Inaugural Restorative Justice APPG Inquiry Launched

The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Restorative Justice has launched a ground-breaking inquiry into Restorative Practices in 2021/22. The Inquiry marks the first major piece of work for the APPG, which was only constituted in April 2021. The Inquiry will look at the current use of Restorative Justice and Practices across the country and seek to identify focused recommendations to improve the performance and outcome.

The Chairman of the APPG, Elliot Colburn MP (Carshalton and Wallington) announced the formation of an Advisory Board and the accepting by the APPG of their proposed Terms of Reference at the recent meeting of the APPG. He commented:

“I have been struck by how effective restorative justice can be through speaking with two residents of Sutton, Ray and Vi Donovan. Their story is inspiring and I am delighted to be working so closely with the industry to find areas where the government may be able to improve its support for these practices.

“This Inquiry can act as a real springboard to bring both practitioners and also those who have experienced the benefits of Restorative Justice together. I am very much looking forward to hearing their stories over the next month.”

The Inquiry will be guided by the newly established Advisory Board, comprising of seven organisations from across the Restorative Justice sector. The Chairman of the Advisory Board is Jim Simon, the Chief Executive of the Restorative Justice Council. He commented:

“This Inquiry will bring many stakeholders together to reflect on the 2012 and 2017 government priorities for Restorative Justice and assess how these are progressing. We want to consider what changes may need to be made to improve the quality and availability of restorative justice and practice.

“I am really looking forward to hearing from the industry and to prepare constructive recommendations to the APPG and government.”

The Inquiry will run from the 5^th July through until the 15^th August. Those wishing to contribute are encouraged to contact CalComms, the Group secretariat, at asa@calcomms.co.uk or to access the APPG website at www.rjappg.co.uk.

For further enquires contact Asa Mallon the Group secretariat on asa@calcomms.co.uk or 0203 813 5559

Editor’s notes:

All Party Parliamentary Groups are important forums for domestic policy development. They bring together stakeholders and experts from across many industries and policy areas to consider current government policy and how legislation can be brought forward to improve or amend the law. Many APPG inquiry findings form the basis for white papers and other government pre-legislative discussions.

The membership of the APPG is:

Elliot Colburn MP (Chair of the APPG, Conservative)
Christina Rees MP (Labour and Co-Op)
Tony Lloyd MP (Labour)
Crispin Blunt MP (Conservative)
Fiona Bruce MP (Conservative)
Neale Hanvey MP (Alba)
Baroness Sally Hamwee (Liberal Democrat)

For the purposes of this inquiry, the APPG has adopted the following definitions of restorative justice and restorative practice:

Restorative Justice is the broad philosophy which argues that those most affected by harm and conflict should be involved in communicating the causes and/or consequences and empowered to make decisions about how to respond to that harm and/or resolve conflict. This can take place in any setting i.e. criminal justice, education and health settings and even the workplace.

Restorative Practice includes all of those activities used to create a culture to proactively prevent harm and create resilient communities. This can include, but is not limited to, restorative dialogue, restorative leadership techniques, direct and indirect restorative processes.

Structure of the inquiry

Written evidence

The APPG will issue a call for written evidence from organisations and individuals with expertise in Restorative Practices. Evidence will be gathered through the development and publishing of a dedicated website with a fully interactive feedback facility.

Oral evidence

The APPG is planning to hold a number of oral evidence sessions with invitations extended to the Advisory Board. It will be at the discretion of the APPG, in consultation with the Advisory Board members, as to the extent of these oral evidence sessions and who else, other than the members of the Advisory Board, should be invited.

Report

A report, based on the written and oral evidence, will be produced which will make clear recommendations for the government on how to better improve access to and the delivery of Restorative Justice/practice.

The Advisory Board

An Advisory Board has been established comprising of senior stakeholder groups. The Board takes experience from a number of areas of Restorative Justice, and is balanced to reflect the many strands of restorative proactive. It includes academics, practitioners and umbrella organisations with thousands of members and volunteers.

Current Membership

Jim Simon: Restorative Justice Council - Chairman

Nina Champion: Criminal Justice Alliance

Tony Walker: Restorative Solutions

Kate Hook: Restorative Solutions

Julie Clark: Calm Mediation

Dr Jon Hobson: University of Gloucestershire

Steve Jones: Remedi

Lucy Jaffé: Why me? Transforming Lives through Restorative Justice