Asked by: Lord Bradley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that women released from prison (1) that have served a short sentence, and (2) that were not sentenced following remand, receive support from the Probation Service.
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
One of the strategic aims of the Female Offender Strategy Delivery Plan 2022-25 (Jan 2023) is to protect the public through better outcomes for women on release. We will work to reduce reoffending rates for women leaving custody, focusing on what we know works: a home, a job and access to treatment for substance misuse.
Contracts for holistic rehabilitative services for women deliver bespoke and specialist support to sentenced women (including those that have served short sentences) after their release from prison. These services support women to meet their resettlement and rehabilitative needs, including: help to find accommodation; help to find education, training or employment; support to meet finance, benefit and debt-related needs; help to address dependency issues; support to improve relationships with family or significant others; and support for their emotional wellbeing and social inclusion. These services are available post-release to all women who are subject to Probation supervision and we continue to explore how we might support those released unsentenced.
All women in prison, including those on remand, are supported to meet their immediate resettlement needs and prepare for release by probation staff in prisons and maintain accommodation whilst in prison respectively. This includes sustaining accommodation on reception where possible, making referrals for accommodation and signposting women towards specialist advice for finance and debt support.
A Short Sentence Function is being implemented in all regions which will work with all people on probation with ten months or fewer to serve in prison. This will enable them to be fast tracked and offered direct engagement.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Gloucester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many restricted status prisoners were held in the female estate in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
A Restricted Status (RS) prisoner is any female, young person or young adult prisoner, convicted or on remand, whose escape would present a serious risk to the public and who is required to be held in designated secure accommodation.
The table below provides the overall total figure for the specified year for those held in the female estate.
A remanded female prisoner classified as RS is subject to review on an annual basis up until the time of their trial unless further information is received to suggest that an earlier review of their RS status is required.
Following completion of their trial and if convicted and sentenced, the prisoner will then have their First Formal review which will decide whether RS remains warranted.
| Total |
2012 | 11 |
2013 | 11 |
2014 | 8 |
2015 | 11 |
2016 | 12 |
2017 | 19 |
2018 | 20 |
2019 | 17 |
2020 | 18 |
2021 | 18 |
2022 | 19 |
2023 | 21 |
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many prisoners in the female prison estate have been assessed as lacking capacity in accordance with the Mental Capacity Act 2005 in each of the last five years.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The information requested is not held centrally.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many women in prison were sectioned under the Mental Health Act 1983 in each of the last five years.
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Under sections 47/49 and 48/49 of the Mental Health Act 1983, the Secretary of State may authorise by warrant the transfer of female prisoners to a secure hospital, where he is satisfied that the criteria for detention are met.
The number of women prisoners transferred to hospital in each of the last five years are:
2021 – 184
2020 - 181
2019 - 213
2018 - 192
2017 – 180
The data for 2022 are not currently available, they are due for publication later this year.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many women in prison were registered as having disabilities in each of the last five years; and of those, how many had (1) physical, and (2) learning, disabilities.
Answered by Lord Markham - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The information requested is not currently held centrally as it has not yet been validated.
Asked by: Ellie Reeves (Labour - Lewisham West and Penge)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to reduce the number of women in prison.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
As set out in the 2018 Female Offender Strategy, the Government is committed to ensure more women are managed successfully in the community and that fewer women go to prison, particularly on short sentences. Since the Strategy was published, the number of women entering the criminal justice system for the first time has fallen by 20%.
We are investing tens of millions of pounds over the next three years into community services for women, drug rehabilitation and accommodation support, so fewer women end up in prison.
We will shortly publish a Delivery Plan for the Female Offender Strategy. This will set out our ambitious cross-Government approach for the next three years.
Asked by: Matt Vickers (Conservative - Stockton South)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of support for female prisoners.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The Female Offender Strategy (2018) set out the case for taking a gender specific and trauma responsive approach to female offenders. It provided a framework to deliver better outcomes for women at all points of the criminal justice system and to make society safer by tackling the underlying causes of offending and reoffending
The Prisons Strategy White Paper, published in December 2021, provides our most recent assessment of support for women in custody, and reaffirms our intention to see a custodial environment that protects the public and supports effective rehabilitation. The White Paper sets out our approach for women’s prisons; one which is trauma responsive, recognises the distinct nature of women’s experience in custody, and provides the appropriate levels of support, particularly for pregnant women and those with young children.
Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many women in prison aged (a) 18-25 years old and (b) 26 years old and above were on the (i) basic, (ii) standard and (iii) enhanced incentives status in each month between 1 March 2021 and 31 March 2022.
Answered by Rob Butler
Data on the incentive scheme are published in the HMPPS Annual Digest. The requested disaggregation by month and age group does not form part of the published data and could not be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Kate Green (Labour - Stretford and Urmston)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 14 July 2022 to Question 31829 on Prisoners: Location and the Answer of 24 March 2022 to Question HL6866 on Prisoners: Females, what the average travelling distance between (a) female and (b) male prisons and the prisoner's home address was in each year since 2010.
Answered by Simon Baynes
Although travelling distance from home was historically provided on an ad hoc basis for specific time frames, this calculation method was discontinued in 2019 and replaced with straight-line modelling.
Straight-line modelling is the most consistent calculation method. Attempts to model based on travelling distance are subject to high levels of temporal and geographical variation (e.g. inner city travel time).
As such, the information requested is deemed less useful than straight-line modelling data. It is therefore not routinely calculated and is not currently held.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Gloucester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many women aged (1) 18 to 25, and (2) 26 and above, went to prison in each of the last 10 years; what was the average length of sentence for each of those categories; and what were the 10 most common offences that led to the imprisonment of women during this period.
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The information requested is in the attached table.
The Female Offender Strategy, published in June 2018, made it clear we want fewer women serving short sentences in custody and more managed in the community. Custody is intended as a last resort, for the protection of the public and the punishment and rehabilitation of the offender.