Every parliamentary written question tabled by John Hayes this session, with the full answer and department. Back to the MP page.
Showing 61–80 of 89 · Ministry of Justice
If she will conduct a review into the effectiveness of the Sentencing Council.
The proper role of the Sentencing Council, and the process for making guidelines, must be considered further and in greater depth. The Lord Chancellor has committed to reviewing the role and powers of the Council over the coming months.
If she will take steps to override the Sentencing Council's guidance entitled Imposition of community and custodial sentences - Effective from 1 April 2025.
This Government’s position is clear: we are seeking to remove the unequal treatment before the law in these guidelines.In the first instance, the Lord Chancellor used her power under the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 and asked the Sentencing Council to reconsider their guidance. On 01 April, we introduced legislation to address the specific issue with these guidelines.The Sentencing Council have now put the guidelines on pause – we are grateful for their constructive engagement on this issue.We will also consider a broader review of the Sentencing Council’s role and powers over the coming months. It is right that we take the time to consider more fundamental reforms.
What the total amount of fines resulting from drug driving convictions was in each of the last five years.
The Ministry of Justice publishes data on fines for drug driving offences. This is available in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal Justice Statistics.The drug driving offences used in the table are below:00413 - Cause death by driving without due care / consideration while over prescribed limit - specified controlled drug (MOT)80310 - Driving or attempting to drive a motor vehicle whilst unfit through drink or drugs (impairment) - drugs (MOT)80312 - Being in charge of a mechanically propelled vehicle whilst unfit to drive through drink or drugs (impairment) - drugs (MOT)80313 - Drive a motor vehicle with the proportion of specified controlled drug above specified limit (MOT)80314 – Aid/abet driving of a motor vehicle with the proportion of specified controlled drug above specified limit (MOT)80315 - In charge of a motor vehicle with the proportion of specified controlled drug above specified limit (MOT)80316 - Attempt to drive a motor vehicle with the proportion of specified controlled drug above specified limit (MOT)
How many people have been convicted of drug driving offences in Lincolnshire in each of the last 10 years.
The Ministry of Justice publishes data on drug driving offence convictions. This is available in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal Justice Statistics.The number of convictions and the type of sentence related to drug driving offences can be accessed by navigating to the ‘Prosecutions and Convictions’ tab, using the “Police Force Area” filter to select ‘Lincolnshire’ and filtering the “HO offence code” drop down for:00413 - Cause death by driving without due care / consideration while over prescribed limit - specified controlled drug (MOT)80310 - Driving or attempting to drive a motor vehicle whilst unfit through drink or drugs (impairment) - drugs (MOT)80312 - Being in charge of a mechanically propelled vehicle whilst unfit to drive through drink or drugs (impairment) - drugs (MOT)80313 - Drive a motor vehicle with the proportion of specified controlled drug above specified limit (MOT)80314 – Aid/abet driving of a motor vehicle with the proportion of specified controlled drug above specified limit (MOT)80315 - In charge of a motor vehicle with the proportion of specified controlled drug above specified limit (MOT)80316 - Attempt to drive a motor vehicle with the proportion of specified controlled drug above specified limit (MOT)The resulting numbers of prosecutions are for offenders appearing at courts in Lincolnshire and the offence may not have originated in Lincolnshire.
How many people convicted of drug driving offences were given the maximum sentence in each of the last five years.
The Ministry of Justice publishes data on drug driving offence convictions. This is available in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal Justice Statistics.The number of convictions and the type of sentence related to drug driving offences can be accessed by navigating to the ‘Sentence Outcomes’ tab, using the sentencing outcome filter and filtering the “HO offence code” drop down for:00413 - Cause death by driving without due care / consideration while over prescribed limit - specified controlled drug (MOT)80310 - Driving or attempting to drive a motor vehicle whilst unfit through drink or drugs (impairment) - drugs (MOT)80312 - Being in charge of a mechanically propelled vehicle whilst unfit to drive through drink or drugs (impairment) - drugs (MOT)80313 - Drive a motor vehicle with the proportion of specified controlled drug above specified limit (MOT)80314 – Aid/abet driving of a motor vehicle with the proportion of specified controlled drug above specified limit (MOT)80315 - In charge of a motor vehicle with the proportion of specified controlled drug above specified limit (MOT)80316 - Attempt to drive a motor vehicle with the proportion of specified controlled drug above specified limit (MOT)
What proportion of food procured by her Department is sourced in the UK.
To date, the Government has not held information on where publicly procured food is sourced from.Starting right away, for the first time ever, this Government will review the food currently bought in the public sector to determine the standards that it is meeting, where it is bought from and look to introduce monitoring for transparency and accountability within those supply chains to ultimately get the best food for the consumer.This work will be a significant first step to inform any future changes to public sector food procurement policies as we want to help make it an equal playing field for British producers to bid into the £5 billion spend each year on public sector catering contracts.
How many people have been (a) charged and (b) prosecuted with communications offences under the Online Safety Act 2023 by offence.
The Online Safety Act introduced a number of communication offences, which were commenced in January 2024. These offences were introduced to criminalise cyberflashing, fake news intended to cause non-trivial harm and other online abuse.The Ministry of Justice publishes data on offenders prosecuted with communications offences under the Online Safety Act 2023. This is available in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: Criminal Justice Statistics.The number of prosecutions for communications offences can be accessed by navigating to the ‘Overall Volumes’ tab, and filtering the “HO offence code” drop down for:13852 – Send false communication with intent to cause harm00528 – Send communication threatening death or serious harm00529 – Send electronic communication with flashing images with intent to harm an individual
What assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the number of coroners working in Lincolnshire.
Coroner services are locally funded and administered across 77 coroner areas in England and Wales. Statutory responsibility for coroner appointments lies with the funding local authority in each area, and the assessment of resource is based on local caseload and other relevant factors. The Chief Coroner has published guidance and advice to support local authorities in this context.The Government is committed to supporting an inquest process which is as swift as possible and which puts bereaved families at the heart of the process. We recognise the impact of delays on bereaved families and wider systems and we will continue to work closely with the Chief Coroner, local authorities and other key partners to reform and deliver a framework for the future development of coroner services.
For what purposes the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority has used artificial intelligence in the last 12 months.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is at the heart of the Government’s plan to kickstart an era of economic growth, transform how we deliver public services, and boost living standards for working people across the country. CICA has not used AI technology for any live or past applications for compensation. It is exploring the use of AI to enable the extraction of key information from large documents to add further efficiency to its decision-making process.
For what purposes the Office of the Public Guardian has used artificial intelligence in the last 12 months.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is at the heart of the Government’s plan to transform how we deliver public services, and boost living standards for working people across the country. A small number of staff in Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) are trialling the use of Microsoft 365 Co-pilot as part of a Ministry of Justice wide pilot, looking to reduce time spent on repetitive administrative tasks. OPG does not use AI in its decision-making processes. OPG can draw on a range of resources, published on GOV.UK, to inform AI usage. For example, the Generative AI Ethics Framework, the Ethics, Transparency and Accountability Framework, the Data Ethics Framework, the AI Opportunities Action Plan and the Algorithmic Transparency Recording Standard.
For what purposes His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service has used artificial intelligence in the last 12 months.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is at the heart of the Government’s plan to kickstart an era of economic growth, transform how we deliver public services, and boost living standards for working people across the country.Staff in His Majesty’s Prison and Probation service are part of a controlled pilot that is testing the use of Microsoft 365 Copilot.All use of artificial intelligence in the Ministry of Justice is undertaken in line with the Ministry’s AI Ethics Framework and aligned with the Generative AI Framework for government and the Algorithmic Transparency Reporting Standard.
For what purposes HM Courts and Tribunals Service has used artificial intelligence in the last 12 months.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is at the heart of the Government’s plan to kickstart an era of economic growth, transform how we deliver public services, and boost living standards for working people across the country.Work to date has involved early-stage testing of solutions including productivity tools like Microsoft Co-pilot, intelligent document processing, knowledge management and transcription, to help our staff operate effectively and efficiently. However, we currently have no live AI systems in use across our operations and front-line services.A small number of staff are trialling the use of Microsoft 365 Co-pilot as part of a Ministry of Justice wide pilot, looking to reduce time spent on repetitive tasks.HMCTS can draw on a range of resources, published on GOV.UK, to inform AI usage. For example, the Generative AI Ethics Framework, the Ethics, Transparency and Accountability Framework, the Data Ethics Framework, the AI Opportunities Action Plan and the Algorithmic Transparency Recording Standard.
What assessment she has made of the potential implications for he policies of trends in the levels of reoffending rates in Lincolnshire in the past five years; and what steps her Department is taking to help reduce reoffending rates in that county.
The overall proven reoffending rate for Lincolnshire has decreased from 28.8% in 2018 to 26.3% in 2022 (the latest year for which reoffending data is available – see Table 1). Despite this overall downward trend, the reoffending rate increased from 24.5% in 2021 to 26.3% in 2022. We have seen reoffending rates increase slightly as we move away from Covid-affected periods (during which reoffending rates were impacted by court closures and other Covid-related operational restrictions). Despite this, rates remain lower than historical levels.Table 1: Rate of reoffending for Lincolnshire across the past 5 years Jan 18 -Dec 18Jan 19 - Dec 19Jan 20 - Dec 20Jan 21 -Dec 21Jan 22 -Dec 22Lincolnshire28.8%25.2%25.0%24.5%26.3%This Government is committed to reducing reoffending by giving people the tools they need to turn their backs on crime, including by investing in getting offenders into employment which we know can reduce reoffending by up to 9 percentage points. We have, for example, recruited specialist employment leads in prisons to support and prepare prisoners for work on release. This role is currently in place at HMP Lincoln and HMP North Sea Camp, two prisons located in Lincolnshire. We have also recently launched regional Employment Councils, which for the first time will bring businesses together with probation services and the Department for Work and Pensions to support offenders in the community. The county of Lincolnshire is covered by the East, North & West Midlands Employment Council.
How many court clerks worked at Boston Magistrates' Court in each year since 2014 for which data is available.
Boston operates as a hearing venue only and has done since consultation in 2019. There are 2 members of staff based there, who operate as a back office to support the wider Cluster, taking work primarily from Lincoln County Court. The role of Court Clerk exists in two jurisdictions, Crown Court and County Court. The Crown Court does not sit in Boston. If required, County Court clerks travel over from Lincoln.
For what purposes (a) Ministers and (b) officials in her Department have used AI in the last 12 months.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is at the heart of the Government’s plan to kickstart an era of economic growth, transform how we deliver public services, and boost living standards for working people across the country.To seize this opportunity, the Ministry of Justice has established a new Justice AI Unit, led by the Department’s first Chief AI Officer, to develop a comprehensive AI strategy for the Department and its agencies.Officials are trialing the use of Microsoft 365 Copilot across 1,300 staff in the Department, specifically on its ability to reduce the time spent on repetitive tasks. In addition, we are exploring various pilots to support key functions, including frontline and operational staff.We adhere to a safety-first policy and have co-developed an AI ethical framework and toolkit with the Alan Turing Institute. This resource is designed to assist stakeholders, developers, policymakers, and decision-makers in understanding the requirements for fostering responsible innovation in the use of AI within the criminal justice system.
How many and what proportion of people convicted for shoplifting offences reoffended within (a) 12 months and (b) two years in each of the last five years.
The proven reoffending rate for the adult cohort convicted of shoplifting offences between 2017/18 and 2021/22 (the latest year for which reoffending data is available) can be found in the table below, along with the number of offenders and reoffenders included in this cohort. The proven reoffending rate is calculated using a 12-month follow up period.Table 1: Rate of reoffending for adults convicted of shoplifting offences in England and Wales in 12-month follow up period, across the past five years Apr 17 – Mar 18Apr 18 - Mar 19Apr 19 -Mar 20Apr 20 -Mar 21Apr 21 - Mar 22Proportion of offenders who reoffend (%)59.058.254.854.060.3Number of offenders in cohort41,22235,15928,79016,03615,358Number of reoffenders24,30520,46315,7748,6619,265The proven reoffending methodology is complex and based on a one-year reoffending rate. Providing this information for a new 2-year reoffending measure would be of disproportionate cost.
If she will make an estimate of the number of sharia councils operating in England and Wales.
Sharia Councils are not part of the judicial system; therefore the Ministry of Justice does not hold data on the number of sharia councils in operation, and there is no plan to produce such data at this time.
How many justices of the peace served at Boston Magistrates court in each of the last five years.
HMCTS deploys Magistrates (Justices of the Peace) who are allocated to a bench and are then placed on a rota to sit as a panel. Boston Magistrates would be served by the Lincolnshire Bench and the numbers on that bench are below for the period stated:YearNo. of Magistrates1/4/24 – 3/12/241701/4/23- 31/3/241821/4/22- 31/3/231611/4/21 – 31/3/221581/4/20 – 31/3/211591/4/19 – 31/3/20174
What recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Probation Service in the East Midlands.
His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service routinely publishes information about Probation Service regions’ performance as part of the Community Performance Annual Statistics. The most recent data, published in July, cover the financial year 2023-24, and includes the performance of East Midlands Probation.This publication includes details of performance against key performance indicators, a set of ‘Probation Service Scorecard Ratings,’ and other supporting information, which can all be accessed using the following link: Community Performance Annual, update to March 2024 - GOV.UK.
If she will make it her policy to immediately deport foreign nationals convicted of criminal offences resulting in custodial sentences.
The removal of Foreign National Offenders (FNOs) is an important priority of this Government. FNOs who commit crime should be in no doubt that the law will be enforced and, where appropriate, we will work with the Home Office to pursue their deportation. We are currently on track to remove more foreign national offenders this year than at any time in recent years.As the Lord Chancellor stated in Parliament on 05 November, we are reviewing the operation of our removal mechanisms to ensure they are as effective as possible. This includes assessing how we can make the Early Removal Scheme more effective. We will be working with the Home Office as we develop our plans in this area, to ensure that FNOs who have no right to remain here are deported as swiftly as possible.