Asked by: Nick Smith (Labour - Blaenau Gwent)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he has taken to ensure that court hearings proceed during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Our courts provide a vital public service and it is important that justice is delivered wherever possible. We are working closely with the courts and judiciary to ensure that cases are progressed through the system as quickly as possible, including through greater use of audio and video hearings.
The courts are expediting sentencing hearings and prioritising remand hearings to ensure that public protection remains a core goal. Magistrates’ court trials are now being listed wherever it is safe to do so and every effort is being made to resume Crown Court trials. Representatives from across the criminal justice system are working at pace to agree the best way of doing this safely.
Asked by: Nick Smith (Labour - Blaenau Gwent)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 3 December 2018 to Question 195064, what the maximum length of time was between the date when a First Tier Tribunal personal independence payment appeal was lodged and heard for cases involving claimants in Blaenau Gwent during 2017-18.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
This information is not held centrally.
HMCTS statistics are not calculated from receipt of the appeal to the hearing, but from receipt of the appeal to the disposal of the case. An appeal is not necessarily disposed of at its first hearing. The final disposal decision on the appeal may be reached after an earlier hearing had been adjourned (which may be directed by the judge for a variety of reasons, such as to seek further evidence), or after an earlier hearing date had been postponed (again, for a variety of reasons, often at the request of the appellant). An appeal may also have been decided at an earlier date by the First-tier Tribunal, only for the case to have gone on to the Upper Tribunal, to be returned once again to the First-tier, for its final disposal.
Asked by: Nick Smith (Labour - Blaenau Gwent)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to Prison Service Instruction 44 of 2010, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of nutritional standards in prisons and correctional facilities.
Answered by Rory Stewart
Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) has issued food policy guidance and specification expectations that require all prisons to provide prisoners with the opportunity to select a meal of choice from a range of meals that are balanced, varied and reflects Government’s recommendation on eating a heathy diet.
The new Ministry of Justice (MoJ) food supply contract provides the opportunity for prisons to purchase fresh vegetables, salad crop and fruit. There is also a range of food commodities that are lower in salt, sugar and saturated fats. HMPPS regularly monitor and record meal provision against policy expectations.
Asked by: Nick Smith (Labour - Blaenau Gwent)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to Rule 29 of the Prison Rules 1999, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of prisoners' (a) access to and (b) engagement in physical education.
Answered by Rory Stewart
I am passionate about the benefits that can be derived from participating in sport and physical activity in custody, which include building prisoner’s confidence, providing purposeful activity and supporting engagement with rehabilitation when prisoners are preparing for release.
My former colleague, Dr Lee commissioned Professor Rosie Meek of Royal Holloway University of London to undertake an independent review of sport and physical activity in the Youth estate – Professor Meek’s report was published on 11 August. The recommendations in this report will help us to build a range of sporting activities which engage young people in custody and support their rehabilitation.
Asked by: Nick Smith (Labour - Blaenau Gwent)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the I CAN and Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists' report, Bercow: ten years on, published on 20 March 2018, what steps his Department is taking with the Department for Education and the Department of Health and Social Care to implement the recommendations in that report.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
We recognise that young people with speech and language difficulties are particularly vulnerable. We are seeking to ensure that practitioners who work with children and young people in settings with a known high prevalence of speech, language and communication needs are trained in recognising and responding appropriately to communication needs, and ensuring access to speech and language therapy as required.
Over the past three years MoJ and the YJB have supported a national project, led by the Department for Education, to deliver special educational needs and disability (SEND) awareness training to the youth justice workforce. The Youth Justice SEND Bubble programme offered free training to Youth Justice System professionals, supporting them to effectively identify and meet children’s special educational and disability needs and allowing them to work towards more effective engagement and positive long-term outcomes.
Asked by: Nick Smith (Labour - Blaenau Gwent)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the annual budget is for food produced for his Department's offices; and what proportion of food produced for his Department was sourced from British producers in the last period for which figures are available.
Answered by Mike Penning
The Ministry of Justice does not set a budget for food served in its offices. Catering services are provided by private companies under contract to the Ministry of Justice and provided to staff without subsidy. Spending on food is determined by the contractor based on sales receipts from Ministry of Justice staff.
The Ministry of Justice has worked with its current suppliers to align existing contracts with the requirements of the balanced scorecard.
Details of the proportion of food produced for the Ministry of Justice that was sourced from British producers is not recorded centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
I refer the honourable member to the answer given to PQ 35065 on 29 April 2016 which provides relevant details about food procured for prisons.
Asked by: Nick Smith (Labour - Blaenau Gwent)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the annual budget was for food procured for prisons in each of the last three years; and what proportion of such food was sourced from British producers in the most recent period for which figures are available.
Answered by Andrew Selous - Second Church Estates Commissioner
Expenditure on food for prisoners for the past three years was:
2012-13 - £59.6m
2013-14 - £55.1m
2014-15 - £54.1m
In the period September 2015 to March 2016, 49% of the total expenditure was spent with British producers.
As of March 2016, over 99% of UHT milk products used in prisons are being purchased from UK suppliers. From May 2017, the Ministry of Justice intends to make all contracts Bonfield Scorecard compliant, which includes focusing on the value of local production.
Asked by: Nick Smith (Labour - Blaenau Gwent)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of dairy products procured for British prisons was sourced from British producers in the last period for which figures are available.
Answered by Andrew Selous - Second Church Estates Commissioner
As of March 2016, over 99% of UHT milk products used in prisons are being purchased from UK suppliers. From May 2017, the Ministry of Justice intends to make all contracts Bonfield Scorecard compliant, which includes focusing on the value of local production.
NOMS do not keep a breakdown of expenditure for types of food purchased (i.e. dairy).
Asked by: Nick Smith (Labour - Blaenau Gwent)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many vulnerable prisoners are held in dedicated vulnerable prisoner accommodation.
Answered by Jeremy Wright
The term "vulnerable prisoner" covers a wide range of prisoner types/characteristics but broadly these are those who need protection from themselves and other prisoners for a variety of reasons, including the nature of their offence, debt or conflicts outside or within the prison.
Our approach to managing these prisoners varies according to the nature of why they are deemed as vulnerable and is dependent on specific offending needs.
The number of prisoners in England and Wales who are identified as vulnerable is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost as it would involve contacting every prison directly in order to request how many prisoners each prison has identified, or is managing, as a vulnerable prisoner.
All closed prisons in England and Wales have the facility to accommodate vulnerable prisoners in designated accommodation.
Asked by: Nick Smith (Labour - Blaenau Gwent)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many vulnerable prisoners are currently held in prisons in England and Wales.
Answered by Jeremy Wright
The term "vulnerable prisoner" covers a wide range of prisoner types/characteristics but broadly these are those who need protection from themselves and other prisoners for a variety of reasons, including the nature of their offence, debt or conflicts outside or within the prison.
Our approach to managing these prisoners varies according to the nature of why they are deemed as vulnerable and is dependent on specific offending needs.
The number of prisoners in England and Wales who are identified as vulnerable is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost as it would involve contacting every prison directly in order to request how many prisoners each prison has identified, or is managing, as a vulnerable prisoner.
All closed prisons in England and Wales have the facility to accommodate vulnerable prisoners in designated accommodation.