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 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 Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hanson of Flint on 22 January (HL3896), how and when they propose to “support victims and take action on delivering against the recommendations of the final report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse”; and how their proposed localised inquiries will compel witnesses to give evidence about girls trafficked across county boundaries.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Further to my previous response, the Government will lay out a clear timetable before Easter on how we will take forward the 20 recommendations from the final report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse. We will also set up a new panel to ensure victims' and survivors' voices are prioritised in future policy making.
We have been clear that local authorities, who are responsible for delivering local services, are best placed to commission local inquiries, and we stand ready to support as we can. That is why the Home Secretary announced to Parliament on the 6 and 16 January 2025 a range of measures, including stronger national backing for local inquiries and funding provisions to help local councils set up their own reviews. The Home Office will develop a new effective framework for victim-centred, locally-led inquiries, and work with Oldham Council and four other pilot areas to implement it. Additionally, local councils which are yet to hold regional investigations where the group-based sexual offences have been more prevalent will be urged to conduct their own reviews to prevent offending happening again.
I refer the Rt Hon Member to the Home Secretary's statement made on 16 January, which set out the actions the Government is taking forward to improve our response to, and understanding of, child sexual exploitation and abuse, including group-based abuse This includes improving the data available on the perpetration of these crimes and the Home Secretary has asked the Child Sexual Exploitation Police Taskforce to expand the ethnicity data it collects and publishes - gathering data from the end of the investigation when a fuller picture is available.
The Home Secretary is also appointing Baroness Louise Casey to lead an audit to improve our understanding of the scale, nature and drivers of group-based child sexual exploitation and abuse at a national and local level, including what is known about the demographics of perpetrators and victims, and to make recommendations on what additional action is needed to improve our response.
Asked by: Lord Pearson of Rannoch (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hanson of Flint on 22 January (HL3896), what assessment they have made of the appropriateness of identifying membership of grooming gangs by reference to Pakistani origin.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Further to my previous response, the Government will lay out a clear timetable before Easter on how we will take forward the 20 recommendations from the final report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse. We will also set up a new panel to ensure victims' and survivors' voices are prioritised in future policy making.
We have been clear that local authorities, who are responsible for delivering local services, are best placed to commission local inquiries, and we stand ready to support as we can. That is why the Home Secretary announced to Parliament on the 6 and 16 January 2025 a range of measures, including stronger national backing for local inquiries and funding provisions to help local councils set up their own reviews. The Home Office will develop a new effective framework for victim-centred, locally-led inquiries, and work with Oldham Council and four other pilot areas to implement it. Additionally, local councils which are yet to hold regional investigations where the group-based sexual offences have been more prevalent will be urged to conduct their own reviews to prevent offending happening again.
I refer the Rt Hon Member to the Home Secretary's statement made on 16 January, which set out the actions the Government is taking forward to improve our response to, and understanding of, child sexual exploitation and abuse, including group-based abuse This includes improving the data available on the perpetration of these crimes and the Home Secretary has asked the Child Sexual Exploitation Police Taskforce to expand the ethnicity data it collects and publishes - gathering data from the end of the investigation when a fuller picture is available.
The Home Secretary is also appointing Baroness Louise Casey to lead an audit to improve our understanding of the scale, nature and drivers of group-based child sexual exploitation and abuse at a national and local level, including what is known about the demographics of perpetrators and victims, and to make recommendations on what additional action is needed to improve our response.
Asked by: Lord Pearson of Rannoch (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Hanson of Flint on 22 January (HL3896), what assessment they have made of the proportion of Muslims among members of grooming gangs.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
Further to my previous response, the Government will lay out a clear timetable before Easter on how we will take forward the 20 recommendations from the final report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse. We will also set up a new panel to ensure victims' and survivors' voices are prioritised in future policy making.
We have been clear that local authorities, who are responsible for delivering local services, are best placed to commission local inquiries, and we stand ready to support as we can. That is why the Home Secretary announced to Parliament on the 6 and 16 January 2025 a range of measures, including stronger national backing for local inquiries and funding provisions to help local councils set up their own reviews. The Home Office will develop a new effective framework for victim-centred, locally-led inquiries, and work with Oldham Council and four other pilot areas to implement it. Additionally, local councils which are yet to hold regional investigations where the group-based sexual offences have been more prevalent will be urged to conduct their own reviews to prevent offending happening again.
I refer the Rt Hon Member to the Home Secretary's statement made on 16 January, which set out the actions the Government is taking forward to improve our response to, and understanding of, child sexual exploitation and abuse, including group-based abuse This includes improving the data available on the perpetration of these crimes and the Home Secretary has asked the Child Sexual Exploitation Police Taskforce to expand the ethnicity data it collects and publishes - gathering data from the end of the investigation when a fuller picture is available.
The Home Secretary is also appointing Baroness Louise Casey to lead an audit to improve our understanding of the scale, nature and drivers of group-based child sexual exploitation and abuse at a national and local level, including what is known about the demographics of perpetrators and victims, and to make recommendations on what additional action is needed to improve our response.
Asked by: Lord Pearson of Rannoch (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to initiate an inquiry into grooming gangs.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government's priority is to support victims and survivors and take action on delivering against the recommendations of the final report of the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse.
The Government will continue to support further inquiries that are needed to expose failings and wrongdoings in local areas and institutions. It is right that these take place at a localised level so that those directly responsible for delivering services work to improve those services and ensure lessons are learnt.
Asked by: Lord Pearson of Rannoch (Non-affiliated - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case for monitoring mosques and madrassas.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Security Service and Counter-Terrorism Policing, which are operationally independent of government, determine their own investigative priorities. These will be informed by the risk posed by individuals or groups, and their activities. This is not based on the religious affiliation that certain premises have.
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 Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case for banning the wearing of a burka in public.
Answered by Lord Hanson of Flint - Minister of State (Home Office)
No such assessment has been made.