Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Ogmore)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many times Nico 9 stun grenades were used in each youth offender institution in each year since 2017.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
HMPPS uses Nico 9 Stun grenades as a distraction device during planned interventions as part of an agreed tactical plan. They can only be employed by National Tactical Response Group (NTRG) staff who are highly trained in their use.
The table below states how many times Nico 9 stun grenades were used in each Youth Offender Institution in each year since 2017.
Establishment | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 |
Cookham Wood | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Feltham | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Parc | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Werrington | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Wetherby | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Total | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Ogmore)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many times (a) the National Dog and Technical Support Group was deployed to Youth Offender Institutes and (b) those dogs were used in those deployments in each year since 2017.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The National Dog and Technical Support Group (NDTSG) provides prison dogs for patrol and detection purposes and a wide range of technical support including the transmission of audio and visual information, and the capability to capture evidence of an incident.
The table below states how many times NDTSG was deployed to each Youth Offenders Institute and how many times those dogs were used in those deployments in each year since 2017.
Establishment | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | |||||||
NDTSG deployments | Dog uses | NDTSG deployments | Dog uses | NDTSG deployments | Dog uses | NDTSG deployments | Dog uses | NDTSG deployments | Dog uses | NDTSG deployments | Dog uses | NDTSG deployments | Dog uses | |
Cookham Wood | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | - | 2 | - | 3 | - |
Feltham | 39 | 3 | 28 | 1 | 14 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 46 | - | 15 | - | 8 | - |
Parc | 37 | 0 | 30 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 23 | - | 30 | - | 15 | - |
Werrington | 13 | 2 | 13 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Wetherby | 13 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | - |
Total | 120 | 6 | 76 | 3 | 37 | 1 | 35 | 0 | 71 | 0 | 47 | 0 | 28 | 0 |
“–” indicates where dog uses are not recorded pre-2020.
NDTSG is deployed to support the National Tactical Response Group (NTRG) with a wide range of technical support including the transmission of audio and visual information, and the capability to capture evidence of an incident. As shown by the number of dog uses, the increased deployment of NDTSG is not necessarily indicative of an increase in the use of dogs. Equally, where dog uses have increased, this may be due to an increase in proactive searches and patrols at establishments, and is not necessarily indicative of responses to disorder.
Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Ogmore)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many times the National Dog and Technical Support Group was deployed to each youth offender institution in each year since 2017.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The National Dog and Technical Support Group (NDTSG) provides prison dogs for patrol and detection purposes and a wide range of technical support including the transmission of audio and visual information, and the capability to capture evidence of an incident.
The table below states how many times NDTSG was deployed to each Youth Offenders Institute and how many times those dogs were used in those deployments in each year since 2017.
Establishment | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | |||||||
NDTSG deployments | Dog uses | NDTSG deployments | Dog uses | NDTSG deployments | Dog uses | NDTSG deployments | Dog uses | NDTSG deployments | Dog uses | NDTSG deployments | Dog uses | NDTSG deployments | Dog uses | |
Cookham Wood | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | - | 2 | - | 3 | - |
Feltham | 39 | 3 | 28 | 1 | 14 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 46 | - | 15 | - | 8 | - |
Parc | 37 | 0 | 30 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 23 | - | 30 | - | 15 | - |
Werrington | 13 | 2 | 13 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Wetherby | 13 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | - |
Total | 120 | 6 | 76 | 3 | 37 | 1 | 35 | 0 | 71 | 0 | 47 | 0 | 28 | 0 |
“–” indicates where dog uses are not recorded pre-2020.
NDTSG is deployed to support the National Tactical Response Group (NTRG) with a wide range of technical support including the transmission of audio and visual information, and the capability to capture evidence of an incident. As shown by the number of dog uses, the increased deployment of NDTSG is not necessarily indicative of an increase in the use of dogs. Equally, where dog uses have increased, this may be due to an increase in proactive searches and patrols at establishments, and is not necessarily indicative of responses to disorder.
Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Ogmore)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the total number of remand prisoners was in each prison on HMPPS estate as of 1 January 2024.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice holds data on the number of remand prisoners in each prison in the HMPPS estate. This information is routinely published in the Offender Management Statistics Quarterly (OMSQ) Prison Population Data Tool (latest file here). The data can be accessed by selecting the ‘custody type’ view in the PT tab. The latest data is from 31 December 2023.
Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Ogmore)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average time spent on remand was, broken down by prisoner (a) gender, (b) ethnicity, (c) age and (d) status as a Foreign National Offender in 2023.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Information relating to the time spent on custodial remand is not centrally held by the Ministry of Justice. To obtain the data to answer this question would involve a manual interrogation of court records which would result in a disproportionate cost to the department.
Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Ogmore)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average time spent on remand was in each year since 2010.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Information relating to the time spent on custodial remand is not centrally held by the Ministry of Justice. To obtain the data to answer this question would involve a manual interrogation of court records which would result in a disproportionate cost to the department
Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Ogmore)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to introduce a new offence of cyberflashing in England and Wales.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Government remains firmly committed to the protection of people from abuse and harm online.
This disturbing behaviour may already be captured by existing offences.
However, we are keenly aware of concerns that have been expressed over the changes in technology, including the misuse of, communications, social media, imagery, and the opportunities to abuse and upset others that such developments can bring.
That is why we asked Law Commission to review the law on Harmful Online Communications to ensure that the law is up to date and fully equipped to protect victims.
The Law Commission has completed that review and made a number of recommendations, including the creation of a new criminal offence to capture specifically the practice known as cyberflashing.
I can assure you that the Government is now actively and carefully considering that recommendation.
It is important that any changes to the criminal law are thoroughly assessed and fully evidenced.
Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Ogmore)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Queen's speech 2019, whether his Department's priorities for the Female Offender Strategy have changed.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
We are clear that sentencing must match the severity of a crime and public protection is our priority. The Sentencing Bill, announced in the Queens Speech, will contain a range of measures targeted at the most serious violent and sexual offenders to ensure their punishment reflects the severity of their crimes. It will also contain proposals for community penalties that offer an appropriate level of punishment, while tackling the underlying drivers of offending. While custody should be available as a last resort, if we are to break the cycle of reoffending, solutions will often lie in community sentences, including those which address offenders’ behaviour, answer their mental health and alcohol or drug misuse needs, or provide reparation for the benefit of the wider community.
We remain committed to the vision and aims set out in our Female Offender Strategy (June 2018); which aims to see fewer women in custody. There is persuasive evidence that many women, particularly on short custodial sentences, can be better supported in the community on robust and effective community sentences. Where a woman needs to be in custody, we want to provide rehabilitative regimes specifically tailored to women’s needs to break the reoffending cycle. However, we know that for many vulnerable women, with the right support at the right time, there are opportunities to prevent them from entering the criminal justice system at all. Publication of the Strategy was the start of a new and significant programme of work to deliver better outcomes for female offenders that will take some years to deliver.
Lord Farmer’s review, The Importance of Strengthening Female Offenders' Family and other Relationships to Prevent Reoffending and Reduce Intergenerational Crime, continued his work on the importance of family ties in improving outcomes for offenders, by looking at the issues for female offenders in the community and custody. We welcome the findings and recommendations of the review and we are committed to taking this important area of work forward. The 33 recommendations cover a number of Government departments, and officials are working at pace to see how we can best give effect to them in both the short and longer term. We have accepted Lord Farmer’s recommendation for this work to be embedded into joint policy and operational Family Strategy Working Group (FWSG), which is already taking forward implementation of the original Farmer Review. We are reporting to Lord Farmer with progress on a quarterly basis.
Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Ogmore)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether it remains his Department's priority to reduce the use of short prison sentences for women.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
We are clear that sentencing must match the severity of a crime and public protection is our priority. The Sentencing Bill, announced in the Queens Speech, will contain a range of measures targeted at the most serious violent and sexual offenders to ensure their punishment reflects the severity of their crimes. It will also contain proposals for community penalties that offer an appropriate level of punishment, while tackling the underlying drivers of offending. While custody should be available as a last resort, if we are to break the cycle of reoffending, solutions will often lie in community sentences, including those which address offenders’ behaviour, answer their mental health and alcohol or drug misuse needs, or provide reparation for the benefit of the wider community.
We remain committed to the vision and aims set out in our Female Offender Strategy (June 2018); which aims to see fewer women in custody. There is persuasive evidence that many women, particularly on short custodial sentences, can be better supported in the community on robust and effective community sentences. Where a woman needs to be in custody, we want to provide rehabilitative regimes specifically tailored to women’s needs to break the reoffending cycle. However, we know that for many vulnerable women, with the right support at the right time, there are opportunities to prevent them from entering the criminal justice system at all. Publication of the Strategy was the start of a new and significant programme of work to deliver better outcomes for female offenders that will take some years to deliver.
Lord Farmer’s review, The Importance of Strengthening Female Offenders' Family and other Relationships to Prevent Reoffending and Reduce Intergenerational Crime, continued his work on the importance of family ties in improving outcomes for offenders, by looking at the issues for female offenders in the community and custody. We welcome the findings and recommendations of the review and we are committed to taking this important area of work forward. The 33 recommendations cover a number of Government departments, and officials are working at pace to see how we can best give effect to them in both the short and longer term. We have accepted Lord Farmer’s recommendation for this work to be embedded into joint policy and operational Family Strategy Working Group (FWSG), which is already taking forward implementation of the original Farmer Review. We are reporting to Lord Farmer with progress on a quarterly basis.
Asked by: Chris Elmore (Labour - Ogmore)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what progress he has made on implementing the recommendations of the Farmer Review for women, published on 18 June 2019.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
We are clear that sentencing must match the severity of a crime and public protection is our priority. The Sentencing Bill, announced in the Queens Speech, will contain a range of measures targeted at the most serious violent and sexual offenders to ensure their punishment reflects the severity of their crimes. It will also contain proposals for community penalties that offer an appropriate level of punishment, while tackling the underlying drivers of offending. While custody should be available as a last resort, if we are to break the cycle of reoffending, solutions will often lie in community sentences, including those which address offenders’ behaviour, answer their mental health and alcohol or drug misuse needs, or provide reparation for the benefit of the wider community.
We remain committed to the vision and aims set out in our Female Offender Strategy (June 2018); which aims to see fewer women in custody. There is persuasive evidence that many women, particularly on short custodial sentences, can be better supported in the community on robust and effective community sentences. Where a woman needs to be in custody, we want to provide rehabilitative regimes specifically tailored to women’s needs to break the reoffending cycle. However, we know that for many vulnerable women, with the right support at the right time, there are opportunities to prevent them from entering the criminal justice system at all. Publication of the Strategy was the start of a new and significant programme of work to deliver better outcomes for female offenders that will take some years to deliver.
Lord Farmer’s review, The Importance of Strengthening Female Offenders' Family and other Relationships to Prevent Reoffending and Reduce Intergenerational Crime, continued his work on the importance of family ties in improving outcomes for offenders, by looking at the issues for female offenders in the community and custody. We welcome the findings and recommendations of the review and we are committed to taking this important area of work forward. The 33 recommendations cover a number of Government departments, and officials are working at pace to see how we can best give effect to them in both the short and longer term. We have accepted Lord Farmer’s recommendation for this work to be embedded into joint policy and operational Family Strategy Working Group (FWSG), which is already taking forward implementation of the original Farmer Review. We are reporting to Lord Farmer with progress on a quarterly basis.