• Research Briefing

    Litigants in person: the rise of the self-represented litigant in civil and family cases in England and Wales

    The available evidence indicates that the proportion of litigants appearing before the civil and family courts in England and Wales without legal representation (litigants in person, also sometimes called self-represented litigants) has increased since the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 took many civil and private law children and family cases out of scope for legal aid from 1 April 2013. What does this mean, both for the litigants and for the courts?

  • Research Briefing

    Categorisation of prisoners in the UK

    Prisoner categorisation centres around an assessment of risk and the need for supervision. Whether prisoners in England and Wales are being recategorised simply to fill spaces in open prisons remains controversial.

  • Research Briefing

    Controversy in 2010-11 surrounding the Government’s plans for legal aid reform

    Many changes have been made to the way in which the legal aid scheme is organised and managed but the current scheme is, in essence, the same as it was when founded in 1948. A green paper on legal aid reform was published on 15 November 2010. Perhaps its most controversial aspect was the proposal to take some categories of case out of scope for funding.

  • Research Briefing

    Serious Crime Bill

    This Bill would make changes aimed to strengthen the law on the recovery of the proceeds of crime. It would make amendments to the Computer Misuse Act 1990 to update existing offences. It would also provide for a new offence of participating in the activities of an organised crime group and make changes to Serious Crime Prevention Orders and gang injunctions. The Bill would provide for the seizure and forfeiture of substances used as drug-cutting agents. It would also amend the offence of child cruelty, create a new offence relating to the possession of ‘paedophile manuals’ and amend the law on Female Genital Mutilation. The Bill would create a new offence of unauthorised possession of a knife or other offensive weapon in prison and confer extra-territorial jurisdiction on the courts in respect of certain terrorism offences.

  • Research Briefing

    Prisoners: Incentives and Earned Privileges Scheme

    In November 2013, the National Offender Management Service revised the Incentives and Earned Privileges scheme for prisoners. The changes have been controversial, particularly in relation to prisoners’ ability to have steel-stringed guitars or to receive books sent from outside prison. It was reported on 29 July 2014 that, in response to feedback from prison governors, the ban on steel-stringed guitars had been reversed, although the ban on receiving books would remain.

  • Research Briefing

    Criminal Justice and Courts Bill: Commons stages

    The Criminal Justice and Courts Bill 2013-14 had its second reading on 24 February 2014 and was carried over to 2014-15 session. Library Research Paper 14/8 The Criminal Justice and Courts Bill provides background on the proposals in the Bill. There are four parts covering criminal justice, including offences relating to extreme pornographic images and release and recall of prisoners, young offenders, secure colleges and youth cautions, changes to courts and tribunals, including strict liability and jury misconduct, and judicial review changes, which attracted much written and oral evidence.

  • Research Briefing

    Criminal Justice and Courts Bill

    The Criminal Justice and Courts Bill would make a number of changes to the criminal justice system including sentencing; cautions; prisoners’ release and recall; and the detention of young offenders. It would also reform court proceedings and costs; establish a new system of strict liability in contempt proceedings; create new offences for juror misconduct; make changes to the conduct and funding of judicial review claims; and amend the law on extreme pornography.

  • Research Briefing

    Prisons: The role of the private sector

    Contracted (private sector) prisons have attracted controversy in the UK ever since the first – HMP Wolds – opened in 1992. Some argue that the involvement of the private sector has created a diverse market, driving up standards and promoting efficiencies, while others argue that imprisonment is a function which the state should not delegate and prisons should not be for profit. Debate continues apace.

  • Research Briefing

    Offender Rehabilitation Bill Committee Stage Report

    The Bill covers a range of issues but its most controversial aspect (at second reading and in Committee) is that it would pave the way for the contracting-out of offender rehabilitation services for low and medium-risk offenders to private and voluntary sector providers, leaving a national probation service to manage high-risk offenders. The Government had intended to make these changes through secondary legislation, but a non-Government amendment in the House of Lords brought the changes onto the face of the Bill. That new clause was removed in Committee.

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