Written Question

Life Imprisonment

Tuesday 26th July 2022

Asked by: Lord Bradley (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what proportion of people serving a life sentence were released at their first Parole Board hearing in each year since 2002.

Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

By law, prisoners serving life and other indeterminate sentences must complete their tariff in custody and thereafter be released only when the Parole Board concludes that it is no longer necessary for the protection of the public for them to remain confined to custody. The Government is committed to supporting prisoners to reduce their risk and so progress towards safe release, but the priority is always to protect the public.

HL1672

The following table shows the (1) lower quartile, (2) median, (3) upper quartile, and (4) interquartile range, of tariff lengths in years for prisoners who received a life sentence in each year since 2002.

Year of Sentence	Lower Quartile	Median	Upper Quartile	Interquartile Range
2002	4	9	13	9
2003	4	9	13	9
2004	5	11	14	9
2005	5	11	15	10
2006	7	12	18	11
2007	10	13	17	7
2008	11	14	20	9
2009	12	15	19	7
2010	13	17	22	9
2011	14	17	21	7
2012	14	18	24	10
2013	13	17	23	10
2014	11	17	23	12
2015	11	17	23	12
2016	12	17	22	10
2017	10	17	22	12
2018	13	18	23	10
2019	14	18	23	9
2020	14	19	24	10
2021	15	19	24	9

HL1673

The following table shows the (1) lower quartile, (2) median, (3) upper quartile, and (4) interquartile range, of the number of months spent in custody by life sentence prisoners who were released in each year since 2002.

Year of Sentence	Lower Quartile	Median	Upper Quartile	Interquartile Range
2010	133	170	240	107
2011	119	157	213	94
2012	129	166	240	111
2013	136	174	243	107
2014	135	171	236	101
2015	144	176	224	81
2016	149	177	229	80
2017	151	180	247	96
2018	158	191	235	77
2019	172	200	268	96
2020	164	191	240	76
2021	165	205	263	98

Notes for above figures: Months spent in custody is calculated from date of sentence to release date. It does not take into consideration time spent in custody before sentence.

HL1674

The following table shows the (1) lower quartile, (2) median, (3) upper quartile, and (4) interquartile range, of the age of prisoners serving a life sentence at the point of release in each year since 2002.

Year of Sentence	Lower Quartile	Median	Upper Quartile	Interquartile Range
2010	37	45	53	16
2011	34	42	50	16
2012	38	45	53	15
2013	38	46	55	17
2014	39	47	54	15
2015	38	46	54	16
2016	40	47	54	14
2017	39	47	56	17
2018	40	49	57	17
2019	42	51	58	16
2020	39	48	57	18
2021	39	49	57	18

Notes for above figures: Age at time of release does not reflect how long the offender had been in custody.

HL1675

The following table shows the (1) mean, and (2) median, number of months spent in custody beyond tariff for life sentence prisoners at the point of release in each year since 2002.

Year of Sentence	Average	Median
2010	67	47
2011	69	51
2012	81	60
2013	80	66
2014	83	65
2015	76	64
2016	79	63
2017	81	55
2018	90	69
2019	96	83
2020	79	44
2021	83	46

HL1676

The following table shows the proportion of prisoners serving a life sentence who were released at their first Parole Board hearing in each year since 2002.

	Knockback	Open	Release
Hearing Start Year	%	%	%
2010	28	44	28
2011	31	37	32
2012	18	39	43
2013	17	38	45
2014	26	28	47
2015	35	20	44
2016	36	20	44
2017	25	27	47
2018	32	22	46
2019	37	18	45
2020	28	19	52
2021	38	19	43

HL1677

The following table shows the number of 'unreleased IPP prisoners with a tariff length of 10 years or more, by ethnicity group, as at 30 June 2015 to 30 June 2021.

	30/06/15	30/06/16	30/06/17	30/06/18	30/06/19	30/06/20	30/06/21
Total	94	92	90	87	89	84	76
Asian/ Asian British	6	6	5	5	5	6	6
Black/ African/ Caribbean/ Black British	26	26	25	25	26	26	22
Mixed/ Multiple ethnic groups	5	5	5	5	5	4	3
White	57	55	55	52	53	48	45

Notes for above figures: Figures exclude prisoners recalled from an IPP sentence

Notes for all figures in the above tables:

1. Due to rounding, the interquartile range may not equal the difference between the third and first quartiles.

2. Tariff length is the time between date of sentence and tariff expiry date.

3. Figures do not include whole-life orders.

4. Numbers are subject to revision as more data become available.

5. 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.

---

Written Question

Life Imprisonment

Tuesday 26th July 2022

Asked by: Lord Bradley (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the (1) mean, and (2) median, number of months spent in custody beyond tariff for life sentence prisoners at the point of release in each year since 2002.

Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

By law, prisoners serving life and other indeterminate sentences must complete their tariff in custody and thereafter be released only when the Parole Board concludes that it is no longer necessary for the protection of the public for them to remain confined to custody. The Government is committed to supporting prisoners to reduce their risk and so progress towards safe release, but the priority is always to protect the public.

HL1672

The following table shows the (1) lower quartile, (2) median, (3) upper quartile, and (4) interquartile range, of tariff lengths in years for prisoners who received a life sentence in each year since 2002.

Year of Sentence	Lower Quartile	Median	Upper Quartile	Interquartile Range
2002	4	9	13	9
2003	4	9	13	9
2004	5	11	14	9
2005	5	11	15	10
2006	7	12	18	11
2007	10	13	17	7
2008	11	14	20	9
2009	12	15	19	7
2010	13	17	22	9
2011	14	17	21	7
2012	14	18	24	10
2013	13	17	23	10
2014	11	17	23	12
2015	11	17	23	12
2016	12	17	22	10
2017	10	17	22	12
2018	13	18	23	10
2019	14	18	23	9
2020	14	19	24	10
2021	15	19	24	9

HL1673

The following table shows the (1) lower quartile, (2) median, (3) upper quartile, and (4) interquartile range, of the number of months spent in custody by life sentence prisoners who were released in each year since 2002.

Year of Sentence	Lower Quartile	Median	Upper Quartile	Interquartile Range
2010	133	170	240	107
2011	119	157	213	94
2012	129	166	240	111
2013	136	174	243	107
2014	135	171	236	101
2015	144	176	224	81
2016	149	177	229	80
2017	151	180	247	96
2018	158	191	235	77
2019	172	200	268	96
2020	164	191	240	76
2021	165	205	263	98

Notes for above figures: Months spent in custody is calculated from date of sentence to release date. It does not take into consideration time spent in custody before sentence.

HL1674

The following table shows the (1) lower quartile, (2) median, (3) upper quartile, and (4) interquartile range, of the age of prisoners serving a life sentence at the point of release in each year since 2002.

Year of Sentence	Lower Quartile	Median	Upper Quartile	Interquartile Range
2010	37	45	53	16
2011	34	42	50	16
2012	38	45	53	15
2013	38	46	55	17
2014	39	47	54	15
2015	38	46	54	16
2016	40	47	54	14
2017	39	47	56	17
2018	40	49	57	17
2019	42	51	58	16
2020	39	48	57	18
2021	39	49	57	18

Notes for above figures: Age at time of release does not reflect how long the offender had been in custody.

HL1675

The following table shows the (1) mean, and (2) median, number of months spent in custody beyond tariff for life sentence prisoners at the point of release in each year since 2002.

Year of Sentence	Average	Median
2010	67	47
2011	69	51
2012	81	60
2013	80	66
2014	83	65
2015	76	64
2016	79	63
2017	81	55
2018	90	69
2019	96	83
2020	79	44
2021	83	46

HL1676

The following table shows the proportion of prisoners serving a life sentence who were released at their first Parole Board hearing in each year since 2002.

	Knockback	Open	Release
Hearing Start Year	%	%	%
2010	28	44	28
2011	31	37	32
2012	18	39	43
2013	17	38	45
2014	26	28	47
2015	35	20	44
2016	36	20	44
2017	25	27	47
2018	32	22	46
2019	37	18	45
2020	28	19	52
2021	38	19	43

HL1677

The following table shows the number of 'unreleased IPP prisoners with a tariff length of 10 years or more, by ethnicity group, as at 30 June 2015 to 30 June 2021.

	30/06/15	30/06/16	30/06/17	30/06/18	30/06/19	30/06/20	30/06/21
Total	94	92	90	87	89	84	76
Asian/ Asian British	6	6	5	5	5	6	6
Black/ African/ Caribbean/ Black British	26	26	25	25	26	26	22
Mixed/ Multiple ethnic groups	5	5	5	5	5	4	3
White	57	55	55	52	53	48	45

Notes for above figures: Figures exclude prisoners recalled from an IPP sentence

Notes for all figures in the above tables:

1. Due to rounding, the interquartile range may not equal the difference between the third and first quartiles.

2. Tariff length is the time between date of sentence and tariff expiry date.

3. Figures do not include whole-life orders.

4. Numbers are subject to revision as more data become available.

5. 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.

---

Written Question

Life Imprisonment

Tuesday 26th July 2022

Asked by: Lord Bradley (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the (1) lower quartile, (2) median, (3) upper quartile, and (4) interquartile range, of the age of people serving a life sentence at the point of release in each year since 2002.

Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

By law, prisoners serving life and other indeterminate sentences must complete their tariff in custody and thereafter be released only when the Parole Board concludes that it is no longer necessary for the protection of the public for them to remain confined to custody. The Government is committed to supporting prisoners to reduce their risk and so progress towards safe release, but the priority is always to protect the public.

HL1672

The following table shows the (1) lower quartile, (2) median, (3) upper quartile, and (4) interquartile range, of tariff lengths in years for prisoners who received a life sentence in each year since 2002.

Year of Sentence	Lower Quartile	Median	Upper Quartile	Interquartile Range
2002	4	9	13	9
2003	4	9	13	9
2004	5	11	14	9
2005	5	11	15	10
2006	7	12	18	11
2007	10	13	17	7
2008	11	14	20	9
2009	12	15	19	7
2010	13	17	22	9
2011	14	17	21	7
2012	14	18	24	10
2013	13	17	23	10
2014	11	17	23	12
2015	11	17	23	12
2016	12	17	22	10
2017	10	17	22	12
2018	13	18	23	10
2019	14	18	23	9
2020	14	19	24	10
2021	15	19	24	9

HL1673

The following table shows the (1) lower quartile, (2) median, (3) upper quartile, and (4) interquartile range, of the number of months spent in custody by life sentence prisoners who were released in each year since 2002.

Year of Sentence	Lower Quartile	Median	Upper Quartile	Interquartile Range
2010	133	170	240	107
2011	119	157	213	94
2012	129	166	240	111
2013	136	174	243	107
2014	135	171	236	101
2015	144	176	224	81
2016	149	177	229	80
2017	151	180	247	96
2018	158	191	235	77
2019	172	200	268	96
2020	164	191	240	76
2021	165	205	263	98

Notes for above figures: Months spent in custody is calculated from date of sentence to release date. It does not take into consideration time spent in custody before sentence.

HL1674

The following table shows the (1) lower quartile, (2) median, (3) upper quartile, and (4) interquartile range, of the age of prisoners serving a life sentence at the point of release in each year since 2002.

Year of Sentence	Lower Quartile	Median	Upper Quartile	Interquartile Range
2010	37	45	53	16
2011	34	42	50	16
2012	38	45	53	15
2013	38	46	55	17
2014	39	47	54	15
2015	38	46	54	16
2016	40	47	54	14
2017	39	47	56	17
2018	40	49	57	17
2019	42	51	58	16
2020	39	48	57	18
2021	39	49	57	18

Notes for above figures: Age at time of release does not reflect how long the offender had been in custody.

HL1675

The following table shows the (1) mean, and (2) median, number of months spent in custody beyond tariff for life sentence prisoners at the point of release in each year since 2002.

Year of Sentence	Average	Median
2010	67	47
2011	69	51
2012	81	60
2013	80	66
2014	83	65
2015	76	64
2016	79	63
2017	81	55
2018	90	69
2019	96	83
2020	79	44
2021	83	46

HL1676

The following table shows the proportion of prisoners serving a life sentence who were released at their first Parole Board hearing in each year since 2002.

	Knockback	Open	Release
Hearing Start Year	%	%	%
2010	28	44	28
2011	31	37	32
2012	18	39	43
2013	17	38	45
2014	26	28	47
2015	35	20	44
2016	36	20	44
2017	25	27	47
2018	32	22	46
2019	37	18	45
2020	28	19	52
2021	38	19	43

HL1677

The following table shows the number of 'unreleased IPP prisoners with a tariff length of 10 years or more, by ethnicity group, as at 30 June 2015 to 30 June 2021.

	30/06/15	30/06/16	30/06/17	30/06/18	30/06/19	30/06/20	30/06/21
Total	94	92	90	87	89	84	76
Asian/ Asian British	6	6	5	5	5	6	6
Black/ African/ Caribbean/ Black British	26	26	25	25	26	26	22
Mixed/ Multiple ethnic groups	5	5	5	5	5	4	3
White	57	55	55	52	53	48	45

Notes for above figures: Figures exclude prisoners recalled from an IPP sentence

Notes for all figures in the above tables:

1. Due to rounding, the interquartile range may not equal the difference between the third and first quartiles.

2. Tariff length is the time between date of sentence and tariff expiry date.

3. Figures do not include whole-life orders.

4. Numbers are subject to revision as more data become available.

5. 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.

---

Written Question

Life Imprisonment

Tuesday 26th July 2022

Asked by: Lord Bradley (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the (1) lower quartile, (2) median, (3) upper quartile, and (4) interquartile range, of the number of months spent in custody by life sentence prisoners who were released in each year since 2002.

Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

By law, prisoners serving life and other indeterminate sentences must complete their tariff in custody and thereafter be released only when the Parole Board concludes that it is no longer necessary for the protection of the public for them to remain confined to custody. The Government is committed to supporting prisoners to reduce their risk and so progress towards safe release, but the priority is always to protect the public.

HL1672

The following table shows the (1) lower quartile, (2) median, (3) upper quartile, and (4) interquartile range, of tariff lengths in years for prisoners who received a life sentence in each year since 2002.

Year of Sentence	Lower Quartile	Median	Upper Quartile	Interquartile Range
2002	4	9	13	9
2003	4	9	13	9
2004	5	11	14	9
2005	5	11	15	10
2006	7	12	18	11
2007	10	13	17	7
2008	11	14	20	9
2009	12	15	19	7
2010	13	17	22	9
2011	14	17	21	7
2012	14	18	24	10
2013	13	17	23	10
2014	11	17	23	12
2015	11	17	23	12
2016	12	17	22	10
2017	10	17	22	12
2018	13	18	23	10
2019	14	18	23	9
2020	14	19	24	10
2021	15	19	24	9

HL1673

The following table shows the (1) lower quartile, (2) median, (3) upper quartile, and (4) interquartile range, of the number of months spent in custody by life sentence prisoners who were released in each year since 2002.

Year of Sentence	Lower Quartile	Median	Upper Quartile	Interquartile Range
2010	133	170	240	107
2011	119	157	213	94
2012	129	166	240	111
2013	136	174	243	107
2014	135	171	236	101
2015	144	176	224	81
2016	149	177	229	80
2017	151	180	247	96
2018	158	191	235	77
2019	172	200	268	96
2020	164	191	240	76
2021	165	205	263	98

Notes for above figures: Months spent in custody is calculated from date of sentence to release date. It does not take into consideration time spent in custody before sentence.

HL1674

The following table shows the (1) lower quartile, (2) median, (3) upper quartile, and (4) interquartile range, of the age of prisoners serving a life sentence at the point of release in each year since 2002.

Year of Sentence	Lower Quartile	Median	Upper Quartile	Interquartile Range
2010	37	45	53	16
2011	34	42	50	16
2012	38	45	53	15
2013	38	46	55	17
2014	39	47	54	15
2015	38	46	54	16
2016	40	47	54	14
2017	39	47	56	17
2018	40	49	57	17
2019	42	51	58	16
2020	39	48	57	18
2021	39	49	57	18

Notes for above figures: Age at time of release does not reflect how long the offender had been in custody.

HL1675

The following table shows the (1) mean, and (2) median, number of months spent in custody beyond tariff for life sentence prisoners at the point of release in each year since 2002.

Year of Sentence	Average	Median
2010	67	47
2011	69	51
2012	81	60
2013	80	66
2014	83	65
2015	76	64
2016	79	63
2017	81	55
2018	90	69
2019	96	83
2020	79	44
2021	83	46

HL1676

The following table shows the proportion of prisoners serving a life sentence who were released at their first Parole Board hearing in each year since 2002.

	Knockback	Open	Release
Hearing Start Year	%	%	%
2010	28	44	28
2011	31	37	32
2012	18	39	43
2013	17	38	45
2014	26	28	47
2015	35	20	44
2016	36	20	44
2017	25	27	47
2018	32	22	46
2019	37	18	45
2020	28	19	52
2021	38	19	43

HL1677

The following table shows the number of 'unreleased IPP prisoners with a tariff length of 10 years or more, by ethnicity group, as at 30 June 2015 to 30 June 2021.

	30/06/15	30/06/16	30/06/17	30/06/18	30/06/19	30/06/20	30/06/21
Total	94	92	90	87	89	84	76
Asian/ Asian British	6	6	5	5	5	6	6
Black/ African/ Caribbean/ Black British	26	26	25	25	26	26	22
Mixed/ Multiple ethnic groups	5	5	5	5	5	4	3
White	57	55	55	52	53	48	45

Notes for above figures: Figures exclude prisoners recalled from an IPP sentence

Notes for all figures in the above tables:

1. Due to rounding, the interquartile range may not equal the difference between the third and first quartiles.

2. Tariff length is the time between date of sentence and tariff expiry date.

3. Figures do not include whole-life orders.

4. Numbers are subject to revision as more data become available.

5. 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.

---

Written Question

Life Imprisonment

Tuesday 26th July 2022

Asked by: Lord Bradley (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the (1) lower quartile, (2) median, (3) upper quartile, and (4) interquartile range, of tariff lengths for people who received a life sentence in each year since 2002.

Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)

By law, prisoners serving life and other indeterminate sentences must complete their tariff in custody and thereafter be released only when the Parole Board concludes that it is no longer necessary for the protection of the public for them to remain confined to custody. The Government is committed to supporting prisoners to reduce their risk and so progress towards safe release, but the priority is always to protect the public.

HL1672

The following table shows the (1) lower quartile, (2) median, (3) upper quartile, and (4) interquartile range, of tariff lengths in years for prisoners who received a life sentence in each year since 2002.

Year of Sentence	Lower Quartile	Median	Upper Quartile	Interquartile Range
2002	4	9	13	9
2003	4	9	13	9
2004	5	11	14	9
2005	5	11	15	10
2006	7	12	18	11
2007	10	13	17	7
2008	11	14	20	9
2009	12	15	19	7
2010	13	17	22	9
2011	14	17	21	7
2012	14	18	24	10
2013	13	17	23	10
2014	11	17	23	12
2015	11	17	23	12
2016	12	17	22	10
2017	10	17	22	12
2018	13	18	23	10
2019	14	18	23	9
2020	14	19	24	10
2021	15	19	24	9

HL1673

The following table shows the (1) lower quartile, (2) median, (3) upper quartile, and (4) interquartile range, of the number of months spent in custody by life sentence prisoners who were released in each year since 2002.

Year of Sentence	Lower Quartile	Median	Upper Quartile	Interquartile Range
2010	133	170	240	107
2011	119	157	213	94
2012	129	166	240	111
2013	136	174	243	107
2014	135	171	236	101
2015	144	176	224	81
2016	149	177	229	80
2017	151	180	247	96
2018	158	191	235	77
2019	172	200	268	96
2020	164	191	240	76
2021	165	205	263	98

Notes for above figures: Months spent in custody is calculated from date of sentence to release date. It does not take into consideration time spent in custody before sentence.

HL1674

The following table shows the (1) lower quartile, (2) median, (3) upper quartile, and (4) interquartile range, of the age of prisoners serving a life sentence at the point of release in each year since 2002.

Year of Sentence	Lower Quartile	Median	Upper Quartile	Interquartile Range
2010	37	45	53	16
2011	34	42	50	16
2012	38	45	53	15
2013	38	46	55	17
2014	39	47	54	15
2015	38	46	54	16
2016	40	47	54	14
2017	39	47	56	17
2018	40	49	57	17
2019	42	51	58	16
2020	39	48	57	18
2021	39	49	57	18

Notes for above figures: Age at time of release does not reflect how long the offender had been in custody.

HL1675

The following table shows the (1) mean, and (2) median, number of months spent in custody beyond tariff for life sentence prisoners at the point of release in each year since 2002.

Year of Sentence	Average	Median
2010	67	47
2011	69	51
2012	81	60
2013	80	66
2014	83	65
2015	76	64
2016	79	63
2017	81	55
2018	90	69
2019	96	83
2020	79	44
2021	83	46

HL1676

The following table shows the proportion of prisoners serving a life sentence who were released at their first Parole Board hearing in each year since 2002.

	Knockback	Open	Release
Hearing Start Year	%	%	%
2010	28	44	28
2011	31	37	32
2012	18	39	43
2013	17	38	45
2014	26	28	47
2015	35	20	44
2016	36	20	44
2017	25	27	47
2018	32	22	46
2019	37	18	45
2020	28	19	52
2021	38	19	43

HL1677

The following table shows the number of 'unreleased IPP prisoners with a tariff length of 10 years or more, by ethnicity group, as at 30 June 2015 to 30 June 2021.

	30/06/15	30/06/16	30/06/17	30/06/18	30/06/19	30/06/20	30/06/21
Total	94	92	90	87	89	84	76
Asian/ Asian British	6	6	5	5	5	6	6
Black/ African/ Caribbean/ Black British	26	26	25	25	26	26	22
Mixed/ Multiple ethnic groups	5	5	5	5	5	4	3
White	57	55	55	52	53	48	45

Notes for above figures: Figures exclude prisoners recalled from an IPP sentence

Notes for all figures in the above tables:

1. Due to rounding, the interquartile range may not equal the difference between the third and first quartiles.

2. Tariff length is the time between date of sentence and tariff expiry date.

3. Figures do not include whole-life orders.

4. Numbers are subject to revision as more data become available.

5. 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.

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Written Question

Prison Accommodation

Wednesday 20th April 2022

Asked by: Lord Bradley (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many prisoners are currently being held (1) three to a cell designed for one, and (2) two to a cell designed for one, in each prison.

Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

Prison cell occupancy is certified by the Prison Group Director (PGD) in accordance with Prison Service Instruction (PSI) 17/2012, which provides guidelines for determining cell capacities. Cells are only shared where a PGD has assessed them to be of an adequate size and condition. In addition, they must have adequate lighting, heating, ventilation and fittings, have 24-hour access to water and sanitation, and allow prisoners to communicate at any time with a prison officer. These standards ensure that prisoners are always accommodated safely.

The Government is investing £3.8 billion over the next three years to deliver 20,000 new prison places. These additional prison places will have a positive impact on lowering the proportion of crowding within the prison estate by providing accommodation that is safe, decent and uncrowded.

Data on prison crowding is published annually in the HMPPS Annual Digest.

The 2020/21 Annual Digest shows that, across the year ending in March 2021, 15,941 prisoners were housed in crowded accommodation. Of these, 15,589 were housed in double cells originally designed for one person, and a further 259 were housed in triple cells designed for two people. The remaining 93 were recorded in a miscellaneous category. This category may include those housed in triple cells originally designed for one but will also include those in higher occupancy accommodation designed for fewer people (i.e., 6 people in a room/dormitory designed for 5).

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Written Question

Prisoners

Thursday 14th April 2022

Asked by: Lord Bradley (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many miles on average a person currently in prison aged (1) 15–17, (2) 18–24, (3) 25–29, and (4) 30 and over, is held from their home.

Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

The requested information can be found in the table below. This information includes male and female prisoners held in prisons and young offender institutions in England and Wales and was accurate as of Friday 25th March 2022.

Age Group	Average Straight-Line Distance from home address (Miles)
15–17	48.7
18–24	37.5
25–29	42.0
30 and over	47.4
Total	45.1

There are complex and wide-ranging issues involved in transferring and locating prisoners, and allocation decisions must reflect both the specific needs and circumstances of the prisoner, including their security assessment, as well as the operating environment and range of services at the receiving prison.

HMPPS is committed to ensuring, where practicable, that prisoners are accommodated as close as possible to their resettlement communities and families. Whilst this is a priority, it is not always possible due to a variety of factors including wider population pressures, or where prisoners have specific sentence planning needs which can only be met at certain establishments.

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Written Question

Prisoners: Foreign Nationals

Thursday 14th April 2022

Asked by: Lord Bradley (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many foreign national prisoners for each country were convicted of each offence category in the last year for which figures are available.

Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

Figures for convicted foreign national prisoners by offence group and nationality as of 31 December 2021 in England and Wales can be found in the table attached.

We are committed to removing foreign offenders from the UK by working with international governments and reviewing our early removal mechanisms to maximise the removal of serious and persistent offenders.

Since January 2019 we have removed more than 10,000 foreign national offenders from our prisons, immigration removal centres and the community (to year ending September 2021).

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Written Question

Prison Officers

Thursday 14th April 2022

Asked by: Lord Bradley (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the median years of experience serving prison officers have had in each year since 2009.

Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

HMPPS is working hard to retain staff, providing opportunities for them to progress their careers, and significant investment to keep them safe.

As at 31^st December each year the median length of service, in years, held by all prison officers is given in the following table.

Table 1: The median length of service (years)^1,2 of band 3-5 officers ^3,4 as at 31 March 2009-2021 and 31 December 2021.

	Median years of experience
31/03/2009	10
31/03/2010	11
31/03/2011	12
31/03/2012	12
31/03/2013	13
31/03/2014	13
31/03/2015	12
31/03/2016	12
31/03/2017	12
31/03/2018	10
31/03/2019	6
31/03/2020	5
31/03/2021	5
31/12/2021	4

Source:

HMPPS - Oracle HRMS and Single Operating Platform

Notes:

1. The length of service in HMPPS is calculated from most recent hire date. Where staff have transferred in from another Government Department or have transferred in through HMPPS taking over a function, length of service is calculated from entry to HMPPS. These figures represent the length of service employed in HMPPS, and not necessarily of that employed as a prison officer.

2. Completed years of service.

3. Band 3-5 Officers includes Band 3-4 / Prison Officers (including specialists), Band 4 / Supervising Officers, and Band 5 / Custodial Managers.

4. Only data for HM Prison Service and Youth Custody Service and so excludes staff working in other areas such HQ etc

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Written Question

Prisoners

Thursday 14th April 2022

Asked by: Lord Bradley (Labour - Life peer)

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people are currently in prison serving a determinate sentence with a parole eligibility date, as defined in Her Majesty's Prison and Probation Service Security Categorisation Policy Framework, reissued on 17 August 2021, by length of time between their sentence start date and conditional release date.

Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)

The answer is given in Table 1.

Table 1: Determinate sentenced prisoners⁽¹⁾ with a Parole Eligibility Date (PED), by time between First Movement Date⁽²⁾ and Date of Release; as at 31 December 2021, England & Wales

	Total
Determinate sentenced prisoners with a Parole Eligibility Date	8,511
less than a year	*
Between 1 and 2 years	*
Between 2 and 4 years	159
Between 4 and 5 years	402
Between 5 and 7 years	1,030
Between 7 and 10 years	1,901
Between 10 and 14 years	2,426
14 years and over	2,586

Data sources and quality

The figures in this table 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.

Notes

(1) Recalled prisoners have not been included in these figures

(2) First Movement Date has been used, as it would reflect any time on remand deducted from total sentence length

Disclosure control

An asterisk (*) has been used to suppress values of one and two. This is to prevent the disclosure of individual information. Further disclosure control may be completed where this alone is not sufficient

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