Oral Answers to Questions

Nicholas Brown Excerpts

Tuesday 9th September 2014 Commons Chamber

[Mike Penning]

I am obviously very aware of the NSPCC’s campaign, not least because, quite rightly, I am signing an awful lot of letters for colleagues at the moment. I have also, in these early days, already met the chief executive and chairman of the NSPCC. We are coming to the end of a pilot of remote video evidence and I am waiting for the evidence of how it has worked. I would like to roll it out as fast as possible, if the evidence shows—as I think it will—that it should be.

[Mr Nicholas Brown (Newcastle upon Tyne East) (Lab)]

5. What assessment he has made of the effectiveness of governance and security at HMP Northumberland.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Andrew Selous)]

The National Offender Management Service regularly carries out assessments of all aspects of security and delivery at HMP Northumberland and will continue to monitor the prison’s progress closely.

[Mr Brown]

May I caution the Minister against reading out what the civil service put in front of him as if that were a satisfactory answer to the question? The situation at the prison has been described by work force representatives as a “powder keg”. The issue is the dramatic reduction in staffing and the increase in the number of prisoners. I urge the Minister to look at the situation and satisfy himself that the prison is safe, because all the advice that the region’s MPs are receiving is that it is not.

[Andrew Selous]

I think I can give the right hon. Gentleman some good news. Like all prisons, HMP Northumberland is subject to performance targets and it is currently at level 3, the second highest level. Twelve new recruits have just joined the prison, 13 more are due to start next Monday and 22 reserve staff can be called up to make up any shortfall, so I do not recognise the description given by the right hon. Gentleman.

--- Later in debate ---

[Chris Grayling]

I would be delighted to do so.

[Mr Nicholas Brown (Newcastle upon Tyne East) (Lab)]

What colour is the probation service change programme on the Cabinet Office evaluation scale?

[Simon Hughes]

The colour is green; we are proceeding successfully with an issue that the right hon. Gentleman and his colleagues never dealt with. A third of those who have community orders, and a third of those with long sentences, reoffend within a year, but the figure is nearly six out of 10 for those on short sentences. We are going to deal with that issue now.