Select committee: Justice Committee
Conclusion 1
Seventh Report - The role of adult custodial remand in the criminal justice system
Published 17 Jan 2023
Paragraph 12
Addressed to Ministry of Justice
Justice Committee The role of adult custodial remand in the criminal justice system All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Conclusion (the committee's words)
We are concerned by the increasing size of the remand population, and in particular by evidence of the increasing length of time people are spending in custody on remand. Efforts need to be focused on reducing this population and bringing forward the hearing dates of trials. A significant proportion of defendants held on remand will be found not guilty, and so it is vital that they are not deprived of their liberty for long periods of time. For those found guilty and given a custodial sentence, they should be progressing on to sentence planning to prepare them for release, rather than waiting long periods of time for their sentence to be passed. The need for efforts to reduce the population are particularly pressing now, given the current capacity crisis in the prison system, and the recent activation of Operation Safeguard to allow the temporary use of up to 400 police cells to hold prisoners, with the growing remand population given as a reason for increased demand on prison spaces.
From: Justice Committee, Seventh Report - The role of adult custodial remand in the criminal justice system (HC 264), paragraph 12, 17 January 2023
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 31 March 2023 (deadline 17 March 2023).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The Government welcomes the report, says it is "already undertaking work on the majority" of the recommendations, and that some are accepted partially or in principle while others are "not within the Government's gift to accept".
- It rejects a rapid review of Crown Court case levels, saying that the potential effect on the remand population "has been modelled within our published prison population projections".
- On magistrates' training and pronouncement templates, it rejects the recommendations, saying that as the judiciary is independent it is "not appropriate for the Government" to direct training or review materials.
- It rejects a review of the legal framework for custody time limits, stating that the framework "is clear and effective" and that "There is no intention to review" it "at this time".
- On a Bail Information Service roll-out, it partially accepts, anticipating a dedicated and proactive service "could be rolled out to all courts and prisons from Summer 2023, subject to funding", with robust data published in early 2024 as its aim.