Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) women and (b) men have been placed in prisons for their own protection under the Bail Act 1976 in each of the last three years.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Following a commitment from the Government earlier this year, we are reviewing the use of the power to remand for own protection. This work is ongoing.
There is no centrally held data on the number of adults remanded in custody for their own protection and to obtain this information would exceed permitted costs.
The court’s decision to remand an individual in custody for their own protection is used as a last resort and out of concern for the defendant, where circumstances are such that a defendant would come to harm if released into the community and there is no other suitable option available to the courts.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps the Government is taking to ensure the safety and wellbeing of children in secure training centres.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
The government is committed to improving the safety and wellbeing of children at Oakhill, which is managed by G4S, and have sought to reduce the operational capacity to less than 50% to address instability and more appropriately support the children currently residing at the centre. G4S is also increasing support to better meet the needs of children with a focus on staffing, education, psychology services and mental health support. In addition, Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) is also robustly holding G4S to account using the contractual levers available to it under the terms of the contract.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many fines for vandalism of lifesaving equipment under the Criminal Damage Act 1971 were issued in the years (a) 2018-19, (b) 2019-20 and (c) 2020-21.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Shadow Secretary of State for Defence
Information on fines given for vandalism of lifesaving equipment cannot be disaggregated from broader criminal damage offences within the MOJ’s Court Proceedings Database as they are not separately defined in legislation. This information may be held on court record but to be able to identify these cases would require access to individual court records which would be of disproportionate cost.
Fines given for offences related to criminal damage can be found in the ‘Outcomes by Offence’ data tool, available here:
To isolate the broader offences within which vandalism of lifesaving equipment is likely to sit in the data tool, select the categories below in the ‘offence’ filter:
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of appointing designated prison officers to act as brokers for housing in women’s prisons.
Answered by Alex Chalk
We are committed to doing all we can to address the issues around female offending. It is vital that we do so to better protect the public and deliver more effective rehabilitation. This includes supporting women when they are leaving prison.
As part of our commitment to eliminate rough sleeping, we are working across Government with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), Welsh Government and Other Government Departments, to address the barriers offenders face in securing suitable accommodation.
In January, we announced a £70 million investment in accommodation and wider support for prison leavers to cut crime. An integral aspect of that announcement related to the appointment of specialist housing advisor role in up to twenty prisons, four of which are female prisons: HMPs New Hall, Peterborough, Bronzefield and Styal. These specialists will act as brokers for prisoners so that they can get quicker access to accommodation services as they are released.
These specialists will seek to improve accommodation outcomes for those being released from prison by strengthening partnerships with key stakeholders to identify and unlock any barriers which prevent access to related services or accommodation on release. In addition, they will work with both prison and probation staff to raise understanding and knowledge of housing legislation and issues, including any specific challenges female offenders face accessing accommodation.
We are investing more than £20m in supporting prison leavers at risk of homelessness into temporary accommodation. Individuals released from prison will be provided up to 12 weeks of temporary accommodation and will be supported into long-term settled accommodation before the end of that 12-week period. Initially launching in five national probation regions, the service will support around 3,000 offenders in its first year and will be commencing in Summer. It will be in operation during the next financial year 2021-22, with a view to scaling up and rolling out nationally, though the Spending Review 2021 will set out the approach for future years.
The Offender Management in Custody (OMiC) scheme was launched in the women’s estate on 30th April 2021. The bespoke model recognises the different challenges and opportunities of working with women where self-harm and complex needs are of significant concern. Both key work and case management time will be allocated to women based on their level of need in addition to their risk of harm. Women with the most need will receive an enhanced offender management service, with additional engagement time between Prison Offender Manager (POM) and prisoner taking place.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what support will be provided for vulnerable women housed as part of his Department’s new temporary accommodation service for prison leavers.
Answered by Alex Chalk
We are investing more than £20m in supporting prison leavers at risk of homelessness into temporary accommodation. Individuals released from prison will be provided up to 12 weeks of temporary accommodation and will be supported to secure long-term settled accommodation before the end of that 12-week period. Initially launching in five probation regions, the service will support around 3,000 offenders in its first year and will be commencing later this Summer. This service will be in operation during this financial year 2021-22, with a view to scaling up and rolling out nationally, though the Spending Review 2021 will set out the approach for future years.
The service will take account of the needs of women, including those with complex needs and accommodation provision will be dedicated to single gender usage as required. Community Probation Practitioners, working together with local partners, will be responsible for ensuring that vulnerable female prison leavers receive appropriate support and are provided with housing beyond the 12 weeks emergency accommodation.
Commissioned Rehabilitation Services are due to start delivery on 26 June 2021 which includes services to assist in accommodation; employment training and education; financial benefit and debt; and personal well-being. These provide a holistic service for all women leaving prison by providers based in the community they are released to. The accommodation service and mentoring service both start pre-release. The mentoring service aims to support those who lack social support make the transition from prison to community and assist in building social networks.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether there are any legal restrictions or Government guidance preventing victims of sexual abuse from accessing therapy prior to their trial taking place.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
Victims of crime have a right to be referred to support services and have services and support tailored to their needs. There are no rules that restrict access to therapy in advance of criminal proceedings.
The CPS published guidance on the provision of therapy for vulnerable or intimidated adult witnesses in 2002. The CPS is currently developing revised guidance. A three-month public consultation has taken place on a draft version of this guidance and new finalised guidance is due to be published later this year.
Asked by: Sarah Champion (Labour - Rotherham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if his Department will publish the estimated cost of delivering the 500 new prison places for women announced on 23 January 2020.
Answered by Alex Chalk
We have committed over £150 million to deliver 500 additional prison places across the women’s estate. The design of the new accommodation is being developed to be trauma-informed and gender specific with improved outcomes for women. Our design principles include requirements around ensuring suitable visiting spaces are provided, greater in-cell communication options informed by the COVID learning, and in open designs, the potential inclusion of rooms to support overnight visits for mothers and their children (currently already delivered in two prisons within the women’s estate). This substantial investment will also increase the number of single cells and availability of in-cell showers. In addition, these places will also allow more women to be held in open conditions, consequently providing greater opportunities for employment and education while completing their sentence.
This is not an ‘either-or-approach’ as we are also investing approximately £80 million in community drug treatment, £70 million in accommodation services, £2 million for women’s centres and a further £2 million to support 38 grassroots organisations doing incredible work steering women away from the criminal justice system.