Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the oral contribution by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice on 15 December 2021, Official Report, House of Lords, column 401, if he will publish the data his Department has collected on (a) primary carers in prison and (b) the number of their children.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Our most comprehensive prison population data suggests that, over the course of a year, approximately 200,000 children may be affected by a parent being in, or going to, prison. However, this is based on survey data from 2009 and we recognise the need for a more up to date picture.
The Prison Strategy White paper detailed our intention to work with other government departments to commission updated research to improve our collective understanding of the overall number of children affected by parental incarceration.
The Government is delivering on its white paper commitment to improve our data and evidence in this area through the Better Outcomes through Linked Data (BOLD) Programme. BOLD is a £19.7 million cross government Shared Outcomes Fund programme which is linking data to enable better evidenced and more join up across government services. Through BOLD, we are exploring data sharing and data linking to improve our understanding of the number of children with parents in prison – including data that does not rely on self-disclosure. We expect findings from the project to be published by the end of Spring 2024.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to require law firms to recognise trade unions.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 outlines the process for recognising a trade union.
If trade unions wish to be recognised by a law firm, then they may follow the standard procedure in place. Information on this procedure can be found here: Employers: recognise a trade union: When the union requests recognition - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
The legal profession and its regulation are independent of government, and there are no plans to bring forward legislative proposals to require law firms to recognise trade unions.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will update the HM Prison and Probation Service Strategy for Care-Experienced People to include a specific focus on race.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
We are updating our strategy for people with care experience in the criminal justice system, to ensure we are using care-experienced people’s time in the criminal justice system to support them to lead crime-free lives.
This will include a focus on race and its role in shaping the experiences and outcomes of those with care experience in the criminal justice system, and will link to wider departmental efforts to address racial disproportionality in the criminal justice system.
We are aiming to publish this strategy later this year.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an estimate of the number of people who have been convicted of an offence under joint enterprise where the jury were not directed as to any significant contribution to that offence since 2016.
Answered by Laura Farris - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Ministry of Justice) (jointly with Home Office)
The Ministry of Justice only collects information on how many defendants are prosecuted and convicted for each offence in any given year. Currently, information is not collated on whether that prosecution or conviction relied on the law of joint enterprise. Such information may be held on court records but could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the report by the Traveller Movement entitled Available but not Accessible, published on 27 March 2023; and whether he plans to take steps to help tackle issues described in that report affecting Gypsy, Roma, Traveller people on the prison estate.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
We recently launched a Gypsy, Roma and Traveller Strategy which sets out our approach to improve outcomes for GRT people in prison or on probation. It identifies the work being undertaken across His Majesty’s Prison & Probation Service to support GRT people, and focuses on how we can make improvements.
The strategy has six key areas of focus. These include improving the data we capture; improving access to culturally appropriate services and purposeful activity; and strengthening our relationships with specialist third-sector organisations.
A governance framework will be established to monitor progress.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether any sites owned by his Department have been considered for use as accommodation for people seeking asylum.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
We continue to work with the Home Office to determine whether any Ministry of Justice owned sites would be appropriate to accommodate asylum seekers.
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people serving an IPP sentence have been recalled to prison less than five years following their first release.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The power to recall is a vital public protection measure and all individuals supervised under licence in the community are liable to recall to prison if they fail to comply with their licence conditions. Where IPP offenders are recalled, it is because they present an assessed risk of serious harm to the public and the controls available are no longer sufficient to keep the public safe.
The Government is committed to the protection of the public and the effective management of offenders. Prisoners serving indeterminate sentences who have completed their tariff will be released only when the Parole Board concludes that it is no longer necessary on the grounds of public protection for them to remain confined.
The IPP Action Plan remains the route by which IPP offenders can be supported to progress towards safe release. As per the Government’s response to the Justice Select Committee’s report on the IPP sentence, work to refresh the Action Plan is already underway.
PQ132622
The following table shows the number of people serving an IPP sentence who have been recalled to prison who have not committed a further a crime in the last four available quarters up to end September 2022, in England and Wales:
Recalled for reasons not including a further criminal charge | |||
Q4 2021 | Q1 2022 | Q2 2022 | Q3 2022 |
110 | 122 | 115 | 111 |
PQ132623
As of 30 September 2022, there were 502 people under an IPP licence who are eligible to have the Parole Board consider lifting their licence, in England and Wales.
PQ132624
The following table shows the number of people under an IPP licence who have a) had their licence successfully terminated and b) were unsuccessful following referral, in England and Wales, from January to December 2022:
Licence Termination Outcomes | Number | Proportion of all outcomes |
Successful | 93 | 47% |
Unsuccessful | 103 | 53% |
PQ132625
As of 30 September 2022, out of 4847 IPP offenders who have ever been released, 2463 were recalled less than five years after their first release, in England and Wales.
PQ132626
As of 31 December 2021, there were 292 people serving an IPP sentence in a secure hospital, in England and Wales. This was 9% of the total IPP population at this time.
Notes for all figures in the above tables and figures:
2. 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. Data has been supplied for as many of the requested years as it is possible to provide within cost limits; earlier years may not be available due to changes in recording over time
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of people under an IPP licence have (a) successfully and (b) unsuccessfully applied to have their licence lifted in each of the last four quarters.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The power to recall is a vital public protection measure and all individuals supervised under licence in the community are liable to recall to prison if they fail to comply with their licence conditions. Where IPP offenders are recalled, it is because they present an assessed risk of serious harm to the public and the controls available are no longer sufficient to keep the public safe.
The Government is committed to the protection of the public and the effective management of offenders. Prisoners serving indeterminate sentences who have completed their tariff will be released only when the Parole Board concludes that it is no longer necessary on the grounds of public protection for them to remain confined.
The IPP Action Plan remains the route by which IPP offenders can be supported to progress towards safe release. As per the Government’s response to the Justice Select Committee’s report on the IPP sentence, work to refresh the Action Plan is already underway.
PQ132622
The following table shows the number of people serving an IPP sentence who have been recalled to prison who have not committed a further a crime in the last four available quarters up to end September 2022, in England and Wales:
Recalled for reasons not including a further criminal charge | |||
Q4 2021 | Q1 2022 | Q2 2022 | Q3 2022 |
110 | 122 | 115 | 111 |
PQ132623
As of 30 September 2022, there were 502 people under an IPP licence who are eligible to have the Parole Board consider lifting their licence, in England and Wales.
PQ132624
The following table shows the number of people under an IPP licence who have a) had their licence successfully terminated and b) were unsuccessful following referral, in England and Wales, from January to December 2022:
Licence Termination Outcomes | Number | Proportion of all outcomes |
Successful | 93 | 47% |
Unsuccessful | 103 | 53% |
PQ132625
As of 30 September 2022, out of 4847 IPP offenders who have ever been released, 2463 were recalled less than five years after their first release, in England and Wales.
PQ132626
As of 31 December 2021, there were 292 people serving an IPP sentence in a secure hospital, in England and Wales. This was 9% of the total IPP population at this time.
Notes for all figures in the above tables and figures:
2. 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. Data has been supplied for as many of the requested years as it is possible to provide within cost limits; earlier years may not be available due to changes in recording over time
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people under an IPP licence are eligible to have the Parole Board consider whether to lift their licence.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The power to recall is a vital public protection measure and all individuals supervised under licence in the community are liable to recall to prison if they fail to comply with their licence conditions. Where IPP offenders are recalled, it is because they present an assessed risk of serious harm to the public and the controls available are no longer sufficient to keep the public safe.
The Government is committed to the protection of the public and the effective management of offenders. Prisoners serving indeterminate sentences who have completed their tariff will be released only when the Parole Board concludes that it is no longer necessary on the grounds of public protection for them to remain confined.
The IPP Action Plan remains the route by which IPP offenders can be supported to progress towards safe release. As per the Government’s response to the Justice Select Committee’s report on the IPP sentence, work to refresh the Action Plan is already underway.
PQ132622
The following table shows the number of people serving an IPP sentence who have been recalled to prison who have not committed a further a crime in the last four available quarters up to end September 2022, in England and Wales:
Recalled for reasons not including a further criminal charge | |||
Q4 2021 | Q1 2022 | Q2 2022 | Q3 2022 |
110 | 122 | 115 | 111 |
PQ132623
As of 30 September 2022, there were 502 people under an IPP licence who are eligible to have the Parole Board consider lifting their licence, in England and Wales.
PQ132624
The following table shows the number of people under an IPP licence who have a) had their licence successfully terminated and b) were unsuccessful following referral, in England and Wales, from January to December 2022:
Licence Termination Outcomes | Number | Proportion of all outcomes |
Successful | 93 | 47% |
Unsuccessful | 103 | 53% |
PQ132625
As of 30 September 2022, out of 4847 IPP offenders who have ever been released, 2463 were recalled less than five years after their first release, in England and Wales.
PQ132626
As of 31 December 2021, there were 292 people serving an IPP sentence in a secure hospital, in England and Wales. This was 9% of the total IPP population at this time.
Notes for all figures in the above tables and figures:
2. 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. Data has been supplied for as many of the requested years as it is possible to provide within cost limits; earlier years may not be available due to changes in recording over time
Asked by: Kim Johnson (Labour - Liverpool, Riverside)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people serving an IPP sentence have been recalled to prison having committed no further crime in each of the last four quarters.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The power to recall is a vital public protection measure and all individuals supervised under licence in the community are liable to recall to prison if they fail to comply with their licence conditions. Where IPP offenders are recalled, it is because they present an assessed risk of serious harm to the public and the controls available are no longer sufficient to keep the public safe.
The Government is committed to the protection of the public and the effective management of offenders. Prisoners serving indeterminate sentences who have completed their tariff will be released only when the Parole Board concludes that it is no longer necessary on the grounds of public protection for them to remain confined.
The IPP Action Plan remains the route by which IPP offenders can be supported to progress towards safe release. As per the Government’s response to the Justice Select Committee’s report on the IPP sentence, work to refresh the Action Plan is already underway.
PQ132622
The following table shows the number of people serving an IPP sentence who have been recalled to prison who have not committed a further a crime in the last four available quarters up to end September 2022, in England and Wales:
Recalled for reasons not including a further criminal charge | |||
Q4 2021 | Q1 2022 | Q2 2022 | Q3 2022 |
110 | 122 | 115 | 111 |
PQ132623
As of 30 September 2022, there were 502 people under an IPP licence who are eligible to have the Parole Board consider lifting their licence, in England and Wales.
PQ132624
The following table shows the number of people under an IPP licence who have a) had their licence successfully terminated and b) were unsuccessful following referral, in England and Wales, from January to December 2022:
Licence Termination Outcomes | Number | Proportion of all outcomes |
Successful | 93 | 47% |
Unsuccessful | 103 | 53% |
PQ132625
As of 30 September 2022, out of 4847 IPP offenders who have ever been released, 2463 were recalled less than five years after their first release, in England and Wales.
PQ132626
As of 31 December 2021, there were 292 people serving an IPP sentence in a secure hospital, in England and Wales. This was 9% of the total IPP population at this time.
Notes for all figures in the above tables and figures:
2. 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. Data has been supplied for as many of the requested years as it is possible to provide within cost limits; earlier years may not be available due to changes in recording over time