Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Public Confidence in the Justice System

Tuesday 28 January 2025 · 3 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 1 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Ministerial Questions addressed issues concerning public confidence in the justice system.
  • A Conservative MP cited a case where an individual wrongly released under early release scheme later assaulted his ex-partner.
  • A Labour MP shared a constituent's story of domestic abuse and actual bodily harm, seeking official review of the case details.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Peter Bedford Con Mid Leicestershire
Justice & Courts
Context

Mr Bedford cited a specific case of Jason Hoganson, who was wrongly released under the Government’s early release scheme and later convicted for assault against his ex-partner.

Question

Jason Hoganson was wrongly released under the Government’s early release scheme. Last week, he was convicted of assaulting his ex-partner just a day after he was freed under that botched scheme. Does the Secretary of State agree that this shocking case, and cases like it, continue to undermine the public’s trust and confidence in our justice system?

Answer from Shabana Mahmood (Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice)

What undermines confidence in the justice system is running out of prison places, which is the inheritance the Conservative Government left for this Government. That is the mess that we are cleaning up. The hon. Gentleman will also be aware that the previous Government’s end-of-custody supervised licence scheme was also an early release scheme, but without any of the measures on accountability and transparency, or the wider set of exclusions, that that we introduced with the SDS40 scheme.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The response did not directly address whether cases like Jason Hoganson's undermine public confidence in the justice system.

How: Redirecting Blame To Previous Government, Highlighting Differences In Release Schemes

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Q2 Jonathan Davies Lab Mid Derbyshire
Justice & Courts
Context

Davies referenced a constituent, Hayley Johns, who was a victim of domestic abuse and actual bodily harm. Her ex-partner is being considered for early release after serving only three months.

Question

On Friday, I met my constituent Hayley Johns. She has given me permission to share her story in this place. Hayley was a victim of domestic abuse and actual bodily harm perpetrated by an ex-partner. I was absolutely shocked to hear her story. Her ex-partner was convicted for three years for his crimes. However, he is being considered for release after serving just three months. Does the Justice Secretary agree that given the legacy of the previous Government, we need to redouble our efforts, and the efforts of this Government, to improve confidence in the criminal justice system? Can I please ask her to take a personal interest in this case?

Answer from Shabana Mahmood (Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice)

I will happily look at the facts of the case. Some of those numbers do not sound like they should be possible, but that could be down to specific factors relating to that case. If my hon. Friend writes to me with the details, I will make sure he has a full response.

Answered
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Q3 Josh Babarinde Lib Dem Eastbourne
Crime & Law Enforcement Justice & Courts
Context

Babarinde mentioned charities such as Victim Support facing a real-terms budget cut of 7% due to the hike in employers’ national insurance contributions.

Question

Confidence in the criminal justice system can be achieved only if support for victims and survivors is adequately funded, but charities such as Victim Support, whose services I have personally benefited from, have said that for them, the hike in employers’ national insurance contributions amounts to a real-terms budget cut of 7%. Victims need more support, not less. Will the Secretary of State fight to reverse that damaging cut and help restore victims’ confidence in the criminal justice system?

Answer from Shabana Mahmood (Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice)

The hon. Gentleman will be aware of the difficult fiscal inheritance for this Government, and that we have had to make some difficult choices. We received a good settlement from the Treasury at the last Budget, but it is not without its challenges, given the high demand in our system. He will know that we have protected funding for victims of violence against women and girls, including rape and sexual offences. We have sought to protect the most vulnerable victims when making decisions on our victims funding packages.

Partly answered

Not addressed: The response did not commit to reversing budget cuts but highlighted efforts to protect funding for specific groups of victims.

How: Highlighting Fiscal Constraints, Mentioning Protections For Vulnerable Victims

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