Asked by: Iain Stewart (Conservative - Milton Keynes South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of levels of staff (a) retention and (b) morale at HMP Woodhill.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Ensuring prison officers stay and progress their careers is a priority, and we are working hard to retain and develop clear career paths for operational staff.
HMP Woodhill has implemented an action plan focused on staff retention and improvements have been seen in attrition rates this year.
We have created a retention framework which is linked to wider activities around employee experience, employee lifecycle and staff engagement at work.
My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Justice, will publish an initial action plan by no later than 29 September 2023, addressing immediate concerns at HMP Woodhill. The prison is already taking steps to drive improvement including:
We will be monitoring the situation at HMP Woodhill very closely to ensure there is a speedy and sustained improvement.
Asked by: Iain Stewart (Conservative - Milton Keynes South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which prisons provide prisoners with their possessions in a holdall on release.
Answered by Rory Stewart
It is policy that all prisoners are issued with a plain nylon bag to carry his or her property upon final release.
Asked by: Iain Stewart (Conservative - Milton Keynes South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans he has to review access to compensation for victims of familial sexual abuse before 1979.
Answered by Mike Penning
The original Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme introduced in 1964 had a so called 'same roof rule' intended to prevent perpetrators benefiting from compensation paid to victims who lived with them. The rule was amended in 1979 to allow compensation for victims of incidents occurring after 1 October 1979 who no longer lived with their assailant. In line with usual practice, this rule change did not create retrospective entitlements. The Government has no plans to review the rule.