Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his Department's press release, Judicial retirement age to rise to 75, published on 9 March 2021, whether judicial office holders other than former magistrates between the ages of 70 and 75 will be entitled to re-enter the judiciary.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
When the new mandatory retirement age (MRA) comes into force, there will be a transitional provision to enable retired magistrates to apply to return to the bench, subject to business need. We are currently updating our modelling to ascertain the impact of an increase to 75 on the supply of magistrates (both regionally and nationally) and on our recruitment requirements for 2021/22 and beyond.
Judicial office holders who are in office when the new mandatory retirement age comes into force will be able to continue sitting until 75. Judges below the High Court are already able to have their appointments extended, on an annual basis, up to the age of 75, where there is a business need. In addition, salaried judges can also be authorised to sit in retirement on an ad hoc basis up to the age of 75. We therefore do not intend to provide for transitional arrangements to allow for the reappointment of judges who have retired but are younger than the new MRA.
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of former magistrates who will be entitled to re-enter the judiciary as a result of the change to magistrates' retirement age in (a) West Yorkshire and (b) England and Wales.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
When the new mandatory retirement age (MRA) comes into force, there will be a transitional provision to enable retired magistrates to apply to return to the bench, subject to business need. We are currently updating our modelling to ascertain the impact of an increase to 75 on the supply of magistrates (both regionally and nationally) and on our recruitment requirements for 2021/22 and beyond.
Judicial office holders who are in office when the new mandatory retirement age comes into force will be able to continue sitting until 75. Judges below the High Court are already able to have their appointments extended, on an annual basis, up to the age of 75, where there is a business need. In addition, salaried judges can also be authorised to sit in retirement on an ad hoc basis up to the age of 75. We therefore do not intend to provide for transitional arrangements to allow for the reappointment of judges who have retired but are younger than the new MRA.
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that appeals of benefit decisions can continue to be heard during the covid-19 lockdown announced on 5 January 2021.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Throughout the pandemic, appeals have continued to be decided on the papers, or heard using telephone and other remote technology. Additionally, HM Courts & Tribunals Service has introduced safety measures, so that face-to-face hearings can be held for any cases, which cannot be decided on the papers or heard remotely.
The decision as to how a hearing is conducted is a matter for the judge, who will determine how best to uphold the interests of justice.
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much revenue has been raised for the public purse through the sale of properties previously owned by his Department in Wakefield in the last five years.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
Since 1 April 2016, the Ministry of Justice has received a clawback payment of £55,844 in respect of an historic sale of land and sold two properties generating capital receipts of £481,000.
A decision was taken, following a public consultation, to close Wakefield Magistrates’ Court in 2016. The reasons for that decision are a matter of public record. In 2017 the MoJ transferred the former Wakefield Magistrates’ Court to Homes England. Homes England sold the property on 16 August 2019 for £207,500.
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of magistrates in (a) Wakefield constituency, (b) West Yorkshire and (c) England.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
Working with the magistracy through the Magistrates’ Recruitment and Attraction Steering Group, we are investing in a broad programme of work to recruit more, and more diverse, magistrates across England and Wales. We have also reviewed our planned future recruitment to make sure this is in line with the demands on the magistracy, particularly in managing our recovery in response to the pandemic.
Recommendations for the appointment of magistrates are made to the Lord Chief Justice by independent advisory committees. The North and West Yorkshire Recruitment Advisory Committee, which includes the Wakefield constituency, has received 78 applications to date in 2020.
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the cost per prisoner was of operating HMP Wakefield in (a) the 2019-20 financial year and (b) the 2020 financial year to date.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The cost per prisoner at HMP Wakefield in 2019/20 was £35,538 in direct unit costs and £52,402 in overall unit costs (this figure includes apportionment of overheads etc.). The direct cost per prisoner for 2020/21 on year to date is £21,094. The 2020/21 figure is to the end of October only.
We’ve invested in our prisons to make them safer and more effective at delivering the rehabilitation that will cut reoffending and crime.
Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) routinely publishes direct and overall resource expenditure for each private and public sector prison in England and Wales on an annual basis after the end of each financial year. The information can be accessed in the Prison and Probation Performance Statistics pages for each relevant financial year on the website https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/prison-performance-statistics-2019-to-2020
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners had been diagnosed with covid-19 up to the end of September 2020.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Verified data on the number of staff and prisoners that have tested positive for COVID-19 is due to be published in November as part of Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) national COVID-19 statistics on gov.uk. Prisoner data is published monthly. Staff data is published quarterly, the most recent data covers the period up to 31 July 2020.
For the purposes of this data, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system. Much of the data collected during the COVID-19 pandemic has been done at pace, with recording practices evolving as we understand more about the requirements and conditions we are facing. In order to present the timeliest information, the data presented has not been subjected to the usual standard of quality assurance associated with official statistics. Data in relation to prisoners has been rounded to two significant figures.
For the purposes of prison officer data, this combines the reporting categories for i) operational grades 3-5 and ii) grades deemed as prison officer and above.
The number of prisoners recorded as being tested positive for covid-19 up to 30 September is 630. This number includes 10 cases recorded within the Youth Custody Service.
The number of prison officers recorded as being tested positive for COVID-19 up to 31 July 2020 is 635.
Five prisoners had tested positive at HMP Wakefield in the period up to 30 September.
Three prison officers had tested positive at HMP Wakefield in the period up to 31 July.
HMPPS does not own or centrally collate data on the number of prisoner operations that have been cancelled. This data is owned by the current Healthcare provider at HMP Wakefield - Care UK.
We have robust plans in place to keep prisoners, staff and the public safe, based on the latest Public Health England advice. We continue to monitor the situation across the estate, and should restrictions need to be re-imposed to maintain safety, we will not hesitate to do this. Prisons operate under a National Framework which sets out how restrictions are managed: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-national-framework-for-prison-regimes-and-services.
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison officers had been diagnosed with covid-19 up to the end of September 2020.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Verified data on the number of staff and prisoners that have tested positive for COVID-19 is due to be published in November as part of Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) national COVID-19 statistics on gov.uk. Prisoner data is published monthly. Staff data is published quarterly, the most recent data covers the period up to 31 July 2020.
For the purposes of this data, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system. Much of the data collected during the COVID-19 pandemic has been done at pace, with recording practices evolving as we understand more about the requirements and conditions we are facing. In order to present the timeliest information, the data presented has not been subjected to the usual standard of quality assurance associated with official statistics. Data in relation to prisoners has been rounded to two significant figures.
For the purposes of prison officer data, this combines the reporting categories for i) operational grades 3-5 and ii) grades deemed as prison officer and above.
The number of prisoners recorded as being tested positive for covid-19 up to 30 September is 630. This number includes 10 cases recorded within the Youth Custody Service.
The number of prison officers recorded as being tested positive for COVID-19 up to 31 July 2020 is 635.
Five prisoners had tested positive at HMP Wakefield in the period up to 30 September.
Three prison officers had tested positive at HMP Wakefield in the period up to 31 July.
HMPPS does not own or centrally collate data on the number of prisoner operations that have been cancelled. This data is owned by the current Healthcare provider at HMP Wakefield - Care UK.
We have robust plans in place to keep prisoners, staff and the public safe, based on the latest Public Health England advice. We continue to monitor the situation across the estate, and should restrictions need to be re-imposed to maintain safety, we will not hesitate to do this. Prisons operate under a National Framework which sets out how restrictions are managed: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-national-framework-for-prison-regimes-and-services.
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners at HMP Wakefield have been diagnosed with covid-19 since March 2020.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Verified data on the number of staff and prisoners that have tested positive for COVID-19 is due to be published in November as part of Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) national COVID-19 statistics on gov.uk. Prisoner data is published monthly. Staff data is published quarterly, the most recent data covers the period up to 31 July 2020.
For the purposes of this data, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system. Much of the data collected during the COVID-19 pandemic has been done at pace, with recording practices evolving as we understand more about the requirements and conditions we are facing. In order to present the timeliest information, the data presented has not been subjected to the usual standard of quality assurance associated with official statistics. Data in relation to prisoners has been rounded to two significant figures.
For the purposes of prison officer data, this combines the reporting categories for i) operational grades 3-5 and ii) grades deemed as prison officer and above.
The number of prisoners recorded as being tested positive for covid-19 up to 30 September is 630. This number includes 10 cases recorded within the Youth Custody Service.
The number of prison officers recorded as being tested positive for COVID-19 up to 31 July 2020 is 635.
Five prisoners had tested positive at HMP Wakefield in the period up to 30 September.
Three prison officers had tested positive at HMP Wakefield in the period up to 31 July.
HMPPS does not own or centrally collate data on the number of prisoner operations that have been cancelled. This data is owned by the current Healthcare provider at HMP Wakefield - Care UK.
We have robust plans in place to keep prisoners, staff and the public safe, based on the latest Public Health England advice. We continue to monitor the situation across the estate, and should restrictions need to be re-imposed to maintain safety, we will not hesitate to do this. Prisons operate under a National Framework which sets out how restrictions are managed: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-national-framework-for-prison-regimes-and-services.
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison officers at HMP Wakefield have been diagnosed with covid-19 since March 2020.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Verified data on the number of staff and prisoners that have tested positive for COVID-19 is due to be published in November as part of Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) national COVID-19 statistics on gov.uk. Prisoner data is published monthly. Staff data is published quarterly, the most recent data covers the period up to 31 July 2020.
For the purposes of this data, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system. Much of the data collected during the COVID-19 pandemic has been done at pace, with recording practices evolving as we understand more about the requirements and conditions we are facing. In order to present the timeliest information, the data presented has not been subjected to the usual standard of quality assurance associated with official statistics. Data in relation to prisoners has been rounded to two significant figures.
For the purposes of prison officer data, this combines the reporting categories for i) operational grades 3-5 and ii) grades deemed as prison officer and above.
The number of prisoners recorded as being tested positive for covid-19 up to 30 September is 630. This number includes 10 cases recorded within the Youth Custody Service.
The number of prison officers recorded as being tested positive for COVID-19 up to 31 July 2020 is 635.
Five prisoners had tested positive at HMP Wakefield in the period up to 30 September.
Three prison officers had tested positive at HMP Wakefield in the period up to 31 July.
HMPPS does not own or centrally collate data on the number of prisoner operations that have been cancelled. This data is owned by the current Healthcare provider at HMP Wakefield - Care UK.
We have robust plans in place to keep prisoners, staff and the public safe, based on the latest Public Health England advice. We continue to monitor the situation across the estate, and should restrictions need to be re-imposed to maintain safety, we will not hesitate to do this. Prisons operate under a National Framework which sets out how restrictions are managed: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-national-framework-for-prison-regimes-and-services.