Select committee: Justice Committee
Recommendation 19
Seventh Report - The role of adult custodial remand in the criminal justice system
Published 17 Jan 2023
Paragraph 111
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 ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
It is simply wrong that those who are remanded to custody, potentially for long periods of time, and are then acquitted, have no entitlement to resettlement support. Although they may not fall technically within the responsibility of probation services, the Government must nevertheless find a way to ensure acquitted individuals are supported to return to the community in a way that is at least equivalent to those who are released having served a custodial sentence. As a minimum, they should be assisted in finding temporary accommodation following their release and be entitled to the same discharge grant as those who are sentenced and then released. The renegotiation of accommodation support contracts would appear to be a good opportunity to consider how similar support can be given to those who are acquitted. We would therefore like to see progress in relation to this matter by April 2023, the target date the Ministry gave us for the renegotiation of support contracts. This issue is now all the more acute because of the increase in time that defendants are spending on remand and the increased adverse consequences for them that accompany this.
From: Justice Committee, Seventh Report - The role of adult custodial remand in the criminal justice system (HC 264), paragraph 111, 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.