Asked by: Lord Bradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many times PAVA spray has been (1) drawn, and (2) drawn and deployed, in prisons in England and Wales since 1 April 2019.
Answered by Lord Bellamy
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.
Asked by: Lord Bradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many prisoners in England and Wales have been subject to (1) the drawing, and (2) the drawing and deployment, of PAVA spray since 1 April 2019 by (a) age, (b) ethnicity, (c) religion and (d) disability.
Answered by Lord Bellamy
It has not proved possible to respond to this question in the time available before Prorogation. Ministers will correspond directly with the Member.
Asked by: Lord Bradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what was the average length of stay in the youth justice secure estate for people (1) on remand, and (2) sentenced, in each of the past five years.
Answered by Lord Bellamy
Data on the median number of nights children and young people spent in custody in secure children’s homes, secure training centres and young offender institutions, broken down by remand and sentence type, are provided in the table below. The figures in the Detention & Training Order and the “Other” categories include nights spent in custody following recall.
Year | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 |
Remand(1) | 39 | 43 | 59 | 68 | 47 |
Detention & Training Order | 92 | 91 | 97 | 115 | 91 |
Other(2) | 291 | 294 | 301 | 193 | 258 |
(1) Based on data from the Youth Justice Application Framework (YJAF), separate from adult offender data which is derived from the National Offender Management Information System (NOMIS).
(2) The sentences included in this category are those provided in: sections 90 and 91 of the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000; sections 226, 226B and 228 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003; and sections 250 and 259 of the Sentencing Act 2020, Also included in this category are young people in custody under a civil order for breaching a gang injunction.
Asked by: Lord Bradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to introduce the use of PAVA spray to the youth justice secure estate.
Answered by Lord Bellamy
Following the roll-out of PAVA spray to the adult male estate, HM Prison & Probation Service (HMPPS) is examining the case for making it similarly available to staff in Young Offender Institutions in the youth estate. Its use is not being considered in Secure Training Centres or Secure Children’s Homes. HMPPS separately have dedicated national response staff who are permitted to use PAVA when authorised to do so to resolve serious incidents in both adult prisons and Young Offender Institutions.
As with any potential safety measure, all available evidence is being assessed to make sure that an informed decision is taken. This assessment includes detailed consideration of the medical and legal implications, including any age-related factors, as well as an evaluation of its implementation in the adult male estate.
Asked by: Lord Bradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete within prison buildings in England and Wales.
Answered by Lord Bellamy
Departments have been asked to report on the current picture of suspected and confirmed Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) in their estates as soon as possible. This will be updated on a regular basis as new buildings are identified and surveying and remediation are carried out. The Government published lists of education settings confirmed as having RAAC on Wednesday 6 September and committed to providing further updates.
The potential mitigating actions for prison buildings will be to monitor them, prop them up or replace them, in line with Institute of Structural Engineers guidance.
Asked by: Lord Bradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to audit all prison buildings constructed between 1950 to 1990 for the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete; and, if so, what is their timescale.
Answered by Lord Bellamy
Departments have been asked to report on the current picture of suspected and confirmed Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) in their estates as soon as possible. This will be updated on a regular basis as new buildings are identified and surveying and remediation are carried out. The Government published lists of education settings confirmed as having RAAC on Wednesday 6 September and committed to providing further updates.
The potential mitigating actions for prison buildings will be to monitor them, prop them up or replace them, in line with Institute of Structural Engineers guidance.
Asked by: Lord Bradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what mitigating actions are in place for prison buildings when the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete is detected.
Answered by Lord Bellamy
Departments have been asked to report on the current picture of suspected and confirmed Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) in their estates as soon as possible. This will be updated on a regular basis as new buildings are identified and surveying and remediation are carried out. The Government published lists of education settings confirmed as having RAAC on Wednesday 6 September and committed to providing further updates.
The potential mitigating actions for prison buildings will be to monitor them, prop them up or replace them, in line with Institute of Structural Engineers guidance.
Asked by: Lord Bradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that women released from prison (1) that have served a short sentence, and (2) that were not sentenced following remand, receive support from the Probation Service.
Answered by Lord Bellamy
One of the strategic aims of the Female Offender Strategy Delivery Plan 2022-25 (Jan 2023) is to protect the public through better outcomes for women on release. We will work to reduce reoffending rates for women leaving custody, focusing on what we know works: a home, a job and access to treatment for substance misuse.
Contracts for holistic rehabilitative services for women deliver bespoke and specialist support to sentenced women (including those that have served short sentences) after their release from prison. These services support women to meet their resettlement and rehabilitative needs, including: help to find accommodation; help to find education, training or employment; support to meet finance, benefit and debt-related needs; help to address dependency issues; support to improve relationships with family or significant others; and support for their emotional wellbeing and social inclusion. These services are available post-release to all women who are subject to Probation supervision and we continue to explore how we might support those released unsentenced.
All women in prison, including those on remand, are supported to meet their immediate resettlement needs and prepare for release by probation staff in prisons and maintain accommodation whilst in prison respectively. This includes sustaining accommodation on reception where possible, making referrals for accommodation and signposting women towards specialist advice for finance and debt support.
A Short Sentence Function is being implemented in all regions which will work with all people on probation with ten months or fewer to serve in prison. This will enable them to be fast tracked and offered direct engagement.
Asked by: Lord Bradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people serving a life sentence have absconded from an open prison and have then been convicted of (1) a serious further offence, or (2) any further offence, while unlawfully at large in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Lord Bellamy
We are unable to answer these questions within cost limits as the required detail is not within the prison NOMIS system. To obtain a robust estimate would require manually linking each incident to a prisoner, checking police records for all prisoners in scope, extracting and reporting on their criminal history and then linking to an additional database to identify seriousness of offence.
Data on absconds is published annually in the HMPPS annual digest. The latest version can be accessed via the following link: HMPPS Annual Digest, April 2021 to March 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Public protection is our top priority. When a prisoner absconds, police are immediately notified and are responsible for locating the offender. The majority of absconders are quickly recaptured and returned to custody.
Those who abscond face serious consequences, including being returned to closed prison conditions where they may serve up to two additional years on conviction. Prisoners subject to parole decisions will likely face longer before they are released.
Asked by: Lord Bradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people serving a sentence of Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) have absconded from an open prison and have been convicted of (1) a serious further offence, or (2) any further offence, while unlawfully at large in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Lord Bellamy
We are unable to answer these questions within cost limits as the required detail is not within the prison NOMIS system. To obtain a robust estimate would require manually linking each incident to a prisoner, checking police records for all prisoners in scope, extracting and reporting on their criminal history and then linking to an additional database to identify seriousness of offence.
Data on absconds is published annually in the HMPPS annual digest. The latest version can be accessed via the following link: HMPPS Annual Digest, April 2021 to March 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Public protection is our top priority. When a prisoner absconds, police are immediately notified and are responsible for locating the offender. The majority of absconders are quickly recaptured and returned to custody.
Those who abscond face serious consequences, including being returned to closed prison conditions where they may serve up to two additional years on conviction. Prisoners subject to parole decisions will likely face longer before they are released.