Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the accuracy of reports that conditions for prisoners at Eastwood Park have declined; and for how many hours each day prisoners in that prison are confined to their cells.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
HM Inspectorate of Prisons’ recent report on HMP/YOI Eastwood Park was published on 28 August 2019. We take all recommendations made by the Chief Inspector seriously and the prison is taking action to address the Chief Inspector’s findings.
A detailed action plan has been produced to address all the recommendations in the report. The action plan has been published on the prison finder website at: https://www.justice.gov.uk/contacts/prison-finder/eastwood-park
The regime at HMP/YOI Eastwood Park is structured so that prisoners who are engaging with the prison regime are ‘out of cell’ for 9.5 hours a day Monday to Friday and 7.75 hours at weekends. Prisoners located on an enhanced wing have access to the prison grounds for 12.45 hours during the week and 11.75 hours during the weekend.
Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans he has to ensure that prisoners are not released without providing them with suitable accommodation.
Answered by Edward Argar
It is vital that everyone leaving prison has somewhere stable and secure to live. Having somewhere stable to live acts as a platform for ex-offenders to be able to access the services and support needed to turn their back on crime for good. Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) and the National Probation Service (NPS) are required to facilitate access to housing for the offenders that they are managing. This includes working together with local partners to help offenders find and maintain accommodation as part of a package of support tailored to meet their individual needs.
We are investing an additional £22m per annum over the remaining life of the CRC contracts to ensure that CRCs deliver an enhanced Through The Gate service to offenders leaving prison. Alongside this investment we have introduced a new Through the Gate specification which will ensure that CRCs complete specific tasks, including to help every prisoner to secure and maintain settled accommodation.
As part of the Government initiative to reduce and ultimately eliminate rough sleeping across England, we are investing up to £6.4 million over two years in a pilot scheme to help ex-offenders into accommodation from three prisons, namely Bristol, Pentonville and Leeds. The pilots will focus on male prisoners who have served shorter sentences and have been identified as having a risk of homelessness. We have launched our Invitation to Tender, to secure suppliers in the three pilot areas, and aim to award contracts in late April 2019. This is a concrete step in our commitment to tackling rough sleeping.
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Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people have been given an custodial sentence for squatting in each year since 2012.
Answered by Edward Argar
Data for the offence of squatting, including the number of custodial sentences imposed since 2013, can be found in the Experimental Statistics: Proceedings and Outcomes by Home Office Code data tool which is available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2017. Filter the ‘Detailed offence’ to ‘Knowingly as a trespasser live/intend to live in residential building’.
Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans he has to devolve the operation of building contracts in prisons to (a) Governors and (b) the appointees of Governors.
Answered by Edward Argar
There are currently no plans to devolve building contractual work to individual prison governors, or their appointees.
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Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the cost to his Department has been of personal independence payment appeals in each year since 2015.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
The information requested is not held centrally. The cost of Personal Independence Payment and Employment and Support Allowance hearings is included in the overall cost of the First-tier Tribunal (Social Security and Child Support Appeal).
Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what measures he has put in place to ensure independent monitoring of the court system.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
It is neither necessary or appropriate to have an independent monitor of our courts system. Judges are impartial and independent of government and public bodies. Any judgment is an absolute consequence of the process of the rule of law and must be respected as such. It is right that judicial decisions are accountable solely through appeal to a higher court. It is also possible for individual litigants to complain about the personal conduct of a judge during the conduct of a case to the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office (JCIO), whose statutory remit is to deal with complaints of misconduct. Monthly Management Information provides performance information on all courts including timeliness of hearings and disposals. This information is visible to all HMCTS staff (and to the public through quarterly published statistics). As such, it is continuously monitored at all levels from the frontline operation up through to the HMCTS Board, as part of a robust Planning, Allocation and Performance framework.
Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what procedures he has put in place to monitor whether individual courts are operating efficiently and within agreed timescales.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
Monthly Management Information provides performance information on all courts. This information is visible to all HMCTS staff (and to the public through quarterly published statistics). As such, it is continuously monitored at all levels from the frontline operation up through to the HMCTS Board, as part of a robust Planning, Allocation and Performance framework.
Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what sanctions he has put in place for courts that fail to operate within agreed time limits for the commencement of trials.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
Court performance is influenced by numerous factors which includes, but is not limited to, available judicial resource, changes in the offence and case mix and the overall performance of other justice sector agencies. Wherever our Performance Framework identifies that a court is not operating within target timescales, HMCTS will consider what support can best be offered to assist in recovering the position.
Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what criteria is used by the HM Prison and Probation Service's Approvals and Compliance Team to confirm candidates' suitability after they have been offered positions by the HM Prison and Probation Service's Recruitment Team.
Answered by Rory Stewart
The standard pre-appointment checks which are carried out on all applicants who have applied to commence employment with Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) include:
In addition, and based on risk, those working with children aged under 18 years and healthcare professionals, may be subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service check.
All applications made to HMPPS are considered on their own individual merits.
Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which company has been awarded the contract for the HM Prison and Probation Service's Approvals and Compliance Team; and if he will publish the criteria for the tender of that contract.
Answered by Rory Stewart
The Approvals and Compliance Team work for Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) and are directly employed staff.
The team review the suitability of applicants where judgement is required as a result of the pre-appointment security vetting checks undertaken. The team comprises of a group of experienced Governors and staff from across HMPPS who are able to assess and evaluate the evidence and associated risks, making decisions about candidates in the context of the work they will undertake within HMPPS.