Asked by: Lord Pearson of Rannoch (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many civil prisoners are held in His Majesty's Prison Woodhill, and of those how many are kept in its close supervision centre.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
In line with statistical guidance and GDPR, we cannot release the requested data regarding the number of civil prisoners that are held in His Majesty’s Prison Woodhill, as this could lead to the identification of individuals, given the small sample sizes involved. There are no civil prisoners kept in its close supervision centre.
Asked by: Lord Pearson of Rannoch (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the psychological impact upon prisoners who spend long periods of time in solitary confinement.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Prisoners in England and Wales are not kept in solitary confinement. A prisoner may be removed from association where this appears desirable for the maintenance of good order or discipline, or is in the prisoner’s own interest. Prisoners in the adult prison estate may be separated in this way under the Governor’s authority for a maximum of 42 days. Segregation beyond this period must be authorised by a Prison Group Director, as an authority independent of the prison. The use of segregation is governed by Prison Service Order 1700.
The mental and physical health of prisoners removed from association is repeatedly assessed. Any prisoner segregated for over 30 days must have an individual mental health care plan in place. Segregated prisoners are managed by a multi-disciplinary team, which includes healthcare, mental health teams and psychology, overseen by a segregation review board. This board continually reviews both the physical and mental health of prisoners.
Asked by: Lord Pearson of Rannoch (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government for how long is it lawful for a prisoner to be kept in solitary confinement.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Prisoners in England and Wales are not kept in solitary confinement. A prisoner may be removed from association where this appears desirable for the maintenance of good order or discipline, or is in the prisoner’s own interest. Prisoners in the adult prison estate may be separated in this way under the Governor’s authority for a maximum of 42 days. Segregation beyond this period must be authorised by a Prison Group Director, as an authority independent of the prison. The use of segregation is governed by Prison Service Order 1700.
The mental and physical health of prisoners removed from association is repeatedly assessed. Any prisoner segregated for over 30 days must have an individual mental health care plan in place. Segregated prisoners are managed by a multi-disciplinary team, which includes healthcare, mental health teams and psychology, overseen by a segregation review board. This board continually reviews both the physical and mental health of prisoners.
Asked by: Lord Pearson of Rannoch (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case for prohibiting the religious solemnisation of unregistered marriages to ensure that Muslim wives have the protection of divorce law.
Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede - Lord in Waiting (HM Household) (Whip)
The Marriage Act 1949 has long made provision for couples, including Muslim couples, to marry in their place of worship in a way that gives them legal rights and protections. While some couples intentionally choose to have a religious-only marriage, it is concerning that some individuals may not realise that their non-legally binding marriage lacks the legal protections that come with a legal marriage.
That is why the Government committed in its 2024 manifesto to ‘strengthen the rights and protections available to women in cohabiting couples’, including those in religious-only marriages. We will set out the next steps on delivering this manifesto commitment in due course.
Asked by: Lord Pearson of Rannoch (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the risks to Stephen Yaxley-Lennon's safety on the prison estate; and whether they intend to discuss this with the governor of Belmarsh.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
You will understand that the requirements of data protection legislation mean that I am unable to comment on the circumstances of specific individual prisoners.
I do want to assure you, however, that the safety of those who live and work in our prisons remains our paramount concern. The decision on where a prisoner should be located will take into account a range of factors, the purpose of which is to assign an individual to a suitably secure establishment which meets their needs effectively.
Any prisoner who has a specific concern about their time in prison can make a complaint via the internal prisoner complaints process and will be entitled to ask the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman to conduct an independent review of the matter, should it not be resolved to their satisfaction. Prisoners can also request to speak to a member of their prison’s Independent Monitoring Board.
Asked by: Lord Pearson of Rannoch (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to clarify whether freedom of speech in the UK includes the right to criticise ideas around gender identity.
Answered by Lord Bellamy
Freedom of expression has been interpreted in case law, for example on Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights and under the common law. The concept of freedom of speech is also described for specific purposes in legislation such as the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023. The fundamental right to freedom of speech is widely understood and protected by the courts. The Government has no plans to outline the specific content of freedom of speech on an issue-by-issue basis.
Asked by: Lord Pearson of Rannoch (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many people, in each of the past three years, have been prosecuted under section 127(1) or (2) of the Communications Act 2003.
Answered by Lord Bellamy
The Ministry of Justice publishes information on the number of prosecutions for offences under section 127(1) or (2) of the Communications Act 2003, in England and Wales, in the Outcomes by Offence tool, available via the following link: Criminal Justice System statistics quarterly: December 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Using the Offence filter, select ‘196 Communications Act 2003 S.127 - Sending grossly offensive message/matter by electronic communications network’.
The data requested is also provided in the table below.
Total number of defendants prosecuted for offences under section 127(1) or (2) of the Communications Act 2003, England and Wales, 2020 to 2022:
Year | Count |
2020 | 1,100 |
2021 | 1,343 |
2022 | 1,272 |
Source: Court Proceedings Database
Notes:
1) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.
2) The figures given in the table relate to defendants for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
3) The figures given in the table relate to the following offence under section 127(1) or (2) of the Communications Act 2003: '19607 - Improper use of public electronic communications network'.
Asked by: Lord Pearson of Rannoch (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what are the current numbers of (1) remand, and (2) unsentenced prisoners, being held in (a) HMP Pentonville, (b) HMP Brixton, (c) HMP Wandsworth, and (d) HMP Belmarsh; and in each case what percentage they comprise of the prison's total population.
Answered by Lord Bellamy
The attached table shows the untried, and convicted unsentenced, populations in the specified prisons, as at 31 March 2023.
The data needed to calculate average time spent on remand by prisoners in London prisons could not be collated without incurring disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Lord Pearson of Rannoch (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what is the average period of time spent in London prisons by (1) remand, and (2) unsentenced prisoners, awaiting their trial dates.
Answered by Lord Bellamy
The attached table shows the untried, and convicted unsentenced, populations in the specified prisons, as at 31 March 2023.
The data needed to calculate average time spent on remand by prisoners in London prisons could not be collated without incurring disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Lord Pearson of Rannoch (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the remarks of Charlie Taylor, His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons, in evidence to the House of Commons Justice Committee on 25 October 2022, that remand prisoners awaiting their trial dates are disadvantaged in areas such as (1) education and training, and (2) financial assistance, before and on release; and what plans, if any, they have to ameliorate this situation.
Answered by Lord Bellamy
Remand prisoners are eligible to access education and training. The prison education curriculum is based on the needs of learners and is flexible according to any changes in population profile. Education providers are managed through key performance indicators and service levels which do not disincentivise remand prisoners.
In 2022, HMPPS has been testing a number of new initiatives designed to meet the specific needs of remand prisoners in HMP Wandsworth, including a life-skills course to help people on remand develop communication and decision-making skills, and dedicated staff to obtain ID for prisoners, build their employability skills and link them with employers. There is also a new team of remand peer mentors to support wellbeing and encourage engagement with the regime.
In terms of financial assistance, remand prisoners are eligible for support from DWP’s Prison Work Coaches with making a claim for Universal Credit on their release from prison.
Prison Service Instruction (PSI) 72/2011, Discharge sets out policy on the discharging of prisoners, which includes provision of financial assistance available upon release. All eligible prisoners receive a Subsistence Payment of £82.39 on release. Prisoners who are discharged, after spending time in custody on remand, are currently ineligible for the Subsistence Payment. However, all prisoners, regardless of their eligibility to receive the Subsistence Payment, are provided with a travel warrant or a payment of fares to their destination in the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or the Republic of Ireland.
As part of the ongoing review of the wider Discharge PSI and in response to the recommendations made by the Justice Select Committee in its 2023 report on The Role of Adult Custodial Remand in the Criminal Justice System, we are considering eligibility of those on remand for the Subsistence Payment.