Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Islwyn)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many women serving a custodial sentence have been a victim of domestic violence.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The latest data available relates to those in custody on 30 June 2019, aged 18 and over. Information is available for individuals whose relationship status had been assessed by that date on the Offender Assessment System, which accounts for 2,437 women and 60,157 men.
From these totals 1,525 female prisoners were identified as having ever been the victim of domestic violence. This equates to 63% of female prisoners.
Figures for the extent of Offender Assessment System coverage exclude “layer 1” assessments, which do not include questions on domestic violence. Previous figures quoted for 2017 in the Answer of 9 October to Question 174010 included these, so percentages for 2019 are increased accordingly.
Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Islwyn)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of abolishing prison sentences of six months and less.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
We are clear that sentencing must match the severity of the crime, and public protection is our priority. Custody should only be used as a last resort and community sentences will continue to be an important part of punishing and rehabilitating offenders.
In the Queen’s speech in December, the Government announced plans to introduce new sentencing laws. Ahead of any legislation, we intend to canvass proposals in a White Paper. This will contain proposals for community penalties that offer an appropriate level of punishment, while tackling the underlying drivers of re-offending.
Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Islwyn)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effect of prison sentences of six months on reducing rates of reoffending.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
We are clear that sentencing must match the severity of a crime, and public protection is our priority.
The latest proven reoffending rate for adult offenders released from sentences of six months or less in the quarter July to September 2017 was almost two thirds (64.8%).
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. However, sentencers should continue to have the option of imposing a short custodial sentence, where appropriate.
In the Queen’s speech in December, the Government announced plans to introduce new sentencing laws. Ahead of any legislation, we intend to canvass proposals in a White Paper. This will contain proposals for community penalties that offer an appropriate level of punishment, while tackling the underlying drivers of re-offending.
Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Islwyn)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of women serving custodial sentences are serving a sentence of six months or less.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
As at 30 September 2019 (latest available data), 11% of the total female sentenced population were serving sentences of 6 months or less.
Further information is available in Table 1.1 of the document “Prison population: 30 September 2019” at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/offender-management-statistics-quarterly-april-to-june-2019.
Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Islwyn)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of mental healthcare provision in UK prisons.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Health services in prisons are commissioned by NHS England and Improvement (NHSE/I) who are responsible for making assessments of the current provision of mental health services in the prison system in England. In Wales, health is devolved to the Welsh Government where separate arrangements are made.
We take mental health provision very seriously and are committed to working closely with health partners to ensure that offenders are able to access the treatment and support required for their mental health needs. The health and justice partners include: Ministry of Justice (MoJ), Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS), Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), NHSE/I, and Public Health England (PHE). In prisons, this relationship has been formally set out in the National Partnership Agreement for Prison Healthcare in England, which has been in place since April 2018. Its associated workplan sets out a detailed programme of work, agreed by health and justice partners, to deliver safe, decent, effective healthcare for offenders.
We recognise the importance of the prison environment for enabling better health outcomes. For example, we have worked to refresh safety training packages, with staff receiving training in key areas such as mental health and substance misuse. Over 25,000 new and existing prison staff (including those who work for other bodies) have now completed at least one module of the revised suicide and self-harm prevention training; 14,000 staff have received all six modules.
We continue to work with our partners to improve mental healthcare in prisons.
Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Islwyn)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) men and (b) women serving custodial sentences died by suicide during their sentence in each month in 2019.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The numbers of self-inflicted deaths of prisoners between January and September 2019 (the most recent month for which figures are available) are shown in the attached table.
Every death in custody is a tragedy, and we are committed to learning lessons from these deaths wherever possible. The Government is investing £2.75 billion to transform the prison estate and bolster security - introducing X-ray body scanners and enhanced gate security - and taking unprecedented action to improve safety in custody.
We have recruited over 4,400 more prison officers since October 2016, and we now have the greatest number in post since early 2012. This is allowing us to implement the key worker role, providing staff dedicated time to support individual prisoners.
We are improving support for prisoners in their early days in custody and developing a new version of the multi-disciplinary ACCT case management process for those at risk of suicide. We have rolled out a revised and improved Suicide and Self-Harm Prevention course. This is being completed by all new staff and as refresher training by all existing staff. Nearly 25,000 staff have already begun this training and over 14,000 have completed all six modules.
Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Islwyn)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) male and (b) female prisoners servicing sentences of over six months with a substance misuse need were released from custody in the quarter July to September 2018.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The MoJ does not hold information on the number of male and female prisoners with a substance misuse need serving either (a) a sentence of six months of less or (b) a sentence of six months or more released from custody between July to September 2018.
NHS England commission health care services in prison and therefore hold data on the number of prisoners with an identified substance misuse need. NHS England do not hold data on the length of a prisoner’s sentence though and it is not currently possible to cross-reference the two data sets. In their Long Term Plan, NHS England have proposed introducing a ‘RECONNECT’ service to improve continuity of care from custody. The Ministry of Justice and HMPPS are working in close partnership with NHS England to implement this plan.
There is persuasive evidence showing community sentences, in certain circumstances, are more effective than short custodial sentences in reducing reoffending.
Unless we tackle the underlying causes of offending, we cannot protect the public from being victims of crime. Effective community orders can address offenders’ behaviour, answer their mental health and alcohol or drug misuse needs, and provide reparation for the benefit of the wider community.
We are developing a Community Sentence Treatment Requirement ‘protocol’ to ensure improved access to mental health and substance misuse services for offenders who need them. It focuses on reducing reoffending by addressing the health needs of offenders that may be contributing to their offending behaviour.
Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Islwyn)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) male and (b) female prisoners serving sentences of six months or less who were identified as having a substance misuse need were released from custody in the quarter July to September 2018.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The MoJ does not hold information on the number of male and female prisoners with a substance misuse need serving either (a) a sentence of six months of less or (b) a sentence of six months or more released from custody between July to September 2018.
NHS England commission health care services in prison and therefore hold data on the number of prisoners with an identified substance misuse need. NHS England do not hold data on the length of a prisoner’s sentence though and it is not currently possible to cross-reference the two data sets. In their Long Term Plan, NHS England have proposed introducing a ‘RECONNECT’ service to improve continuity of care from custody. The Ministry of Justice and HMPPS are working in close partnership with NHS England to implement this plan.
There is persuasive evidence showing community sentences, in certain circumstances, are more effective than short custodial sentences in reducing reoffending.
Unless we tackle the underlying causes of offending, we cannot protect the public from being victims of crime. Effective community orders can address offenders’ behaviour, answer their mental health and alcohol or drug misuse needs, and provide reparation for the benefit of the wider community.
We are developing a Community Sentence Treatment Requirement ‘protocol’ to ensure improved access to mental health and substance misuse services for offenders who need them. It focuses on reducing reoffending by addressing the health needs of offenders that may be contributing to their offending behaviour.
Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Islwyn)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average number was of previous prison sentences of less than six months served by people currently in prison for (a) less than six months and (b) less than 12 months.
Answered by Rory Stewart
It is not possible to identify from centrally held data the average number of previous prison sentences of less than 6 months served by people currently in prison for (a) less than 6 months and (b) less than 12 months without incurring disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Chris Evans (Labour (Co-op) - Islwyn)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the most recent quarterly reoffending rate is for (a) men and (b) women serving less than six months in prison.
Answered by Rory Stewart
The one year reoffending rates for prisoners released from sentences of less than six months will be published in the next quarterly proven reoffending bulletin on the 25th April.
There is persuasive evidence showing community sentences, in certain circumstances, are more effective than short custodial sentences in reducing reoffending. The MoJ study ‘The impact of short custodial sentences, community orders and suspended sentence orders on re-offending’ published in 2015 found that over a 1-year follow up period, a higher proportion of people re-offended having been sentenced to custody of under 12 months without supervision on release than other similar people given community orders.
The impact of short custodial sentences on women generally is particularly significant. Many are victims, as well as offenders, with almost 60% reporting experience of domestic abuse and many have mental health issues. We therefore set out our vision in the Female Offender Strategy published in June 2018, to see female offenders, particularly those with complex needs, dealt with in the community wherever possible.
Unless we tackle the underlying causes of offending, we cannot protect the public from being victims of crime. Effective community orders can address offenders’ behaviour, answer their mental health and alcohol or drug misuse needs, and provide reparation for the benefit of the wider community.