Courts: Video Conferencing
Sarah Champion: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps he plans to take to enable vulnerable witnesses to be able to give evidence remotely. [200321]
Damian Green: The Crown courts and magistrate courts provide the facility to allow vulnerable victims and witnesses to give evidence to the trial court by secure video link from a different court.
In addition, a number of police stations also have video facilities that link into the court. As part of the action plan to increase video usage across the Criminal Justice System, we intend to examine how best to extend use of remote links for vulnerable, intimidated and other ‘priority’ victims, as defined by the Victims’ Code.
Equal Opportunities
Mrs Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what consideration his Department gives to the diversity policies and records of businesses or other organisations when considering their bid for commercial contracts or grants. [199954]
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Simon Hughes: The Ministry of Justice is committed to promoting equality and diversity in its procurements. Section 149 of the Equality Act 2010 outlines the Public Sector Equality Duty. The following three duties which form the basis of Departments’ policy and to which due regard must be given during the procurement process:
1. Eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct prohibited by the Act;
2. Advance equality of opportunity between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it;
3. Foster good relations between people who share a protected characteristic and people who do not share it.
The level of due regard given to the three duties will vary depending on their relevance to each individual procurement. There will be greater significance for example where the procurement involves direct contact with the public or employees of the Department or where services are to be carried out in the Department’s premises.
Where a need to consider equality has been identified at the beginning of a procurement process, consideration to this is given at every stage of the process as detailed as follows:
Planning and preparation includes the consideration of whether the duties are relevant to the procurement.
The Pre-Qualification stage of the tender process contains mandatory fields including questions to make sure that the bid is in line with legislation. Suppliers that do not pass these questions are not progressed onto the next stage.
The Request for Information and Request for Quotation contain questions in line with legislation. These questions are proportionate so as not to disadvantage smaller suppliers.
The evaluation of tenders can include equality criteria if it formed part of the specification. However, if included, the criteria are given proportionate consideration to the bid as a whole.
Contract award where the specification set out equality criteria can be used to determine the most economically advantageous tender.
Ongoing consideration is given to the equality duties in every review meeting for those relevant contracts.
In addition to these processes implemented during the procurement process, the Department reports annually its obligations to the Cabinet Office. All procurement staff within the Department are required to undertake mandatory Equality and Diversity Training which makes sure that the duty can be considered and applied correctly.
Glen Parva Young Offender Institution
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which company designed the 2009 plans for a young offender institute at Glen Parva; and how much such plans cost. [200050]
Jeremy Wright: Interserve designed the 2009 plans for a young offender institution at Glen Parva with their designers, HLM Architects.
The previous Government spent £5.6 million on developing the plans for a new young offender institution at Glen Parva up to 2010. Although the secure college pathfinder will be fundamentally different from a young offender’s institution, we are making use of the previous work where relevant.
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Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which company designed and what the cost to the public purse was of production in 2009 of the plans for a young offender institute at Glen Parva. [200248]
Jeremy Wright: Interserve designed the 2009 plans for a young offender institution at Glen Parva with their designers, HLM Architects.
The previous Government spent £5.6 million on developing the plans for a new young offender institution at Glen Parva up to 2010. Although the secure college pathfinder will be fundamentally different from a young offender’s institution, we are making use of the previous work where relevant.
High Down Prison
Kwasi Kwarteng: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what rights prisoners in HM Prison High Down Sutton have to association and exercise; and whether he has received representations that prisoners at that prison are being permitted less than half an hour to exercise per day. [198853]
Jeremy Wright: Prisoners at High Down have the same access to exercise and association as in all prisons in England and Wales. The details are set out in Prison Service Instruction (PSI) 58/2011 Physical Education for Prisoners. In addition, prisoners are entitled to association time outside of their cells that may include forms of exercise.
We have no record of any formal representations made by prisoners at HMP Highdown on the lack of opportunity to exercise.
Michael Wheatley
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) whether approval was sought from any Minister for the decision to release Michael Wheatley on temporary licence; [199682]
(2) on what grounds Michael Wheatley was released on temporary licence. [199683]
Jeremy Wright: Approval was not sought from any Minister for the decision to release Michael Wheatley on temporary licence, as the policy does not require ministerial approval before a prisoner is approved for release on temporary licence (ROTL). This has been the case since 1994. In accordance with the policy, as laid down in Prison Service Order 6300, the Deputy Governor at HMP Standford Hill approved ROTL for Michael Wheatley, on a recommendation from a ROTL risk assessment board at that prison.
Mr Wheatley’s resettlement day release was authorised to facilitate his potential resettlement into the community and to assess his ongoing risk, to inform the Parole Board’s future decision as to his suitability for release into the community on life licence.
Open Prisons
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners serving custodial sentences for serious violent and sexual assaults were held in open prisons on 1 May (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012, (d) 2013 and (e) 2014. [199513]
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Jeremy Wright: Open prisons have been used since 1936, because they are the most effective means of ensuring that prisoners are suitably risk-assessed before they are released into the community under appropriate licence conditions. These prisons also provide effective supervision for prisoners who do not require the security conditions of the closed estate, because they have been assessed as having a low risk of harm to the public and a low risk of absconding by the independent Parole Board and/or NOMS.
Indeterminate sentence prisoners located in open conditions have been risk assessed and categorised as being of a low enough risk to the public to warrant their placement in an open prison. They will have previously spent time in prisons with higher levels of security, before being transferred to open conditions if recommended by the Parole Board—or directed through NOMS.
The main purpose of open conditions is to test prisoners in conditions more similar to those that they will face in the community. Time spent in open prisons affords prisoners the opportunity to find work, re-establish family ties, reintegrate into the community and ensure housing needs are met. For many prisoners who have spent a considerable amount of time in custody; these can assist in their successful reintegration in the community and protecting the public. To release these prisoners directly from a closed prison without the resettlement benefits of the open estate could lead to higher levels of post-release re-offending. The re-offending rates of those released from open prisons are low when compared to all prisoners released from custody in England and Wales.
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners were held in open prisons on 1 May (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012, (d) 2013 and (e) 2014. [199528]
Jeremy Wright: The following table identifies the total population of predominant function open prisons as at the last Friday in April in each year from 2010 to 2014.This includes open female prisons, open young offender institutions and the relevant open parts of multi-site establishments performing different functions; it does not include those held in non-predominant function open prisons or in small open units at closed prisons.
| Total population in predominant function open prisons | |
Open prisons have been used since 1936, because they are the most effective means of ensuring that prisoners are suitably risk-assessed before they are released into the community under appropriate licence conditions. These prisons also provide effective supervision for prisoners who do not require the security conditions of the closed estate, because they have been assessed as having a low risk of harm to the public and a low risk of absconding by NOMS and/or the independent Parole Board.
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Indeterminate sentence prisoners located in open conditions have been risk assessed and categorised as being of a low enough risk to the public to warrant their placement in an open prison. They will have previously spent time in prisons with higher levels of security, before being transferred to open conditions if recommended by the Parole Board—or directed through NOMS.
The main purpose of open conditions is to test prisoners in conditions more similar to those that they will face in the community. Time spent in open prisons affords prisoners the opportunity to find work, re-establish family ties, reintegrate into the community and ensure housing needs are met. For many prisoners who have spent a considerable amount of time in custody; these can assist in their successful reintegration in the community and protecting the public. To release these prisoners directly from a closed prison without the resettlement benefits of the open estate could lead to higher levels of post-release reoffending. The reoffending rates of those released from open prisons are low when compared to all prisoners released from custody in England and Wales.
The public have understandable concerns in the light of recent high profile absconds. Keeping the public safe is our priority and we will not allow the actions of a small minority of offenders to undermine public confidence in the prison system. The number of prisoners absconding has reached record lows, down from 952 absconds in 1995-96 (the first year for which this data is available) to 204 in 2012-13, but we take each and every incident seriously. The Government have already ordered immediate changes to tighten up the system as a matter of urgency. With immediate effect, prisoners will no longer be transferred to open conditions if they have previously absconded from open prisons; or absconded or reoffended while released on temporary licence.
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many prisoners in open prisons have previously absconded or escaped from prison; [199723]
(2) how many prisoners in an open prison have previously breached a licence condition while released on temporary licence. [199722]
Jeremy Wright: Keeping the public safe is our priority. That is why this Government have taken action on both releases on temporary licence (ROTL) and absconds from prison.
We commissioned a fundamental review of ROTL policy and practice last year and, in March, announced a package of measures to ensure that the public was properly protected. We have brought forward some of those measures so that they take effect immediately; particularly with more serious offenders, where the review concluded that an enhanced risk assessment approach should be taken.
Absconds have reached record lows under this Government but each incident is taken seriously. Immediate changes have already been ordered to tighten up the system as a matter of urgency. Prisoners will no longer be transferred to open conditions or allowed out on temporary release if they have previously absconded.
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Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many of those held in open prisons in each month in 2010 to 2013 had previously (a) absconded, (b) attempted to abscond, (c) escaped and (d) attempted to escape. [200226]
Jeremy Wright: Keeping the public safe is our priority. Absconds and escapes have reached record lows under this Government but each incident is taken seriously. Immediate changes have already been ordered to tighten up the system as a matter of urgency. Prisoners will no longer be transferred to open conditions or allowed out on temporary release if they have previously absconded, escaped, or attempted to do either.
My officials are currently working to provide the information requested. I will write to the right hon. Member in due course.
Prison Service
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many hours of (a) initial and (b) on-the-job training is provided to prison (i) governors and (ii) staff on (A) diversity and equality and (B) issues relating to radicalisation of prisoners; [199478]
(2) what (a) initial and (b) on-the-job training is provided to prison (i) governors and (ii) staff on (A) diversity and equality and (B) issues relating to radicalisation of prisoners. [199479]
Jeremy Wright: A range of equality and diversity training is available to all prison staff. Equalities awareness is also embedded in all business specific learning. The amount of training provided to individuals depends on their identified needs and their role within the prison.
Newly recruited prison officers and operational support grades are introduced to the nine protected characteristics (as described in the Equalities Act 2010) at the beginning of their initial training (one hour session). These are referred to throughout the course, and the learners’ understanding is assessed during specific equalities sessions (approximately seven hours) towards the end of the course.
Training and support from NOMS Security group and Chaplaincy group to appropriate staff forms a key part of NOMS' wide-ranging programme of work to manage the risks of violent extremism and radicalisation in custody. A three-hour module on extremism and radicalisation is delivered to all newly recruited prison officers as part of their initial training. The session raises their awareness of extremism and radicalisation, enabling them to confidently and appropriately identify, report, and manage those prisoners who exhibit extremist behaviours.
In prisons, bespoke training for staff working with extremist prisoners lasts up to three hours and examines the threat of extremism, how to identify those offenders and looks in detail at specific forms of extremism.
Prisoners
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice on which occasions Ministers in his Department have taken decisions on (a) moving prisoners into open conditions and (b) releasing prisoners on temporary licence since May 2010. [200224]
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Jeremy Wright: An indeterminate sentence prisoner is transferred to open conditions only after a robust risk assessment and, in most cases, upon the recommendation of the independent Parole Board. In making its risk assessment, the Parole Board is provided with reports from a range of professional staff from within the National Offender Management Service, all of whom can be required to attend the Parole Board hearing and give evidence directly to the Board if required to do so. In making its recommendation, the Board’s overriding priority at all times is the safety of the public.
Decisions as to whether to accept a Parole Board recommendation to transfer an indeterminate sentence prisoner to open conditions or to direct the transfer of such a prisoner without a Parole Board recommendation are taken by officials within the National Offender Management Service on behalf of Ministers, in accordance with the Carltona principle. Such decisions are not referred to Ministers.
Decisions to transfer determinate sentence prisoners to open conditions are taken by population managers within the National Offender Management Service. Only prisoners who have been thoroughly risk assessed and categorised as suitable for open conditions will be considered for transfer to open prisons. Decisions on re-categorising prisoners as suitable for open conditions are taken by experienced prison staff with input from offender managers, healthcare and other professional staff using recent information about the prisoner including behaviour while in closed conditions, security and intelligence information and any other risk information that might demonstrate the prisoner’s proven trustworthiness. Decisions are not taken by Ministers.
Decisions to release prisoners on temporary licence (ROTL) are taken by prison governors and directors, or their delegates, on behalf of the Secretary of State and in line with national guidance issued by the National Offender Management Service (NOMS). Decisions are taken on the basis of recommendations from a risk assessment board that has taken account of the nature of the offence and any indentified risk factors, the position of known victims, the offender’s record on previous ROTL; their behaviour in prison and progress in tackling their offending behaviour, and any other specific areas of concern relevant to that case. Decisions are not taken by Ministers.
Prisoners' Release
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether ministerial approval is required for decisions to grant release on temporary licence for (a) all prisoners and (b) those that committed the most serious and violent crimes. [199527]
Jeremy Wright: Ministers do not approve individual decisions to release prisoners on temporary licence (ROTL). Decisions are taken by prison governors and directors, or their delegates, on behalf of the Secretary of State and in line with national guidance issued by the National Offender Management Service (NOMS). This is in line with the 1994 and 2006 ROTL guidance.
We commissioned a review of ROTL policy and practice last year. We have introduced a new approach whereby high risk and serious offenders will be subjected to an enhanced regime of restricted ROTL under which
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temporary release decisions may be made only by the governor or deputy, and the board recommending the decision must consider a psychologist’s review report.
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners were released on temporary licence in each of the last four years (a) on compassionate grounds or to receive medical treatment, (b) to engage in work, paid employment or volunatry work, (c) to receive instruction or training which is not available in prison, (d) to take part in court, tribunal or inquiry proceedings, (e) to consult with his legal adviser, where this cannot reasonably be done within the prison, (f) to help the police with their enquiries, (g) to facilitate the prisoner's transfer between prisons and (h) to help him maintain family ties or to ease the transition from prison life to freedom. [199533]
Jeremy Wright: Releases for each of the reasons (a) to (h) given in the question—which are the purposes for which temporary release may be authorised under the Prison Rules—are captured under one or other of the four types of temporary release. Data on the number of temporary releases by type of licence are published annually in table A3.10 of the Offender Management caseload statistics at the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/offender-management-statistics-quarterly-october-december-2013-and-annual
The data for the last four years are as follows:
| 20101 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | |
| 1 A new prison database system was introduced mid 2009 which affected the supply of data for statistical purposes from July 2009 to February 2010. Therefore, data for 2010 cannot be provided and are left blank in the table above. Note: There are four types of temporary release: Resettlement day release—which allows people to train, work, maintain contact with their families and undertake general resettlement activities; Resettlement overnight release—which allows prisoners to spend time in the proposed release address; Childcare Resettlement Licence—which allows the release of sole carers of children under 16; and, Special purpose licence—which covers a range of necessary activities not linked to resettlement, such as medical treatment, attending funerals or indeed transferring between prisons, attending court or helping the police | ||||
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners who breached their temporary licence conditions in each of the last three years were granted further release on temporary licence. [199721]
Jeremy Wright:
An answer to this question could be provided only at disproportionate cost. It would entail detailed checking of over 1,100 individual prisoner
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records relating to those who had breached conditions attached to their temporary release during this period in order to see whether they had subsequently been granted further temporary release.
The number of temporary release failures remains very low, less that one failure in every 1,000 releases and only around five failures in every 100,000 releases involve alleged offending; but we are keenly aware of understandable public concern about temporary release failures. Towards the end of May we accelerated our plans to improve release on temporary licence (ROTL) policy and practice. We brought forward aspects of the new "restricted ROTL" approach for serious offenders to safeguard the public, and the requirement that no ROTL can take place without a clearly defined, legitimate purpose. In addition, those who have failed to return from or offended on temporary release, or who have absconded or escaped from custody during the current sentence will now be refused temporary release in the absence of exceptional circumstances.
Prisoners: Repatriation
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with which countries the UK is currently negotiating prisoner transfer agreements. [199506]
Jeremy Wright: Prisoner transfer agreements can be a sensitive issue for some countries and it could be counter-productive to reveal details of discussions before they are concluded. However, I can assure you that my ministerial colleagues and I are actively engaging with a number of countries and remain determined to secure compulsory agreements wherever possible.
All foreign national offenders sentenced to custody are referred to the Home Office for them to consider deportation at the earliest possible opportunity.
The Prisoner Transfer process is just one mechanism for removing Foreign National Offenders. The number of FNOs deported under the Early Removal Scheme (ERS) has increased under this Government. In 2013, we removed nearly 2,000 FNOs under ERS and under the Tariff Expired Removal Scheme (TERS), which we introduced in May 2012, we have removed over 240 FNOs to date.
Whereas this Government have begun to reduce the foreign national population in prison since 2010, between 1997 and 2010, the number of foreign nationals in our prisons more than doubled.
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many Ministerial visits to foreign countries during which prisoner transfer agreements were discussed took place (a) between May 1997 and May 2010 and (b) since May 2010. [199507]
Jeremy Wright:
Ministers across Government pro-actively raise the prospect of PTAs when they are visiting countries where we have significant numbers of Foreign National
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Offenders. The issue is also raised when Ministers and senior officials from overseas visit the United Kingdom. We do not hold a central record of all the occasions PTAs have been raised in discussion.
All foreign national offenders sentenced to custody are referred to the Home Office for them to consider deportation at the earliest possible opportunity.
The Prisoner Transfer process is just one mechanism for removing Foreign National Offenders. The number of FNOs deported under the Early Removal Scheme (ERS) has increased under this Government. In 2013, we removed nearly 2,000 FNOs under ERS and under the Tariff Expired Removal Scheme (TERS), which we introduced in May 2012, we have removed over 240 FNOs to date.
Whereas this Government have begun to reduce the foreign national population in prison since 2010, between 1997 and 2010, the number of foreign nationals in our prisons more than doubled.
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many full-time equivalent staff of his Department were working on prisoner transfer agreements on 1 April (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012, (d) 2013 and (e) 2014. [199508]
Jeremy Wright: Since 2010 there have been six officials in the MOJ and NOMS who spend a significant proportion of their time in relation to obtaining and supporting the implementation of Prisoner Transfer Arrangements (PTAs). These officials cover policy, operational and legal roles. This work is a high priority and there is coordinated director level input across Government with Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and Home Office (HO) officials contributing to the objective to get compulsory PTAs.
All foreign national offenders sentenced to custody are referred to the Home Office for them to consider deportation at the earliest possible opportunity.
The Prisoner Transfer process is just one mechanism for removing Foreign National Offenders. The number of FNOs deported under the Early Removal Scheme {ERS) has increased under this Government. In 2013, we removed nearly 2,000 FNOs under ERS and under the Tariff Expired Removal Scheme (TERS), which we introduced in May 2012, we have removed over 240 FNOs to date.
Whereas this Government have begun to reduce the foreign national population in prison since 2010, between 1997 and 2010, the number of foreign nationals in our prisons more than doubled.
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with which countries and on what dates the UK has (a) signed and (b) ratified prisoner transfer agreements (i) between May 1997 and May 2010 and (ii) since May 2010. [199517]
Jeremy Wright: The information is as follows:
| Table 1: Prisoner Transfer Arrangements (PTAs) signed between May 1997 and May 2010 | |||
| Country | Date of signature | Date came into force | Voluntary or Compulsory Agreement (i.e. consent of prisoner required or not) |
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| 1 Not in force. | |||
| Table 2: Prisoner Transfer Arrangements (PTAs) signed May 2010 to date | |||
| Country | Date of signature | Date came into force | Voluntary or Compulsory Agreement (i.e. consent of prisoner or not) |
| 1 Not in force—Nigerian PTA will shortly be in force. We are awaiting final exchange of diplomatic notes. First transfers are expected by the end of this calendar year (2014). | |||
In addition to the bilateral prisoner transfer arrangements listed above the United Kingdom became a party to the following multi-party arrangements:
The Additional Protocol to the Council of Europe Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons
Signed: 9 February 2009 Entered into Force: 1 November 2009
Council Framework Decision 2008/909/JHA of the 27 November 2008 on the application of the principle of mutual recognition to judgments in criminal matters imposing custodial sentences or measures involving deprivation of liberty for the purpose of their enforcement in the European Union
Adopted: 27 November 2008 Entered into force: 5 December 2011
All foreign national offenders sentenced to custody are referred to the Home Office for them to consider deportation at the earliest possible opportunity.
The Prisoner Transfer process is just one mechanism for removing Foreign National Offenders. The number of FNOs deported under the Early Removal Scheme (ERS) has increased under this Government. In 2013, we removed nearly 2,000 FNOs under ERS and under the Tariff Expired Removal Scheme (TERS), which we introduced in May 2012, we have removed over 240 FNOs to date.
Whereas this Government have begun to reduce the foreign national population in prison since 2010, between 1997 and 2010, the number of foreign nationals in our prisons more than doubled.
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether EU nationals sentenced before 5 December 2011 are eligible for repatriation under the EU Prisoner Transfer Agreement. [199518]
Jeremy Wright: Council Framework Decision 2008/909/JHA (The “EU PTA”) entered into force on 5 December 2011. To date 18 Member states, including the UK, have implemented the Agreement. The remainder are expected to do so by the end of this year (2014). Article 28 (2) of the EU PTA enables member states to issue a declaration restricting application of the agreement to persons sentenced on or after 5 December 2011. To date four member states (Ireland, Malta, the Netherlands, and Poland) have made declarations under Article 28 (2).
All foreign national offenders sentenced to custody are referred to the Home Office for them to consider deportation at the earliest possible opportunity.
The Prisoner Transfer process is just one mechanism for removing Foreign National Offenders. The number of FNOs deported under the Early Removal Scheme (ERS) has increased under this Government. In 2013, we removed nearly 2,000 FNOs under ERS and under the Tariff Expired Removal Scheme (TERS), which we introduced in May 2012, we have removed over 240 FNOs to date.
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Whereas this Government have begun to reduce the foreign national population in prison since 2010, between 1997 and 2010, the number of foreign nationals in our prisons more than doubled.
Prisoners: Risk Assessment
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many risk assessments on prisoners were carried out by (a) fully-qualified forensic psychologists and (b) trainee psychologists in each of the last three years. [200108]
Jeremy Wright: The numbers of risk assessments carried out by psychologists has not routinely been recorded over the last three years; obtaining these figures would require psychology teams to review their paper and electronic records for that period for the entire service, incurring disproportionate cost in the process.
Prisoners: Sexual Offences
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many non-consensual sexual acts, of what type, there were in prisons in England and Wales in each of the last four years. [199550]
Jeremy Wright: Sexual assaults account for less than 2% of all assault incidents reported. The reporting of sexual assaults does not specify the type of sexual assault that has been committed. The numbers of sexual assaults in prisons are provided in Table 3.9 of the assaults tables in the Safety in Custody statistics bulletin which can be found at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/safety-in-custody-statistics
Prisons: Crimes of Violence
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many reported incidents of assault by Kevin Thakrar on (a) prison officers and (b) other prisoners there were in each of the last four years; how many of those incidents were reported to the police; and in how many of those incidents did Crown Prosecution Service decide (i) not to prosecute and (ii) to prosecute. [199501]
Jeremy Wright: NOMS takes the issue of assaults very seriously. It currently has systems in place to deal with perpetrators quickly and robustly, with serious incidents referred to the police for prosecution. It is working with the police and Crown Prosecution Service to ensure that prisoners who assault staff are charged and punished appropriately.
To protect the safety of prisoners and prison staff details of incidents by individual prisoners cannot be provided.
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many reported incidents of violence inside prisons resulted in (a) an arrest and (b) a charge, by type of offence, in each of the last four years. [199529]
Jeremy Wright:
NOMS takes the issue of assaults very seriously. It currently has systems in place to deal with perpetrators quickly and robustly, with serious
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incidents referred to the police for prosecution. It is working closely with the police and CPS to develop a new joint protocol to report crimes in prison—this includes pushing for prosecutions when prison staff are attacked.
The number of arrests and charges from assault incidents in prison can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Prisons: Discipline
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many incidents of each type were recorded on the Incident Reporting System in (a) privately and (b) publicly run prisons in each month since 1 January 2014. [199515]
Jeremy Wright: The Incident Reporting System is used by establishments to record events that undermine the safety of those within an establishment and/or subvert the authority or effectiveness of the establishment's regimes or facilities.
There is a range of incident types recorded on this system and the data need to undergo validation and assurance before being published. To undertake this on each incident type that is reported takes time and so I will write to you when this information is available for the latest period.
Prisons: Employment
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many jobs have been created by One3One Solutions (a) in England and Wales and (b) in each Prison Service region in each of the last four years; [199504]
(2) how many prisoners were in employment provided by one3one Solutions in (a) England and Wales and (b) each Prison Service region in each of the last four years. [199505]
Jeremy Wright: Information is not available to identify separately prison work places specifically attributed to ONE3ONE Solutions, as prisoner work is sourced both by the central ONE3ONE team and by prisons locally.
The number of prisoners working in industrial activity in public sector prisons in England and Wales increased from around 8,600 in 2010-11 (the first year for which figures are available) to around 9,700 in 2012-13. This was achieved without increasing operating costs to the National Offender Management Service (NOMS).
Private sector prisons have also been supporting this agenda and have reported that they provided work for some 1,200 prisoners in 2012-13.
In addition, there are substantial number of prisoners who work in prisons on tasks such as cooking, serving meals, maintenance and cleaning.
Figures for public sector prisons are published in the NOMS annual report management information addendum, available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/225225/mi-addendum.pdf
Historical data broken down by Prison Service region would need to be extracted from different management information systems, quality checked, recorded and formatted. This would incur disproportionate cost.
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Probation
Mr Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many chief executives of probation services have formed a mutual; how many of those mutuals have passed the pre-qualification questionnaire in the competitiveness process of community rehabilitation companies; and if he will make a statement. [199473]
Jeremy Wright: In mid December 2013, we announced the bidders who passed the first stage of the competition to bid for the regional rehabilitation contracts. Approximately one third of the bidders included a potential mutual organisation within their consortium. A list of the bidders who have been successful at this stage can be found at:
https://www.justice.gov.uk/transforming-rehabilitation/competition
Bids to run the Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) have yet to be submitted, but are expected by the end of June 2014. The contract winners for each Community Rehabilitation Company are expected be announced by the end of 2014.
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many unfilled vacancies there were on 1 June 2014 in (a) each community rehabilitation company and (b) the National Probation Service. [200223]
Jeremy Wright: The National Probation Service (NPS) and Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) commenced operation on 1 June, and all staff have now moved to the new structure. Detailed information on vacancies is not held centrally. CRCs and NPS divisions are currently developing their work force plans, building on the staff structures inherited from trusts. Once these are completed, they will be reviewed centrally and will inform the current round of recruitment for trainee probation officers. In the meantime, NPS deputy directors and CRCs are continuing to monitor and manage staffing in their areas.
Procurement
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to the answer of 28 April 2014, Official Report, column 623W, on procurement, what contracts his Department holds with (a) G4S, (b) Sodexo and (c) Serco for (i) HM Prison Altcourse, (ii) HM Prison/Young Offender Institution Parc, (iii) HM Prison Rye Hill, (iv) HM Prison Bronzefield, (v) HM Prison/Young Offender Institution Forest Bank, (vi) HM Prison Peterborough, (vii) HM Prison Ashfield, (viii) HM Prison Lowdham Grange and (ix) HM Prison Thameside. [199526]
Jeremy Wright: The MOJ holds the following contracts with G4S, Sodexo and Serco.
| Existing contracted estate prisons | Type of contract PFI/MM | Contractor (special purpose vehicle (SPV)) Companies House registered name |
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| Key: PFI = Private Finance Initiative. MM = Manage and Maintain. | ||
Secure Colleges
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what representations (a) Ministers and (b) officials in his Department have received on the use of constraint in secure colleges. [200242]
Jeremy Wright: During the passage of the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill through this House, my officials and I have received representations from Members of the House and a number of stakeholders on the use of reasonable force for the purposes of ensuring good order and discipline in secure colleges.
The Bill provides for the use of force by a custody officer in discharging his or her duties, but only in circumstances authorised by secure college rules. At Report stage on 16 May 2014, I announced that we will be consulting on the approach to the rules, while the Bill is still before Parliament.
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what equality impact assessments his Department has carried out on the proposed introduction of a secure college. [200243]
Jeremy Wright: In accordance with the Ministry of Justice’s duties under the Equality Act 2010, we considered the impact of the proposals set out in the Government’s response to the Transforming Youth Custody Consultation in January 2014. We will consider equalities impacts further as part of the consultation on the approach to the secure college rules during the passage of the Criminal Justice and Court Bill through Parliament, and throughout the development of the project.
Secure Colleges: Construction
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many firms other than Wates submitted bids for the construction contract for a secure college. [200051]
Jeremy Wright: A competition has taken place under the Ministry of Justice’s Strategic Alliance Agreement Framework. Tenders were submitted by four bidders, Carillion, Interserve, Lend Lease and Wates.
Secure Colleges: Leicestershire
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the differences are between the current design for the secure college in Leicestershire and the plans for a young offender institute at Glen Parva drawn up in 2009 by HLM Architects. [200044]
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Jeremy Wright: The secure college will be a step change from the traditional custodial environment of bars on windows and the initial design draws on innovation and learning from developments of community based schools and colleges. Although the secure college will be fundamentally different from a young offenders institution, we are making use of the previous work where relevant.
The plans drawn up in 2009 were focused on delivering facilities specifically designed for young people, albeit a different cohort. It is therefore inevitable there will be similarities between the design solutions. However, present designs are fully reflective of the broader cohort a secure college could take and the accommodation has been configured accordingly to ensure their safety and well-being.
Serco
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what financial penalties have been incurred by Serco in relation to its contract to deliver the NOMS/European Social Fund project aimed at improving employability prospects of offenders and ex-offenders in the South East region since 1 January 2011. [199492]
Jeremy Wright: Serco has incurred no financial penalties in respect of this contract since it commenced on 1 January 2011.
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what financial penalties have been incurred by Serco in relation to its contract to run Community Payback Services in London since 31 October 2012. [199493]
Jeremy Wright: A service credit of £14,409 was raised for this contract.
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what total amount his Department has paid in payment by results-related bonuses to Serco in relation to its contract to run HM Prison Doncaster since the beginning of that contract. [199503]
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Jeremy Wright: The Department has made no payment by results-related bonuses to Serco in relation to its contract to run HM Prison Doncaster since the beginning of the contract. Reoffending data from the first offender cohort will be available at the end of July 2014. The results will determine whether any sums are due under the contract.
Sexual Offences: Rehabilitation
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners undertook the (a) Core Sex Offender Treatment Programme, (b) Extended Sex Offender Treatment Programme, (c) Healthy Sex Programme, (d) Becoming New Me Programme, (e) New Me Coping Programme, (f) Living as New Me Programme and (g) all sex offender treatment programmes in each prison in (i) 2010, (ii) 2011, (iii) 2012 and (iv) 2013. [199509]
Jeremy Wright: We provide a range of programmes for this highly complex group of offenders. These are tailored to address an individual's risk and need, and can also include substance misuse, anger management and violence reduction. Sex offender treatment programmes are not suitable for every prisoner. In each case a thorough assessment will be carried out. We are looking to make sure that the resources we are targeting specifically towards sex offenders deal with the highest risk sex offenders and have created the Sex Offender Management Board to address this. This should lead to increased high risk sex offenders accessing programmes. A greater focus has been placed on higher risk offenders who pose the greatest risk of harm to the public and this therefore requires investment in lengthier more expensive programmes which offer greater benefit to the public. This may result in a reduction in overall places but represents a better investment in public protection. This is why simply looking at the number of starts or completions does not tell the full story. The following table sets out the number of prisoners by establishment and in total who started each of the named programmes in the financial years 2009-10 to 2012-13.
| Location | Programme name | 2009-10 | 2010-11 | 2011-12 | 2012-13 | Grand total |
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| 1 Figures refer to Acklington prior to merger with Castington to become Northumberland in 2011-12. | ||||||
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average waiting time for a sex offender treatment programme is (a) across the whole prison estate and (b) in those prisons holding sex offenders. [199531]
Jeremy Wright: NOMS run a number of different sexual offending treatment programmes across various prison types and security categories. The range of courses and individual circumstances of the offenders waiting to undertake them means that it is not possible to provide a meaningful average waiting time for these programmes. Prisoners' access can be dependent upon a number of factors which include their level of motivation, risk of recidivism, treatment history or sentence plan, and their sentence length and release date or tariff expiry. Once referred for a programme, access will also depend on whether other prisoners are considered to take priority for that programme on factors such as level of risk and release date.
Social Security Benefits: Appeals
Mike Kane: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average length of time is for appeals for those who have had their benefits sanctioned. [200130]
Mr Vara: The First-tier Tribunal (Social Security and Child Support), administered by HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS), hears appeals against Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) decisions on a range of benefits.
HMCTS does not record data specifically relating to appeals against sanctions imposed by DWP and does not therefore hold the information requested.
Trials
Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many trials were stayed in each of the last four years. [199520]
Mr Vara: While stays are recorded on HMCTS’ case management systems in the Crown Court and magistrates courts they are not recorded in a way that allows them to identify how many trials were stayed. This could be done only by manually checking every case file at disproportionate cost.
Victim Support Schemes
Mr Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps he has taken to ensure that funds devolved to the budgets of police and crime commissioners for victims' services are allocated according to crime rates. [199327]
Damian Green: Funding for the commissioning of victims' services has been allocated to Police and Crime Commissioners using a transparent formula based solely on population data. One of the reasons we are moving to a local commissioning model is to allow Police and Crime Commissioners to provide services tailored to meet local needs. The population based formula ensures that funding is allocated according to where the victim lives, and therefore where they will likely seek the support of victims' services. Additionally the relatively low variation in distribution of population between areas year on year means these proportions should remain relatively stable over time.