Asked by: Baroness Berger (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the timetable is for his Department to respond to the Tribunal Procedure Committee consultation on Tribunal Procedure (First-Tier Tribunal) (Health, Education and Social Care Chamber) Rules 2008, published on 22 March 2018.
Answered by Rory Stewart
The Tribunal Procedure Committee’s consultation closed on 14 June. The Committee will publish a response to its consultation in due course, which the Ministry of Justice will then consider. The Committee is independent of Government and will set its own timetable.
Asked by: Baroness Berger (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the timetable is for the opening of the five new residential women’s centres announced on 27 June 2018.
Answered by Edward Argar
We are working with local and national partners to develop a pilot for ‘residential women’s centres’ in at least five sites across England and Wales.
We want to ensure that the models we test are appropriate for their local context. This may require multiple local partners, including those from statutory and voluntary sectors, working together. Therefore, at this stage the timetable is not yet finalised.
However, we are undertaking an initial engagement process with stakeholders and potential providers and partners to refine the design and delivery model for the pilot. This is taking place over the next few months and will support our co-design approach for taking forward the pilot.
Asked by: Baroness Berger (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what average number of cases each probation officer has worked on in (a) the National Probation Service and (b) private Community Rehabilitation Companies in each year since 2014.
Answered by Rory Stewart
Figures on the average caseload of probation officers are not collected centrally. A probation worker’s workload is not based solely on the number of cases they are managing, but the level of supervision each case requires.
The Ministry of Justice publishes statistics showing the total caseload of the National Probation Service (NPS) and the 21 Community Rehabilitation Companies. Figures for total probation caseload are published quarterly in the Offender Management Statistics Bulletin, England and Wales: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/offender-management-statistics-quarterly.
Asked by: Baroness Berger (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners supervised by private Community Rehabilitation Companies were classified as (a) high-risk, (b) medium-risk and (c) low-risk offenders in each year since 2014.
Answered by Rory Stewart
This information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Baroness Berger (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners supervised by the National Probation Service were classified as (a) high-risk, (b) medium-risk and (c) low-risk offenders in each year since 2014.
Answered by Rory Stewart
This information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Baroness Berger (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the level of under-reporting of sexual assault in prison.
Answered by Rory Stewart
Data on reported sexual assaults are published annually in the safety in custody statistics, available at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/safety-in-custody-statistics.
We acknowledge that prisoners may be reluctant to report such assaults, and are aware that some other sources, such as surveys by HM Inspector of Prisons, have shown a higher rate.
We take any allegation of sexual assault extremely seriously. All incidents that are reported as sexual assault are referred to the police for investigation. We provide a range of support to those who report them and take appropriate action to prevent repeat victimisation.
Asked by: Baroness Berger (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners are held in a prison which is a higher category than they have been given; and how many of those prisoners are held in a higher category prison because their healthcare needs cannot be met by a prison of their respective category.
Answered by Rory Stewart
It is not uncommon for prisoners to serve part of their sentence in an establishment which can hold prisoners of a higher security category than they are. For example a newly-sentenced category C prisoner will initially begin their sentence in a predominant function ‘local’ prison, which serves the courts and is built to a category B standard, before being allocated to a category C ‘training’ prison.
As at 30 June 2018 there were around 16,000 prisoners being held in prisons which can hold those of a higher security category. Seventy five percent of these are category C prisoners awaiting onward allocation to a suitable establishment and short-term sentenced prisoners who are held close to their home address in preparation for resettlement into the community.
There are complex and wide-ranging issues involved in allocation and transfer of prisoners. Decisions must reflect both the specific needs and circumstances of the prisoner, as well as the operating environment and range of services at the receiving prison. Closeness to home is one of the key factors considered when choosing where to place prisoners, particularly for those on short sentences or nearing release, where they need to (re)build family ties, secure housing and health services and look for work. These prisoners are prioritised for local prisons in large conurbations. We also consider other factors such as length of sentence, security category and offending behaviour requirements.
Through the Government’s Prison Estate Transformation Programme we are getting the basics right by building decent prisons to improve rehabilitation and create safe and secure environments for staff and offenders. As well as constructing new prisons we are reconfiguring the existing estate so that prisoners will be held in the right place at the right time in their journey and their rehabilitation can be managed more effectively. By matching people in prison to the function that a prison fulfils, prisons will be able to deliver the right outcomes, and people in prison will be better supported to turn their lives around.
Asked by: Baroness Berger (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to publish the National Offender Management Service review of Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork.
Answered by Rory Stewart
The ACCT case management system for prisoners at risk at self-harm or suicide has been formally reviewed twice since it was introduced into prisons across England and Wales from 2004-2007. The most recent review concluded in 2015, and as this was an internal review the results were not published. The 2015 review found that ACCT was an effective system, but identified opportunities to increase the level of compliance with the policy in prisons and to improve the quality of care delivered to prisoners. This has informed a number of the measures that we have since taken to improve the system, including the introduction of improved training and the publication of further guidance for staff.
We will shortly be consulting stakeholders on proposals for improvements to the ACCT form and associated policy that are based on the outcome of the 2015 review as well as more recent feedback on the operation of the system.
Asked by: Baroness Berger (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisons use the policy of three prisoners living in a cell; and how many cells are occupied by at least three prisoners in each prison.
Answered by Rory Stewart
Our vision is for prison staff and prisoners to work and live in a safe and secure, uncrowded environment that is modern and fit for the purpose of helping prisoners to reform.
This is why we are getting the basics right through the Government’s Prison Estate Transformation Programme, building decent prisons to improve rehabilitation and create safe and secure environments for staff and offenders.
Our reforms will see us close down and redevelop ageing prisons and deliver up to 10,000 new places in high-quality, modern establishments fit for today’s demands. We will only transform our prisons into places of rehabilitation if we ensure that we address basic issues such as cleanliness, decency and safety. We keep the prison population and capacity under careful review to ensure that there is always sufficient capacity.
The table below identifies 29 prisons, as at 30 June 2018, which were holding prisoners in accommodation certified to hold three people or more. The prisons identified will include those with healthcare units, dormitories, and cells which are certified to hold, on both a crowded and uncrowded basis, three or more prisoners.
Prison | Number of locations within the prison holding three or more prisoners |
Altcourse | 9 |
Askham Grange | 10 |
Bedford | 8 |
Belmarsh | 97 |
Birmingham | 4 |
Bristol | 2 |
Bullingdon | 2 |
Doncaster | 2 |
East Sutton Park | 15 |
Elmley | 87 |
Forest Bank | 1 |
Foston Hall | 2 |
Hewell | 35 |
Hollesley Bay | 4 |
Hull | 1 |
Huntercombe | 3 |
Leeds | 1 |
Leicester | 7 |
Liverpool | 2 |
New Hall | 1 |
North Sea Camp | 7 |
Norwich | 8 |
Preston | 5 |
Rochester | 1 |
Stoke Heath | 2 |
Styal | 40 |
Swansea | 7 |
Usk | 1 |
Wormwood Scrubs | 4 |
Total | 368 |
Asked by: Baroness Berger (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners were placed in cells of three prisoners or more in each of the last three years.
Answered by Rory Stewart
Through the Government’s Prison Estate Transformation Programme we are getting the basics right by building decent prisons to improve rehabilitation and create safe and secure environments for staff and offenders. Our reforms will see us close down and redevelop ageing prisons and deliver up to 10,000 new places in high-quality, modern establishments fit for today’s demands. We will only transform our prisons into places of rehabilitation if we ensure that we address basic issues such as cleanliness, decency and safety. We keep the prison population and capacity under careful review to ensure that there is always sufficient capacity.
The table below identifies the number of prisoners, as at 30 June in each of the last three years, held in cells or living accommodation certified to hold three or more prisoners. This figure will include prisoners held in dormitories, cells and healthcare units that are certified on both a crowded or uncrowded basis to hold three or more prisoners.
Date | Number of prisoners held three or more in the same location (1) | Total Population | Proportion held three or more in the same location (1) as a proportion of total population |
30 June, 2016 | 1394 | 85134 | 1.64% |
30 June, 2017 | 1469 | 85863 | 1.71% |
30 June, 2018 | 1277 | 82818 | 1.54% |