All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) release report

The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Restorative Justice published their report of the inaugural Inquiry on Saturday 25^th September. The Inquiry, which took place over the summer promotes nine key recommendations arrived at following the gathering of evidence in the Inquiry.

The Inquiry, titled ‘Restorative Practices in 2021/22’ sought to assess where the sector is at the moment, and what steps could be taken to improve and coordinate the various services to improve outcomes for victims and offenders. The Inquiry marked the first major piece of work for the APPG, which was only constituted in April 2021.

The Chairman of the APPG is Carshalton and Wallington MP Elliot Colburn. Elliot has been a key advocate of Restorative Justice ever since he met with Ray and Vi Donovan, who run the charity The Chris Donovan Trust. Elliot commented in advance of the publication of the report:

“I am really pleased to see the levels of participation and enthusiasm from the Restorative Justice industry. The Inquiry Report is testament to the levels of incredible dedication from those who work with victims and offenders every day. The Report identifies some gaps in the way RJ is being supported by the Government and makes very sensible and practical recommendations.

I very much hope that ministers will listen to the industry and accept the recommendations in full.”

The current Chairman of the Advisory Board is Jim Simon, the Chief Executive of the Restorative Justice Council. He commented:

“This Inquiry has brought together over 50 leading practitioners and exponents of restorative practices to assess the current state of the sector and how government can help make the sector more accessible.

Astonishingly there was over 200,000 words of evidence submitted and the recommendations reflect the incredible passion there is for restorative justice. We are very hopeful that most in Westminster will recognise the enormous benefits of rolling out restorative practices in the UK and support the Inquiry’s recommendations in full.”