New statistics released by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) reveal that 267 people have died in prisons in England and Wales in the 12 months up to the end of September 2015, an increase of 33 compared to the 12…
Blog Archives
Government makes embarrassing u-turn over plans to privatise court fines enforcement
The government has made a u-turn over its plans to privatise court fine enforcement. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has notified its employees that the National Compliance and Enforcement Service will remain within Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS),…
Posted in News
Volunteer ‘home guard’ to stand in for police, as more cuts planned
The Home Office has announced a consultation on ‘Reforming the Powers of Police Staff and Volunteers‘, aiming to give Chief Constables much greater flexibility in designating powers on police staff and volunteers. Crucially, the government propose enabling volunteers to be…
Posted in Policing
New figures reveal victims face a ‘postcode lottery’ in the justice system
The BBC has obtained figures from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) revealing that victims face a ‘postcode’ lottery in the justice system. The figures show that magistrates in England and Wales, whose courts process about 90 per cent of all…
Posted in Courts
Pressure building over privatisation threat to court fines collection
Pressure has been building against government plans to outsource the enforcement of court fines to US multinational Concentrix, a company with a controversial track record of carrying out government contracts. Concentrix is the only company the government is considering for…
Posted in News
Who are the government’s justice reforms benefitting?
The Speak up for Justice campaign hosted a fringe at TUC Congress to address the question ‘Who are the government’s justice reforms benefitting?’ We brought together a range of speakers to debate the issue, covering all sectors of the justice…
Posted in News
436 probation jobs under threat amid ‘drastic’ cuts by multinational Sodexo
Multinational outsourcing firm Sodexo have put 436 probation jobs across England at risk of redundancy, in six of the community rehabilitation companies it now runs, following the chaotic, untested and entirely ideological privatisation of probation services earlier this year. Napo,…
Posted in News
Channel 4 news piece – Legal aid crisis: Can Michael Gove end growing case backlog?
From 1 July 2015, thousands of criminal solicitors have refused to take on new legal aid cases, in protest against the government’s further cuts to fixed fees and proposed contract changes. On Wednesday 22 July, criminal lawyers, supported by the…
Posted in News
New MoJ figures reveal assault on access to justice, as spending cuts caused huge drop in legal aid work
The implementation of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO) has resulted in “large reductions in legal help workload and expenditure”, reveal new Ministry of Justice (MoJ) statistics. The statistics reveal that government reforms and spending…
