Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether HM Prison and Probation Service has made an assessment of the safety of (a) prisoners and (b) prison officers in prisons that do not have Tornado trained staff.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Operation Tornado is a national mutual aid plan by which prisons support one another in the event of a serious incident or occurrence requiring a reinforcement of staff. Operation Tornado is employed by HMPPS for three main reasons:
HMPPS aims to have 2,100 volunteers trained in readiness for Operation Tornado. Since the inception of Operation Tornado in the late 1980s, HMPPS has allocated a commitment to each prison for how many Tornado staff they should aim to have trained. HMPPS monitors the number of staff available for deployment and offer training spaces to ensure resilience to respond to serious incidents.
In the event of a serious incident, all prisons, including those who have a commitment of zero, receive the same level of support from the Operation Response and Resilience Unit and Tornado trained staff from other prisons if required.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison (a) officers and (b) other staff have been (i) investigated, (ii) arrested and (iii) charged in relation to (A) drug smuggling and (B) corruption at HMP Berwyn in the last two years.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
There is no place for any form of corruption or unacceptable behaviour in the Prison Service. Such behaviour is contrary to our core values and will not be tolerated. The Ministry of Justice’s Counter Corruption Unit and Tackling Unacceptable Behaviour Unit are working to ensure that professional standards of behaviour are maintained.
In relation to the various items of information requested, it is necessary to consider whether providing information in relation to a small number of cases could lead to the identification of individuals, in a way that would constitute a breach of our statutory obligations under data protection legislation. As we believe that the release of this information would risk such identification, it is not possible to provide the figures requested.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department collects data on the number of individuals released on the End of Custody Supervised Licence scheme who have committed a criminal offence after their release.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
We are constantly monitoring the use of End of Custody Supervised Licence (ECSL) and its impact.
We are taking action to drive down the reoffending rate for all offenders by investing in a wide range of rehabilitative interventions to get them into skills training, work, and stable accommodation. This includes delivering our groundbreaking transitional accommodation service, known as Community Accommodation Service – Tier 3 (CAS-3), so prison-leavers have a guaranteed 12 weeks of basic, temporary accommodation to provide a stable base on release. By January 2023, the proportion of offenders housed on the first night of their release from custody was 7.6 percentage points higher in CAS3 regions versus non-CAS3 regions.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the minimum (a) numbers and (b) grades of staff responsible for HMP Wandsworth are (i) during the night state (ii) when prisoners are unlocked.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The information requested forms part of the prison’s Regime Management Plan, an operational document which provides information to staff on issues relating to the safety and security of the prison. Owing to the sensitivity of these issues, we do not consider that information contained in the document can be placed in the public domain.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his Department's press release entitled First Rapid Deployment Cells unveiled to boost prison places, published on 3 March 2023, how many such cells have been built.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
As part of our commitment to build 20,000 prison places, the largest prison build programme since the Victorian era, we have so far delivered c.670 Rapid Deployment Cells across 12 sites and we are pushing ahead with hundreds more.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he as made of the cost to individuals of replacing blue badges lost due to theft.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department sets the legislation that governs the Blue Badge scheme and provides guidance for local authorities who are solely responsible for administering the scheme.
Current legislation provides local authorities with the means to tackle abuse of the Blue Badge scheme locally, such as the power to retain and cancel badges found to be stolen.
Data on the number of Blue Badges stolen in the last 12 months are not currently available. The latest published statistics show that in the year ending 31st March 2023, 1700 Blue Badges were reported stolen in England. The figures reflect cases that have been recorded in the Blue Badge Digital Service database. It is possible that not all instances of loss or theft will be reported and recorded, and therefore will not be included in these figures.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether his Department has had recent discussions with the Home Office on the theft of blue badges.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department sets the legislation that governs the Blue Badge scheme and provides guidance for local authorities who are solely responsible for administering the scheme.
Current legislation provides local authorities with the means to tackle abuse of the Blue Badge scheme locally, such as the power to retain and cancel badges found to be stolen.
Data on the number of Blue Badges stolen in the last 12 months are not currently available. The latest published statistics show that in the year ending 31st March 2023, 1700 Blue Badges were reported stolen in England. The figures reflect cases that have been recorded in the Blue Badge Digital Service database. It is possible that not all instances of loss or theft will be reported and recorded, and therefore will not be included in these figures.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what estimate he has made of the number of blue badge thefts in the last 12 months.
Answered by Guy Opperman - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Transport)
The Department sets the legislation that governs the Blue Badge scheme and provides guidance for local authorities who are solely responsible for administering the scheme.
Current legislation provides local authorities with the means to tackle abuse of the Blue Badge scheme locally, such as the power to retain and cancel badges found to be stolen.
Data on the number of Blue Badges stolen in the last 12 months are not currently available. The latest published statistics show that in the year ending 31st March 2023, 1700 Blue Badges were reported stolen in England. The figures reflect cases that have been recorded in the Blue Badge Digital Service database. It is possible that not all instances of loss or theft will be reported and recorded, and therefore will not be included in these figures.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has made an assessment of the adequacy of the treatment of (a) Romani, (b) Roma and (c) Irish Traveller people in the prison estate.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
His Majesty’s Prison & Probation Service (HMPPS) pursues an evidence-based approach to improving treatment and outcomes for prisoners, people on probation and children in our care from Romani, Roma, and Traveller Communities.
The HMPPS Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Strategy, first produced in May 2023, was drawn up, and continues to be developed, in consultation with Third Sector partners. It is informed by a range of internal and external reports and data. The strategy is implemented via a comprehensive action plan, which targets key areas for development, including data improvement, family interactions and health inequalities.
Some specific examples of activity include the further expansion of Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller (GRT) Forums in prisons. Forums are being regularly held in several establishments across the prison estate, providing a supportive platform for communications and helping to respond to local needs. Staff awareness continues to be improved, with Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller specific information embedded into various guides across the organisation, improving the capability of staff to respond to individuals’ needs.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish the (a) locations and (b) number of places per location of all planned prison places.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
To date, we have delivered c.5,900 places. This includes our two new prisons HMP Five Wells and HMP Fosse Way. By the end of 2025, we are on track to have delivered around 10,000 places in total. This will include our third new prison, HMP Millsike, delivering c.1,500 places, new houseblocks at HMPs Stocken and Rye Hill, as well as hundreds more Rapid Deployment Cells.
Under current plans, we are scheduled to deliver at the following sites from 21 March 2024:
Programme | Site | Places |
New Prisons | HMP Millsike | 1,468 |
Garth Wymott 2* | 1,715 | |
Gartree 2 | 1,715 | |
Grendon 2 | 1,468 | |
HMP Gartree Houseblock ** | 247 | |
HMP Fosse Way Houseblock | 245 | |
Private prisons – houseblock | HMP Rye Hill | 458 |
HMP Parc** | 320 | |
Houseblocks | HMP Bullingdon | 247 |
HMP Channings Wood | 494 | |
HMP Elmley | 247 | |
HMP Hindley | 494 | |
HMP Highpoint | 741 | |
HMP Wayland | 121 | |
HMP Guys Marsh | 180 | |
HMP Stocken | 214 | |
Refurbishments | HMP Birmingham | 301 |
HMP Norwich | 171 | |
HMP Liverpool | 350*** | |
Rapid Deployment Cells | HMP Erlestoke | 40 |
HMP Foston Hall | 40 | |
HMP The Verne | 40 | |
HMP Northumberland | 60 | |
HMP Springhill | 40 | |
HMP Kirklevington Grange | 153 | |
HMP Prescoed | 80 | |
Category D | HMP Hatfield | 60 |
HMP Leyhill ** | 240 | |
HMP Springhill ** | 180 | |
HMP Sudbury | 120 | |
HMP Ford ** | 420 | |
HMP Standford Hill ** | 240 | |
Small Secure Houseblocks | HMP Brinsford | 120 |
HMP Humber | 120 | |
HMP Lancaster Farms | 240 | |
HMP Morton Hall | 60 | |
HMP Northumberland | 240 | |
HMP Onley | 180 | |
HMP Ranby | 120 | |
HMP Erlestoke | 180 |
* This site is subject to an ongoing planning appeal.
** Delivery at these sites is subject to planning permission.
*** A wing-by-wing refurbishment is ongoing, with some places already delivered.
Any additional sites not listed here are commercially sensitive and information released about these would prejudice the department’s negotiating position and ability to achieve value for money in these developments.