Source · Select Committees · Justice Committee
Recommendation 24
24
Deferred
Paragraph: 138
Community Accommodation Service Tier-2's bed capacity requires assessment for sufficiency.
Conclusion
The Community Accommodation Service Tier-2 plays an important role in supporting the courts and prisons in making the best use of custody by providing an address for people on bail or licence who have no suitable accommodation. The Ministry of Justice should conduct an assessment of whether the 550 beds currently contracted through the Service is sufficient to meet the requirements of its core user groups, including the extent to which the absence of available accommodation may be an underlying contributory factor in defendants being remanded to custody.
Government Response Summary
The government accepted the recommendation in principle but responded by discussing the use of video technology in remand hearings and committed to considering research to ensure remote technologies do not adversely impact remand hearings or custodial remand rates, rather than assessing CAS-2 bed sufficiency.
Paragraph Reference:
138
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government
Deferred
We accept this recommendation in principle. The use of video technology to conduct remand hearings remains challenging. However, to the extent that remote technologies are used, we agree we should ensure that the use of these technologies do not result in disparity of outcomes. The MoJ will therefore consider what research might be undertaken to provide assurance that the use of remote technologies such as video links does not have any undue adverse impacts on remand hearings and on the rate of custodial remand.