Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the recent increases in the number of non-natural deaths in prisons; and what plans they have to improve mental health support for those in prison who are at risk of suicide.
Answered by Lord Faulks
Every death in custody is a tragedy. We are taking forward a wide range of work to reduce violence and the use of drugs, including new psychoactive substances, in prisons and to address the levels of suicide and self-harm.
All deaths in prison custody are subject to a police investigation, an independent investigation by the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman (PPO), and a Coroner’s inquest. We are committed to learning from these investigations to inform the approach of both health and custodial services in identifying and supporting prisoners at risk.
All prisons are required to have procedures in place to identify, manage and support people who are at risk of harming themselves. The Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork (ACCT) process is a prisoner-centred, flexible care planning system for prisoners identified as being at risk of suicide or self-harm. The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) has recently reviewed compliance with the ACCT process and is working to implement the recommendations, which include improvements to multi-disciplinary working between prison and clinical mental health staff.
NHS England is implementing new prison clinical information systems which will improve the availability of clinical information to staff in prisons from the early days in custody.
In addition, the government has initiated a cross departmental Mental Health Taskforce, tasked with developing integrated mental health service pathways in the least restrictive settings and aimed at providing support and intervention to those in need of help at the earliest opportunity.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what percentage of those individuals who previously claimed a motability allowance under the Disability Living Allowance and have lost that allowance after being reassessed for Personal Independence Payments, have (1) appealed that decision, and (2) succeeded at appeal.
Answered by Lord Faulks
The First-tier Tribunal – Social Security and Child Support (SSCS) administered by HM Courts & Tribunals Service hears appeals against decisions by the Department for Work and Pensions on a range of benefits including Personal Independence Payment (PIP).
Information about the number and success rates of SSCS appeals by benefit type, including PIP, is published in the Tribunal and Gender Recognition Certificate Statistics Quarterly. The most recent report can be located on the government website.
The specific information requested is not held centrally.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have to ensure that support is made available for vulnerable defendants by registered intermediaries in the criminal justice system, as currently is the case for vulnerable witnesses.
Answered by Lord Faulks
The Government is committed to ensuring that all defendants receive a fair trial. We are currently considering formalising the provision of intermediaries for vulnerable defendants. It should be noted that, as well as a variety of measures currently available to courts to ensure a fair trial, if necessary, the Judiciary can already grant the use of an intermediary to assist vulnerable defendants.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of St Albans (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government by what date they expect that departments and the devolved administrations will have completed their consideration of extra-territorial jurisdiction in respect of offences established in accordance with the Istanbul Convention.
Answered by Lord Faulks
This government takes its international obligations very seriously. That is why we signed the Istanbul Convention on 8 June 2012, to show our strong commitment to tackling violence against women and girls.
The UK has some of the most robust laws in the world against violence towards women and girls. We have criminalised forced marriage but primary legislation will also be needed to comply with the extra-territorial jurisdiction provisions in Article 44 of the Convention before it can be ratified.
Justice Ministers are currently considering the extent to which we need to amend the criminal law of England and Wales for compliance with Article 44 prior to ratification of the Convention.
Any changes necessary to the criminal law in Scotland and Northern Ireland prior to ratification are matters for the devolved administrations. We will consult Ministers in the devolved administrations about whether legislative changes in England and Wales should extend to Scotland and Northern Ireland.