Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he has taken to help increase the retention rate of staff in HM Prison and Probation Service.
Answered by Edward Argar
Safe, decent, rehabilitative prisons require excellent and experienced staff, as does supervising offenders in the community to keep the public safe.
We want them to stay in the Prison Service and to support retention, we have:
Accepted every penny of the Prisons Service PRB pay recommendations for 2023/24.
Injected extra funding of more than £155 million a year since 2021 to support Probation staff to deliver more robust supervision.
Rolled out BWV to every officer, to help protect staff by defusing volatile situations.
Introduced a New Colleague Mentor scheme to help new recruits feel supported in their early weeks and months.
Retention for prison officers is improving, with the staff resignation rate dropping from around 10.7% to around 8.3% over the last year to December 2023.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what support his Department provides to prisoners who are released following imprisonment for public protection sentences; and whether that support is tailored to each prisoner.
Answered by Damian Hinds
All those serving an Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentence in the community on licence have an individual, bespoke risk management plan which outlines how they will be managed and supported. The Probation Service works with other statutory and community agencies to ensure the required support is in place, whether that be in relation to accommodation, employment or health needs. A probation officer will hold regular supervision sessions with the offender, to discuss progress and identify any further support needed.
The IPP Action Plan, now fully reviewed and updated, will provide the best opportunities for those serving an IPP sentence in prison to progress towards a safe and sustainable future release and help those serving the IPP sentence on licence in the community to navigate the challenges they face and to work towards applying successfully, once eligible, to have their licence terminated. The Plan is accessible via the following link: Letter from the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice on the Imprisonment for Public Protection Action Plan (parliament.uk).
Data on the IPP population, including the number of those remaining is prison are routinely published as part of the Offender Management Statistics Quarterly: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/offender-management-statistics-quarterly.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department plans to take steps to review the cases of people who are imprisoned under imprisonment for public protection sentences.
Answered by Damian Hinds
All those serving an Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentence in the community on licence have an individual, bespoke risk management plan which outlines how they will be managed and supported. The Probation Service works with other statutory and community agencies to ensure the required support is in place, whether that be in relation to accommodation, employment or health needs. A probation officer will hold regular supervision sessions with the offender, to discuss progress and identify any further support needed.
The IPP Action Plan, now fully reviewed and updated, will provide the best opportunities for those serving an IPP sentence in prison to progress towards a safe and sustainable future release and help those serving the IPP sentence on licence in the community to navigate the challenges they face and to work towards applying successfully, once eligible, to have their licence terminated. The Plan is accessible via the following link: Letter from the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice on the Imprisonment for Public Protection Action Plan (parliament.uk).
Data on the IPP population, including the number of those remaining is prison are routinely published as part of the Offender Management Statistics Quarterly: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/offender-management-statistics-quarterly.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people who were given imprisonment for public protection sentences remain imprisoned.
Answered by Damian Hinds
All those serving an Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentence in the community on licence have an individual, bespoke risk management plan which outlines how they will be managed and supported. The Probation Service works with other statutory and community agencies to ensure the required support is in place, whether that be in relation to accommodation, employment or health needs. A probation officer will hold regular supervision sessions with the offender, to discuss progress and identify any further support needed.
The IPP Action Plan, now fully reviewed and updated, will provide the best opportunities for those serving an IPP sentence in prison to progress towards a safe and sustainable future release and help those serving the IPP sentence on licence in the community to navigate the challenges they face and to work towards applying successfully, once eligible, to have their licence terminated. The Plan is accessible via the following link: Letter from the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice on the Imprisonment for Public Protection Action Plan (parliament.uk).
Data on the IPP population, including the number of those remaining is prison are routinely published as part of the Offender Management Statistics Quarterly: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/offender-management-statistics-quarterly.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will set out the eligibility criteria for resettlement under the (a) Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy and (b) Afghan citizens resettlement programme; when the Afghan citizens resettlement programme will open to applicants; and for what reason that programme is not yet open to applicants.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
On Monday 13 September, I announced the details of the Government’s response to the situation in Afghanistan, and the effort to support Afghans resettling to the UK, in a statement to Parliament. Further information on the eligibility criteria for the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS) and Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) is set out in the policy statement published on gov.uk, available at: www.gov.uk/government/publications/afghanistan-resettlement-and-immigration-policy-statement.
This statement confirms that there will not be a formal application process for the ACRS. Instead, eligible people will be prioritised and referred to the UK. Some of those who arrived in the UK under the evacuation programme, which included individuals who were considered to be at particular risk – including women’s rights activists, prosecutors and journalists, will be the first to be resettled under the ACRS.
We are working urgently to stand up the remaining elements of the scheme, amid the complex and changing picture.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans he has to review the common law presumption of the reliability of computers.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
I refer the Honourable member to the answers given to PQ 69550 on 9 July 2020 and PQ 72206 on 20 July 2020 on this subject. We have no plans to review the presumption, as it has wide application and is rebuttable if there is evidence to the contrary.
Nonetheless, Government wants to be fully assured that there is a public summary of the failings associated with Post Office Ltd’s Horizon IT system and that lessons are learnt from this dispute. That is why the Inquiry into the Post Office Horizon IT dispute has been converted into a statutory enquiry with effect from 1 June 2021, with new powers to require the production of evidence and documents. The full, updated Terms of Reference for the Inquiry are available on the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry 2020 ToR page, and on gov.uk.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many information gateways there are in operation in his Department; and how those gateways are managed and monitored.
Answered by Alex Chalk
Effective management of information is critical to the smooth running of the justice system, and the department takes its management and monitoring very seriously. Revealing details of the department’s monitoring capabilities in public would likely prejudice their capability and effectiveness, and the department’s ability to preserve those systems. In order to safeguard processing systems, we are unable to provide the information requested.
Memoranda of Understanding and Information Sharing Agreements are in place as required and assessed for the required data protection clauses and adequate safeguarding of information. The checks and approval process are carried out in a centralised privacy tool which also stores the final version. The department has initiated a renewed programme of training aimed at those with roles with significant elements of dealing with personal information. All staff are required to take part in information handling training.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the oral answer of the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice, of 14 July 2020, Official Report, column 1367, how much of the £100 million announced for the future probation system will be spent on (a) rehabilitative, (b) resettlement, (c) education and (d) employment services.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
As part of plans for the future probation system set out by the Lord Chancellor on 11 June 2020, it was confirmed that HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) will operate a Probation Services Dynamic Framework to commission rehabilitation and resettlement services in England and Wales. These services will sit alongside other provision by HMPPS, such as prison-led resettlement support, as well as provision by other government departments.
Our initial estimate, as referenced by the Minister of State in her oral answer on 14 July 2020, was that the total value of contracts to be commissioned through the Probation Services Dynamic Framework would exceed £100m per year once the system reached a steady state.
The following table sets out the indicative proportion of overall Dynamic Framework contract value for each service to be procured, using estimates for Financial Year 2024/25 as representative of steady state spend:
| Sum of Lot 1: Accommodation services | Sum of Lot 2.1 Finance, Benefits and Debt services | Sum of Lot 2.2 Education, Training and Employment services | Sum of Lot 3: Dependency and Recovery services | Sum of Lot 4: Family, Lifestyle and Wellbeing services | Sum of Lot 5: Women services | Total |
% of indicative Dynamic Framework contract value | 9% | 9% | 11% | 15% | 43% | 13% | 100% |
Lot 4 includes a separately-commissioned contract for support to Young Adults in Wales only.
This is drawn from data made available to prospective bidders in July 2020. All values provided are indicative only and subject to change. They should not be viewed as confirmation of contract values, Call-Off term or actual volumes. It should be noted that for some lots, they may be co-commissioned with other partners, and some of these co-commissioned services may be procured through an alternative procurement route than the Probation Services Dynamic Framework. This particularly applies to the Finance, Benefit & Debt and Dependency & Recovery lots. It is not possible to provide either:
a) the proportion of contract value expected to derive from resettlement activity to support individuals leaving prison, as distinct from support for individuals serving a community sentence; or
b) the proportion of contract value expected to derive from education support as distinct from employment support.
This is because these values will depend on the outcome of the procurement process, the nature of the services delivered and future volumes of activity.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 9 July 2020 to Question 69550 on ICT, for what reason his Department determined that the wide application means the presumption in law that computer systems are working properly is unsuitable for review in light of the changes since 1999 in the (a) design, (b) operation and (c) ubiquity of computer systems.
Answered by Alex Chalk
The common law presumption of correct functioning of a computer is rebuttable if there is evidence to the contrary. In such circumstances it is for the party seeking to produce the computer record in evidence to satisfy the court that the computer was working properly at the material time.
We cannot ignore the impact that the dispute over the Horizon Accounting System has had on the postmasters affected and it is vitally important that the Government ensures that lessons are learned from the handling of this case. That is the purpose of the Review announced by the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. However, there is nothing to suggest at this stage that a change is needed in the common law presumption which is relied upon to conduct banking and other financial transactions and legal proceedings in many other cases.
Asked by: Chi Onwurah (Labour - Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prosecutions there have been under the Coronavirus Act 2020; and how many and what proportion of those prosecutions were subsequently (a) withdrawn and (b) overturned.
Answered by Chris Philp - Shadow Home Secretary
National Statistics on prosecutions and convictions for the first and second quarter of 2020 are due for publication in August and November 2020, with detailed offence level data for the whole of 2020 planned for publication in May 2021. Our statisticians are currently considering what suitable data from court management information systems could be gathered and prioritised for quality assurance and publication before then related to Covid-19 impacts, including potentially prosecutions for offences under the act. They will notify users through regular statistical publications.