Asked by: Lord Bishop of Gloucester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the relative impact of providing (1) a PIN telephone system, and (2) in-cell telephones, on the number of calls prisoners and young offenders make to (a) family members, (b) support workers, and (c) others in the community.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
In-cell telephony has now superseded the former PIN system in all prisons in the closed estate. The introduction of in-cell telephony across the prison estate has significantly improved the ability of prisoners and young people to access support, and to establish and maintain relationships.
We know phone calls help prisoners maintain family ties and relationships which are vital to their rehabilitation and, therefore, cutting crime.
The table below provides an annual breakdown of call volumes and time spent on calls, since 2013, in prisons managed by HM Prison & Probation Service. The figure for 2024 (*) covers the six months up to 30 June.
Year | Calls | Minutes |
2024* | 37,876,209 | 263,998,312 |
2023 | 76,813,827 | 528,401,873 |
2022 | 78,485,958 | 563,391,699 |
2021 | 81,386,508 | 576,909,923 |
2020 | 69,111,893 | 465,858,221 |
2019 | 36,183,024 | 187,005,935 |
2018 | 31,454,100 | 155,589,732 |
2017 | 26,503,625 | 123,021,020 |
2016 | 25,004,192 | 109,798,759 |
2015 | 26,500,702 | 112,093,506 |
2014 | 28,164,497 | 117,452,587 |
2013 | 29,776,703 | 126,517,473 |
It would not be possible to provide the requested disaggregation of calls by type of recipient without incurring disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Gloucester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have to make a further response to the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice and the subsequent UN General Assembly resolution of 13 September 2024; and what steps they are taking to ensure an end of Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territory.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The UK is fully committed to international law and respects the independence of the International Court of Justice. We continue to consider the Court's Advisory Opinion carefully, with the seriousness and rigour it deserves.
We are of the clear view that Israel should bring an end to its presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPTs) as rapidly as possible - but this must be done in a way that creates the conditions for negotiations towards a two-state solution. On settlements, we said in the UN Security Council on 21 March that 'Israel must halt settlements which are illegal and undermine the viability of a Palestinian state and the security of both Israelis and Palestinians. Violent settlers must be held to account. The UK has introduced three rounds of sanctions on violent settlers and their supporters to bring accountability for abuses of human rights, in the absence of sufficient Israeli action. We will consider all further options.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Gloucester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, in the light of the resumed fighting in Gaza, what plans they have to ensure access to humanitarian aid and a return to a ceasefire.
Answered by Lord Collins of Highbury - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
As the Foreign Secretary said to the House on 20 March, we strongly oppose Israel's resumption of hostilities and urgently want to see a return to a ceasefire. We have been clear that Hamas must release all the hostages, negotiations must resume and in all scenarios Israel must allow the entry of humanitarian aid. We are appalled by recent attacks on aid workers and their premises - they must be protected and never targeted. The Government of Israel must urgently ensure that effective deconfliction mechanisms are in place to enable them to conduct their lifesaving work safely. We've repeatedly called on Israel at the UN and elsewhere to immediately allow urgently-needed aid back into Gaza. The Foreign Secretary spoke to Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs, Ron Dermer on 20 March and to Israeli Foreign Minister Sa'ar on 21 March and pressed them to reopen humanitarian access, restore a ceasefire and work for a negotiated path forward, and has discussed the situation with UN leadership.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Gloucester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to support families who are seeking therapeutic support from the adoption and special guardianship support fund beyond the financial year 2025–26.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
To support families seeking support beyond the current financial year, adoption and special guardianship support fund (ASGSF) applications are currently permitted to extend up to 12 months, allowing children and families to receive continuing therapy across financial years. Where applications are approved, therapy which starts during March 2025 may therefore continue into the next financial year, under previously agreed transitional funding arrangements.
Announcements on funding for the ASGSF from April 2025 will be made shortly. All future funding decisions will be considered as part of the next spending review.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Gloucester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential benefits of making the adoption and special guardianship support fund permanent.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities)
To support families seeking support beyond the current financial year, adoption and special guardianship support fund (ASGSF) applications are currently permitted to extend up to 12 months, allowing children and families to receive continuing therapy across financial years. Where applications are approved, therapy which starts during March 2025 may therefore continue into the next financial year, under previously agreed transitional funding arrangements.
Announcements on funding for the ASGSF from April 2025 will be made shortly. All future funding decisions will be considered as part of the next spending review.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Gloucester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they will consider child maintenance as part of their forthcoming Child Poverty Strategy.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Child Poverty Taskforce continues its urgent work to publish the Child Poverty Strategy and is exploring all available levers across government to deliver an enduring reduction in child poverty in this parliament, as part of a 10-year Strategy for lasting change.
The Strategy will look at levers across four key themes of increasing incomes, reducing essential costs, increasing financial resilience; and better local support especially in the early years. This will build on the reform plans underway across government and work underway in Devolved Governments.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Gloucester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what (1) practical, and (2) mental health, support is offered to parents struggling to pay child maintenance.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) is committed to ensuring that it delivers a safe service that is sensitive to the needs of all the parents that use it. We recognise that some parents may face difficult circumstances, particularly at a time of separation.
The CMS is well prepared to respond quickly and effectively if it becomes aware that the safety of any of its customers are at risk, and caseworkers receive extensive training and follow a well-managed process with clear steps to support vulnerable clients.
Caseworkers have access to several tools and procedures to help support customers when they advise they cannot afford to pay child maintenance or are struggling with the cost of living in general and are in financial or emotional crisis.
This includes the National District Provision Toolkit and Affordability Hub which provides invaluable information to allow caseworkers to signpost to national and local support organisations for debt help and mental health assistance across the UK.
Additionally, Caseworkers can refer particularly vulnerable customers to the DWP Advanced Customer Support team for debt advice, access to benefits and mental health support or refer to the Money Advisory Service, Money Helper, an arm’s length body of DWP which provides confidential debt advice. They also have access to the Benefit Calculator tool to check if the paying parent is entitled to any benefits.
In addition, Caseworkers can check income information is correct through Real Time Information (RTI) from His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs. Once this has been confirmed with the paying parent, they can discuss making an interim arrangement to clear the arrears.
The government has committed to reviewing the calculation to make sure it is fit for purpose and reflects today’s trends. Any changes will be subject to extensive consultation and legislation brought forward where necessary for approval.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Gloucester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure survivors of domestic abuse are exempt from fees associated with child maintenance.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) removed the £20 application fee in February 2024. This has removed any requirement to report domestic abuse. It has also removed one of the affordability barriers for parents who wish to apply to the scheme.
A consultation on proposed reforms to the CMS was published by the previous Government on 8 May 2024. This included:
The consultation was extended by this Government at the end of July and ran until 30 September 2024. We are currently analysing the responses we have received, and the Government will publish a response in due course.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Gloucester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they intend to publish the review of calculations of child maintenance.
Answered by Baroness Sherlock - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department has been conducting a review of the child maintenance calculation to make sure it is fit for purpose and reflects today’s social trends. This process is ongoing and no date for announcing the outcome has yet been set. When it is, any changes will be subject to extensive consultation and legislation brought forward where necessary for approval.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Gloucester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they will take to ensure that electronic monitoring tags are available in all sizes and that no one will be required to remain in prison solely because there is no electronic tag that will fit them.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
To maintain the integrity of the equipment including various anti-tamper measures and taking account of the necessarily robust nature of the equipment, there is a minimum strap size that the equipment manufacturer has provided. Field staff carry a range of strap sizes with them when conducting installation visits.
Offenders released on home detention curfew (HDC) are still serving the custodial element of their sentence and it is a statutory requirement that the curfew is electronically monitored for at least 9 hours a day. In cases where it is no longer possible to electronically monitor offenders in the community, through no fault of their own, they will be recalled until it is possible for them to monitored in the community.