Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - North Tyneside)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of fire events in prisons in each of the last five years.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The cost of fires in public sector prisons from 2016 - 2019 is shown below. Information for previous years is unavailable due to a change in reporting system.
Year | Cost |
2016 | £89,853 |
2017 | £593,646 |
2018 | £450,936 |
2019 | £489,639 |
These figures comprise the total cost of Respiratory Protective Equipment used in such scenarios, refurbishments, as well as any other miscellaneous costs relating to fire fines.
The costs have been collated from the central HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) fire and investigation reporting tool and are only available for the public sector prison estate. Costings for privately managed prison (PMP) are not collected by HMPPS..
We will never compromise on the safety of those in our care, and staff are trained to respond to emergency situations in a timely, appropriate manner. This Government is taking unprecedented action to improve safety in custody. This includes recruiting an additional 4,366 (full time equivalent) prison officers between October 2016 and June 2019, surpassing our original target of 2,500. We are also investing an extra £70 million to improve safety, security and decency.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - North Tyneside)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether vape pens have been used to start fires in prisons; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
There is evidence, as part of wider data collected on fires in prisons, which confirms vape pens have been used as a source of ignition.
We will never compromise on the safety of those in our care, and staff are trained to respond to emergency situations in a timely, appropriate manner. The Government is taking unprecedented action to improve safety in custody. We have invested significantly in increase staff numbers, recruiting an additional 4,366 (full time equivalent) prison officers between October 2016 and June 2019, surpassing our original target of 2,500. We will continue to recruit officers to ensure prisons are safe and decent.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - North Tyneside)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many national prison arson reduction workshops have been held in each of the last 12 quarters; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
We will never compromise on the safety of those in our care, and staff are trained to respond to emergency situations in a timely, appropriate manner. The Government is taking unprecedented action to improve safety in custody. We have invested significantly in increasing staff numbers, recruiting an additional 4,366 (full time equivalent) prison officers between October 2016 and June 2019, surpassing our original target of 2,500. We will continue to recruit officers to ensure prisons are safe and decent.
The continued reduction of fires across the prison estate is of significant importance to HMPPS with an inaugural national arson reduction workshop held in April 2019. The objectives of the workshop were to develop national good practice to prevent fire setting, and to form an Arson Reduction Working Group. The Working Group met in June and will meet again this month.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - North Tyneside)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of maintenance of fire safety equipment and systems in prisons.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
We recognise the importance of ensuring good quality of fire safety equipment, and since June 2016 Level 2 audits have been carried out at all 111 HMPPS prison establishments for the two fire Statutory and Mandatory Compliance Standards. Previously Service Providers had been responsible for assuring compliance, however accurate information for this period is not held.
The table below provides the numbers of prisons which currently have amber/red and red ratings for maintenance of fire safety equipment. Actions plans have been put in place to improve the condition of equipment at all these prisons.
| Amber/red Sites | Red Sites |
Fire alarm rating | 11 | 9 |
Fire protection equipment rating | 13 | 10 |
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - North Tyneside)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many audits of prisons for maintenance of fire safety equipment have returned a finding of (a) amber-red and (b) red in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
We recognise the importance of ensuring good quality of fire safety equipment, and since June 2016 Level 2 audits have been carried out at all 111 HMPPS prison establishments for the two fire Statutory and Mandatory Compliance Standards. Previously Service Providers had been responsible for assuring compliance, however accurate information for this period is not held.
The table below provides the numbers of prisons which currently have amber/red and red ratings for maintenance of fire safety equipment. Actions plans have been put in place to improve the condition of equipment at all these prisons.
| Amber/red Sites | Red Sites |
Fire alarm rating | 11 | 9 |
Fire protection equipment rating | 13 | 10 |
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - North Tyneside)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many enforcement notices have been issued in relation to prison fire safety arrangements in each of the last 12 quarters; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The table below provides the numbers of enforcement notices have been issued in relation to prison fire safety arrangements in each of the last 12 quarters.
We take any such enforcement notices seriously and produce an action plan to ensure that compliance is quickly achieved whenever they are issued.
We are taking urgent action to improve safety and decency in our prisons, including spending up to £2.5 billion to create a modern and efficient estate fit for the future.
Year | Quarter 1 (Jan- Mar) | Quarter 2 (Apr-Jun) | Quarter 3 (Jul-Sep) | Quarter 4 (Oct-Dec) |
2016 | - | - | - | 3 |
2017 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 4 |
2018 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
2019 | 1 | 4 | 3 | - |
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - North Tyneside)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many fire events occurred in each prison in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
We will never compromise on the safety of those in our care, and staff are trained to respond to emergency situations in a timely, appropriate manner. The Government is taking unprecedented action to improve safety in custody. We have invested significantly in increased staff numbers, recruiting an additional 4,366 (full time equivalent) prison officers between October 2016 and June 2019, surpassing our original target of 2,500. We will continue to recruit officers to ensure prisons are safe and decent.
The table below provides the numbers of all fires in prisons between 2016 – 2018. Data prior to 2016 was not collected centrally and, as such, no reliable data before that time exists. However, the figures below show a significant fall in the number of fires in 2018, which coincides with the implementation of smoke free prisons and our actions to improve safety in custody.
Year | Number of fires | Reduction as a percentage of previous year’s total |
2014 | Data not available | N/A |
2015 | Data not available | N/A |
2016 | 2,314 | N/A |
2017 | 2,287 | 1.2% |
2018 | 1,517 | 50.1% |
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - North Tyneside)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the trends in the number of fire events in prisons in each of the last five years.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
We will never compromise on the safety of those in our care, and staff are trained to respond to emergency situations in a timely, appropriate manner. The Government is taking unprecedented action to improve safety in custody. We have invested significantly in increased staff numbers, recruiting an additional 4,366 (full time equivalent) prison officers between October 2016 and June 2019, surpassing our original target of 2,500. We will continue to recruit officers to ensure prisons are safe and decent.
The table below provides the numbers of all fires in prisons between 2016 – 2018. Data prior to 2016 was not collected centrally and, as such, no reliable data before that time exists. However, the figures below show a significant fall in the number of fires in 2018, which coincides with the implementation of smoke free prisons and our actions to improve safety in custody.
Year | Number of fires | Reduction as a percentage of previous year’s total |
2014 | Data not available | N/A |
2015 | Data not available | N/A |
2016 | 2,314 | N/A |
2017 | 2,287 | 1.2% |
2018 | 1,517 | 50.1% |
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - North Tyneside)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 19 February to Question 221635, what the target staffing levels are for (a) medical members, (b) disability qualified members and (c) judges in the social security and child support jurisdiction.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Ministry of Justice has not set a target waiting time for benefit appeals to be heard in the Social Security and Child Support (SSCS) jurisdiction. This is because waiting times fluctuate geographically owing to a number of factors including venue capacity, the volumes of benefit decisions made locally, the complexity of the case and the availability of panel members. Furthermore, the listing of appeals, including consideration of whether a hearing should be expedited, is a function of the Tribunal’s judiciary. There are also no targets for staffing levels for medical members, disability qualified members or judges in the SSCS jurisdiction. Levels are set based on forecast receipts to the SSCS jurisdiction, outstanding workload, and venue capacity.
HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HCMTS) is taking positive steps to reduce the waiting time for appeals to be heard in the SSCS jurisdiction. In 2018, 232 medical members and 118 disability-qualified members were additionally appointed to the SSCS jurisdiction and an extra 129 fee-paid judges have recently been appointed. The SSCS jurisdiction will also benefit from 100 salaried judges and 170 fee-paid judges being recruited across tribunals more widely. In addition, HMCTS is developing a new digital system with a view to enabling speedier processing of appeals and a better service for all parties to the proceedings. Case-management “triage” sessions are also being conducted, with the aim of reducing the number of cases that need to progress to an oral hearing.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - North Tyneside)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the target waiting time is for benefit tribunals; and what the timeframe is for that target to be met.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Ministry of Justice has not set a target waiting time for benefit appeals to be heard in the Social Security and Child Support (SSCS) jurisdiction. This is because waiting times fluctuate geographically owing to a number of factors including venue capacity, the volumes of benefit decisions made locally, the complexity of the case and the availability of panel members. Furthermore, the listing of appeals, including consideration of whether a hearing should be expedited, is a function of the Tribunal’s judiciary. There are also no targets for staffing levels for medical members, disability qualified members or judges in the SSCS jurisdiction. Levels are set based on forecast receipts to the SSCS jurisdiction, outstanding workload, and venue capacity.
HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HCMTS) is taking positive steps to reduce the waiting time for appeals to be heard in the SSCS jurisdiction. In 2018, 232 medical members and 118 disability-qualified members were additionally appointed to the SSCS jurisdiction and an extra 129 fee-paid judges have recently been appointed. The SSCS jurisdiction will also benefit from 100 salaried judges and 170 fee-paid judges being recruited across tribunals more widely. In addition, HMCTS is developing a new digital system with a view to enabling speedier processing of appeals and a better service for all parties to the proceedings. Case-management “triage” sessions are also being conducted, with the aim of reducing the number of cases that need to progress to an oral hearing.