Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Timpson on 26 January (HL13694), why prisoners from the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities are not recorded in the table attached to that Answer.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
In accordance with the Office of National Statistics Census definitions (also reflected within the more detailed prisoner ethnicity data published as part of our Offender Management Statistics “Prison Population” annual tables), the 'Irish Traveller or Gypsy' and 'Roma' groups are counted as part of the "White" ethnicity group.
The ethnicity grouping presented in the table is consistent with that published quarterly for the prison population in Offender Management Statistics, for comparability.
Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many children from Gypsy, Roma and Traveller backgrounds are currently held in the youth secure estate, broken down by (1) young offender institutions, (2) secure training centres, and (3) secure children's homes.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
No children from a Gypsy, Roma or Traveller background are currently accommodated in the Oasis Restore Secure School or Oakhill Secure Training Centre.
In relation to Secure Children’s Homes and Young Offender Institutions: the information requested cannot be provided without breaching our legal obligations under data protection legislation. Where a request is made for statistical information and the total figure amounts to five or fewer, we must consider whether this would be likely to lead to the identification of individuals and whether disclosure of this information would be in breach of our statutory obligations under the UK General Data Protection Regulation and/or the Data Protection Act 2018.
Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what are the latest available figures for the (1) number, and (2) method of delivery, of pre-sentence reports in courts in England and Wales.
Answered by Lord Bellamy
Data on pre-sentence reports in England and Wales is published in the Ministry of Justice’s quarterly Offender Management Statistics Bulletin. The latest published data is for October to December 2022. In this latest quarter there were a total of 21,771 pre-sentence reports (PSRs) produced. The breakdown in terms of method of delivery was as follows:
1,013 Standard PSR
15,338 Fast Delivery PSR Written
5,420 Fast Delivery PSR Oral
In 2022 overall, there were a total of 83,240 pre-sentence reports produced. The breakdown in terms of method of delivery was as follows:
3,561 Standard PSR
58,375 Fast Delivery PSR Written
21,304 Fast Delivery PSR Oral
Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the findings of The Traveller Movement's report Available but not Accessible Romany Gypsies and Irish Travellers: barriers in accessing purposeful activities in prison, published on 27 March.
Answered by Lord Bellamy
As part of the HMPPS Gypsy, Roma & Traveller (GRT) Strategy, we are committed to fully considering the Traveller Movement Report ‘Available but not Accessible’. This activity is ongoing, and will include consultation with the Traveller Movement, and potentially, other GRT-associated third sector organisations.
The associated action plan will be updated to incorporate necessary activity in association with further HMPPS evidence-based assessments also currently under consideration. The review is expected to be fully completed by Autumn 2023.
Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to require the Probation Service to arrange accommodation for prisoners for the first week and weekend after release in instances where the prisoner has lost their home after being remanded in custody for sentence; and what steps they will take to ensure the Probation Service is sufficiently resourced to do so.
Answered by Lord Bellamy
HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) has a range of interventions available to support those on remand when they are released to ensure that they are not homeless.
All resettlement prisons have an embedded pre-release resettlement function. These pre-release teams identify and address immediate resettlement needs when the individual arrives. This accommodation support, delivered through Commissioned Rehabilitative Services contracts, includes support and guidance to ensure continuation of an existing tenancy, applications for housing benefit, assistance to access rent deposit and rent advance schemes and compliance with any tenancy obligations to avoid or manage accommodation arrears. We are currently working on extending all Commissioned Rehabilitative Services contracts for accommodation to unsentenced people in prison.
Additionally, in accordance with relevant housing legislation in both England and in Wales, HMPPS has a duty to refer anyone at risk of becoming homeless on release from prison to a local authority for housing assistance.
In relation to prisoners who have been on remand, subsequently convicted and released as time served they can be referred to our Community Accommodation Service Tier 3 (CAS-3), which provides up to 12 weeks of temporary housing, providing that they are subject to probation supervision.
Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to provide accommodation for prisoners for the first week and weekend after release in instances where the prisoner has lost their home after being remanded in custody for sentence.
Answered by Lord Bellamy
HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) has a range of interventions available to support those on remand when they are released to ensure that they are not homeless.
All resettlement prisons have an embedded pre-release resettlement function. These pre-release teams identify and address immediate resettlement needs when the individual arrives. This accommodation support, delivered through Commissioned Rehabilitative Services contracts, includes support and guidance to ensure continuation of an existing tenancy, applications for housing benefit, assistance to access rent deposit and rent advance schemes and compliance with any tenancy obligations to avoid or manage accommodation arrears. We are currently working on extending all Commissioned Rehabilitative Services contracts for accommodation to unsentenced people in prison.
Additionally, in accordance with relevant housing legislation in both England and in Wales, HMPPS has a duty to refer anyone at risk of becoming homeless on release from prison to a local authority for housing assistance.
In relation to prisoners who have been on remand, subsequently convicted and released as time served they can be referred to our Community Accommodation Service Tier 3 (CAS-3), which provides up to 12 weeks of temporary housing, providing that they are subject to probation supervision.
Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to ensure that, under their new arrangements whereby prisoners will not be released on Fridays, prisoners’ sentences will be shortened to end on the Thursday rather than extended through to the following Monday.
Answered by Lord Bellamy
The Government is supporting the Offenders (Day of Release from Detention) Bill. This Private Members’ Bill was introduced to the House of Lords on 6 March 2023, sponsored by Lord Bird, following passage through the House of Commons. If it gains Royal Assent, the Bill will enable offenders who are at risk of reoffending to have their release date moved 1-2 days earlier, where their release falls on a Friday, or before a bank/public holiday.
It would be unlawful detention to detain an offender beyond their release date.
Asked by: Baroness Whitaker (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Law Commission report Celebrating Marriage: A New Weddings Law, published 19 July, what plans, if any, they have to grant legal recognition to humanist marriages; and on what timescale they plan to grant such recognition.
Answered by Lord Bellamy
The Law Commission report contains 57 recommendations for legislative reform.
We must now take the time to consider the Law Commission’s recommendations fully. As has been set out in Parliament, marriage will always be one of our most important institutions, and we have a duty to consider the implications of any changes to the law in this area very carefully, including balancing the needs and interests of all groups. We will publish a response to the report in due course.