Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar on 21 July (HL1789), how many pregnancies have been reported in the male prison estate in each of the last five years; and whether they will provide a breakdown of the outcomes of any such pregnancies.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar - Shadow Attorney General
Sex between prisoners is not permitted. Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service ensure the safety of all prisoners by managing prisoners on a case-by-case basis and consider any relevant risks (including risks to, or from, the prisoner, as well as the risk of self-harm).
The NHS England and NHS Improvement constitution mandates that all healthcare delivered within prisons must be equivalent to healthcare delivered in the community and the fact that a patient is a prisoner should not impair their access to any healthcare they require.
All secure and detained settings therefore ensure that prisoners have access to appropriate contraceptives, which are prescribed or made available as necessary. This applies to both the men’s and women’s estate and includes all prisoners .
There have been no recorded incidents of prisoners becoming pregnant in the male prison estate.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar on 21 July (HL1789), whether biologically female transgender prisoners in the male prison estate have access to contraceptive devices.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar - Shadow Attorney General
Sex between prisoners is not permitted. Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service ensure the safety of all prisoners by managing prisoners on a case-by-case basis and consider any relevant risks (including risks to, or from, the prisoner, as well as the risk of self-harm).
The NHS England and NHS Improvement constitution mandates that all healthcare delivered within prisons must be equivalent to healthcare delivered in the community and the fact that a patient is a prisoner should not impair their access to any healthcare they require.
All secure and detained settings therefore ensure that prisoners have access to appropriate contraceptives, which are prescribed or made available as necessary. This applies to both the men’s and women’s estate and includes all prisoners .
There have been no recorded incidents of prisoners becoming pregnant in the male prison estate.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar on 21 July (HL1789), what steps they plan to take to prevent pregnancy among biologically female transgender prisoners in the male prison estate.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar - Shadow Attorney General
Sex between prisoners is not permitted. Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service ensure the safety of all prisoners by managing prisoners on a case-by-case basis and consider any relevant risks (including risks to, or from, the prisoner, as well as the risk of self-harm).
The NHS England and NHS Improvement constitution mandates that all healthcare delivered within prisons must be equivalent to healthcare delivered in the community and the fact that a patient is a prisoner should not impair their access to any healthcare they require.
All secure and detained settings therefore ensure that prisoners have access to appropriate contraceptives, which are prescribed or made available as necessary. This applies to both the men’s and women’s estate and includes all prisoners .
There have been no recorded incidents of prisoners becoming pregnant in the male prison estate.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many biologically female transgender prisoners are housed in the male prison estate; what assessment they have made of the safety of those prisoners; what steps they are taking to protect those prisoners from sexual assault; and whether those prisoners are subject to full body searches by biologically male prison officers.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar - Shadow Attorney General
At the time of Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service Offender Equalities Report 2018/19, there were 163 people who self-identified as transgender. Of the 129 transgender prisoners in men’s prisons, 2 reported their legal gender as female. Although those known to hold Gender Recognition Certificates (GRCs) were excluded from this data set, it is possible that prisoners may not always disclose this as there is no legal requirement for them to do so.
The policy framework ‘The Care and Management of Individuals who are Transgender’ sets out how decisions regarding the allocation of transgender prisoners are taken. Local and Complex Case Boards provide expertise on the management of transgender prisoners. When managing prisoners, all risk information relating to each individual must be considered, including risk from others, risk to others and risk of self-harm, in order to protect the welfare and rights of every individual as well as those around them.
Searching arrangements for transgender prisoners are agreed on a case-by-case basis, but must be in line with PSI 07/2016 (Searching of the Person).
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether a review of The Care and Management of Individuals who are Transgender, published January 2020, is underway; and if so, what is the status of that review.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar - Shadow Attorney General
The Ministry of Justice and Her Majesty's Prison and Probation Service policy framework 'The Care and Management of Individuals who are Transgender' was published in 2019. A routine review of the implementation of this framework is underway. The review will involve consultation with a range of internal and external stakeholders.
We will always ensure that transgender individuals are managed safely with their rights properly respected and in accordance with the law. We continue to consider all known risk factors when managing transgender offenders, including any risk to the person, risk to others and risk of self-harm.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to revise the policy framework The Care and Management of Individuals Who are Transgender, published in January 2020.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar - Shadow Attorney General
The Ministry of Justice and Her Majesty's Prison and Probation Service policy framework 'The Care and Management of Individuals who are Transgender' was published in 2019. A routine review of the implementation of this framework is underway. The review will involve consultation with a range of internal and external stakeholders.
We will always ensure that transgender individuals are managed safely with their rights properly respected and in accordance with the law. We continue to consider all known risk factors when managing transgender offenders, including any risk to the person, risk to others and risk of self-harm.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the Ministry of Justice, in any of its official (1) paperwork, (2) guidance, (3) instructions, (4) manuals, or (5) other documents, (a) has replaced, or (b) intends to replace, the word “mother” with the phrase “parent who has given birth”.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar - Shadow Attorney General
As laid out in Hansard, 8 March 2007, Col. 146ws, in 2007, the then Government resolved to shift to gender-neutral drafting of legislation to avoid stereotypes that only men could hold positions of authority.
Notwithstanding, Ministers believe it is entirely appropriate to continue to refer to sex in legislation where helpful for clarity or pertinent (for example, legislation relating to the health needs of women).
In that light, we have not, nor do we intend to, replace the word ‘mother’ with the phrase ‘parent who has given birth' in Departmental paperwork, guidance, instructions, manuals or other documents.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government (1) how many prison service staff have attended intersectionality courses, (2) what is the cost of any such courses, and (3) how the courses help prison officers deal with prisoners.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar - Shadow Attorney General
There are no courses on intersectionality but Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) had a package on intersectionality as part of its ‘Let’s Talk’ series.
Involvement in the ‘Let’s Talk’ series was not mandatory. As a result, HMPPS does not collect or hold data on the number of staff who have participated. All HMPPS diversity and inclusion training is developed internally as part of wider learning and development activity, and so no additional cost was incurred for any of the ‘Let’s Talk’ toolkit.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar on 9 March (HL13570), what consideration they have given to the views of women prisoners regarding the possibility of being searched by people identifying as transgender women in their review of the national policy on the searching of prisoners.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar - Shadow Attorney General
The national policy on the searching of prisoners, staff and visitors (PSI 07/2016 – Searching of the Person) is currently under review and a revised version is intended to be published later this year.
In reviewing the policy, Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) has consulted with the Government’s Legal Department and HMPPS Equalities Team. Further consultation will be made with contributing groups including HMPPS women’s group. The new policy will be compliant with the Equality Act 2010, Gender Recognition Act 2004 and the European Convention of Human Rights.