Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that deaths from COVID-19 in prisons in England and Wales rose by 50 per cent in a month in December 2020; what percentage of prisoners have now been vaccinated against COVID-19; and what other measures they have taken to decrease the risk of COVID-19 being transmitted to prisoners and to prison officers
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar - Shadow Attorney General
As was the case in the community, infection rates in prisons increased over the winter months which, sadly, led to an increase in deaths where Covid-19 was suspected as being the cause. With a small number of tragic exceptions, we have protected the lives of tens of thousands of staff and prisoners. Our decisive action – backed by Public Health England and Wales - has meant that the number of deaths we have seen in prisons is significantly lower than Public Health England’s Modelling at the start of the pandemic, which said there could be 2,700 deaths from coronavirus in prisons.
As of 18 March 2021, the percentage of the whole prison population in England who have received a first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine is 23.4%, equivalent to 79% of the priority cohorts 2-6 (as defined by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation). The vaccination programme is making good progress and has recently expanded to start vaccinating those prisoners in priority groups 7 - 9, in line with the wider community.
The safety of our staff and those under our supervision remains a top priority. We have taken preventative measures, such as restricting regimes, minimising inter-prison transfers, and compartmentalising our prisons into different units to isolate the sick, shield the vulnerable and quarantine new arrivals. A comprehensive testing regime is in place, where staff are tested weekly and prisoners are tested on reception and prior to transfer. This is key in helping to prevent the spread of the virus.
Latest published data shows positive evidence that the rate of new infections in custody is now falling substantially.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the article by Matthew Scott in the Spectator The legal profession’s troubling relationship with China, published on 20 January; and what plans they have to discuss the participation of British lawyers serving as prosecutors in Hong Kong with (1) the Bar Council, (2) the Law Society, and (3) other professional and regulatory bodies.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar - Shadow Attorney General
In order to uphold the constitutional principle of the rule of law, and under the framework established by the Legal Services Act 2007, the legal services sector in England and Wales is independent of Government. Barristers are regulated by the Bar Standards Board. The Government has not made any assessment of the article and has no plans to discuss this issue with the legal services professional bodies or regulators.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to facilitate in-person court hearings in line with guidance in place during the COVID-19 pandemic; and if so, (1) how, (2) what will be the process for requesting an in-person hearing, and (3) what steps they will take to make relevant bodies aware that safe facilities can be provided.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Shadow Minister (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
HMCTS has in place a range of safety measures and controls, developed in line with and validated against, relevant public health standards to ensure court and tribunal buildings are Covid secure. This has enabled HMCTS to deliver its vital public services, including running in-person hearings, throughout the period affected by pandemic-related restrictions.
The framework of measures developed and implemented to ensure Covid-related risks are appropriately managed and controlled is set out in the HMCTS Organisational Risk Assessment . Among the measures embedded across the court and tribunal estate are significantly enhanced cleaning regimes, the provision of washing facilities and sanitiser throughout buildings for users as well as staff and judiciary, social distancing measures implemented, and a requirement for face coverings in all public and communal areas.
The requirement for social distancing inevitably has had an impact on the capacity to run physical hearings across the court and tribunal estate. HMCTS set out its plan to respond to these challenges in its Recovery Plan. Maximising the use of the existing court and tribunal estate (for example by introducing plexiglass screens into courtrooms and jury suites and considering innovative solutions around adopting different operating hours), as well as increasing that capacity through new Nightingale Courts, is helping HMCTS to list as many physical hearings as possible, but all managed against the framework of Covid-secure controls in place.
Decisions about the listing and management of hearings are ultimately for the judiciary. In terms of process, participants or representatives are asked to tell the court or tribunal if they need support or cannot participate effectively in a hearing within in any jurisdiction. The Judge can then either change the method of the hearing or reasonable adjustments will be made, wherever possible, to ensure users can participate.
HMCTS has published, and regularly updates, a full suite of information on its Covid-secure practices. Weekly updates are now sent direct to a range of key stakeholders, social media tools are routinely used to try to reach ever-wider audiences, and in all court and tribunal venues, clear signage is displayed to promote and explain our safety measures.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to ensure that the Judicial Office and Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service assess the needs of hearing impaired users to fully participate in court hearings (1) in person, and (2) remotely, including any advice and guidance provided to the judiciary and court staff.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Shadow Minister (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
We are committed to ensuring that both physical and remote court hearings are accessible to all our users and that users with hearing loss (of any degree) can fully participate in those hearings.
HMCTS will provide reasonable adjustments for court and tribunal users with all disabilities (including people with hearing loss) and takes steps to avoid treating people less favourably because of their disability. Court and tribunal users are encouraged to get in touch before any type of hearing to discuss the particular adjustments they may need, to enable individual needs to be met. There are a range of adjustments that can be provided for users with hearing loss, including the provision of auxiliary aids such as hearing enhancement systems, sign language interpreters, or additional support such as regular breaks in a hearing.
Reasonable adjustment guidance and learning and broader disability guidance is provided to all HMCTS staff for in person hearing and remote hearing. All guidance raises awareness of the issues people with hearing loss may face, and the reasonable adjustments which may help them to fully participate in hearings.
The Lord Chief Justice (LCJ), the Senior President of the Tribunals, and the Chief Coroner have statutory responsibility for training, under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007, and Coroners and Justice Act 2009 respectively. Training responsibilities are exercised through the Judicial College.
The Judicial College ensures training promotes equal treatment by weaving equality issues and case studies into training material, and by providing access to the Equal Treatment Bench Book (ETBB), and learning materials which provide explicit guidance on working with diverse individuals such as those who are hard of hearing.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Keen of Elie on 30 June (HL5740), what comparative estimate they have made of the number of COVID-19 (1) cases, and (2) deaths, of (a) prisoners, and (b) the general population, in England and Wales.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie - Shadow Minister (Justice)
We do not hold the comparative data requested. However, on 24 April, we published Public Health England modelling which assessed the impact of the population management measures prisons have implemented in response to the Covid-19 pandemic and provided updated reasonable worst-case scenario estimates. This modelling suggested that the measures we have implemented have had a positive impact on limiting the transmission of the virus in prisons and minimising the number of deaths. The modelling can be found on gov.uk.
The Ministry of Justice releases a weekly publication of Covid-19 statistics, including prisoner Covid-19 cases and deaths. The publication can be found on gov.uk and is updated every Friday.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many COVID-19 (1) cases, and (2) deaths, there have been in the UK since 23 March; what steps they have taken to prevent transmission of COVID-19 in prisons; what measures are in place to mitigate the risks of suicide, particularly among young offenders; whether those measures include extending the amount of time prisoners may spend out of their cell each day; and how many low risk prisoners have been released early to reduce overcrowding in cells during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie - Shadow Minister (Justice)
The Government acted quickly to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in prisons by implementing restricted regimes to comply with national social distancing guidance and limiting inter-prisons transfers. Prisons are also implementing a ‘compartmentalisation’ strategy to isolate the sick, shield the vulnerable and quarantine new arrivals. Latest public health advice suggests these measures have contained the spread of the virus and minimised the number of deaths.
As of Friday 12 June, we are aware of 495 prisoner and 963 prison staff COVID-19 cases across England and Wales. These figures reflect the total cumulative number of recorded positive cases – not the number of live cases – of COVID-19, and includes individuals that have since recovered. Figures are subject to revision as more information becomes available.
As of Friday 12 June, 23 prisoners and 9 members of prison staff have sadly died having tested positive for COVID-19 or having shown symptoms. It is a matter for the coroners to determine cause of death.
The restricted regimes introduced to protect prisoners and staff from COVID-19 mean that prisoners are spending longer in their cells than normal which raises new and different risks to safety and the mental health of prisoners. The Government takes its responsibilities for these issues very seriously.
To this end, the Government is supporting prison Governors to devise and implement local safety and welfare plans designed to mitigate these safety risks. Prisons across the estate are giving prisoners access to educational and entertainment material intended to support their wellbeing. Prisoners confined to their cells continue to access healthcare and time in the open air, where possible. They also have access to telephones, extra phone credit and, where available, video calls to contact their loved ones. We continue to make the Samaritans phone service available, and are working with the Samaritans to ensure that the listener peer support scheme continues to function effectively.
Within the Youth Custody Service (YCS) there has been a focus on delivering essential activities such as regular phone calls (with young people having been allocated additional free phone credits), access to showers and education materials, and time in the fresh air, as well as activities children can undertake in small groups or in their rooms, including workouts and access to entertainment.
‘SECURE STAIRS’ -the integrated framework of care jointly led by NHS England and NHS Improvement and the YCS, provides the foundations as to how the YCS works with children - has been adopting an approach that underlines the importance of connectivity, whilst adhering to the guidance on physical distancing.
The YCS is continuously assessing the situation, and is keen to expand the regime as soon as it is safe and sustainable to do so.
On 4 April, the Government announced the End of Custody Temporary Release scheme. This scheme enables risk-assessed prisoners, who are within two months of their release date, to be temporarily released from custody, as part of the national approach to managing public services during this challenging period. As of Friday 12 June, 113 offenders have been released under this scheme. Our plans for early release form one part of a package of measures to create headroom in the estate to allow us to fully implement compartmentalisation. We are also working to expedite remand cases and temporarily expanding the estate through the installation of single occupancy units.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Court of Appeal ruling overturning the decision of the Court of Protection to allow a mentally ill woman to be given an abortion against her wishes; what implications they consider that case to have for the rights of those with learning disabilities to become parents; and what steps, if any, they intend to take in the light of the Court of Appeal's ruling.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie - Shadow Minister (Justice)
This is an extremely difficult and sensitive case, and the Government will consider the Court of Appeal judgment carefully.
The Court of Protection hears cases about some of the most vulnerable people in society, making decisions about personal welfare – including serious medical treatment - where the person lacks capacity to do so for themselves. In doing so it must follow the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). In particular the MCA stipulates that decisions must be in the person’s best interests, taking into account all the circumstances of the case, including the wishes, feelings, beliefs and values of the person, and must be the least restrictive of their rights and freedoms.
It is right that such serious and difficult decisions – particularly where there is disagreement about what is in the person’s best interests - are made by the independent judiciary.
The statutory MCA Code of Practice provides practical guidance on the operation of the MCA and is currently under review. We have sought input from a range of interested stakeholders through a call for evidence in January and propose to consult on a revised Code towards the end of this year.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the reasons for the number of prison officers resigning within 12 months of taking up their posts; and whether those reasons include the level of violence in UK prisons.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie - Shadow Minister (Justice)
The huge number of officers we have recently recruited inevitably means there are more staff - and more leavers with less than one years' experience. Attached is a table containing reason for leaving and grade. (Table i)
We are working hard to retain staff, giving staff the biggest pay increase in a decade last year and by providing additional training.