Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Baroness Scott of Bybrook on 9 November 2020 (HL Deb, col 798) and the answer by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar on 6 July (HL Deb, col 1149), what work has been undertaken by the team of officials appointed to work on the royal commission on criminal justice since November 2020; and what work are they currently undertaking.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar - Shadow Attorney General
Work to establish a Royal Commission was slowed down last year to prioritise the safe operation of the Criminal Justice System in response to the impact of Covid. As we continue to recover and build back the CJS, it is right that we now pause work on the Royal Commission to allow space for the recovery work before revisiting where a Commission might add most value. As work on the Commission has paused, officials have been redeployed to other roles in government.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how they plan to ensure women prison leavers supported by the Ministry of Justice’s temporary accommodation service are supported into permanent accommodation.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar - Shadow Attorney General
We are investing more than £20m in supporting prison leavers at risk of homelessness into temporary accommodation. Individuals released from prison will be provided up to 12 weeks of temporary accommodation and will be supported into long-term settled accommodation before the end of that 12-week period. Initially launching in five national probation regions, the service will support around 3,000 offenders in its first year and will be commencing this Summer. It will be in operation during the financial year 2021-22, with a view to scaling up and rolling out nationally.
The service will take account of the needs of women, including those with complex needs and accommodation provision will be dedicated to single gender usage as required. Community Probation Practitioners, working together with local partners, will be responsible for ensuring that vulnerable female prison leavers receive appropriate support and are provided with housing beyond the 12 weeks’ emergency accommodation.
In 2020, Hestia Battersea was changed from a male to female Approved Premises to give better geographic spread of AP provision for women, becoming the first AP for women in London since 2008.
In addition, Eden House, the first new AP in over thirty years, will open in this month supporting female offenders.
HMPPS will work in conjunction with MHCLG’s announced funding to support both male and female prison leavers at risk of homelessness into private rental tenancies. Funded schemes to support women will be developed to recognise their specific needs and will be part of plans to secure settled accommodation by the end of the 12 weeks’ temporary accommodation provided by HMPPS.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the report by Independent Monitoring Board, Annual Report of the Independent Monitoring Board at HMP Berwyn, published on 17 September 2020, what assessment they have made of complaints that prisoners have been threatened with sanctions for speaking Welsh; and what steps are they taking following those complaints.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar - Shadow Attorney General
No sanctions or warnings have been issued at HMP Berwyn for use of the Welsh Language since the prison opened in 2017. There has been one instance where a prisoner was improperly challenged for speaking Welsh in 2019; the matter was investigated, and the member of staff corrected before they issued a behaviour warning to the prisoner. No further complaints of this nature have been reported.
HMP Berwyn is committed to supporting its prisoners, which includes meeting the expectations of the Welsh Language Commissioner and helping encourage the speaking of Welsh at the prison.
Every prison in Wales, including HMP Berwyn, has a Welsh Language Action plan. HMP Berwyn has a dedicated Welsh Language Lead who provides updates to the Diversity & Inclusion Committee, chaired by the Governor.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many prisoners have been released on bail in each month since 1 March because they have reached the maximum permissible period of remand.
Answered by Baroness Scott of Bybrook - Shadow Minister (Housing, Communities and Local Government)
The Department does not currently collect this data centrally.