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Written Question
Prisons: Overcrowding
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: Marquess of Lothian (Conservative - Life peer)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of, and what action they are taking to reduce, overcrowding in prisons in England and Wales.

Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

In prisons where we have crowding in place, a rigorous cell certification process is undertaken that ensures the use of cells is subject to formal assessment of safety and decency.

We continue to pursue the package of longer-term measures the Lord Chancellor announced on 16 October 2023 to reform the justice system and continue to address the prison capacity challenges. The measures include: the extension of the Early Removal Scheme, introducing a presumption to suspend sentences of 12 months or less, curtailing the licence period for IPP sentences and extending the use of Home Detention Curfew. On 11 March, the Lord Chancellor announced the next steps in our plan, to allow us to go further and faster in removing foreign national offenders (FNOs). This includes expediting prisoner transfers with our priority partners such as Albania, and the creation of a new taskforce across the Home Office and Ministry of Justice to change the way we process FNO cases radically.

To meet pressing demand, we are building c.20,000 modern, rehabilitative prison places – the biggest prison build programme since the Victorian era. We have already delivered c.5,900 of these, including through our two new 1,700 places prisons, HMP Five Wells and HMP Fosse Way, and c.590 Rapid Deployment Cells across 11 sites. By the end of 2025, we are on track to have delivered around 10,000 places in total.

The Government will continue to monitor the evolving situation with demand for prison places carefully, so that we can make sure we have the right approaches in place to maintain the capacity required for a safe and effective criminal justice system.


Written Question
Cycling: Convictions and Prosecutions
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: Christopher Chope (Conservative - Christchurch)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) prosecutions and (b) convictions there have been in Greater London for (i) dangerous cycling in contravention of section 28, (ii) careless and inconsiderate cycling in contravention of section 29 and (iii) cycling when under the influence of drink or drugs in contravention of section 30 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 in each of the last three years for which information is available.

Answered by Gareth Bacon - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

The Ministry of Justice publishes information on the number of prosecutions and convictions in England and Wales for the following offences:

  • 13711 - Reckless and dangerous driving by pedal cyclist - Contrary to section 28(1) of the Road Traffic Act 1988 and Schedule 2 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988.

  • 13712 - Careless driving by pedal cyclist - Contrary to section 29 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 and Schedule 2 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988.

  • 13713 - Pedal cyclist driving under the influence of drink or drugs - Contrary to section 30 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 and Schedule 2 of the Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988.

These can be accessed by navigating to the ‘Prosecutions and convictions’ tab and using the HO Offence Code filter to select the above offences in the Outcomes by Offence data tool.

The police force area filter enables you to select specific areas, in this case, select ‘Metropolitan’.


Written Question
Prison Officers
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which prisons have used prison officers on detached duty in 2023; and how many (a) officers were deployed to each prison and (b) times those officers were deployed.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

During 2023, 21 prisons received Band 3 officers on National Detached Duty. The table attached shows the average number of detached duty staff deployed at each site in each month.

It is not possible, without incurring disproportionate cost, to provide the remaining information requested, as this would require a detailed examination of individual records.

We are doing more than ever to attract and retain the best staff, including boosting salaries and launching our first-ever nationwide advertising campaign. These efforts are working - we have over 4,800 FTE additional officers between March 2017 and December 2023, and retention rates for prison staff are improving.

We have committed to recruiting up to 5,000 additional prison officers across public and private prisons by the mid-2020s.


Written Question
Gender Based Violence: Criminal Proceedings
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: Rupa Huq (Labour - Ealing Central and Acton)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to reform the criminal justice system to help tackle violence against women and girls.

Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)

This Government has introduced a comprehensive legislative framework to prevent violence against women, including our landmark Domestic Abuse Act 2021.

We have pioneered the creation of new offences including coercive control, non-fatal strangulation and intimate image abuse; more than doubled the number of adult rape cases reaching court compared to when we commissioned our End-to-End Rape Review; and made sure that sentences for adult rape are almost 40% longer than they were in 2010.

And through our Sentencing Bill, we will ensure that rapists and serious sexual offenders spend the entirety of their custodial sentence behind bars, without possibility of parole.


Written Question
Gender Based Violence: Criminal Proceedings
Tuesday 26th March 2024

Asked by: Andrew Jones (Conservative - Harrogate and Knaresborough)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to tackle violence against women and girls through the criminal justice system.

Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)

This Government has introduced a comprehensive legislative framework to prevent violence against women, including our landmark Domestic Abuse Act 2021.

We have pioneered the creation of new offences including coercive control, non-fatal strangulation and intimate image abuse; more than doubled the number of adult rape cases reaching court compared to when we commissioned our End-to-End Rape Review; and made sure that sentences for adult rape are almost 40% longer than they were in 2010.

And through our Sentencing Bill, we will ensure that rapists and serious sexual offenders spend the entirety of their custodial sentence behind bars, without possibility of parole.


Written Question
Women's Centres: Swansea
Monday 25th March 2024

Asked by: Liz Saville Roberts (Plaid Cymru - Dwyfor Meirionnydd)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress he has made on establishment of the residential women’s centre in Swansea.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

Planning approval for the Residential Women’s Centre at the Trehafod site in Cockett, Swansea, was granted by the Welsh Government’s Planning Environment Decisions Wales in August 2023, following an appeal by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). Due to delays and uncertainty in securing this planning approval, the MoJ has a number of ongoing steps to re-mobilise the project and continues to work closely with partners in Wales.


Written Question
Wetherby Young Offender Institution
Monday 25th March 2024

Asked by: Janet Daby (Labour - Lewisham East)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of girls aged under the age of 15 (a) have been placed in the last 12 months and (b) are expected to be placed within the next 12 months at the Wetherby and Keppel Young Offender Institution.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

No girls under 15 have been placed at HMYOI Wetherby in the last 12 months. We do not expect to make any such placement in the next 12 months.


Written Question
Prison Accommodation
Monday 25th March 2024

Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of prisoners were sharing a one-person cell with another person on (a) 1 March 2021, (b) 1 March 2022 and (c) 1 March 2023.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

Crowding levels are published annually in the HMPPS Prison Digest. Figures for the last three years for the number of prisoners sharing a one-person cell with another person for that year can be found in the documents here:


https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hmpps-annual-digest-april-2020-to-march-2021.

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hmpps-annual-digest-april-2021-to-march-2022.

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hmpps-annual-digest-april-2022-to-march-2023.

The accompanying annex to the latest publication, titled ‘Chapter 2 Tables – Prison Crowding’ provides the percentage of prisoners sharing a one-person cell with another person for each year since 1996.

The determination of the maximum crowded capacity of a particular establishment is a matter of operational judgement, considering risks to safety and stability.

By the end of this SR period, we will have invested nearly £4 billion towards the delivery of 20,000 modern and uncrowded prison places, the biggest prison build programme since the Victorian era, ensuring the right conditions are in place to rehabilitate prisoners, helping to cut crime, and protect the public. We have delivered c.5,900 of these and by the end of 2025, we will have delivered over 10,000 in total.

These places are being delivered through the construction of six new prisons, as well as the expansion and refurbishment of the existing estate and temporary accommodation.  We are also continuing to invest in prison maintenance so that existing places remain in use and are safe.


Written Question
Prison Accommodation
Monday 25th March 2024

Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has made an estimate of the number of proposed new prison places that will be rapid deployment cells.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

We are delivering 20,000 prison places, the largest prison build programme since the Victorian era. As part of this, and alongside further opportunities to optimise capacity in the estate, the estimated number of proposed new prison places that will be Rapid Deployment Cells is c.1,800. Delivery of the first c.1000 began last year, with c.630 already delivered across 12 sites.


Written Question
Community Orders: Suspended Sentences
Monday 25th March 2024

Asked by: Siobhain McDonagh (Labour - Mitcham and Morden)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many hours of unpaid work handed down as part of suspended sentences were cancelled as a result of not having been completed within 12 months of the sentence being handed down, in each of the last five years.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The disruption caused by the pandemic added to a backlog of Unpaid Work hours. The Government is investing an additional £93m in Community Payback over three years. This will allow us to increase delivery of Community Payback back to pre-covid levels of delivery.

We have launched a national campaign to recruit more than 500 additional Community Payback staff to bolster resources in every probation region and new staff are arriving in post. The additional staffing will enable us to boost delivery of Community Payback to pre-covid levels.

There will be a particular focus on delivering more outdoor projects that improve local areas, sustainability focussed and allow the public to see justice being done.

Suspended Sentence Orders cannot legally be extended beyond the length of the operational period of the order which is set by the judiciary. A Suspended Sentence Order ceases the moment the operational period expires, regardless of any outstanding requirements such as unpaid work. Robust processes have been developed to ensure unpaid work requirements are completed in a timely manner, including prompt enforcement action where required.

It is important to note that these hours have not been “cancelled” but due to the legal limitations of a Suspended Sentence Order, the Probation Service is unable to apply for an extension in order to work hours once the operational period has expired.

Calendar Year

Hours remaining on Expired Suspended Sentence Orders

2019

91,588.2

2020

171,124.4

2021

386,845.2

2022

405,800.8

2023

279,639.8

Data as at 27/02/2024

The expired Suspended Sentence Orders detailed here should be viewed in context of the total completed hours delivered as detailed in PQ 171423.

By way of comparison, in 2023, 279,640 hours remained on expired Suspended Sentence Orders, while during the twelve months 01/04/2022 to 31/03/2023, over 4.7 million hours of Unpaid Work were delivered.

A number of these expired orders will be as a result of persons being remanded in custody or otherwise unable to complete their hours within the operational period. Additionally, others may have expired due to delays in enforcement, particularly as a result of Covid.

Data are sourced from nDelius and while these data have been assured as much as practical, as with any large administrative dataset, the data should not be assumed to be accurate to the last value presented.