Asked by: Ellie Reeves (Labour - Lewisham West and East Dulwich)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on how many occasions facilities enabling women and their children to spend time together overnight at (a) HMP Drake Hall, (b) HMP Styal and (c) HMP Askham Grange operated at full capacity in (i) 2018, (ii) 2019 and (iii) 2020.
Answered by Alex Chalk
There are six Mother and Baby Units (MBUs) across the women’s prison estate located at HMP Askham Grange, HMP Bronzefield, HMP Eastwood Park, HMP New Hall, HMP Peterborough and HMP Styal. MBUs are a national resource and enable mothers to maintain a bond with their children during an important period in their development and aim to reduce the negative impact imprisonment can have on young children, if evidence suggests it is in their best interests to remain with their mother.
The MBU also allows for children from the community to come and join their mothers in an MBU up to the age of 18 months. The environment is safe and nurturing for children, with development opportunities you would see in other nurseries, including toys and trips into the community. There is a national capacity of 64 mothers and 70 babies (to allow for multiple births). The national capacity has not been exceeded.
In addition to the existing MBUs, HMP Drake Hall and HMP Askham Grange offer overnight facilities that enable mothers and their children to spend time together. These facilities are available to all children up to the age of 18 years old. There is no additional overnight accommodation available at HMP Styal however, HMP Eastwood Park have enhanced the use of their MBU to provide an opportunity for risk assessed women to spend an overnight stay with one child, up to 12 years of age in the specifically arranged family room.
In regard to capacity, the HMP Askham Grange unit has five double bedrooms to accommodate large families, however only one mother can use the facility at one time. Although information is not held in the time periods requested, the facility was used 144 times in 2018-19 and 98 times in 2019-20.
HMP Drake Hall has two separate units that can accommodate one mother, up to three children aged toddler to 18 years of age, and one baby in a travel cot. For larger families, the two suites can be combined to provide facilities for up to 6 children, which is assessed on a case by case basis. Full information relating to the number of occasions this facility was used is not held however, the suite has not been used during 2020 due to COVID restrictions.
Asked by: Ellie Reeves (Labour - Lewisham West and East Dulwich)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) women and (b) children can access overnight accommodation in HMP (i) Drake Hall, (ii) Styal and (iii) Askham Grange.
Answered by Alex Chalk
There are six Mother and Baby Units (MBUs) across the women’s prison estate located at HMP Askham Grange, HMP Bronzefield, HMP Eastwood Park, HMP New Hall, HMP Peterborough and HMP Styal. MBUs are a national resource and enable mothers to maintain a bond with their children during an important period in their development and aim to reduce the negative impact imprisonment can have on young children, if evidence suggests it is in their best interests to remain with their mother.
The MBU also allows for children from the community to come and join their mothers in an MBU up to the age of 18 months. The environment is safe and nurturing for children, with development opportunities you would see in other nurseries, including toys and trips into the community. There is a national capacity of 64 mothers and 70 babies (to allow for multiple births). The national capacity has not been exceeded.
In addition to the existing MBUs, HMP Drake Hall and HMP Askham Grange offer overnight facilities that enable mothers and their children to spend time together. These facilities are available to all children up to the age of 18 years old. There is no additional overnight accommodation available at HMP Styal however, HMP Eastwood Park have enhanced the use of their MBU to provide an opportunity for risk assessed women to spend an overnight stay with one child, up to 12 years of age in the specifically arranged family room.
In regard to capacity, the HMP Askham Grange unit has five double bedrooms to accommodate large families, however only one mother can use the facility at one time. Although information is not held in the time periods requested, the facility was used 144 times in 2018-19 and 98 times in 2019-20.
HMP Drake Hall has two separate units that can accommodate one mother, up to three children aged toddler to 18 years of age, and one baby in a travel cot. For larger families, the two suites can be combined to provide facilities for up to 6 children, which is assessed on a case by case basis. Full information relating to the number of occasions this facility was used is not held however, the suite has not been used during 2020 due to COVID restrictions.
Asked by: Ellie Reeves (Labour - Lewisham West and East Dulwich)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which women’s prisons provide facilities for women and their children to spend time together overnight.
Answered by Alex Chalk
There are six Mother and Baby Units (MBUs) across the women’s prison estate located at HMP Askham Grange, HMP Bronzefield, HMP Eastwood Park, HMP New Hall, HMP Peterborough and HMP Styal. MBUs are a national resource and enable mothers to maintain a bond with their children during an important period in their development and aim to reduce the negative impact imprisonment can have on young children, if evidence suggests it is in their best interests to remain with their mother.
The MBU also allows for children from the community to come and join their mothers in an MBU up to the age of 18 months. The environment is safe and nurturing for children, with development opportunities you would see in other nurseries, including toys and trips into the community. There is a national capacity of 64 mothers and 70 babies (to allow for multiple births). The national capacity has not been exceeded.
In addition to the existing MBUs, HMP Drake Hall and HMP Askham Grange offer overnight facilities that enable mothers and their children to spend time together. These facilities are available to all children up to the age of 18 years old. There is no additional overnight accommodation available at HMP Styal however, HMP Eastwood Park have enhanced the use of their MBU to provide an opportunity for risk assessed women to spend an overnight stay with one child, up to 12 years of age in the specifically arranged family room.
In regard to capacity, the HMP Askham Grange unit has five double bedrooms to accommodate large families, however only one mother can use the facility at one time. Although information is not held in the time periods requested, the facility was used 144 times in 2018-19 and 98 times in 2019-20.
HMP Drake Hall has two separate units that can accommodate one mother, up to three children aged toddler to 18 years of age, and one baby in a travel cot. For larger families, the two suites can be combined to provide facilities for up to 6 children, which is assessed on a case by case basis. Full information relating to the number of occasions this facility was used is not held however, the suite has not been used during 2020 due to COVID restrictions.
Asked by: Baroness Corston (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when it is anticipated that the Mother and Baby Unit at Eastwood Park Prison will re-open.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie - Shadow Minister (Justice)
The mother and baby unit (MBU) at Eastwood Park has been out of commission since October 2016, owing to flooding caused by a burst pipe. We are planning to complete refurbishment by May, with re-occupation in late June/early July.
While the MBU remains out of use, any women at the prison whose application for a MBU place is accepted can be accommodated in one of the other five units within the women’s prison estate.
We are committed to doing all we can to address the issues around female offending so we can better protect the public and deliver more effective rehabilitation.
Asked by: Baroness Corston (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government on what date the Mother and Baby Unit at Eastwood Park Prison was closed.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie - Shadow Minister (Justice)
The mother and baby unit (MBU) at Eastwood Park has been out of commission since October 2016, owing to flooding caused by a burst pipe. We are planning to complete refurbishment by May, with re-occupation in late June/early July.
While the MBU remains out of use, any women at the prison whose application for a MBU place is accepted can be accommodated in one of the other five units within the women’s prison estate.
We are committed to doing all we can to address the issues around female offending so we can better protect the public and deliver more effective rehabilitation.
Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many women have been (a) refused entry to a Mother and Baby Unit and (b) relocated elsewhere since the closure for repair of Eastwood Park Mother and Baby Unit.
Answered by Phillip Lee
No woman has been refused a place on a Mother and Baby Unit as a result of the temporary closure of Eastwood Park’s MBU. It remains the case that the temporary closure of the unit has not placed any undue pressure on MBU places and that the current provision of MBU places is sufficient to meet demand.
Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, for what reasons and for how long the mother and baby unit at HMP Eastwood Park has been closed.
Answered by Phillip Lee
I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 2 November 2017 to Question UIN 109775: http://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-questions-answers/?page=1&max=20&questiontype=AllQuestions&house=commons%2clords&member=252&keywords=eastwood%2cbaby
The full refurbishment of the Mother and Baby Unit (MBU) at Eastwood Park is due to be completed this summer and the new unit will have improved facilities, with dedicated support for education, parenting and maintaining family ties.
Asked by: David Drew (Labour (Co-op) - Stroud)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, for what reasons the mother and baby unit at Eastwood Park Prison remains out of commission; and when the repair to that unit will be completed.
Answered by Phillip Lee
A full refurbishment of the mother and baby unit at Eastwood Park, is scheduled to start in December 2017, with the project plan suggesting it will take 12 weeks to complete before re-opening. This unit has been out of use since it was flooded due to a burst pipe in October 2016.
While the MBU at Eastwood Park remains out of use, any women at the prison whose application for a place on the unit is accepted can be accommodated in one of the other five MBUs within the women’s prison estate.
We are committed to doing all we can to address the issues around female offending so we can better protect the public and deliver more effective rehabilitation.
Asked by: Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many under-18 year olds in prison have been starred up in each prison in each month during each of the last five years for which figures are available.
Answered by Andrew Selous
Starring up is the term used to define the process whereby young people under the age of 18 can be moved into the young adult estate prior to their eighteenth birthday. The starring up process can be used for a range of reasons, but past usage has mainly been in relating to the management of disruptive or violent behaviour or transfers to Mother and Baby Units.
In practice, the starring up process is rarely used and then only in exceptional circumstances.
No young person has been starred-up into the young adult estate since January 2014. Data in relation to the number of young people who were starred-up into the young adult estate in the three years prior to that, broken down by the establishment they were starred-up from and the month in which the decision was made is provided in the tables below.
2011
Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
Ashfield | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
Hindley | 1 | |||||||||||
Wetherby | 1 | 1 |
2012
Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
Feltham | 1 | |||||||||||
Eastwood Park | 1 | |||||||||||
Warren Hill | 1 |
2013
Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
Warren Hill | 1 |