Asked by: Anna McMorrin (Labour - Cardiff North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, whether he has taken steps to support his Ecuadorian counterpart in the context of the recently declared state of emergency in that country.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are carefully monitoring developments in Ecuador following recent security incidents and the declaration of a nationwide state of emergency. We are in close contact with the Ecuadorean authorities in both Quito and London. We have been clear in our discussions that we will continue to support Ecuador in its fight against serious organised crime and the maintenance of law and order.
Asked by: Anna McMorrin (Labour - Cardiff North)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, if he will make an assessment of the potential implications for his policies of the referendum in Venezuela on the Venezuela-Guyana border on Sunday 3 December 2023.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK is not a party to proceedings in the International Court of Justice between Venezuela and Guyana over the demarcation of their border. The UK is clear that the border was settled in 1899 through international arbitration and we continue to support this decision. We urge the parties to resolve this issue peacefully.
Asked by: Anna McMorrin (Labour - Cardiff North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on improving the mental health of people in prisons.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Ensuring that people have access to timely and effective mental healthcare that is tailored to their needs is a top priority for this Department and I have regular discussions with both Minister O’Brien and Minister Caulfield about our shared interests.
Our ongoing commitment to work closely with health agencies to strengthen services is reflected in the new National Partnership Agreement on Health and Social Care in England, which was published on 23 February 2023. This new agreement sets out a shared priority workplan to deliver safe, decent and effective care that improves physical and mental health outcomes for people in prison and those subject to statutory supervision by the probation service in the community.
Following the publication of the national mental health needs analysis of all prisons, commissioned by NHS England and produced by the Centre for Mental Health, NHS England have, in collaboration with justice agencies, refreshed the mental health service specification for health and justice settings.
Asked by: Anna McMorrin (Labour - Cardiff North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to increase the safety of women in prisons.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Ensuring the safety of staff and prisoners whilst in custody is a key priority and we continue to do everything we can to improve the safety outcomes of women in prison.
The Prisons Strategy White Paper, published in December 2021, set out our approach for women’s prisons; one which is trauma responsive, recognises the distinct nature of women’s experience in custody, and provides the appropriate levels of support, particularly for pregnant women and those with young children. In January 2023 we published our Female Offender Strategy Delivery Plan 2022-25, which set out our priorities for delivering the aims of the strategy, including better outcomes for women in custody.
Women in prison often face complex issues including mental health, self-harm, trauma, and separation from children. We are investing up to £14 million to support improvements in safety in women’s prisons between 2022-25.
We set up a Women’s Estate Self-Harm Task Force in April 2020 to help reduce levels of self-harm. To date, the Taskforce has:
o recruited psychologists to support women with the most complex needs;
o developed bespoke selection and assessment criteria for staff in women’s prisons and developed bespoke staff training for staff working with female prisoners which is being rolled out across the women’s estate;
o implemented a gender-specific Offender Management in Custody model to provide each woman with dedicated support; and
o jointly commissioned a review of health and social care in the women’s estate with NHS England to better understand the health needs in the women’s estate.
Asked by: Anna McMorrin (Labour - Cardiff North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to increase prison staffing levels.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
HMPPS have recruitment and retention activity underway for all sites with a current or future need. At the end of March 2023, there were 22,288 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) band 3-5 prison officers in post – an increase of 655 FTE (3.0%) prison officers compared to 31 December 2022. Since March 2022, we have also streamlined the recruitment process with average time for hiring and training prison officers falling month on month.
But recruitment is only part of the solution, we are also focusing on improving retention across the Prison Service. To increase retention rates, we have introduced a retention framework – and for new prison officers, New Colleague Mentors (NCMs) have been introduced to support the wellbeing of new colleagues in establishments across the estate. Over 150 NCMs have been funded and recruited to date. Early indications show the positive impact of NCMs in improving retention overall.
Finally, an increase in prison officer pay has also had a positive impact for increasing and retaining prison officer staffing levels. The 2022/23 prison service pay award delivered at least a 4% award to all staff, with additional investment of a £3,000 increase in ‘Band 3’ prison officer pay. The starting salary for a Band 3 prison officer on a 39-hour/week national contract is now £30,702. Initial exit interview data since July 2022, has shown that pay and reward has become less likely to be referred to as a main reason for leaving the Prison Service.
Asked by: Anna McMorrin (Labour - Cardiff North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, steps he plans to take to improve the safety of people in prisons.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
Ensuring the safety of staff and prisoners whilst in custody is a key priority and we continue to do everything we can to improve the safety outcomes of everybody in the prison estate.
The Prisons Strategy White Paper sets out our vision for prisons of the future, including our ambitious plans to make prisons safer for staff and prisoners.
The right actions to improve safety fundamentally centre on supporting prisons to maintain key safety interventions. We have implemented a strengthened case management approach for prisoners who are assessed as at risk of suicide and self-harm as well as implemented one-to-one key work.
We have announced additional investment in our workforce, expansion of the prison estate and access to healthcare that are vital for delivering safer prisons. Between October 2016 and December 2022, the number of full-time equivalent officers at band 3-5 increased by 3,677. This means staff can provide more one-to-one support for prisoners and better monitor risk to prevent harm.
We have also invested £100 million to improve security in prisons by clamping down on the weapons, drugs and mobile phones that fuel crime and violence behind bars.
Asked by: Anna McMorrin (Labour - Cardiff North)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Attorney General, what recent assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of US government support for the establishment of a hybrid special tribunal to investigate the crime of aggression by Russia against Ukraine; and whether she is taking steps with Cabinet colleagues to support its establishment.
Answered by Michael Tomlinson - Minister of State (Minister for Illegal Migration)
The UK is fully committed to holding Russia to account for its actions in Ukraine. On 20 January, the Foreign Secretary announced that the UK had accepted an invitation to join a ‘core group’ of States to shape thinking on how to ensure criminal accountability for the crime of aggression allegedly committed in and against Ukraine, including through a special tribunal. This government, alongside its international partners such as the United States, is considering very closely what a new tribunal might look like. The details of the proposal will matter. Any new tribunal will need sufficient international support and must not undermine the existing accountability mechanisms, such as the International Criminal Court. |
Asked by: Anna McMorrin (Labour - Cardiff North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of staffing levels across the youth estate.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The Youth Custody Service’s first priority is the safety and well-being of the young people in its care. In the current challenging circumstances, that requirement continues to be paramount. Staff retention and recruitment is a challenge in all parts of HMPPS, not only within the youth secure estate. We are actively working to reduce high turnover of staff in the Young Offender Institutions. In addition to changes to national pay progression arrangements, we are focusing on action to improve retention. Exit interviews are made available to every leaver, to help us understand and address the reasons why staff may decide to leave.
Since December 2022, there has been a reduction in resignations by frontline staff across the Young Offender Institution sector. Whilst staffing is challenging in the Secure Training Centre too, this has not affected the levels of regime for education or enrichment available to children.
Asked by: Anna McMorrin (Labour - Cardiff North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of the number of (a) performing arts teachers and (b) associated curriculum hours in schools and further and higher education institutions.
Answered by Nick Gibb
Information relating to ITT recruitment performance in England is published annually in the ITT census, available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/initial-teacher-training-census/2022-23. In 2022/23, there were 329 postgraduate trainees who started an ITT course in drama, 301 in music, and 1,405 in physical education. Performance versus target in 2022/23 for drama was 113%, for music was 64%, and for physical education was 143%.
Information on the school workforce in England, including the number of subject teachers in state funded secondary schools, is collected each November as part of the annual school workforce census. Information is published in the ‘school workforce in England’ statistical publication, available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england. Those who are designated as teachers of dance are included within the total for physical education/sports teachers.
As of November 2021, there were 8,976 teachers of drama, 7,003 teachers of music, and 23,708 teachers of physical education/sport at Key Stages 3, 4, and 5 in state funded secondary schools in England. In a typical week, they taught 85,003 hours of drama, 86,480 hours of music, and 290,033 hours of physical education/sport. Drama, music and physical education/sport teachers designate any teacher timetabled to teach the subject for any period in a typical week in November. These teachers do not necessarily have a specific post-A level qualification. This timetabling does not cover an entire year of teaching. If there are variations in timetabling across the year, this is not covered in the data available to the Department.
The Department does not hold data on the number of teachers who teach performing arts in further education institutions.
For 2022/23, the Department increased funding for world-leading specialist HE providers by an additional £5 million, from £53 million in 2021/22 to £58 million in 2022/23. This is on top of the increase of £10 million the Department provided in 2021/22. The Department wants to ensure that specialist institutions, many of which specialise in arts provision, receive additional support, and that grant funding is used to effectively support students.
Asked by: Anna McMorrin (Labour - Cardiff North)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of rises in the cost of living on the uptake of extracurricular performing arts classes in (a) primary, (b) secondary, (c) further and (d) higher education; and whether she is taking steps to increase engagement in the performing arts in (i) schools and (ii) other educational establishments.
Answered by Nick Gibb
All state funded schools are required to teach a broad and balanced curriculum, and this includes promoting pupils' cultural development. The performing arts are a core part of the school curriculum and also supported through extracurricular activities to children and young people.
The Department regularly asks about pupil participation in extracurricular performing arts activities in ‘parent, pupil and learner panel’ surveys. In the most recent published wave in which the questions were asked (the November wave from the 2022/23 academic year), 19% of pupils reported that they had participated in extracurricular performing arts activities in that term. The Department will continue to monitor the uptake of performing arts and other extracurricular activities, and investigate reasons for any significant changes or trends.
An additional £1.6 billion in funding has been made available for 16-19 education between the 2021/22 and 2024/25 academic years. This includes an up-front cash boost which will see the rate of funding per student increase by over 8% in 2022/23.
The Department recognises the additional cost of living pressures that have arisen this year which have affected university students. In addition to the cost of living measures already announced, the Department discusses cost of living pressures that are affecting students in its regular meetings with stakeholders, including the Office for Students (OfS), Universities UK and other HE representative groups. The Department also consulted with the National Association of Student Money Advisers to understand the ongoing situation in relation to increased requests from students for hardship awards from their universities.
The Department will continue to spend around £115 million per annum on cultural education over three years, through its music, arts and heritage programmes. With the real terms per pupil increases to core school funding and the nearly £5 billion that has been announced for education recovery, schools will continue to have the flexibility to deliver a broad and ambitious curriculum and enrichment activities, including in arts and creative subjects.
The Department will be publishing a Cultural Education Plan in 2023, working with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and Arts Council England. The Chair of the Expert Advisory Panel was announced last year, and other panel members will be announced in due course. The Plan will focus on how the Government can support access and participation in a wide range of arts subjects and activities, particularly for children and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds and in underrepresented groups. It will also further support young people who wish to pursue careers in the creative, cultural, and heritage industries.
In addition, the Department wants to ensure that HE specialist providers, many of which specialise in arts provision, receive additional support, and that grant funding is used to effectively support students.
On 8 December 2022, the OfS published the list of successful HE providers who have been identified as world-leading specialists by the Specialist Provider Panel. The current list of world-leading specialist providers includes 13 providers specialising in the arts. This funding will help improve the diversity and quality of creative education provision available to students.