Asked by: Lord Quirk (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Mobarik on 21 September (HL1561), how many hours of education per week is currently provided in Young Offender Institutions.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie - Shadow Minister (Justice)
Since 16 August 2015, education providers in public sector under-18 Young Offender Institutions (YOIs) have been required to provide 27 hours of education a week, supplemented by three hours of physical education.
YOI Parc is operated by G4S and is currently contracted to provide 25 hours of education and 5 hours of interventions each week.
Asked by: Lord Quirk (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Faulks on 2 December 2014 (HL2982) about young offender institutions, what progress has been made in providing more than 12 hours a week of purposeful activity since new education contracts came into operation in spring 2015.
Answered by Baroness Mobarik
Since the new education contracts came into operation in public sector under-18 Young Offender Institutions (YOIs) in August 2015, young people have accessed an average of more than 12 hours education per week.
We are committed to continually improving the youth custodial system in England and Wales. We are considering the recommendations of Charlie Taylor’s Review of the Youth Justice System and will publish his review and our response later this year.
Asked by: Lord Quirk (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bates on 21 December 2015 (HL4282), how they reconcile that answer with the statement by the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology in <i>Postnote on forensic linguistics</i> of September 2015 that even recordings of an offender's voice, verified to the satisfaction of police experts, are "not admissible as evidence" in the criminal justice system.
Answered by Lord Faulks
The research briefing to which the noble Lord refers distinguishes between speaker profiling, which courts have yet to find to be sufficiently reliable a technique to constitute admissible evidence in a criminal case, and speaker comparison, evidence of which may be admissible.
Expert evidence is admissible in criminal proceedings at common law. In summary, the evidence must be relevant to what is in issue; it must be capable of helping the court to assess the significance of matters beyond everyday experience (for example, the results of scientific tests); and it must be given by someone who is competent to do so. The Criminal Procedure Rules and the associated Criminal Practice Directions set out the procedure for introducing expert evidence, and list the factors to which the court will have regard in determining the reliability of expert opinion.
Asked by: Lord Quirk (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Ministry of Justice has target times by which members of the public can reasonably expect to get through on the telephone and speak to an official; by what percentage extent there has been a change over the past three years in the number of telephone calls from the public seeking information or assistance from the Ministry of Justice; and what training in communication skills is provided for the officials in that Department.
Answered by Lord Faulks
Since April 2015 the average answer time for calls to the Public Enquiry Line has been 28 seconds. The Ministry of Justice does not have set target times for call answering.
Calls to the MoJ public enquiry line have decreased steadily since 2012. Volumes reduced by 40% between 2012 and 2015.
Regular training is held for staff for on call handling and customer service.
Asked by: Lord Quirk (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, given the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists' assessment that over 60 per cent of young people in the youth justice estate have speech and language problems, what plans they have to provide time for such needs to be addressed in addition to the 30 hours per week for education in the forthcoming contract for young offender institutions and (from 2017) the new secure colleges, as stated by Lord Faulks in his Written Answers of 3 December 2014 (HL2982 and HL2983).
Answered by Lord Faulks
Young offenders’ time in custody should be an opportunity to turn their lives around and prevent them reoffending.
Education contracts have now been awarded in public sector young offender institutions (YOIs) for young people under 18. They will more than double the current average number of hours of education provided for young people in YOIs each week, and focus on providing a quality of education equivalent to mainstream schools and colleges that meets the individual needs of young people including those with special educational needs.
From April 2015, local authorities will be under a duty to arrange the special education provision set out in a young person’s Education Health and Care (EHC) plan, including speech and language therapy, while a young person is detained in custody. Those in charge of secure establishments and health service commissioners will work with the local authority in fulfilling their duty to arrange appropriate provision. A request for an EHC plan assessment can also be made while the young person is detained and the assessment can begin in custody.
Alongside the improved education contracts, a new core day will be implemented in YOIs over the coming months. This will support the increased education hours and schedule other daily activities around learning as happens for young people in the community so that the full range of their needs can be addressed.
Secure Colleges will for the first time offer a fully integrated, multi-agency approach to tackling the offending of young people. The regime will be integrated with health, substance misuse and wider services. The operator procurement will focus on ensuring that the provider has the skills and experience to achieve improved outcomes by delivering this holistic regime to meet the individual needs of each young person accommodated there.
The first Secure College has been carefully designed with flexibility in mind to support an integrated regime which effectively addresses individual needs, and the principal health and education centres are located in a single building to facilitate ease of access and reduce interruptions.
We will finalise expectations on Secure Colleges in respect of children and young people with special educational needs following further engagement with educationalists and prospective providers.
Asked by: Lord Quirk (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many of the secure colleges for under-18s will be providing education at the target rate of 30 hours per week in the new contract by the end of (1) 2015, (2) 2016, and (3) 2017.
Answered by Lord Faulks
The first Secure College will open in the East Midlands in 2017. This will be the first of a new generation of secure educational establishments which will put education at the heart of youth custody. If successful, it will inform our vision for the future of the youth custodial estate across England and Wales.
The Government has recently completed a public consultation on our plans for Secure College Rules. These Rules will provide the statutory framework for the effective operation of Secure Colleges. We have proposed a Rule on education which would set out a requirement for Secure Colleges to establish a minimum of 30 hours of educational activities for young people each week. This, in addition to wider activities, will help to equip young people with the skills, qualifications and self-discipline they need to lead lives free from crime. We will respond to the consultation in due course.
Asked by: Lord Quirk (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the view of the fact that in 2013 young people in young offender institutions were experiencing on average only 12 hours a week of purposeful activity, what progress has been made towards the 25 hours a week promised in the contract.
Answered by Lord Faulks
The Government is placing education at the heart of youth custody to equip young offenders with the skills, qualifications and self-discipline they need to build a life free from crime and become productive, hardworking members of the community.
As part of the Transforming Youth Custody Programme a competition is underway for new education contracts in directly managed young offender institutions which will more than double existing education provision and enable the delivery of at least 30 hours per week of education, integrated into a wider rehabilitative regime. The contracts will commence in spring 2015. This, in addition to wider provision of purposeful activity will help to equip young people of the skills, qualifications and self discipline they need to lead lives free from crime.