funding is carried out. This could consider whether there is a need for increased regulation or safeguards for people bringing claims to court, particularly given the growth of the litigation funding sector over the past decade. Further details will be set out in due course.

Notes to editors

• this legislation will be introduced shortly
• this legislation only applies to England and Wales
• the next steps and any Terms of Reference of the review will be set out in due course

The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 4 March 2024.

The government has relaunched the recruitment process for the Victims’ Commissioner in line with the standard public appointments process.

The competition will run from today (4 March 2024) until 25 March 2024 with the successful candidate taking on the role in the following months.

The Victims’ Commissioner promotes the interests of victims and witnesses, encourages good practice in their treatment, and regularly reviews the Code of Practice for Victims which sets out the services victims can expect to receive.

The Victims and Prisoners Bill bolsters the role of the Victims’ Commissioner by requiring authorities within their remit to publicly respond to their recommendations and set out the rationale for accepting or rejecting them.

Note to editors

The job advert can be found at Role details – Victims’ Commissioner for England and Wales – Apply for a public appointment – GOV.UK

The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 26 February 2024.

The Lord Chancellor has announced the appointment of The Honourable Mr Justice Swift as Deputy Chair of the Boundary Commission for England (BCE).

Mrr Justice Swift is appointed from 16 February 2024 to 15 February 2027.

Appointments and reappointments are regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments, and have been made under Section 3(a) of Schedule 1 of the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986, and are in line with the Governance Code on Public Appointments.

The Boundary Commission for England is required by the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986 to review the parliamentary constituencies in England every 5 years.

The BCE is an advisory non-departmental public body sponsored by the Cabinet Office.

Biography

Mr Justice Swift grew up in Essex and was educated at Southend-on-Sea High School for Boys. He studied law at New College, Oxford and Emmanuel College, Cambridge. He was called to the Bar (Inner Temple) in 1989; and called to the Northern Ireland Bar in 2008. He has been a High Court judge since 2018, and sits in the King’s Bench Division. Since March 2020 he has been Judge in Charge of the Administrative Court. Before his appointment to the bench he was a barrister in chambers at 11 King’s Bench Walk. Between 2007 and 2014 he was First Treasury Counsel.

The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 23 February 2024.

Offenders with drug and alcohol problems are being put back on the straight and narrow through a new US-inspired sentencing approach to cut reoffending.

A pilot of ‘Intensive Supervision Courts’ launched last year in Liverpool, Teesside and Birmingham courts, as part of a tough community sentencing approach to tackle the root causes of offenders’ behaviour and protect the public.

Since the launch in June 2023, over 55 offenders have been ordered to meet regularly with the same judge, engage with specialist treatment and been subject to enhanced supervision including random drug testing from the Probation Service. The order could also include an electronic tag to monitor compliance and track their every move.

Studies show that getting offenders to confront their addiction through specialist support helps drive down their chance of committing further crimes. Research from several countries suggests that on average a ‘problem-solving’ approach resulted in a 33% decrease in the rate of arrests compared to offenders who receive standard sentences.

Offenders who fail to comply with the order face tough sanctions such as being temporarily sent to prison or increased drug testing.

The Lord Chancellor, Alex Chalk KC, visited Liverpool Crown Court yesterday (22 February 2024) to see the substance misuse court in action.

Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary, Alex Chalk KC, said:

These courts are addressing the drug and alcohol-related crimes which blight our communities by getting offenders to confront their addictions.

Offenders are being punished for their crime, but these tough community sentences are also working to ensure they don’t offend again.

The Lord Chancellor’s visit to Liverpool follows his trip to New York last month where he saw how problem-solving courts in the United States are working.

At the courts in Manhattan and Brooklyn, the Lord Chancellor met with judges and learned more about the evidence behind the problem-solving approach. A US study on the long-term effect of a similar court saw 25% fewer drug charges over a 15-year period and these American courts provided inspiration for the pilot in England.

In Liverpool, the Lord Chancellor met ‘Liam’ (not his real name) who was sentenced to this order after being found guilty of an offence driven by his addiction.

Offender Liam said:

This is the only sentence that’s actually given me a chance, for the first time in my life I have had clean drug tests. You can just tell the team here really want you to do well which makes a difference.

The initiative at Liverpool and Teesside Crown Courts are focused on offenders whose addictions are driving their criminality and a further court is being piloted at Birmingham Magistrates’ Court specifically supporting female offenders.

Charity Revolving Doors said:

CFE Research, Revolving Doors and Institute for Lifecourse Development at the University of Greenwich are proud to be undertaking a ground-breaking study of the piloting of this approach for the UK.

The evaluation provides an important opportunity to add to the evidence base on approaches to addressing offending behaviour that is driven by unmet health and social needs.

Further information

• Please note that the data relating to how many offenders have been sentenced through the pilot is based on administrative data which may not be complete and is subject to change.
• Kearley, B. & Gottfredson, D. (2020). Long term effects of drug court participation: Evidence from a 15-year follow-up of a randomised controlled trial. Journal of Experimental Criminology, 16, 27-47.
• Trood, M., Spivak, B., & Ogloff, J. (2021). A systematic review and meta-analysis of the effects of judicial supervision on recidivism and well-being factors of criminal offenders. Journal Of Criminal Justice, 74, 101796.

The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 23 February 2024.

Thousands of offenders on community and suspended sentences will no longer be able to secretly change their name as part of tough new rules to protect the public.

The Community and Suspended Sentences (Notification of Details) Bill will bring the law for those on community orders in line with offenders on licence. The Private Members’ Bill passed its second reading in Parliament today (Friday 23 February), after the Government signalled its support.

The change will mean all offenders and youth criminals will have to notify their probation officer about any name changes, online aliases or changes to contact details.

Offenders who refuse to comply could be taken back to court facing a tougher sentence, including possible prison time.

Prisons and Probation Minister, Edward Argar, said:

Deceitful offenders should never be able to hide from justice and any offender that tries to do this will be punished.

Our number one priority is public protection so it is vital that our probation officers have all the information they need to keep a watchful eye on offenders – whether that be online or in real life.

The Bill was brought forward by Ruth Jones MP.

Ruth Jones MP said:

I am delighted that my Bill has secured its Second Reading, on a cross party basis, and will continue its passage through Parliament.

This Bill is about keeping our communities safe and ensuring that we do that in deeds as well as words. I look forward to taking the Bill through to its next stage – it cannot come a minute sooner.

This Bill comes alongside the Home Secretary’s commitment to restrict the ability of certain registered sex offenders to change their name in specific circumstances, which will be included in the Criminal Justice Bill.

These changes will strengthen the Probation Service’s ability to robustly supervise offenders in the community and keep the public safe. Funding for the Probation Service has been increased by an additional £155 million a year since 2020/21 to recruit record levels of staff and reduce caseloads. The number of Probation staff in post has increased by 17% since June 2021.

The Bill will amend the Sentencing Act 2020 to create a duty on offenders to notify probation or Youth Offending Teams of any change of name and/or contact details if they are sentenced to a Community Order, Suspended Sentence Order, Youth Rehabilitation Order or Referral Order.

The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 23 February 2024.

Corrupt elites will be prevented from making spurious legal claims to gag journalists and silence critics through a landmark Bill that gained Government support today (23 February).

Aggressively litigious Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation, or SLAPPs, are legal threats brought to intimidate and financially and psychologically exhaust journalists, campaigners and anyone who would criticise or expose corruption.

The Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation Bill, put forward by Wayne David MP, will end this pernicious practice and uphold free speech by allowing independent judges to dismiss spurious claims before they go to trial and protect defendants from paying exorbitant costs.

The Private Members’ Bill builds on the work the Government began in the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, which included new laws to stop wealthy elites using SLAPPs on issues around economic crime, including corruption and embezzlement. Under this Act, we became the first country in the world to legislate against SLAPPs at the national level.

Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary, Alex Chalk KC, said:

This Government has already proved its commitment to cracking down on those with deep pockets who abuse our courts, so we thank Wayne David for bringing forward this important legislation.

Free speech and the free press are lynchpins of our democracy, and to muzzle people in this way is chilling. We want people to feel confident standing up to the corrupt, knowing the law is firmly on their side.

Wayne David, MP for Caerphilly, said:

Well-heeled corrupt and malicious elites have been using SLAPPs to intimidate and threaten journalists, community campaigners, academics or anyone challenging them and speaking out in the public interest.

This important Bill seeks to protect freedom of expression for everyone, and I am pleased that it has the support of the main political parties.

The Bill which had its second reading in the House of Commons today has cross-party support, and will update the measures in the 2023 Act to cover a broader scope – blocking SLAPPs across all types of litigation, including sexual harassment, not just economic crime.

It will create a new dismissal mechanism to stop SLAPPs claims as early as possible. Claimants will be required to prove they are likely to succeed before it goes to trial, allowing SLAPPs to be rapidly thrown out by judges and making them less effective as a tool with which to threaten free speech advocates.

A costs protection scheme will be created to protect defendants, like journalists, from claimants, like oligarchs, who deliberately run up exorbitant legal costs. Ordinarily the party which loses the case must pay all the costs, but new rules would mean that the defendant will not have to pay the claimant’s costs, unless directed otherwise by a judge.

Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Lucy Frazer KC said:

Protecting and enhancing press freedom is vital – our democracy depends on the press having the freedom to hold the powerful to account.

We are making it harder for powerful people to stop the publication of investigative journalism through unscrupulous lawsuits and this legislation will enhance that further, ensuring that there are comprehensive powers within UK law to protect journalists from all forms of SLAPPs. I thank Wayne David, who shares the government’s steadfast commitment to preserving press freedom, for introducing a bill to achieve this.

The Government’s endorsement comes in response to a rising tide of this pernicious form of litigation. Some of the most high-profile cases have involved Russian oligarchs and allies of Vladimir Putin. Typically, they employ SLAPPs on bogus defamation and privacy grounds, preventing the publication of information in the public interest.

A call for evidence in 2022 and further research since has found the practice is spreading into new crimes, including victims of sexual harassment being silenced by their abusers, and other misconduct such as landlords using heavy-handed tactics to mute tenants suffering in their homes.

Further information

• SLAPPs legislation will only apply to England and Wales. We are discussing with devolved administrations in Scotland and Northern Ireland the legislative changes we are making.
• In 2022 the Government launched a Call for Evidence on SLAPPs, which saw 120 responses received: Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs): Government response to call for evidence
• The conclusion was that SLAPPs are a pernicious form of litigation which seek to silence, intimidate, and harass opponents and have a concerning impact on freedom of speech and on public interest investigation and reporting.
• The Government committed to introduce new measures to strike out SLAPPs and avoid lengthy SLAPP litigation. This comprised of three parts:

1. A set of criteria for the courts to determine whether a case should be classified as a SLAPP based on one or more of the common characteristics of such actions.
2. A merit test leading to early dismissal for those SLAPP cases that fail it.
3. Costs protection for SLAPP cases that progress.

• The new measures on SLAPPs relating to economic crime were brought in by Government amendments to the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill in June 2023: Crackdown on criminals silencing critics to be added to Economic Crime Bill

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

A total of 20 Nightingale courtrooms will remain open in 2024 to allow more cases to be heard across the country, the government has announced today (16 February 2024).

These temporary courtrooms, across nine venues, will continue to be used by judges to hear cases ranging from shoplifting to family proceedings and small claims hearings. The majority of the courtrooms will be open until March 2025.

First introduced in the pandemic to temporarily provide additional space for hearings, the government has decided to retain this extra capacity to provide speedier access to justice so that victims have their day in court as soon as possible.

The locations chosen to remain open in England and Wales have been identified where they can help reduce the number of local outstanding cases, support maintenance projects by hearing cases when nearby locations are temporarily closed or to make full use of judicial capacity in court areas where there are more judges available.

Justice Minister, Mike Freer, said:

People who break the law must face justice and ensuring these 20 extra courtrooms remain open in 2024 will do just that.

Crown Courts are already dealing with the highest number of cases than at any point since 2019. We want to keep making progress and deliver swifter access to justice.

The temporary courts staying open this year are:

• Barbican, London
• Chichester
• Cirencester
• Croydon
• Fleetwood, Blackpool
• Grand Connaught Rooms, London
• Maple House, Birmingham
• Swansea
• Telford

Today’s announcement marks the fourth year of the use of these temporary courts – originally dubbed Nightingale courts during the pandemic – and comes alongside a raft of measures implemented by the government to tackle the outstanding cases in the criminal courts. These include boosting investment, recruiting hundreds of judges across all the courts and tribunals and maximising the use of remote hearings.

More criminal cases are now reaching the Crown Court than at any point over the last two years. Last year they sat over 100,000 days in the Crown Court, and plan to sit over 100,000 days again this year.

More widely, the government is investing £220 million for essential modernisation and repair work of our court buildings across the two years to March 2025, minimising disruption which can be caused by unplanned maintenance work.

As planned, temporary courts in Maidstone and Wolverhampton will close at the end of March. This is because there is no longer a need for these venues and after this time, cases will return to being heard within the permanent Crown Court estate which has capacity to deal with them. Nightingales are being extended where an assessment for an operational need has taken place.

Notes to editors

• The 9 sites being extended beyond March 2024 are:

Temporary court	Number of rooms	Type of work	Extended until
Barbican, London	2	Crown	August 2024
Chichester	2	Crown	March 2025
Cirencester	2	Crown and magistrates’	March 2025
Croydon	2	Crown	March 2025
Fleetwood, Blackpool	2	Civil and Family	March 2025
Grand Connaught Rooms, London	2	Crown	September 2024
Maple House, Birmingham	4	2 Crown, 2 Civil and Family	December 2024
Swansea	1	Crown	March 2025
Telford	3	Civil and Family	March 2025

• As planned, temporary courts in Maidstone and Wolverhampton will close at the end of March. This is because there is no longer a need for these venues and after this time, cases will return to being heard within the permanent Crown Court estate which has capacity to deal with them.
• Nightingale courts were first introduced in the pandemic to temporarily provide additional space for hearings. Buildings such as sports arenas, hotels, and conference centres were rapidly transformed into courtrooms to provide more space for jury trials. Following their success, the use of temporary courtrooms has continued to provide important capacity.

The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 15 February 2024.

Court and tribunal capacity in Leeds is set to be boosted by the opening of new state-of-the art courts and tribunals in the city centre, giving victims, defendants and claimants quicker access to justice.

It comes as the Lord Chancellor Alex Chalk visited the new West Gate court and tribunal building in Leeds yesterday (14 February 2024), funded through the government’s increased investment in the court and tribunal estate across England and Wales.

In a boost for the city’s legal infrastructure, a total of £6.2 million has been invested in West Gate to create capacity for 12 hearing rooms over 3 floors. This investment in the centre of Leeds expands the estate in the city to 53 court or hearing rooms within a 250-yards radius.

The building at West Gate includes the space for eight new, fit-for-purpose employment tribunal rooms.

In addition, construction work is underway to create four new Business & Property Court rooms. They will provide a dedicated space for cases to be heard from business disputes to evictions.

The Lord Chancellor Alex Chalk said:

These new state-of-the-art hearing rooms will be a hugely positive addition to Leeds city centre, positioning the city as a leading legal hub. By increasing capacity in the nearby Crown Court, we are also able to tackle more outstanding criminal cases, put victims first and bring more criminals to justice.

This government is committed to delivering a modern court and tribunal estate that is truly fit for the future.

The court will also support increased Crown Court capacity in the city, by moving the Business & Property Court work away from Leeds Crown Court, where it is currently situated, to help deliver justice swiftly for victims and defendants.

The newly refurbished site in the city’s West Gate district is one of a number of sites in Yorkshire to benefit from part of £220 million funding. The two-year funding package is enabling improvement and maintenance works to courts and tribunals across the country, improving the resilience and accessibility of the court system.

More widely in the Northeast region, some of this funding is being used to:

• £7 million to replace roofs at Skipton Court House, York Magistrates’ Court and Sunderland Magistrates’ Court
• Over £5 million in replacing heating systems and pipework at Sheffield Magistrates Court and Durham Crown Court
• Over £7 million in replacing the windows and exterior cladding at Teesside Magistrates Court
• £600,000 to replace lifts at York Magistrates’ Court, Newcastle Combined Court, Sheffield Combined Court and Grimsby Combined Court

By increasing capacity and minimising unplanned maintenance, the government is tackling outstanding cases and ensuring more hearings can go ahead.

Notes to editors

• HM Courts and Tribunals Service has secured a 15-year lease at West Gate, with work commencing in May 2023 and expected to complete in Spring 2024.
• Once completed, the site will have seen a £6.2 million investment in the West Gate site which has funded the fit out including state-of-the-art ICT and all required changes to the building to accommodate the new rooms.

The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 14 February 2024.

Cowards who kill their partners with sexual violence will face longer behind bars as the government continues to clamp down on domestic abuse against women.

A new statutory aggravating factor will be brought in for offenders who cause death through abusive, degrading or dangerous sexual behaviour – or so-called ‘rough sex’ – meaning killers are handed down tougher sentences than ever before.

The measure, announced today (14 February 2024), builds upon action taken in the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 to clarify in law that there is no such thing as the ‘rough sex defence’, and comes as the government publishes its latest Rape Review progress report.

These figures reveal that more vile rapists are paying for their crimes as adult rape prosecutions are approaching the highest levels seen at any point since 2014 showing the government’s efforts are working.

To ensure these efforts don’t let up, the government has also appointed leading academic Professor Katrin Hohl as the new Independent Advisor to the Rape Review.

Having led a ground-breaking scheme to overhaul the way in which police forces investigate rape – Operation Soteria – Professor Hohl also carried out one of the largest ever surveys of victims to better understand how they can be supported.

To ensure all victims know the support available to them, the government has also launched a Victims’ Code campaign, to raise awareness of the rights everyone can expect to receive as a victim of crime.

Through the Victims and Prisoners Bill, police, prosecutors and prison and probation workers will also have a new Code Awareness Duty to make sure victims know their rights – including the right to be referred to a support service, receive updates on their case and the right to make a victim personal statement.

Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary, Alex Chalk KC, said:

This government is on the side of victims, who should be supported throughout their journey through the criminal justice system, and our new Victims’ Code campaign sets out exactly what they can expect every step of the way.

But we must also hold offenders to account. This new aggravating factor send a clear message that killers who threaten the safety of women can expect to feel the full force of the law.

The campaign was developed hand-in-hand with criminal justice agencies and victim support organisations, and materials demonstrating that the Victims’ Code is there for every victim, whatever the crime, are being cascaded across England and Wales.

This builds on work to make sure victims get the justice they deserve, and offenders pay for their crimes, including making rapists and serious sexual offenders serve their full custodial term in prison and to widening the use of whole life orders for the worst offenders.

Minister for Victims and Safeguarding Laura Farris said:

As today’s report shows we have made significant improvements in the response to rape across the criminal justice system with adult rape prosecutions approaching the highest levels seen in the last decade and number of adult rape cases arriving at the Crown Court is higher than at any point since 2014.

While there is still much work do, Professor Hohl’s expertise will be vital in driving this further.

Independent Advisor to the Rape Review Professor Katrin Hohl said:

Rape is the most serious survivable crime in English and Welsh law. The purpose of the rape review is to reform the criminal justice process so it is fit for purpose for rape victims and effective in holding perpetrators to account. As the Independent Advisor, I will challenge and support the government in achieving this ambition.

I commend the progress made to date. My priority is to help tackle the remaining challenges, such as timeliness, strengthening victims’ rights and meeting victims’ needs, head-on.

Fiona Mackenzie, Founder of We Can’t Consent to This campaign added:

This is an important step in ensuring that men who kill women in sexually motivated violence do not get away with a lighter sentence. This change should ensure that any future perpetrators of violence of this sort are properly punished, and send a clear message that this violence against women is unacceptable in our society.

Further to this, pioneering CPS areas, police forces, and leading academics developed new National Operating Models for the investigation of rape and serious sexual offences through Operation Soteria. This sees police and prosecutors working more closely together to build stronger cases.

All police forces and prosecutors in England and Wales are now 6 months into implementation, with the number of cases assigned a charge in the latest quarter being over 25 per cent higher than the same period in the previous year.

This support is crucial, especially for victims of rape – with around 60 per cent of investigations closing because the victim did not support -or withdrew support from- police action.

The government is also continuing to bolster support services, quadrupling victims funding by 2024/25, up from £41 million in 2009/10, and using ringfenced funding to increase the number of Independent Sexual Violence and Domestic Abuse Advisors by 300 to over 1,000 – a 43% increase by 2024/5.

Notes to editors

• The latest quarterly statistics (July-September 2023) show:
  • There were 1,470 referrals from the police to the CPS – 92% higher than the ambition of 766.
  • There were 668 charges by the CPS – 24% higher than the ambition of 538.
  • There were 665 cases arriving at Crown Court –20% higher than the ambition of 553.
• More broadly, the government also continues to support victims through:
  • Legislating to ensure rapists, and those convicted of the most serious sexual offences, remain in prison for the whole of their custodial term and that they are subject to proper supervision in the community on their release.
  • Offering 24/7 support line for victims of rape and sexual violence, ensuring victims of these abhorrent crimes always have someone on hand to support them.
  • Quadrupling victims funding by 2024/25, up from £41 million in 2009/10, including funding to increase the number of Independent Sexual Violence and Domestic Abuse Advisors by 300 to over 1,000 – a 43% increase by 2024/5.
  • And we are strengthening support for victims through the Victims and Prisoners Bill, including ensuring that police requests for third party materials are necessary and proportionate to an investigation.
• The Ministry of Justice’s Victims’ Code campaign launched today to raise awareness of the Victims’ Code and ensure that victims of crime are aware of their rights, and the support available, as they move through the criminal justice system. The campaign wants to promote that the Victims’ Code is there for every victim, whatever the crime.
  • The campaign directs victims to understand their rights at victimscode.org.uk.
  • This is part of the newly refreshed Victim and Witness Information website (victimandwitnessinformation.org.uk) which provides support, advice and guidance to help victims and witnesses in England and Wales understand their rights, the criminal justice process, and how to access support. This website is a single place for victims to get comprehensive, reliable information in an accessible way. This website is a single place for victims to get comprehensive, reliable information in an accessible way.

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

The Lord Chancellor has approved the appointments, for 3 years from 1 January 2024, of John Cuss, Daniel Hoadley, Amrik Kandola, Sue Prince, Laurence Shaw and Elizabeth Smart as members of the Civil Justice Council.