Asked by: Lord Field of Birkenhead (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether the Government has plans to introduce a children's funeral fund.
Answered by Phillip Lee
The Government is committed to ensuring that all families who lose a child are given the support they need. We already have the Social Fund Funeral Expenses Payment scheme to support eligible bereaved families in need of financial support, and I am leading a piece of work across government to:
Asked by: Lord Field of Birkenhead (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to respond to recent reports on conditions at HMP Liverpool.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The conditions which inspectors found at Liverpool were unacceptable and effective measures should have been taken to deal with issues at a much earlier stage. A comprehensive action plan was published on the 19 January which sets out our plans on how we will address issues which the inspectorate has raised. This can be found via the following link: https://www.justice.gov.uk/downloads/contacts/hmps/prison-finder/hmp-liverpool-action-plan.pdf
There is much still to do. However, we have now reduced operational capacity at HMP Liverpool compared with the inspection period, a new Governor has been appointed, and backlogs of maintenance tasks are being addressed, including repairing and replacing windows.
Asked by: Lord Field of Birkenhead (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have left prison without having secured an (a) income and (b) home in the last 12 months; and what steps are being taken to reduce this number.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Matched MOJ-DWP data indicates that 17% of those released from custody in 2011/12 were in P45 employment one year after release. More recent data from 2014/15 indicates that at a national level, 26.5% of prisoners were entering employment upon release, but this data was self-reported. In 2016/17, 30% of adult prisoners under CRC supervision were discharged to unsettled or unknown accommodation on their first night of release.
We believe that everyone leaving custody should have a safe and suitable home to go to on release; having somewhere to live gives people a stable platform from which to access health services, hold down a job and reduces the likelihood of them reoffending. We also recognise the impact that employment on release has on the likelihood of a person reoffending, so we remain committed to offering better support to ex-offenders in all areas, including employment and accommodation.
As a result of the probation reforms, all offenders now get targeted support before and after they leave prison to help them reintegrate into society. This comprises of help with securing or retaining employment, and working with local partners to help them find accommodation including, where necessary, emergency accommodation. Local authorities are statutorily responsible for working with and supporting an individual in order to assist them into securing settled accommodation.
We are planning the New Futures Network which will focus on getting prisoners jobs on release by supporting empowered governors to broker relationships between prisons and employers more effectively. We are also working with DWP to clarify the roles and responsibilities of those bodies involved in offender rehabilitation. We are working with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government to deliver a joint strategy to improve access to housing for those being released from prison.
Asked by: Lord Field of Birkenhead (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has a carer's policy for its employees; and what other steps his Department has taken to support employees with caring responsibilities.
Answered by Phillip Lee
MoJ offer a range of flexible working options to staff, including term-time working, job shares and compressed hours, to allow staff with caring responsibilities to work in the way that best suits them.
Whilst there is not a specific carer’s policy, support is offered to all staff who have caring responsibilities. MoJ have a staff Carers’ Network for example, which provides guidance and advice to employees within the MoJ family who have caring responsibilities. They do this by signposting to relevant MoJ policies and/or external organisations, and running events for staff to network and share challenges.
The Carers’ Network is also supported by senior Carers Champions who raise the profile of issues facing carers, and Carers’ Week is recognised annually with communications and information to MoJ staff. The internal intranet provides sources of advice for employees and managers, for example how to access the salary sacrifice childcare vouchers scheme, or links to Special Leave policies available, which provide options for paid and unpaid leave for carers.
In October 2017, MoJ was recognised in the Top 30 of the Top Employers for Working Families list, which is based on the comprehensive and highly competitive Working Families’ benchmarking survey. MoJ has an Inclusion and Diversity strategy which strives for all employees to feel supported and to identify barriers to effective working.