Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Queen's Speech December 2019 Background Briefing Notes, what his timescale is for (a) publishing and (b) introducing a revised victims' code; and whether that revised code will include a children's victims' code.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
Our consultation ‘Improving the Victims’ Code’ is due to close on 16 April 2020. We will publish a finalised version of the revised Victims’ Code as part of the response to this consultation as soon as possible and introduce it later this year.
As outlined in our first consultation on the Victims’ Code held in 2019, ‘Proposals for revising the Code of Practice for Victims of Crime’, we are fully committed to publishing child/young person friendly guidance alongside the revised Victims’ Code.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the timetable is for the relocation of the Probation Service Offices on Harper Road in Bermondsey and Old Southwark constituency.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The National Probation Service (NPS) occupies 21 Harper Road on a leasehold basis and the tenancy is due to expire in 2059. We understand the proposed redevelopment of the area will provide valuable employment and the department has been exploring options for relocating staff currently in situ to other offices while keeping any disruption to a minimum. We expect to be able to recommence discussions shortly with the landlord regarding the lease and the Probation Service’s office at 21 Harper Road.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the nomination process and timetable is for the appointment of members to the Independent Monitoring Authority for the Citizen’s Rights Agreements, as proposed in the Withdrawal Agreement.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
Under the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020, the Secretary of State is to appoint the chair and the other non-executive members of the IMA. My Rt. Hon. Friend the Lord Chancellor will ensure that these appointments are made in good time, before the end of the transition period. Once appointed, the non-executive members will need to appoint certain executive members. The 2020 Act also empowers the Secretary of State to appoint an interim chief executive of the IMA.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent discussions he has had with the Director of Public Prosecutions on ensuring more effective prosecutions of cases involving (a) rape and (b) other sexual offences.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The Secretary of State for Justice and the Director of Public Prosecutions meet regularly to discuss a number of joint workstreams in the Criminal Justice System, including rape prosecutions, and most recently met in January. Both the Secretary of State for Justice and the Director of Public Prosecutions are committed to working together to ensure rape and other sexual offences are prosecuted more effectively. It is encouraging that the CPS is working with the police to develop new ways of working to improve case progression, digital capability and disclosure, expertise, supporting victims, and stakeholder engagement.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress has been made on publishing a health and justice plan; what the timetable is for publishing that plan; and which (a) Government departments, (b) arms-length bodies and (c) external stakeholders are involved in publishing that plan.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The health and justice partners include: Ministry of Justice (MoJ), Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS), Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), NHSE/I, and Public Health England (PHE). In English prisons, this relationship has been formally set out in the National Partnership Agreement for Prison Healthcare in England, which has been in place since April 2018. Its associated workplan sets out a detailed programme of work, agreed by health and justice partners, to deliver safe, decent, effective healthcare for offenders.
Changes in Ministers in both Departments over the past six months, followed by the General Election, means we have been reconsidering how we best deliver our objectives in this area.
In order to improve health outcomes and tackle the root causes of offending it is essential we take a whole system approach to healthcare provision for people in the criminal justice system. The Ministry of Justice and the Department of Health and Social Care are continuing to work together and with partners to articulate a coherent picture of how healthcare is delivered throughout the criminal justice pathway, from the point of arrest through to release.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to reduce incidents of self-harm among adult prisoners.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Far too many prisoners are self-harming and we know that relationships between staff and prisoners plays an important role in tackling this. We have therefore invested in the recruitment of over 4,500 more prison officers since 2016, an increase which has helped us to roll out the key worker scheme in the adult male estate. Key workers provide a consistent individual prison officer with whom prisoners can establish a relationship, build trust and receive encouragement.
We have delivered improved Introduction to Self-Harm and Suicide training to over 25,000 new and existing staff, and we are investing an extra £2.75 billion to modernise prisons, combat drug use and improve the environment in which prisoners live. We’ve recently issued further guidance to help staff support those who self-harm.
We are continuing our partnership with the Samaritans, awarding a grant of £500k each year for the three years to 2021. This supports the excellent Listeners scheme, through which selected prisoners are trained to provide emotional support to their fellow prisoners.
We have also sought to revise and update the Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork (ACCT) care planning process designed to manage prisoners at risk of self-harm. Changes to ACCT were piloted between February and June 2019 and, following a full evaluation of the pilot, a revised version will be rolled out across the estate later in the year.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans the Government has to ensure that people reporting crimes involving the deliberate infection of (a) HIV and (b) other diseases can access specialised support services whilst investigations are undertaken and completed.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
All victims of crime are entitled to receive appropriate support to help them, as far as possible, cope and recover. Under the Code of Practice for Victims of Crime (Victims’ Code), the police must conduct a needs assessment of a victim and refer them to victim support services, unless the victim chooses not to be. This may include referral to services which specialise in supporting people diagnosed with HIV and sexual transmission of infections.
In the Victims Strategy, published in September last year, we committed to consulting on a revised Victims’ Code to ensure that the entitlements better reflect victims’ needs.
Asked by: Neil Coyle (Labour - Bermondsey and Old Southwark)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people entering prison were homeless before custody in each year since 2012.
Answered by Rory Stewart
Table 1 below provides data on the number of prisoners that declared their accommodation status as of ‘No Fixed Abode’ on their reception into custody, April 2016 – June 2018. The system for collecting this information did not exist prior to 2015 and so data for 2012 – 2015 is not available.
Table 1 |
| ||
Year | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 (Jan - Jun) |
Total prisoner receptions into custody (Basic Custody Screening Tool) | 105,782 | 103,225 | 50,198 |
Number of homeless prisoners | 24,942 | 26,700 | 13,755 |
Percentage | 23.58% | 25.87% | 27.40% |
Notes
The Basic Custody Screening Tool (BCS) is completed on entry to custody for all prisoners. It therefore will include a mix of those received into custody on remand and those sentenced from court. Using just the BCS, there is no way to determine which of those received into custody on remand were released un-convicted, therefore it is important to stress that this data covers prisoners, and can’t be used to describe offenders, as some of those counted will ultimately not have been found guilty of any offence.
The BCS Part 1 is completed by the prison with no input from a Community Rehabilitation Company (CRC) as they complete Part 2 of the BCS.
These questions from the BCS Part 1 are recorded as per the prisoner’s answers and are not assessed.
The total number of prisoners shown is for the number of fully completed BCS Part 1s for each year, based on the Reception Date for each prisoner.
A proportion of prisoners will enter custody multiple times each year and for this PQ all responses have been included as a prisoner may provide different answers to these questions over time.
The Government published its Rough Sleeping Strategy in August 2018, launching a £100 million initiative to reduce and ultimately eliminate rough sleeping across England. As part of this strategy, MoJ and Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), will be investing approximately £6m in a pilot scheme to support ex-offenders secure suitable accommodation upon release; the pilots will operate in HMPs Pentonville, Bristol and Leeds. Staff in both Community Rehabilitation Companies and the National Probation Service continue to work together with local authorities and other providers of accommodation with the aim of ensuring all offenders under our supervision have accommodation, especially when they are released from prison.