Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Timpson on 10 December (HL12375), what assessment they have made of the planned level of tuition for young offenders by the Shaw Trust compared to the number of hours delivered.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Shaw Trust is programming the required learning hours; delivery is affected by restrictions on mixing between certain children, which limit the number of learners who can be accommodated in a classroom at any one time. These restrictions arise from conflicts that have transferred into custody from the community. The establishment is actively addressing this by working to resolve these conflicts, enabling greater classroom integration and maximising access to education.
The action plan prepared in response to the joint Ofsted/HMIP thematic report The Quality of Education in Young Offender Institutions was published on 15 November 2024.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Timpson on 10 December (HL12375), what action they are taking at Feltham Prison and Young Offenders Institution to increase the number of hours of tuition delivered by the Shaw Trust.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Shaw Trust is programming the required learning hours; delivery is affected by restrictions on mixing between certain children, which limit the number of learners who can be accommodated in a classroom at any one time. These restrictions arise from conflicts that have transferred into custody from the community. The establishment is actively addressing this by working to resolve these conflicts, enabling greater classroom integration and maximising access to education.
The action plan prepared in response to the joint Ofsted/HMIP thematic report The Quality of Education in Young Offender Institutions was published on 15 November 2024.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether the youth custody service improvement plan has been published.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Shaw Trust is programming the required learning hours; delivery is affected by restrictions on mixing between certain children, which limit the number of learners who can be accommodated in a classroom at any one time. These restrictions arise from conflicts that have transferred into custody from the community. The establishment is actively addressing this by working to resolve these conflicts, enabling greater classroom integration and maximising access to education.
The action plan prepared in response to the joint Ofsted/HMIP thematic report The Quality of Education in Young Offender Institutions was published on 15 November 2024.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what level of tuition has been provided in each young offender institution in England and Wales since August.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Youth Education Service contract requires Shaw Trust to deliver education to each learner for at least 15 hours each week. This is in addition to the wider curriculum offer, which includes library access, gym, youth work sessions and other activities that support children’s learning and development.
Every child is assessed to determine the grade or level of tuition they should be working at or towards, from Entry Level 1 in subjects such as Mathematics and English, through to A level.
The table below shows the number of hours planned per child by education providers, and the number of hours delivered.
HMP/YOI Feltham | Average planned weekly hours | Average hours delivered |
August | 15.78 | 6.34 |
September | 15.81 | 6.71 |
October | 16.32 | 4.87 |
HMP/YOI Wetherby | Average planned weekly hours | Average hours delivered |
August | 19.97 | 10.2 |
September | 18.46 | 10.96 |
October | 20.29 | 11.1 |
HMP/YOI Werrington | Average planned weekly hours | Average hours delivered |
August | 15.09 | 8.17 |
September | 15.55 | 7.64 |
October | 15.94 | 9.18 |
HMP/YOI Parc | Average planned weekly hours | Average hours delivered |
August | 23.60 | 19.20 |
September | 23.40 | 14.50 |
October | 25.00 | 20.00 |
Planned learning sessions may not take place for a variety of reasons, including court appearances, legal visits, sickness and medical treatment. Absence of provider staff is a further cause of cancellation.
The Youth Custody Service (YCS) has developed a comprehensive improvement plan for the next three years, which aims to increase time spent out of room in purposeful activity. It is also overhauling the incentives systems to ensure it focuses on values-led behaviour. The YCS has seconded staff from HMYOI Parc to develop systems across the other YOIs and share learning from their success. We are already seeing a gradual increase in time out of room in all sites, work which the YCS will continue to build on.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what was the agreed level of tuition to be provided by Shaw Trust in the contract they signed with the trust for young offender institutions.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Youth Education Service contract requires Shaw Trust to deliver education to each learner for at least 15 hours each week. This is in addition to the wider curriculum offer, which includes library access, gym, youth work sessions and other activities that support children’s learning and development.
Every child is assessed to determine the grade or level of tuition they should be working at or towards, from Entry Level 1 in subjects such as Mathematics and English, through to A level.
The table below shows the number of hours planned per child by education providers, and the number of hours delivered.
HMP/YOI Feltham | Average planned weekly hours | Average hours delivered |
August | 15.78 | 6.34 |
September | 15.81 | 6.71 |
October | 16.32 | 4.87 |
HMP/YOI Wetherby | Average planned weekly hours | Average hours delivered |
August | 19.97 | 10.2 |
September | 18.46 | 10.96 |
October | 20.29 | 11.1 |
HMP/YOI Werrington | Average planned weekly hours | Average hours delivered |
August | 15.09 | 8.17 |
September | 15.55 | 7.64 |
October | 15.94 | 9.18 |
HMP/YOI Parc | Average planned weekly hours | Average hours delivered |
August | 23.60 | 19.20 |
September | 23.40 | 14.50 |
October | 25.00 | 20.00 |
Planned learning sessions may not take place for a variety of reasons, including court appearances, legal visits, sickness and medical treatment. Absence of provider staff is a further cause of cancellation.
The Youth Custody Service (YCS) has developed a comprehensive improvement plan for the next three years, which aims to increase time spent out of room in purposeful activity. It is also overhauling the incentives systems to ensure it focuses on values-led behaviour. The YCS has seconded staff from HMYOI Parc to develop systems across the other YOIs and share learning from their success. We are already seeing a gradual increase in time out of room in all sites, work which the YCS will continue to build on.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much they have spent on each young offender institution in England and Wales in each year since October 2022.
Answered by Lord Timpson - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The following table shows total resource expenditure at each public sector young offender institution (YOI), in the Children and Young People Estate for the three years 2022-23 to 2024-25. The figures do not include expenditure on education, as this is managed collectively across establishments, and it is not therefore possible to apportion it to individual YOIs.
YOI(1) | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 |
Cookham Wood(2) | 15,120,726 | 16,205,614 | 6,854,616 |
Feltham | 16,472,102 | 17,695,172 | 20,121,355 |
Werrington | 14,135,716 | 14,517,650 | 16,897,088 |
Wetherby | 24,491,671 | 26,969,686 | 31,683,400 |
Notes:
HMYOI Parc is not included. This is because it is managed under a single contract together with HMP Parc and it is not possible to disaggregate spending between the two establishments.
Cookham Wood closed as a YOI in August 2024.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask His Majesty's Government what was the total amount of unspent funds from the Apprenticeship Levy returned to the Treasury for each of the past five years.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Department for Work and Pensions, and prior to that the Department for Education, has responsibility for apprenticeships in England only. The annual English apprenticeships budget is agreed at key fiscal events and ring-fenced. This budget is distinct from the total levy receipts collected by HM Treasury and the funds in employers’ apprenticeship service accounts.
The English apprenticeship budget covers the spend drawn down by all levy-paying employers, as well as apprenticeships for those who do not pay the levy, the costs of English and maths tuition for apprentices, and additional payments to employers, training providers and apprentices. It also covers the administrative costs of running the apprenticeships programme.
Over the past two financial years the English apprenticeships budget has been almost fully spent. The table below provides details of the English apprenticeships budget. As is usual practice, any underspends in overall departmental budgets by the end of the financial year are returned to HMT as per the Consolidated Budgeting Guidance.
£ (million) | |||||
Financial year | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 |
Ring-fenced apprenticeships budget | 2,467 | 2,466 | 2,554 | 2,525* | 2,769 |
Underspend against the ring-fenced apprenticeships budget | 604 | 11 | 96 | 16* | 0 |
*The 2023-24 annual apprenticeship budget was revised in-year from £2,585 million to £2,525 million, as £60 million was surrendered in-year.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question
To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker what arrangements are in place to ensure that members and staff get home safely when the House of Lords sits beyond midnight.
Answered by Lord Gardiner of Kimble
For staff of the House of Lords Administration, a taxi policy is in place and can be used by those who are required to be on duty as part of their role if the House is expected to rise after 10:40pm. In exceptional circumstances overnight accommodation can be arranged.
For Members, arrangements to support travel are covered by the Members’ Finance Scheme.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the reasons for the delay in introducing 'Hillsborough Law'.
Answered by Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede
Families have waited decades to get justice done and we are fully committed to bringing legislation forward.
Having consulted with those groups and their representatives, it is clear more time is required to draft the best version of a Hillsborough Law.
We will continue to work with those families to ensure they receive the justice they deserve.
Asked by: Lord Storey (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask His Majesty's Government what are the names of the further education providers who have been subject to a concluded financial investigation since 2017; when each of those investigations was opened; what was the nature of the concerns raised in each investigation; and when each investigation concluded.
Answered by Baroness Smith of Malvern - Minister of State (Department for Work and Pensions)
The department holds the data to enable a response to this question. However, putting into the public domain the details of all providers who have been subject to investigations over the previous 8+ years has the potential to harm the department’s relationships with providers, and could result in the effective conduct of public affairs being compromised. Similarly, release of this information without consultation could be prejudicial to the commercial interests of further education providers.
The department does have a policy in relation to the publication of reports relating to its investigations, in that we now publish reports for completed investigations which began in or after December 2023. This policy can be accessed at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/efa-investigation-publishing-policy/efa-investigation-publishing-policy.
Prior to December 2023, there are commercial issues with releasing information in respect of providers subject to investigations. This government has recently updated the House on action taken.