Asked by: Al Pinkerton (Liberal Democrat - Surrey Heath)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to improve safety in prisons in (a) Hampshire and (b) Surrey.
Answered by Jake Richards - Assistant Whip
Safety in prisons is a key priority, and we are working hard to make prisons as safe as possible for those who live and work in them. We are providing targeted support to a number of prisons to improve safety, security and substance misuse processes, and the join-up between them, to strengthen safety outcomes.
There are a number of local initiatives taking place to improve safety in prisons in Surrey and Hampshire. These include but are not limited to; using peer mentoring and restorative justice to promote conflict resolution and personal growth, encouraging positive relationships between staff and prisoners to bolster prisoner wellbeing and specific projects designed to support young adults and neurodiverse individuals in custody. Sites are also upskilling staff in safety related tasks, implementing improvements in the physical environment, and utilising Substance Free Living Units.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton West)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to expand the availability of restorative justice schemes in England.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
This Government supports the use of restorative justice in line with the evidence of its efficacy. We know that restorative justice can improve victim satisfaction and reduce reoffending when delivered in the right circumstances. This not only benefits the victims and the offender but also their community.
This is why, under the Victims’ Code, victims must be told about the option of restorative justice and how to access it. Under a devolved model of commissioning, we also provide Police and Crime Commissioners with grant funding for victim support services, which can include restorative justice services. They are best placed to assess local need and commission services based on the needs of the population in the local area.
Asked by: Lord Boateng (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the role of civil society, youth and religious organisations in negotiating reconciliation and restorative justice in (1) conflict areas with disputed boundaries, and (2) Nagaland.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
His Majesty's Government recognises the vital role that civil society, youth, and religious organisations play in fostering reconciliation and promoting restorative justice in conflict-affected regions. These actors are often uniquely placed to build trust, mediate dialogue, and support inclusive peacebuilding processes at the grassroots level.
In relation to conflict areas with disputed boundaries, the Government continues to support initiatives that empower local communities and civil society actors to engage in dialogue, reduce tensions, and promote peaceful coexistence. With regard to Nagaland, while the UK does not have a direct role in the peace process, we continue to monitor developments closely.
Asked by: Paul Kohler (Liberal Democrat - Wimbledon)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to promote the use of restorative justice.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Restorative justice can improve victim satisfaction and reduce reoffending. Victims must be informed about restorative justice under the Victims’ Code.
We provide grant funding to Police and Crime Commissioners for victim support services, including restorative justice.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will list the providers that have entered into Prison Education Service contracts in the last 12 months.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Vice Chamberlain (HM Household) (Whip, House of Commons)
The information requested is in the public domain. The names of contractors are published via Contracts Finder - GOV.UK. For ease of reference, Prison Education Services entered into in the last 12 months are provided below:
Supplier |
Associated Training Services (ATS) Ltd |
Barber Training & Education |
Beating Time (also known as "Choirs Beating Time") |
Belong: Making Justice Happen |
Brighton Table Tennis Club |
CAP Enterprise (Kent) cic |
Career Connect |
Catimor Ltd t/a Redemption Roasters |
Changing Tunes |
Chess in Schools and Communities |
Chichester College Group |
City and Guilds of London Institute |
Combat2Coffee C.I.C |
Community Arts Projects UK |
Community Training Solutions Limited |
Complete skills solutions |
Cronin Music Ltd |
Dominic Waldron |
Elite Project Services Ltd |
Food Behind Bars |
FTW Training |
Fusion21 Ltd |
Get Skills Employment & Training Ltd |
Get Wise Enterprise C.I.C |
GLA Group |
Good Vibrations |
GREEN SKILLS PARTNERSHIP C.I.C. |
Hampshire Cultural Trust |
Independent sewing machines |
Ingeus UK Limited |
Inside Ecommerce Academy CIC |
Ipswich and Suffolk Council for Racial Equality |
karenmackeyconsultants |
Key Training and Learning Ltd |
Kinetic Youth Ltd |
Liberty Kitchen |
Life Cycle UK |
Lincolnshire Action Trust |
LTE Group (Trading as Novus) |
Mainstream Training |
Maverick Sounds Ltd |
Milton Keynes College |
Momentic Limited |
n-ergy Group Limited |
Northampton Saints Foundation |
Odd Arts |
Open College Network London Region |
Ormiston Families |
PeoplePlus Group Ltd |
Prison Advice & Care Trust (pact) |
RECOOP |
RIFT Social Reform |
RMF Construction Training Academy Ltd. |
Rocketeer Enterprise Ltd |
Saints Foundation |
Seetec Business Technology Centre Limited |
SevenThreeOne |
Shakespeare Un'bard |
Shannon Trust |
spark Inside |
St Giles Trust |
Synergy Theatre Project |
The Clink Charity |
The Growth Company Ltd |
The Prison Phoenix Trust |
The Restore Trust |
The Safety Box |
The Zahid Mubarek Trust |
Unity Restorative Practices |
University of Central Lancashire |
Unlock Drama |
WANT2ACHIEVE THE ACADEMY LIMITED |
Asked by: Paul Kohler (Liberal Democrat - Wimbledon)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will issue an updated Restorative Justice Action Plan.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
This Government supports the use of restorative justice. We know that restorative justice can improve victim satisfaction and reduce reoffending when delivered in the right circumstances. This not only benefits the victims and the offender but also their community.
This is why, under the Victims’ Code, all adult victims must be told about the option of restorative justice and how to access it. The Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 has the potential to improve awareness of and compliance with the Victims’ Code, by making sure that victims know about their rights in the Victims’ Code and that agencies deliver them. But there is more to do to ensure the system and agencies that support victims can be held to account. That is why we will go further and increase the powers of the Victims’ Commissioner, to ensure there is more accountability where the needs of victims are not being met.
Under a devolved model of commissioning, we also provide Police and Crime Commissioners with grant funding for victim support services, including restorative justice services. They are best placed to assess local need and commission services based on the needs of the population in the local area. Therefore, we currently have no plans for a national action plan.
Asked by: Paul Kohler (Liberal Democrat - Wimbledon)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to increase awareness of restorative justice throughout the criminal justice system.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
This Government supports the use of restorative justice. We know that restorative justice can improve victim satisfaction and reduce reoffending when delivered in the right circumstances. This not only benefits the victims and the offender but also their community.
This is why, under the Victims’ Code, all adult victims must be told about the option of restorative justice and how to access it. The Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 has the potential to improve awareness of and compliance with the Victims’ Code, by making sure that victims know about their rights in the Victims’ Code and that agencies deliver them. But there is more to do to ensure the system and agencies that support victims can be held to account. That is why we will go further and increase the powers of the Victims’ Commissioner, to ensure there is more accountability where the needs of victims are not being met.
Under a devolved model of commissioning, we also provide Police and Crime Commissioners with grant funding for victim support services, including restorative justice services. They are best placed to assess local need and commission services based on the needs of the population in the local area. Therefore, we currently have no plans for a national action plan.
Asked by: Freddie van Mierlo (Liberal Democrat - Henley and Thame)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the implementation of restorative justice in the criminal justice system.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
This Government supports the use of restorative justice, which is why, under the Code of Practice for Victims of Crime (‘the Victims’ Code’), all adult victims must be told about the option of restorative justice and how to access it. We also provide Police and Crime Commissioners with grant funding for victim support services, including restorative justice services. They are best placed to assess local need and commission services based on the needs of the population in the local area. Restorative justice can also be used as part of out of court resolutions, depending on the circumstances of the case.
We know that restorative justice can improve victim satisfaction and reduce reoffending when delivered in the right circumstances. This not only benefits the victims and the offender but also their community.
Asked by: Darren Paffey (Labour - Southampton Itchen)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what her planned timeline is for the implementation of steps to transition toward restorative justice is; and what the key milestones toward this will be.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Restorative justice can, when delivered in the right circumstances, improve victim satisfaction and reduce reoffending. This not only benefits the victims and the offender but also their community.
That is why, under the Code of Practice for Victims of Crime (‘the Victims’ Code’), all adult victims must be told about the option of restorative justice and how to access it. We also provide Police and Crime Commissioners with grant funding for victim support services, including restorative justice services. They are best placed to assess local need and commission services based on the needs of the population in the local area.
Restorative justice can also already be used as part of out of court resolutions, depending on the circumstances of the case.
Asked by: Janet Daby (Labour - Lewisham East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many allegations of abuse have been made at Werrington Young Offender Institution in the last 12 months.
Answered by Edward Argar
In the period November 2022 to October 2023 – the most recent 12 months for which data are available – HMYOI Werrington made 63 safeguarding referrals relating to allegations of physical or sexual abuse.
The figure represents alleged abuse rather than substantiated findings of abuse. Some referrals could refer to historical abuse and therefore may refer to incidents which have occurred outside of custody. There are a small number of instances where professionals have raised concerns about a child when the child has not reported any concerns.
The YCS takes all allegations of abuse seriously and ensures that safeguarding is at the forefront of what we do. We have published a new policy framework ‘Safeguarding and Child Protection in the Youth Custody Service’, which ensures that everyone involved in the care and management of children in the youth estate understand their safeguarding responsibilities.
All of our Youth Custody Service (YCS) sites have a safety strategy and there are teams of resolution practitioners based in each site who apply the principles of Restorative Practice to resolve conflict between various parties, thereby reducing the need for restrictive interventions and enabling a child’s engagement in all other opportunities available whilst in our care. YCS staff also receive specialist training while they do their job of keeping young people safe and giving them better life chances.
Where we have concerns about high levels of violence at a specific site, we take further action with the central safety team in the YCS, who provide additional support and independent scrutiny to aid improvement. In this period, the YCS have supported Werrington YOI in improving their performance outcomes around safety, and due to positive signs of improvement, the need to provide this extra layer of support will be stood down in the near future.