Download or read book Government Response to the Justice Committee s Second Report of Session 2012 13 written by Great Britain: Ministry of Justice and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2012-10-19 with total page 48 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dated October 2012. Response to HC 97-I (ISBN 9780215047557)

Download or read book Thirty second Report of Session 2012 13 written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: European Scrutiny Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2013-02-25 with total page 108 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Ministry of Justice Government Response to the Justice Committee s Second Report of Session 2013 14 Female Offenders Cm 8729 written by Great Britain: Ministry of Justice and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2013-10-25 with total page 36 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this response to the Justice Committee following their inquiry into female offenders, the Ministry of Justice sets out plans to establish an open unit at HMP Styal and test this approach, set up community employment regimes across the estate to improve more women's access to jobs for their release, and create strategic hubs in order to improve closeness to home in certain regions. In addition to this, for the first time, all women will receive support through-the-gate and 12 months supervision on release as part of the Transforming rehabilitation reforms. NOMS' Stocktake of Community Services for Female Offenders shows that the spread and availability of community services specifically for women has been increasing. This sets the groundwork for the expansion of community support to women on release from short-sentences in 2014 and beyond. Efforts to divert women from custody where it is appropriate to do so also continue. The Ministry is also introducing legislation through the Offender Rehabilitation Bill to ensure that the Secretary of State enters into contracts with probation providers that identify and consider the particular needs of female offenders. To this end guidance is being issued so that probation providers fully understand the particular needs of female offenders and how to meet those needs.

Download or read book Pre legislative Scrutiny of the Children and Families Bill written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Justice Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2012-12-18 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Additional written evidence is contained in Volume 2, available on the Committee website at www.parliament.uk/justicecttee

Download or read book The Committee s Opinion on the European Union Data Protection Framework Proposals written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Justice Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2012-11 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The processes and procedures that are specified within the EU proposals to update data protection laws do not allow for flexibility or discretion for businesses or other organisations which hold personal data, or for data protection authorities. The proposals should focus on those elements that are required to achieve the Commission's objectives, whilst compliance should be entrusted to Member States' data protection authorities. These instruments would give EU citizens new data protection rights as set out in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and the Lisbon Treaty. Despite its criticisms, the Committee welcomes the potential benefits that an updated law could bring. For individuals, their rights would be strengthened, and in particular the new framework would guard against some of the more unwelcome and often criticised aspects of digital data processing. From a business perspective, the benefits would mainly accrue through the effective harmonisation of laws. Whilst the draft Regulation would cover general data protection, the draft Directive is specifically concerned with data protection for law enforcement purposes. The Committee been told that the draft Directive does not apply to domestic processing by law enforcement agencies within the UK. This needs to be placed beyond doubt. Additionally, it needs to be made clear that the Directive must not impact on the ability of the police to use common law powers to pass on information in the interests of crime prevention and public protection

Download or read book Interpreting and Translation Services and the Applied Language Solutions Contract written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Justice Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2013-02-06 with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Evidence suggests that the MoJ did not have a sufficient understanding of the complexities of court interpreting work. Significant concern was revealed that quality standards could be diminished by the imposition of a tiered system to enable a wider pool of interpreters, and by the introduction of lower levels of pay. However, the Department pushed ahead with the contract and failed to properly anticipate or address the potential for problems with Applied Language Solutions' (ALS) capacity to deliver on its promises. ALS, and more recently Capita, has been unable to recruit qualified and experienced interpreters in sufficient numbers. Professional interpreters have largely boycotted the new arrangements and Capita-ALS clearly needed significantly more resources than it had at its disposal. It also only paid lip service to the regulatory duties accepted under the Framework Agreement, yet did not have the capacity to cope with complaints or to implement basic vetting procedures. The MoJ has had to monitor Capita-ALS very closely to secure the level of improvement necessary to make the Agreement workable, and continues to do so. The existing arrangements may not be financially sustainable as Capita is propping up the continuation of the Agreement, which mean that the Department's savings, originally projected to be £15million, are effectively being secured at the company's expense. Actions taken by MoJ also had the effect of hampering the inquiry when HMCTS issued an edict to its staff instructing them not to participate in the Committee's online consultation, established to invite direct observations from frontline staff of the performance of ALS

Download or read book Implementation of the right of disabled people to independent living written by Great Britain: Parliament: Joint Committee on Human Rights and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2012-07-02 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Government response to HL 257/HC 1074, session 2010-12 (ISBN 9780108475320)

Download or read book HC 307 Crime Reduction Policies A Co Ordinated Approach written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Justice Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2014 with total page 220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Justice Committee believes The Treasury should seriously question whether taxpayers' money is used in ways most likely to reduce future crime and victimisation and must develop a longer term strategy for the use of resources tied up currently in the criminal justice system. All parts of the criminal justice system have had to cope with significant spending cuts, yet it appears that the Government has shied away from using the need to make those cuts to re-evaluate how and where money is spent. The Committee welcomes the development of various cross-Government initiatives to deal with the sources of crime, such as the Troubled Families Programme. But resources committed are tiny compared to the costs of crime to society. Each year: violent crime, 44% of which is alcohol related, costs almost £30 billion; crime perpetrated by people who had conduct problems in childhood costs around £60 billion; drug related crime costs £13.3 billion; anti-social behaviour related to alcohol abuse costs £11 billion. The costs of preventative investment further upstream are often relatively small yet the Committee's evidence highlights the clear benefits of collective ownership, pooled funding and joint priorities that have been facilitated by the shift of power in this field from Whitehall to local communities. The greatest problem identified by the Committee is the lack of rigorous assessment of where taxpayers' money can be most effectively spent in cutting crime. A more evidence-based approach is needed.

Download or read book The Budget and Structure of the Ministry of Justice written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Justice Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2012-08-18 with total page 96 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the five years since the Ministry of Justice was created, it has made improvements to its structure and performance and is now a more integrated Department. However, the Ministry is still too much in thrall to the prison service: better integrated offender management would enable the Ministry to make the financial savings demanded of it but also provide a more effective service to clients, users and the wider public, and in particular to achieve its key objective to reduce re-offending. The Ministry has been subject to past criticism for poor financial management - missing the Treasury's deadline for the laying of accounts three years running, woeful inefficiency in the administration of legal aid and too much focus on policy at the expense of delivery. Following an in-depth investigation into all aspects of the Department's work, the Committee concluded that the Ministry has got a grip of the situation and is justifying the rationale for its creation. However, the MPs believe the Department could undergo further restructuring to create a single delivery body. Additionally, the current structure of the National Offender Management Service (NOMS), which continues to be driven by prison priorities, produces difficulties in reducing re-offending. The Committee also makes a number of further recommendations to improve how the Department functions

Download or read book HC 657 Manorial Rights written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Justice Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2015 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Manorial rights are certain rights which were retained by lords of the manor in England and Wales when land became freehold in the early 20th century, and can include rights to mines and some minerals, sporting rights such as hunting, shooting and fishing, and rights to hold fairs and markets. In the past such rights were not required to be detailed on theregister of title, but they remained overriding - that is they bound the owner of the affected and even though they may not have known about the rights. Changes made through the Land Registration Act 2002 sought to increase the transparency and knowledge of such rights by requiring that they be registered and removing their overriding status. This Act specified a deadline - October 2013 - by which such rights should be registered to ensure they could not be lost.

Download or read book Ensuring standards in the quality of legislation written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Political and Constitutional Reform Committee and published by Stationery Office. This book was released on 2013-05-20 with total page 166 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There has been repeated criticism in recent years from a variety of sources about both the quantity and quality of legislation. The Committee's inquiry into Ensuring standards in the quality of legislation has considered these criticisms, analysed the core problems and causes of bad quality legislation, and looked to provide solutions for both the Government and Parliament to improve the quality of legislation. The Scottish Parliament, Northern Ireland Assembly and National Assembly for Wales have adapted the Westminster model in order to improve the quality of their legislation; it is now the turn of Westminster to look at their processes and adapt them for use here. The Committee has concluded that it would be beneficial for Parliament and the Government to work together to agree standards for what makes good legislation, and as a starting point for discussion publishes a draft Code of Legislative Standards with the report. The Committee also recommends the creation of a Joint Legislative Standards Committee to provide oversight of the Cabinet's Parliamentary Business and Legislation Committee's approach to and use of the finalised Code of Legislative Standards, to ensure that the quality standards set out in the Code of Legislative Standards are met. The Committee considers that these recommendations would also improve the quality of constitutional legislation, in particular, by requiring the Government to adopt an agreed test to identify constitutional legislation and thereby improve Parliament's scrutiny of it

Download or read book Executive Power written by Robert Hazell and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2022-11-03 with total page 552 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book considers the function of the royal prerogative in the changing landscape of the British constitution. It explains each of the prerogative powers in separate chapters. It clarifies the respective roles of government, Parliament and the courts in defining the extent of prerogative powers, and in regulating their use. It also looks at which powers should be codified in statute, which should be regulated by convention, and which could be left at large. The book is very timely in contributing to current debates. The fevered parliamentary debates over Brexit thrust the prerogative centre-stage. Recent controversies have ranged from the role of Parliament in assenting to treaties, to the prorogation and dissolution of Parliament, to the grant or withholding of royal assent to bills. In their 2019 election manifesto, the Conservative Party stated that 'After Brexit we also need to look at the broader aspects of our constitution, the relationship between the Government, Parliament and the courts; the functioning of the Royal Prerogative...'. The book covers the whole range of prerogative powers, from going to war and ratifying treaties, appointing and dismissing ministers, regulating the civil service and public appointments, to the grant of honours and pardons and the issue of passports. Its 19 chapters provide a comprehensive guide to the operation of the prerogative – past, present, and future – together with suggestions for reform.

Download or read book Incarcerating Motherhood written by Isla Masson and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-02-25 with total page 370 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Incarcerating Motherhood explores how initial short period in prisons can negatively impact mothers and their children. We have much yet to understand about the enduring harms caused by first time incarceration, especially for minimal time periods and for mothers with dependent children. With large numbers of female prisoners currently incarcerated for short periods in England and Wales (either on short sentences or remand), many of whom are primary caregivers, this book asks: what kind of impact does this imprisonment has on both parent and child in the long term? Based on original research, the experiences of sixteen mothers are presented to voice the material, physical and emotional consequences of short-term imprisonment. The book explores to what extent these mothers lose their sense of identity in a short space of time, whether this continues to affect them post-custody, and what level of support they are provided during and post-custody. This book also explores what bearing the initial separation and the care provided during the mother’s absence will have on their children’s lives, as well as whether the affects of imprisonment on the mother also increase the vulnerability of her children. Incarcerating Motherhood provides a platform for readers to hear how a ‘short sharp shock’ can cause enduring harms to an already vulnerable group in society and how even short-term imprisonment have long-lasting and multi-dimensional consequences.

Download or read book HC 310 Joint Enterprise Follow Up written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Justice Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2014 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this Report the Committee returns to follow up the Report which was published in January 2012 (ISBN 9780215040589) on the operation of the common-law doctrine of joint enterprise, which forms part of the criminal law relating to secondary liability. The types of cases considered are those in which P and D participate together in one crime and in the course of it P commits a second crime which D had foreseen he might commit: in such cases, under joint enterprise, D may also be charged and convicted of the second offence. The Committee considers in this report the impact of the guidance for prosecutors in joint enterprise cases which the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) produced in response to one of the 2012 recommendations, taking into account statistics on murder and manslaughter cases with two or more defendants in 2012 and 2013 which the CPS also produced. The Committee concludes that the level of concern about the operation of joint enterprise, especially in murder cases, is such that it is no longer acceptable for the main authorities in the criminal justice system to give such limited attention and priority to the recording and collation of information and reommends that the Ministry of Justice establish a system to enable production of regular statistics on joint enterprise prosecutions, convictions and appeals. This report sets out a range of other concerns and questions which continue to be raised about the application of the doctrine, including the scale of use of joint enterprise, the question as to whether joint enterprise is being used as a social policy tool, the high number of Black and mixed race young men who have been convicted of joint enterprise offences. The evidence heard in this second inquiry into the subject has increased disquiet at the functioning of the law on joint enterprise and the Committee is no longer of the view that it is satisfactory for a consultation to be held on the Law Commission's previous proposals on joint enterprise.

Download or read book The Ministry of Justice s Language Service Contract written by Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Committee of Public Accounts and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2012-12-14 with total page 78 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Before January 2012, the Ministry generally booked interpretation services directly with individual interpreters, many of whom were listed on the National Register of Public Service Interpreters (NRPSI). This approach was administratively inefficient and the Ministry decided to set up a new centralised procurement system. The Ministry awarded the contract to a company, ALS, that was clearly incapable of delivering. Despite having been warned that ALS was too small to shoulder a contract worth more than £1 million, it went ahead and handed them an annual £42 million national contract. The Ministry did not understand its own basic requirements and ignored the views of interpreters, who had serious concerns about the contract. Capita took over ALS in late 2011. The Ministry needed access to 1,200 interpreters when the contract went live but the company had only 280 properly assessed interpreters willing to work for it. The Ministry, though, still decided to go live nationally in one go. Many of the 'interpreters' it thought were available had simply registered an interest on the company's website and had been subject to no official checks. As a result, the company was able to meet only 58% of bookings causing a sharp rise in delayed, postponed and abandoned trials; individuals being kept on remand solely because no interpreter was available; and the quality of interpreters has at times been appalling. However Capita has only been fined £2,200 to date for failing to meet the terms of the contract. Capita-ALS is now fulfilling more bookings, but it is still struggling

Download or read book HC 850 Criminal Cases Review Commission written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Justice Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2015 with total page 41 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) was set up in 1997, by the Criminal Appeal Act 1995, on the recommendation of the Royal Commission on Criminal Justice. The CCRC investigates alleged miscarriages of justice, post-conviction and post-appeal, and has the power to refer cases back to the Court of Appeal for reconsideration. The Committee held a one-off evidence session on the work of the CCRC in January 2014, and then sought some views on the issues raised. The Committee subsequently decided to hold an inquiry on the CCRC, and launched it with a general call for evidence. The "real possibility" test, which requires that for a referral to be made there must be a real possibility that the conviction or sentence would not be upheld on appeal, was one of the most controversial aspects of the CCRC. The Committee found that criticisms broadly fell into one of three areas: that the test itself is wrong; that the test is being applied incorrectly by the CCRC; or that the Court of Appeal's approach to criminal appeals is overly restrictive. The Committee's considers each of these areas in turn. Critics of the test felt that it inherently prevents the CCRC from being truly independent of the Court of Appeal. The Committee concludes that any change would have to be in light of a change to the Court of Appeal's grounds for allowing appeals.

Download or read book HC 311 Impact of Changes to Civil Legal Aid Under Part 1 of the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Acvt 2012 written by Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Justice Committee and published by The Stationery Office. This book was released on 2015 with total page 87 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since the reforms came into effect, there has been a significant underspend in the civil legal aid budget because the MoJ failed to ensure that those who are eligible for legal aid are able to access it. This has been partly been due to a lack of public information, including information about the Civil Legal Advice telephone gateway for debt advice, and the Committee recommends that the MoJ take prompt steps to redress this. The Committee also concludes that the exceptional cases funding scheme has not worked as Parliament intended. It was supposed to act as a safety net, protecting access to justice for the most vulnerable. The Committee expects the MoJ to react rapidly to ensure that the scheme fulfils Parliament's intention that the most vulnerable people are able to access legal assistance. The Government's reforms have led to an increase in the number and a change in the profile of litigants in person: increasingly these are people who have no choice but to represent themselves, and who may thus have difficulty in doing so effectively: although many tribunals are accustomed to dealing with unrepresented litigants the courts have to expend more resources in order to assist them. The MoJ has not been able to demonstrate that it has achieved value for money for the taxpayer. Although significant savings have been achieved, efforts to target legal aid at those who most need it have focused on intervention aimed at the point after a crisis has already developed, rather than on prevention.