Asked by: Gordon Henderson (Conservative - Sittingbourne and Sheppey)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 29 October 2020 to Question 106980 on Prisons: Disclosure of Information, what response his Department has received from HMPPS trade unions to the drafts of the updated policy and supporting guidance documents.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Consultation has taken place with the following trade unions: Prison Officers’ Association, Prison Governors’ Association, PCS, Prospect, GMB, FDA, Napo and Unison and the response was largely positive with trade unions supportive of the new policy and supporting guidance documents.
The new Raising a Concern policy and supporting guidance documents include provision for staff in prisons to access the Integrity Hotline which allows staff to raise any concerns they may have about the workplace or their own wellbeing. HMPPS has effective and reliable systems for reporting and recording adverse security, and health and safety incidents. This allows staff to voice any concerns, and for health and safety teams to monitor and act where necessary.
Trade union consultation has now been completed and the new policy is now going through the separate Ministry of Justice and HM Prison & Probation Service policy governance processes. Once these processes are complete the policy will be published, which is expected to be in January 2021.
Asked by: Gordon Henderson (Conservative - Sittingbourne and Sheppey)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 29 October 2020 to Question 106980 on Prisons: Disclosure of Information, whether the drafts of the updated policy and supporting guidance documents include provisions for prison staff to have access to a single whistleblowing telephone hotline through which to raise health and safety concerns.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Consultation has taken place with the following trade unions: Prison Officers’ Association, Prison Governors’ Association, PCS, Prospect, GMB, FDA, Napo and Unison and the response was largely positive with trade unions supportive of the new policy and supporting guidance documents.
The new Raising a Concern policy and supporting guidance documents include provision for staff in prisons to access the Integrity Hotline which allows staff to raise any concerns they may have about the workplace or their own wellbeing. HMPPS has effective and reliable systems for reporting and recording adverse security, and health and safety incidents. This allows staff to voice any concerns, and for health and safety teams to monitor and act where necessary.
Trade union consultation has now been completed and the new policy is now going through the separate Ministry of Justice and HM Prison & Probation Service policy governance processes. Once these processes are complete the policy will be published, which is expected to be in January 2021.
Asked by: Gordon Henderson (Conservative - Sittingbourne and Sheppey)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2020 to Question 99603 on Prisons: Disclosure of Information, when he expects to launch the new whistleblowing policy; and whether he plans to include in that policy provisions for prison staff to have access to a single whistleblowing telephone hotline through which to raise health and safety concerns.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Consultation has taken place with the following trade unions: Prison Officers’ Association, Prison Governors’ Association, PCS, Prospect, GMB, FDA, Napo and Unison and the response was largely positive with trade unions supportive of the new policy and supporting guidance documents.
The new Raising a Concern policy and supporting guidance documents include provision for staff in prisons to access the Integrity Hotline which allows staff to raise any concerns they may have about the workplace or their own wellbeing. HMPPS has effective and reliable systems for reporting and recording adverse security, and health and safety incidents. This allows staff to voice any concerns, and for health and safety teams to monitor and act where necessary.
Trade union consultation has now been completed and the new policy is now going through the separate Ministry of Justice and HM Prison & Probation Service policy governance processes. Once these processes are complete the policy will be published, which is expected to be in January 2021.
Asked by: Gordon Henderson (Conservative - Sittingbourne and Sheppey)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 14 October 2020 to Question 99603, Prisons: Disclosure of Information; which trade unions have received drafts of the updated policy and supporting guidance documents; and on what date did they receive that information.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Consultation has taken place with the following trade unions: Prison Officers’ Association, Prison Governors’ Association, PCS, Prospect, GMB, FDA, Napo and Unison. Consultation with HMPPS trade unions re-started, following a break due to the current pandemic, on 21st October 2020.
Asked by: Gordon Henderson (Conservative - Sittingbourne and Sheppey)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 1 September 2020 to Question 76674, Prisons: Disclosure of Information, what progress his Department has made with the review of the whistleblowing process for prison staff.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The existing Ministry of Justice whistleblowing policy is being reviewed and updated by the Ministry of Justice HR Policy team. Drafts of the updated policy and supporting guidance documents are currently with trade unions, as part of a wider consultation exercise. We are aiming to launch the new policy following the consultation exercise.
Asked by: Gordon Henderson (Conservative - Sittingbourne and Sheppey)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to his oral Answer of 14 July 2020 to Question 904751, what assessment he has made of the ability of prison staff to use the existing whistleblowing process with confidence that it is confidential.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The existing Ministry of Justice (MoJ) whistleblowing policy is currently being reviewed by the MoJ HR Policy team. The changes being looked at are primarily extra resources and language changes to further encourage individuals to raise any concerns. We are aiming to conclude this and launch the new policy in the Autumn.
Any Ministry of Justice employee who raises a concern using the Whistleblowing policy will be supported and will not suffer any unfair or negative treatment as a result. Where a protected disclosure is made the individual also has a legal entitlement to protection. All concerns raised in good faith will be taken seriously and investigated thoroughly, sensitively and as quickly as possible.
Any disclosures made under the MoJ whistleblowing procedure will be treated in a sensitive manner. Details of individuals will only be shared with those who need to know, in order to investigate and progress the matter.
Asked by: Gordon Henderson (Conservative - Sittingbourne and Sheppey)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to his Answer of 14 July 2020 to Question 904751, what steps he is taking to make whistleblowing a (a) safe and (b) meaningful exercise for all prison staff.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The existing Ministry of Justice (MoJ) whistleblowing policy is currently being reviewed by the MoJ HR Policy team. The changes being looked at are primarily extra resources and language changes to further encourage individuals to raise any concerns. We are aiming to conclude this and launch the new policy in the Autumn.
Any Ministry of Justice employee who raises a concern using the Whistleblowing policy will be supported and will not suffer any unfair or negative treatment as a result. Where a protected disclosure is made the individual also has a legal entitlement to protection. All concerns raised in good faith will be taken seriously and investigated thoroughly, sensitively and as quickly as possible.
Any disclosures made under the MoJ whistleblowing procedure will be treated in a sensitive manner. Details of individuals will only be shared with those who need to know, in order to investigate and progress the matter.
Asked by: Gordon Henderson (Conservative - Sittingbourne and Sheppey)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 14 July 2020 to Question 904751, what the (a) scope and (b) timeframe of the HMPPS review into the whistleblowing process for prison staff is.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The existing Ministry of Justice (MoJ) whistleblowing policy is currently being reviewed by the MoJ HR Policy team. The changes being looked at are primarily extra resources and language changes to further encourage individuals to raise any concerns. We are aiming to conclude this and launch the new policy in the Autumn.
Any Ministry of Justice employee who raises a concern using the Whistleblowing policy will be supported and will not suffer any unfair or negative treatment as a result. Where a protected disclosure is made the individual also has a legal entitlement to protection. All concerns raised in good faith will be taken seriously and investigated thoroughly, sensitively and as quickly as possible.
Any disclosures made under the MoJ whistleblowing procedure will be treated in a sensitive manner. Details of individuals will only be shared with those who need to know, in order to investigate and progress the matter.
Asked by: Gordon Henderson (Conservative - Sittingbourne and Sheppey)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to reduce waiting times for personal independence payment appeals to be decided at HM Courts & Tribunals Service Ashford.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice expects appeal hearings to take place as quickly as possible and is carrying out a series of initiatives to increase capacity which will help reduce waiting times for appellants in Ashford. Since September 2018, three additional judges have been allocated to Ashford as their primary venue and three further judges have been allocated to Ashford as their secondary venue. Furthermore, from November this year the capacity at the Ashford venue will increase from three hearing rooms to four on a daily basis and from August 2019, appeals to be heard at the Ashford venue can now be heard at a new venue in Hastings, depending on the appellant’s postcode.
Asked by: Gordon Henderson (Conservative - Sittingbourne and Sheppey)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the timetable is for rolling out (a) Pava pepper spray and (b) rigid police-style handcuffs across the prison estate.
Answered by Rory Stewart
Our hardworking prison officers must have the tools to do their jobs and that’s why we’re rolling out body worn cameras, ‘police-style’ restraints, and trialling pepper spray. We keep a close eye on the threats officers face to make sure they have what they need.
We are currently piloting PAVA Spray, this will inform any decision on the further issue of PAVA to prison officers.
Rigid Bar Handcuffs will be issued to prisons to replace the current ratchet cuffs. This will happen over 18 – 36 months in order to ensure staff are fully trained on how to use them.