Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what changes have been made to prisoner recalls following the review of Probation Recall Culture and Practice, published in December 2020.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Probation published a report on 10 November 2020 entitled: ‘A thematic review of probation recall culture and practice’. In this report, the Chief Inspector found that the Probation Service was taking proportionate and necessary decisions to recall offenders on licence for public protection.
HMPPS published its Action Plan responding to the thematic review on 7 December 2020, and subsequently updated on its progress the following year.
This contains details on the actions completed and can be found at GOV.UK here: Action_Plan_Update_December_2021_Final.pdf.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Answer of 10 January 2024 to Question 7797 on Prisons: Research, what (a) conclusions she has drawn and (b) changes she has made as a result of the Ipsos MORI research project on the retributive benefit of prison.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Ministry of Justice officials received research findings from Ipsos MORI in November this year and are currently considering the implications of the work. Officials will advise Ministers soon.
Therefore, no conclusions have yet been drawn from these findings and we have not made any changes on the basis of the research project.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what changes have been implemented in the Probation Service following HM Chief Inspector of Probation’s thematic review on Probation Recall, published on 14 December 2023.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Probation published a report on 14 December 2023 entitled: ‘A thematic inspection of imprisonment for public protection (IPP) recall decisions’.
In this report, the Chief Inspector found that the Probation Service were taking proportionate and necessary decisions to recall offenders on licence for public protection. The report did, however, also find that in some cases, additional support might have helped manage offenders in the community and made recommendations, which were accepted by the previous Government. HMPPS aligned and embedded the actions to address the recommendations into the IPP Action Plan and has taken these forwards in 2024/25.
Specifically, the HMPPS IPP Action Plan, a refreshed version of which was laid in Parliament on 15 November, has led to three key changes to support the management of IPP offenders on licence in the community. The first is the roll out of IPP Delivery Plans in each HMPPS operational area, which include a specific strategic objective to support the community reintegration of newly released IPP offenders and improve the effectiveness of management of IPP cases in the community. The second is for HMPPS Psychology Services to work alongside the Probation Service in supporting those offenders with complex needs during the challenging transitional period following first release. The third is the commencement of a pilot to improve the level and type of support offered to IPP offenders whilst they reside in an Approved Premises and in the lead up to their required move-on to new accommodation.
The Government also acted swiftly to commence the IPP measures in the Victims and Prisoners Act, which led to the automatic termination of licence for 1,742 cases on 1 November 2024.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many staff there are in the Probation service.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Information on staffing numbers of directly employed staff of HM Prison and Probation Service in England and Wales is published quarterly on GOV.UK.
The most recent publication can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/hm-prison-and-probation-service-workforce-quarterly-june-2024.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the £100m Security Investment Programme in preventing drugs being smuggled into prisons since March 2022.
Answered by Edward Argar - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Government’s £100m Security Investment Programme, aimed at reducing the conveyance of illicit items such as drugs, was completed in March 2022.
This investment delivered 75 additional X-ray body scanners resulting in full coverage across the closed adult male estate. As of October 2023, we have recorded 46,925 positive indications, helping to tackle the smuggling of drugs and other illicit items into prisons.
The investment also funded Enhanced Gate Security at 42 high-risk sites, enhancing our routine searching of staff and visitors. Over 140 new staff were recruited into the Counter-Corruption Unit through the Security Investment Programme. This includes regional Prevent teams dedicated to building staff resilience through training, awareness raising and individual support, as well as 20 Police Investigators dedicated to investigating corruption within HMPPS.
As part of this investment, we are undertaking a full evaluation for the Security Investment Programme. The evaluation explores whether the programme has achieved its intended outcomes, how the programme has been delivered, whether it has been delivered as intended and to identify factors which further strengthen its effectiveness.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he expects to receive the report of HM Chief Inspector of Probation’s thematic review of probation recall culture and practice.
Answered by Edward Argar - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The report of the Inspectorate of Probation (HMIP) thematic review titled 'A thematic review of probation recall culture and practice' was published in November 2020. This was the second part of the review which the Secretary of State had asked the Chief Inspector of Probation to undertake, following the conviction of Joseph McCann for a series of sexual offences committed in 2019. A link to the report is here: A thematic review of probation recall culture and practice (justiceinspectorates.gov.uk).
In December 2023, following a commission by the Secretary of State to the Inspectorate in response to the Justice Select Committee IPP inquiry report, HMIP published a report titled ‘A thematic inspection of imprisonment for public protection (IPP) recall decisions’. A link to this report is here: A thematic inspection of imprisonment for public protection (IPP) recall decisions (justiceinspectorates.gov.uk).
In both reports, the Inspectorate found that the Probation Service were taking proportionate and necessary decisions to recall offenders on licence for public protection.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the total cost to the public purse was for the Ministry of Justice Language Service Contract in (a) 2018 and (b) 2023.
Answered by Mike Freer
The total cost to the public purse for the Ministry of Justice Language Service Contract was £26,774,286.01 in 2018, and £24,992,225.55 in 2023.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many convictions there have been under the Assaults on Emergency Workers (Offences) Act 2018 in each of the last two years.
Answered by Gareth Bacon - Shadow Minister and Shadow Minister for London
The Ministry of Justice publishes information on the number of offenders convicted for offences relating to assault on emergency worker, covering the period requested. The latest data available, up to the year ending June 2023, can be obtained with the following data tool: Outcomes by Offence tool: June 2023.
In the data tool, navigate to ‘Prosecutions and Convictions’ tab and select ‘8.22 Assault of an emergency worker’ in the ‘Offence’ filter.
The pivot table will present the total number of offenders convicted for assaulting an emergency worker since year ending June 2011, including the requested last two years.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing income received by his Department from confiscation orders to charitable organisations.
Answered by Mike Freer
Confiscation orders are the principal means by which the government carries out its policy to deprive criminals of the proceeds of their crime. They are used with the intent to disrupt and deter criminality. Receipts from confiscation orders, excluding any compensation amounts, are paid to the Home Office by agreement with HM Treasury. The Home Office remain the lead department on confiscation orders, and each financial year distribute a proportion of the funds they collected to partner agencies (including the Ministry of Justice). This funding is provided by the Home Office to respective partner agencies with a primary purpose of investing in asset recovery capabilities.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the average length of referral orders in the last five years.
Answered by Edward Argar - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
I refer the honourable Member to the answer I gave on 17 November 2023 to Question 927: https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-questions/detail/2023-11-08/927).