Asked by: Baroness Corston (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the consultation process for the prison sale and building programme.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie
On 9 November 2015, the government announced a £1.3bn investment to reform and modernise the prison estate to make it more efficient, safer and focused on supporting prisoner rehabilitation. As part of this programme the Ministry of Justice will build new prison places while selling ageing, inefficient prisons to free up land for new homes.These new prisons will be designed to enable prisoners to engage with the educational and other rehabilitative services they need in order to turn their lives around and re-join their communities.
We are in the process of finding sites for new prisons, looking at our own and other government departments’ land holdings, contacting Local Authorities and considering other available sites. No decisions have yet been made on the locations of the new prisons. At the time we indicate our intention to proceed with a site we will carry out a public engagement event in the local area, working with the local authority and others to progress the site through the planning permission process.
Following a decision to close a prison and it subsequently being decommissioned the Ministry of Justice will prepare the site for disposal. The Ministry of Justice will work closely with the local authority and others, on future options for the site. Once a decision is made, the MoJ and its advisors will engage with the market and other stakeholders. No decisions have yet been made about prison sales.
Asked by: Baroness Corston (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the contract value allocated to each Community Rehabilitation Company and what percentage is spent on direct front line delivery staff as opposed to contract management staff.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie
The anticipated value of contracts for Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRC) was published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 4 February 2015.
CRCs are currently undergoing transformation including changes to their workforce. The proportion of cost spent on direct front line staff in the final operating model for each CRC will be different to the proportion of cost at the point of contract award and which will continue to vary from month to month until transformation is complete.
Asked by: Baroness Corston (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is the most up to date commercial land market valuation for the Holloway Prison site.
Answered by Lord Faulks
On 9 November 2015, the government announced a £1.3bn investment to reform and modernise the prison estate to make it more efficient, safer and focused on supporting prisoner rehabilitation.
The Secretary of State for Justice announced on 25 November 2015 that HM Prison and Young Offender Institution Holloway would be closed as the first stage of this programme. HMP Holloway was closed on 22 June. Once the prison has been fully decommissioned it will be handed over to the Ministry of Justice Estates Directorate for disposal.
No decisions have yet been taken on the future of the Holloway site. The Ministry of Justice will work closely with the local authority and others, on future options for the site. Once a decision is made, the MoJ and its advisors will engage with the market and other stakeholders. Any valuation information is considered commercially sensitive and therefore cannot be released.
Asked by: Baroness Corston (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what is decisions have been made about the future of the Holloway Prison site.
Answered by Lord Faulks
On 9 November 2015, the government announced a £1.3bn investment to reform and modernise the prison estate to make it more efficient, safer and focused on supporting prisoner rehabilitation.
The Secretary of State for Justice announced on 25 November 2015 that HM Prison and Young Offender Institution Holloway would be closed as the first stage of this programme. HMP Holloway was closed on 22 June. Once the prison has been fully decommissioned it will be handed over to the Ministry of Justice Estates Directorate for disposal.
No decisions have yet been taken on the future of the Holloway site. The Ministry of Justice will work closely with the local authority and others, on future options for the site. Once a decision is made, the MoJ and its advisors will engage with the market and other stakeholders. Any valuation information is considered commercially sensitive and therefore cannot be released.
Asked by: Baroness Corston (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what plans they have for the marketing of the Holloway Prison site.
Answered by Lord Faulks
On 9 November 2015, the government announced a £1.3bn investment to reform and modernise the prison estate to make it more efficient, safer and focused on supporting prisoner rehabilitation.
The Secretary of State for Justice announced on 25 November 2015 that HM Prison and Young Offender Institution Holloway would be closed as the first stage of this programme. HMP Holloway was closed on 22 June. Once the prison has been fully decommissioned it will be handed over to the Ministry of Justice Estates Directorate for disposal.
No decisions have yet been taken on the future of the Holloway site. The Ministry of Justice will work closely with the local authority and others, on future options for the site. Once a decision is made, the MoJ and its advisors will engage with the market and other stakeholders. Any valuation information is considered commercially sensitive and therefore cannot be released.
Asked by: Baroness Corston (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to monitor the impact of the closure of Holloway Prison on the number of family visits to relocated prisoners.
Answered by Lord Faulks
All women transferred from Holloway were carefully assessed as part of the prison’s closure planning. The assessment sought to ensure that they were held as close to home as was practicable given their individual circumstances.
Asked by: Baroness Corston (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Neville-Rolfe on 21 June (HL669), what are the exceptional conditions in which apprenticeships of less than 12 months are published in their statistics on apprenticeships.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
Apprenticeships with a duration of less than 12 months are included in published statistics where the apprentice is 19 years or older on the day they start their apprenticeship and not all elements of the framework are being delivered. This could be because of Recognition of Prior Learning or previously certificated achievement of qualifications. In all cases, the minimum length of the apprenticeship is six months.
Asked by: Baroness Corston (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Baroness Evans of Bowes Park on 7 June (HL Deb, col 656), of the 6,660 apprenticeship starts in the constituency of Richmond, Yorkshire, as published in government statistics for 2014–15, what percentage met the definition of an apprenticeship of (1) being a job in a skilled occupation, (2) having substantial and sustained training lasting a minimum of 12 months, (3) leading to full competency in an occupation, and (4) developing transferable skills.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Skills Funding Agency 2014 to 2015 funding rules set out the eligibility requirements for apprenticeships started in 2014/15. These include points (1) to (4).
Only apprenticeships which adhere to this definition of an apprenticeship are recognised within these published statistics. On point (2), the statistics also include apprenticeships with an agreed planned duration of less than 12 months in exceptional circumstances, for example, for apprentices with prior qualifications that cover part of their framework.
Asked by: Baroness Corston (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Baroness Evans of Bowes Park on 7 June (HL Deb, col 656), of the 499,900 apprenticeship starts as published in government statistics for 2014–15, what percentage met the definition of an apprenticeship of (1) being a job in a skilled occupation, (2) having substantial and sustained training lasting a minimum of 12 months, (3) leading to full competency in an occupation, and (4) developing transferable skills.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The Skills Funding Agency 2014 to 2015 funding rules set out the eligibility requirements for apprenticeships started in 2014/15. These include points (1) to (4).
Only apprenticeships which adhere to this definition of an apprenticeship are recognised within these published statistics. On point (2), the statistics also include apprenticeships with an agreed planned duration of less than 12 months in exceptional circumstances, for example, for apprentices with prior qualifications that cover part of their framework.
Asked by: Baroness Corston (Labour - Life peer)
Question
To ask the Chairman of Committees how much has been spent by the House of Lords on floristry services on the Parliamentary estate for each of the last five years for which figures are available.
Answered by Lord Laming
The cost of flowers for the House of Lords is set out in the table below. These costs relate primarily to flowers in catering and retail outlets, and ceremonial events, such as state visits. The cost of flowers in the House of Commons portion of the Parliamentary estate is a matter for the House of Commons Commission.
Financial year | Amount (£) |
2011/12 | 23,185 |
2012/13 | 13,956 |
2013/14 | 11,656 |
2014/15 | 13,459 |
2015/16 (to December 2015) | 9,276 |
These figures do not include flowers for banqueting functions and other income generating business as these costs are paid for by the customer or revenue from the event.
Catering and Retail Services keeps its expenditure on flowers under review, to ensure that it is delivering best value to the taxpayer.