Local MP Justin Tomlinson has welcomed the Government’s move to introduce new laws to improve the justice system across England & Wales.
This key piece of legislation will underpin measures in the recently published Prison Safety and Reform White Paper, and will help transform how our prisons are run. Prisons will punish people who break the law and give offenders the skills they need to turn their lives around, driving down the £15 billion annual cost to society of reoffending.
It sets in law for the first time that a key purpose of prisons is to reform offenders, as well as punish them for the crimes they have committed. Victims and vulnerable witnesses are also central to the Prisons and Courts Bill, with a range of measures that will bolster their protection in court.
The Government is giving courts the power to put an end to domestic violence victims being quizzed by their attackers in the family courts, calling time on what the Justice Secretary has described as a “humiliating and appalling” practice. This follows an urgent review she commissioned last month.
Car insurance premiums will also be cut by around £40 a year, with new fixed tariffs capping whiplash compensation pay-outs and a ban on claims without medical evidence, helping to crack down on the compensation culture epidemic.
Justin Tomlinson MP said: “I am regularly contacted by fellow North Swindon residents with concerns about ensuring that the justice system is fair to everyone. By introducing this legislation, the Government is following through with its commitment to put victims at the centre of the justice system, reduce reoffending, modernise & reform the prison estate and deliver a judicial system fit for the twenty-first century. We are fortunate to have excellent court, witness support & offender management staff in Swindon, and this legislation will assist them in helping victims of crime, as well ensuring that we tackle the scourge of re-offending”.
Justice Secretary, Elizabeth Truss MP, said: “Prison is about punishing people who have committed heinous crimes, but it should be a place where offenders are given the opportunity to turn their lives around. I want our prisons to be places of discipline, hard work and self-improvement, where staff are empowered to get people off drugs, improve their English and maths get a job on release. Our courts should be places where victims get the justice they deserve, and where our outstanding independent judiciary can flourish and focus on the cases that matter.”
Justice Minister, Sir Oliver Heald MP, said: “Britain has the best justice system in the world, but it should also be the most modern, because we have a vision for a justice system that truly works for everyone. Victims and the most vulnerable are at the centre of our changes, which will help deliver swifter and more certain justice for all. We want courts that are efficient and fit-for-purpose, with facilities across the entire estate that are modern, user-friendly, and work in favour of our hard-working and dedicated judges and magistrates. The Prisons and Courts Bill underpins this vision – building on the good progress we have already made in improving the experience of all users and cementing our reputation for global legal excellence so we can go on attracting business to the United Kingdom.”
More information about the Prison & Courts Bill can be found online via https://www.gov.uk/government/news/justice-secretary-elizabeth-truss-unveils-landmark-prisons-and-courts-bill
Measures in the Prisons and Courts Bill
On prison safety and reform, the Bill will:
- Modernise the statutory purpose for prisons and clarify the role of the Secretary of State in relation to the new purpose, including accountability to Parliament. The Bill defines the purpose of prisons in statute including public protection, safety, reform of offenders and preparation for life outside prison. Under this framework, the Justice Secretary will account to Parliament for progress in reforming offenders.
- Bolster the independent scrutiny of prisons - strengthening the role of HM Inspector of Prisons by providing them with new statutory powers. For the first time, the Inspectorate will be required to inspect prison leadership to ensure that governors are being held to account for their new freedom, power and autonomy. The Bill will create a requirement for the Secretary of State or governor to respond to findings of an inspection within a certain timescale and provide that the Inspectorate’s findings can act as a trigger for the Secretary of State to take action in cases of poor performance.
- Put the Prisons & Probation Ombudsman on a statutory footing, giving it greater permanence and powers.
- Provide new powers to tackle the scourge of illegal mobile phones in prisons, allowing us to authorise public communications providers to detect and intercept unlawful mobile phones being used illegally in prisons.
- Add all psychoactive substances to existing testing powers, so that prisons can respond quickly to new drugs and test for them as soon as they become known.
On courts, tribunal and judicial reform, the Bill will:
- Give courts powers to put an end to the face-to-face cross-examination of domestic violence victims by their alleged abusers in family proceedings.
- Extend the use of virtual hearings meaning that victims and the vulnerable will no longer have to travel to a courtroom and run the risk of coming face-to-face with their assailant.
- Make it easier for individuals and businesses to recover the money they are owed by enabling the moving of civil claims of up to £25,000 entirely online. This will allow people to resolve their disputes without having to process reams of paperwork.
- Enable the streamlining of bureaucratic processes which take up the time and resources of court staff, for example allowing witness statements to be made instead of cumbersome statutory declarations.
- Introduce measures to safeguard the principle of open justice, for example by allowing the media and public to view virtual hearings via in court terminals and publishing listing and case results online. It will also safeguard against the risk of video or image capture from those using in court terminals by applying similar restrictions on recording proceedings to those in a physical court setting.
- Extend the power of the High Court to make attachment of earnings orders, making the process consistent with the County Court.
- Bring the Employment Tribunal system more in line with the wider tribunals framework, to ensure that users benefit from a more digital, streamlined and modern service.
- Free up the judiciary to focus their expertise on complex cases, by allowing specially-trained court staff to handle uncontroversial, straightforward matters under judicial authorisation and supervision.
- Allow for cases to be heard quicker and in more convenient places and reduce delays by removing restrictions that mean cases must be dealt with in a specific geographical location.
- Enable greater flexibility in the allocation of cases, allowing them to be moved back to the Magistrates’ Court if the case in question was deemed not to be serious enough for the Crown Court
- Allow offenders charged with very minor (non-imprisonable) criminal offences including failure to produce a ticket for travel on a train and fishing without a licence, to plead guilty, accept a conviction, be issued a penalty and pay that penalty there and then online. This will only be in cases where a defendant opts in to this process.
- Strengthen leadership structures within the judiciary, enabling them to bolster leadership capability at all levels. Such roles will be offered for a fixed period, giving more judges the opportunities to progress, honing their skills and experience.
- Allow for more flexible deployment across all areas and judges to gain experience of different types of cases to help career progression by removing barriers that currently prevent judges being deployed to hear urgent cases in some areas.
- Give the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) the power to conduct selection exercises in other parts of the world, sharing the leading expertise within the Commission.
On Whiplash, the Bill will:
- Introduce a transparent tariff system of fixed proportionate compensation payments for whiplash claims with an injury duration of up to two years.
- Ban offers to settle claims without medical
