Asked by: Ben Goldsborough (Labour - South Norfolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisons have offered courses in (a) parenting and (b) relationships in each of the last 10 financial years.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
HMPPS does not hold the data on how many prisons have offered courses in parenting and relationships in each of the last 10 financial years. Courses delivered under the Prison Education Framework (PEF) include both accredited and non-accredited courses as commissioned by the Governor, and the data system does not have the ability to filter by these subject categories. Whilst data records indicate that a number of courses have taken place since 2019, this only captures data for England, PEF provision only, and provides limited information on courses which are due to take place in the future
Asked by: Ben Goldsborough (Labour - South Norfolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) offender-on-offender and (b) offender-on-staff assaults have taken place on the secure estate in each of the last 10 financial years.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The number of prisoner-on-prisoner assaults and assaults on staff for the financial year are shown in the summary tables of the Safety in Custody publication to March 2024: Safety in custody: quarterly update to March 2024 - GOV.UK Specifically, table 4 in the summary tables for this release gives these figures.
Please note that:
Figures from April 2018 onwards exclude incidents occurring within the youth estate, so figures for 2018 are not comparable with the years before or after, due to youth estate incidents being included in part of the year, from January to April 2018. The youth estate includes incidents occurring within Cookham Wood, Werrington and Wetherby, as well as the youth wing at Feltham and Parc. Prior to April 2018 these figures were collected via manual returns, so it is not possible to split out all youth estate incidents up to March 2018. Figures for incidents occurring within the youth estate are published within the ‘Safety in the children and young people secure estate’ statistics bulletin via the following link - https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/announcements/safety-in-the-youth-secure-estate-bulletin.
Prisoner-on-prisoner assaults are a subset of all assault incidents.
Assaults on staff are a subset of all assault incidents. Some assault incidents may be recorded as both a prisoner-on-prisoner assault and an assault on staff, so the sum of the two categories may exceed the total number of assaults.
The figures for assaults on staff include all incidents where a member of staff was assaulted, which can include a small number of incidents where the assault was by someone other than a prisoner.
Asked by: Ben Goldsborough (Labour - South Norfolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of offenders on the secure estate undertook (a) unpaid work, (b) education and (c) vocational training in each of the last 10 financial years.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
We set out management information relating to three relevant elements of purposeful activity below. However, this data was only developed as a measure from 2021/2022 so we are unable to provide it for the last 10 years. The percentages include prisoners who complete at least one session per week (part-time activity).
The measures don’t apply to privately managed prisons who use different data recording systems. They also exclude from scope those prisoners on remand, those aged over 65, those who were in healthcare or segregation for more than five days in the week, prisoners in more than one prison in the week and/or those only in prison for less than a week.
Category | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | 2023/24 |
Industries | 14% | 19% | 21% |
Education | 13% | 20% | 21% |
Services | 32% | 33% | 34% |
There is nothing we refer to as ‘unpaid work’ in prison but prisoners work in various roles across the prison both in industry (for example in textiles workshops) and in services (for example working in the kitchens or laundry). ‘Education’ covers both functional skills and vocational training (we do not separate them)
Asked by: Ben Goldsborough (Labour - South Norfolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many offenders have left prison without an identified (a) employment, (b) education and (c) training outcome in each of the last 10 financial years.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The Ministry of Justice does not hold this information.
While we do publish employment on release outcomes, this does not extend over the past 10 financial years. Our employment outcomes data report employment status at six weeks following release and six months following release and cover the period back to 2019-20.
The data, which include the unemployed and unavailable for work groups, can be found at the following link: Offender Employment Outcome Statistics - GOV.UK.
For education, although we do not hold information on the number of prisoners leaving prison without an identified education or training outcome. We have previously published information on prison education and accredited programme attainment dating back to 2019-20. This can be accessed at the following link: Prison Education and Accredited Programme Statistics - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Ben Goldsborough (Labour - South Norfolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of offenders on the (a) secure estate and (b) young offenders institute estate were unlocked for (i) less than two hours, (ii) more than two hours and (iii) more than eight hours in each of the last 10 financial years.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
As we do not hold sufficient data to undertake the necessary calculations, it is not possible to provide the requested information.
Asked by: Ben Goldsborough (Labour - South Norfolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if her Department will make an assessment of the potential impact of the use of force by staff on the secure estate on reoffending rates.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Physical intervention to resolve incidents is only ever to be used as a last resort. Staff receive extensive training in de-escalation techniques and conflict resolution to reduce the need for physical intervention, and regular reviews and analyses of use of force incidents help identify areas for improvement and ensure accountability. In its Use of Force Policy Framework - GOV.UK, His Majesty’s Prison & Probation Service (HMPPS) sets out mandatory instructions and professional standards for staff, ensuring that any use of force is lawful, necessary, and proportionate.
The rehabilitation services and interventions that HMPPS provides help to address underlying issues that may lead to conflict, reducing the need for force to be used. They also give prisoners the support and skills they need to find employment, accommodation, and to build and maintain support networks, which we know are significant factors in reducing re-offending.
Asked by: Ben Goldsborough (Labour - South Norfolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether she has issued guidance for prison governors to ensure offenders receive first-night well-being checks upon arrival onto the secure estate.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
All prisons in England and Wales are guided by Prison Service Instruction (PSI) 07/2015 – ‘Early Days in Custody – Reception in, First Night in Custody and Induction to Custody’. This policy sets out the mandatory requirements for prisons in relation to those entering their custody. It ensures that prisoners are kept safe and supported during their first night in prison, with their immediate needs being met. This includes a medical assessment by healthcare and a risk assessment for potential harm to themselves, to and from others. Furthermore, they are provided with food, drink, access to a shower, and a telephone to contact their legal adviser or address urgent family issues.
These instructions mandate that prison governors complete assessments to identify and address the immediate risks and needs of prisoners upon arrival into the prison. Such measures underline the importance of ensuring prisoners' safety and well-being during their initial days in custody.
Asked by: Ben Goldsborough (Labour - South Norfolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many unpaid work (a) staff and (b) supervisors have been employed in each of the last 10 financial years.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
The number of unpaid work (a) staff and (b) supervisors that have been employed in each of the last 10 financial years can be seen in the below table:
Table 1 - Number of unpaid work staff in post on 31 March 2022 to 2024 and 31 December 2024 (Full Time Equivalent)
Unpaid Work | 31-Mar-22 | 31-Mar-23 | 31-Mar-24 | 31-Dec-24 |
Unpaid Work: Non-supervisors | 237 | 330 | 365 | 374 |
Unpaid Work: Community Payback Supervisors | 435 | 603 | 623 | 623 |
Unpaid Work: Total staff | 671 | 933 | 989 | 997 |
Information for unpaid work staff is not available prior to June 2021 due to due to the Community Rehabilitation Companies not being part of HMPPS.
Asked by: Ben Goldsborough (Labour - South Norfolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether her Department has made an estimate of the value added by unpaid work projects on the secure estate.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
While there is not anything specifically named ‘unpaid work’ in prisons, and we therefore cannot provide information on how much has been spent on it, convicted prisoners are expected to work and there are various jobs across prison workshops, kitchens, laundries and other services like wing cleaning, for which prisoners are paid. Prison industries can be commercial, employer-led spaces or can make products for the internal prison market that we would otherwise have to buy (such as cell furniture, prisoner clothing), saving the taxpayer money.
There are also payback punishments in prisons, which act as a means for enabling prisoners to make amends to their prison community for their misbehaviour.
Asked by: Ben Goldsborough (Labour - South Norfolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much money has been spent on unpaid work in the secure estate in each of the last 10 financial years.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
While there is not anything specifically named ‘unpaid work’ in prisons, and we therefore cannot provide information on how much has been spent on it, convicted prisoners are expected to work and there are various jobs across prison workshops, kitchens, laundries and other services like wing cleaning, for which prisoners are paid. Prison industries can be commercial, employer-led spaces or can make products for the internal prison market that we would otherwise have to buy (such as cell furniture, prisoner clothing), saving the taxpayer money.
There are also payback punishments in prisons, which act as a means for enabling prisoners to make amends to their prison community for their misbehaviour.