Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the recent application process was for the position of Chair of Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
A total of nine applications were received for the Cafcass Chair role; one applicant subsequently withdrew from the campaign.
The competition was undertaken in line with the Cabinet Office Governance Code on Public Appointments.
The Advisory Assessment Panel which was agreed by the Secretary of State comprised:
- Melissa Case (Panel Chair), Director, Family and Criminal Justice Policy, Ministry of Justice;
- Liz Doherty, Non-Executive Board Member, Ministry of Justice; and
- Jody Chatterjee, a member of the Judicial Appointments Commission independent panellist, the independent member.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, who sat on the interview panel for the position of Chair of the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
A total of nine applications were received for the Cafcass Chair role; one applicant subsequently withdrew from the campaign.
The competition was undertaken in line with the Cabinet Office Governance Code on Public Appointments.
The Advisory Assessment Panel which was agreed by the Secretary of State comprised:
- Melissa Case (Panel Chair), Director, Family and Criminal Justice Policy, Ministry of Justice;
- Liz Doherty, Non-Executive Board Member, Ministry of Justice; and
- Jody Chatterjee, a member of the Judicial Appointments Commission independent panellist, the independent member.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much his Department spent on hearing appeals in Social Security and Child Support Tribunals relating to (a) employment support allowance and (b) personal independence payment claims in each year since 2009-10.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The information requested is not held centrally. The cost of hearings for employment support allowance and personal independence payment are included in the overall cost of the First-tier Tribunal (Social Security and Child Support Appeal).
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison staff contracted Hepatitis C from prisoners in each year since 2009-10.
Answered by Phillip Lee
We take the safety of those in our care and our staff extremely seriously. There have been no reported cases of Hepatitis C transmission from prisoner to staff since 2009 to date.
HMPPS staff receive education and training on safe systems of work which reduces the risk of staff contracting Hepatitis C. Use of blood spillage kits are used by trained individuals only.
There is no preventative vaccine to protect against Hepatitis C therefore post exposure management such as immediate first aid followed by appropriate risk assessment is essential. There is a specialist team in HMPPS which can deal with such incidents.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the risk of Hepatitis C infection for prison staff.
Answered by Phillip Lee
Staff receive education and training on safe systems of work, universal precautions, hand hygiene and use of personal protective equipment in relation to dealing with body fluids at work which reduces the risk of staff contracting Hepatitis C. Use of blood spillage kits are used by trained individuals only.
There is no preventative vaccine to protect against Hepatitis C therefore post exposure management such as immediate first aid followed by appropriate risk assessment is essential. Occupational health intervention in HMPPS includes provision of a 24 Hour Body Fluid Exposure and Sharps Injury Telephone Helpline which is publicised on the HMPPS intranet. This includes: -
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether it is proposed that the Courts Bill will include measures to help eliminate Hepatitis C in prisons.
Answered by Phillip Lee
As the Queen’s Speech set out, legislation will be brought forward to reform the courts system in England and Wales, to ensure that it is more efficient and accessible and easier for everyone to use. The legislation will not include prisons measures.
Public Health England is working in partnership with NHS England and HM Prison & Probation Service to implement opt-out testing for blood-borne viruses in prisons, to increase the level of testing for Hepatitis C, Hepatitis B and HIV, and to improve access to treatment.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people serving (a) fixed-term (b) life and (c) indeterminate sentences who had been granted parole by the Parole Board were recalled in each year since 2004-05.
Answered by Rory Stewart
The breakdown of the number of people recalled following parole release by the Parole Board:
| Sentence Type | ||
Year (1) | Determinate | IPP | Life |
2010 | - | 34 | 95 |
2011 | - | 60 | 118 |
2012(2) | - | 123 | 124 |
2013 | - | 240 | 174 |
2014 | - | 332 | 201 |
2015 | 4 | 363 | 212 |
2016 | 19 | 482 | 212 |
(1) The figures provided are for offenders recalled in each full year from 2010 to 2016 whose first releases were directed by the Parole Board. Information datasets held by the department do not record the data in this format prior to 2010. The figures may include offenders recalled more than once across multiple years but not within years. The figures in these tables have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large-scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. Recall reasons do not sum to the total number of recalls as more than one reason can be recorded against each recall
(2) 2012 onwards saw a significant increase in the number of IPP recalls. This reflects a steady increase in IPP releases from 97 in 2010 to 576 in 2016; it follows that the more IPP releases we see, it is likely that larger numbers will be recalled to custody.
Public protection is our priority and offenders on licence must comply with a strict set of conditions. If any offender breaches his licence conditions, he is liable to be recalled immediately to prison.
As more offenders are reaching their minimum tariff dates, the number of first-time IPP releases continues to rise year on year, and there are consequently ever greater numbers of offenders on an IPP licence in the community. Correspondingly, and as is to be expected, the number of offenders on an IPP licence who are recalled to custody also continues to rise.
No changes have been made to the IPP release test, and the independent Parole Board will continue to assess rigorously all tariff-expired IPP prisoners, in order as to determine they are safe to be released.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many Anti-Social Behaviour Orders on conviction were granted in each year from 2004/05 to 2013/14; and how many Criminal Behaviour Orders were granted in each year from 2014/15 to present.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The number of Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) on conviction granted in each year from 2004/05 to 2013/14 at all courts in England and Wales is shown in the attached table 1. The number of Criminal Behaviour Orders (CBOs) granted in each year from 2014/15 to the end of 2016 (latest currently available) at all courts in England and Wales is shown in the attached table 2.
The Criminal Behaviour Order (CBO) came in to force on 20 October 2014 and replaced the Anti-Social Behaviour Order on conviction.
Court proceedings data for 2017 are planned for publication in May 2018.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions he has had with (a) the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and (b) the Home Secretary on the extending the definition of a position of trust to include (i) sports coaches, (ii) youth leaders and (iii) religious leaders; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The protection of children remains a priority for this Government and we keep this important area of the law under review.
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport is currently developing proposals to extend the definition of a ‘position of trust’ in the Sexual Offences Act 2003, to bring into that definition sports coaches who hold a position of trust in relation to a child aged 16 or 17 under their care. We will consider these further with them once developed.
Although I have not yet had any discussions with the Home Secretary on this matter directly, given my recent appointment.
Asked by: Diana Johnson (Labour - Kingston upon Hull North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of prisons receive prison support services provided by Carillion plc.
Answered by Rory Stewart
Carillion AMBS Ltd (a subsidiary of Carillion PLC) provide facilities management services across 50 operational prisons in England and Wales. This is a c.48 percent of the public operated prison estate.