Asked by: Lord Bishop of Gloucester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many women in prison aged (1) 18 to 25, and (2) 26 years or older, have previously been in local authority care in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) is committed to meeting the needs of all vulnerable offenders, including those who have previously been in local authority care. All individuals that come into contact with the criminal justice system need to be able to access the right support to help them engage with their sentence.
HMPPS has a Strategy for Care Experienced People which is based on the assessment of needs specific to this group. The strategy focuses on identifying people with care experience and collaborative working with local authorities and other organisations, helping individuals to receive the necessary support.
HMPPS holds a limited amount of the information requested. Since 2015, as part of the basic custody screening interview, we have recorded the answers of all new prisoners coming into custody as to whether or not they have been in the care of local authority children’s services at any time. The information is purely self-declared.
Age when BCS Part 1 Completed | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 TYD up to and including 31/03/2021 |
Age 18 to 25 | 281 | 285 | 233 | 206 | 214 | 143 | 134 | 49 |
Age 26 or over | 709 | 772 | 678 | 701 | 657 | 467 | 460 | 151 |
The data for 2022 is up to and including 31 March which is the most recent date for which it can be verified. It should be noted that individual prisoners admitted to custody on separate occasions could be included in multiple years across this data.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Gloucester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many adjudications were received by women in prison aged (1) 18 to 25, or (2) 26 years or older, for each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The prisoner discipline system upholds justice in prisons and ensures incidents of prison rule-breaking have consequences. The Ministry of Justice monitors adjudication outcomes by offence, age, gender, ethnicity, religion and adjudicator, this data is published quarterly and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/offender-management-statistics-quarterly.
The specific information requested can be found in the table attached. The information is provided by the age groupings of (1) 18-25 and (2) 26 and over, to provide full data to answer the question.
Number of adjudications outcomes for women and specific age group, 2012 - 2021, England and Wales
| 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
Age |
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18-25 | 2,655 | 2,002 | 2,140 | 2,326 | 1,929 | 2,680 | 2,645 | 2,248 | 1,739 | 1,750 |
26 and over | 4,720 | 4,589 | 4,996 | 5,667 | 6,348 | 7,817 | 8,834 | 8,720 | 6,450 | 6,034 |
Data sources and quality
The figures in this table have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
Source: PQ HL532, Prison NOMIS System, (Ministry of Justice; Data and Analysis, Directorate)
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Gloucester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the average number of miles that women in prison aged (1) 18 to 25, and (2) 26 years or older, are held from their home address.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The requested information can be found in the table below. It covers all prisoners housed in female prisons across England and Wales and was accurate as of 31st March 2022.
Distance | Age group | Total | |
18-25 | 26+ | ||
Total number of prisoners | 399 | 2840 | 3239 |
Average straight-line distance (Miles) | 43.2 | 45.6 | 45.3 |
HMPPS is committed to ensuring, where practicable, that prisoners are accommodated as close as possible to their resettlement communities and families. Whilst this is a priority, it is not always possible due to a variety of factors including wider population pressures, or where prisoners have specific sentence planning needs which can only be met at certain establishments.
There are complex and wide-ranging issues involved in transferring and locating prisoners, and allocation decisions must reflect both the specific needs and circumstances of the prisoner, including their security assessment, as well as the operating environment and range of services at the receiving prison.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Gloucester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many women in prison aged (1) 18 to 25, or (2) 26 years or older, are currently sharing a cell.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The requested data, correct as of 31st March 2022, is provided in table form below.
HL530 – The number of people housed in each female prison aged (1) 18 to 25, and (2) 26 years or older.
Prison Estate | Age group | ||
18-25 | 26+ | Total | |
Askham Grange | 6 | 90 | 96 |
Bronzefield | 69 | 389 | 458 |
Downview | 40 | 234 | 274 |
Drake Hall | 20 | 257 | 277 |
East Sutton Park | 5 | 59 | 64 |
Eastwood Park | 47 | 326 | 373 |
Foston Hall | 36 | 220 | 256 |
Low Newton | 22 | 219 | 241 |
New Hall | 37 | 290 | 327 |
Peterborough (Female Site) | 53 | 265 | 318 |
Send | 11 | 171 | 182 |
Styal | 53 | 320 | 373 |
Total | 399 | 2840 | 3239 |
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HL534 – The number of people aged (1) between 18 and 25, and (2) 26 years or older sharing a cell in a female prison.
Sharing Type | Age group | ||
18-25 | 26+ | Total | |
Number sharing | 107 | 739 | 846 |
Not sharing | 292 | 2101 | 2393 |
Total | 399 | 2840 | 3239 |
Cells are only shared when absolutely necessary, and where they are assessed to be of an adequate size and condition. Prison cell occupancy is certified by the Prison Group Director (PGD) in accordance with the Certified Prisoner Accommodation Framework, which provides guidelines for determining cell capacities.
The sharing of double occupancy cells (designed for two) can, in some circumstances, be beneficial; some prisoners prefer it and, in the right circumstances, it can benefit their mental health and wellbeing.
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 years or older, are currently held in each female prison establishment.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities)
The requested data, correct as of 31st March 2022, is provided in table form below.
HL530 – The number of people housed in each female prison aged (1) 18 to 25, and (2) 26 years or older.
Prison Estate | Age group | ||
18-25 | 26+ | Total | |
Askham Grange | 6 | 90 | 96 |
Bronzefield | 69 | 389 | 458 |
Downview | 40 | 234 | 274 |
Drake Hall | 20 | 257 | 277 |
East Sutton Park | 5 | 59 | 64 |
Eastwood Park | 47 | 326 | 373 |
Foston Hall | 36 | 220 | 256 |
Low Newton | 22 | 219 | 241 |
New Hall | 37 | 290 | 327 |
Peterborough (Female Site) | 53 | 265 | 318 |
Send | 11 | 171 | 182 |
Styal | 53 | 320 | 373 |
Total | 399 | 2840 | 3239 |
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HL534 – The number of people aged (1) between 18 and 25, and (2) 26 years or older sharing a cell in a female prison.
Sharing Type | Age group | ||
18-25 | 26+ | Total | |
Number sharing | 107 | 739 | 846 |
Not sharing | 292 | 2101 | 2393 |
Total | 399 | 2840 | 3239 |
Cells are only shared when absolutely necessary, and where they are assessed to be of an adequate size and condition. Prison cell occupancy is certified by the Prison Group Director (PGD) in accordance with the Certified Prisoner Accommodation Framework, which provides guidelines for determining cell capacities.
The sharing of double occupancy cells (designed for two) can, in some circumstances, be beneficial; some prisoners prefer it and, in the right circumstances, it can benefit their mental health and wellbeing.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Gloucester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many incidents of physical restraint took place in the female prison estate on women aged (1) 18 to 24, and (2) 25 years or older, in each year since 2018.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
The requested data on use of force incidents is available for the 12 month periods ending March 2019 to March 2021. This is detailed in the attached Excel spreadsheet.
Every use of physical force is reviewed, and prison officers receive appropriate training to ensure that it is only used when necessary, reasonable and proportionate.
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Gloucester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what proportion of cells in (1) the female prison estate, and (2) the male prison estate, have in-cell telephony; and what proportion of cells in each prison have that facility.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
I refer the right reverend Prelate to the answer given to PQ HL5474 on 1 February 2022 and HL5473 on 1 February 2022.
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 24, and (2) 25 years or older, are currently held in each female prison establishment.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
These figures are routinely published as part of the OMSQ Prison Population Data Tool (published as part of Offender Management Statistics Quarterly): https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/offender-management-statistics-quarterly.
As of 31 December 2021 (latest available published data), the population of each female prison, split by requested age categories, was as follows:
Prison Name | 18-24 | 25+ | Total |
ASKHAM GRANGE | 3 | 79 | 82 |
BRONZEFIELD | 62 | 411 | 473 |
DOWNVIEW | 26 | 215 | 241 |
DRAKE HALL | 18 | 274 | 292 |
EAST SUTTON PARK | 5 | 62 | 67 |
EASTWOOD PARK | 30 | 318 | 348 |
FOSTON HALL | 23 | 226 | 249 |
LOW NEWTON | 21 | 218 | 239 |
NEW HALL | 34 | 299 | 333 |
PETERBOROUGH FEMALE | 42 | 282 | 324 |
SEND | 9 | 180 | 189 |
STYAL | 41 | 333 | 374 |
Total | 314 | 2,897 | 3,211 |
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Gloucester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar on 2 February (HL5530) concerning the average distance from home for prisoners in female and male prisons, what is the reason for the discrepancy between the figures provided and the figure in table 5.1a of the Female Offender Strategy supporting data tables.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
The reason for the difference between figures provided in the response to HL5530 and table 5.1a of the Female Offender Strategy supporting data tables is a change in methodology.
The figures provided in table 5.1a were calculated using travelling distance (i.e. the distance of a road journey between 2 destinations). From 2019, the methodology used to extract information on prisoners’ distance from home changed to the straight-line distance approach used in the answer to HL5530 and other similar questions.
Straight-line modelling is the most consistent calculation method. Attempts to model based on travelling distance are subject to significant temporal and geographical variation (e.g. inner city travel time).
Asked by: Lord Bishop of Gloucester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many adjudications were received by men in prison aged (1) 18–24, or (2) 25 years or older, for each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
The prisoner discipline system upholds justice in prisons and ensures incidents of prison rule-breaking have consequences. The Ministry of Justice monitors adjudication outcomes by offence, age, gender, ethnicity, religion and adjudicator, this data is published quarterly and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/offender-management-statistics-quarterly. The specific information requested can be found in the table attached.