Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department are taking to reduce reoffending rates among people convicted under the age of 16.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
The government is committed to preventing offending by children, in line with the principal aim of the youth justice system as set out in the Crime and Disorder Act 1998. Youth Offending Teams (YOTs) are a central part of the multi-agency work to realise this aim. YOTs support children on the cusp of offending and those who have already offended, addressing the causes of their behaviour and helping them to turn their lives around.
In recognition of the important role that YOTs play in preventing youth offending, we have secured an additional £7m funding for YOTs for 2021-2022 – an 8% increase on last year’s funding. This will mean that the Youth Justice Board’s anticipated funding for frontline services for 2021-2022 is £81.7m.
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 20 April 2021 to Question 180635, if he will publish the information on how many prisoners serving a custodial sentence who were formerly members of the armed forces by prison.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
The information requested is shown on the attached spreadsheets. These are broken down by offence group and prison service establishment.
The Ministry of Justice publishes a yearly snapshot which estimates the number of former service personnel in the prison population. This takes place in June each year.
Since 2015 all new prisoners coming into custody have been asked if they have a military background as part of the basic custody screening (BCS) interview. The attached data is therefore the percentage of sentenced prisoners within each offence group and prison for which we have a matched response to the BCS armed forces question. Those who entered prison prior to Jan 2015 (and are still in custody) will not have completed the BCS and so we will not have a matched response for these individuals.
Declaring one’s military background is not obligatory and there is anecdotal evidence that some offenders may be reluctant to disclose having served in the armed forces. The MoJ is focussed on increasing declaration rates amongst this important group.
We remain committed to ensuring that those who have served in the Armed Forces and who find themselves in the criminal justice system are able to access support, whether they are serving their sentence in custody or in the community. Through the Armed Forces Covenant Trust Fund, we have committed to support programmes worth £5.7 million targeted at former service personnel in the criminal justice system.
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 20 April 2021 to Question 180635, how many prisoners serving a custodial sentence who were formerly members of the armed forces were sentenced for (a) violent crime and (b) non-violent crime.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
The information requested is shown on the attached spreadsheets. These are broken down by offence group and prison service establishment.
The Ministry of Justice publishes a yearly snapshot which estimates the number of former service personnel in the prison population. This takes place in June each year.
Since 2015 all new prisoners coming into custody have been asked if they have a military background as part of the basic custody screening (BCS) interview. The attached data is therefore the percentage of sentenced prisoners within each offence group and prison for which we have a matched response to the BCS armed forces question. Those who entered prison prior to Jan 2015 (and are still in custody) will not have completed the BCS and so we will not have a matched response for these individuals.
Declaring one’s military background is not obligatory and there is anecdotal evidence that some offenders may be reluctant to disclose having served in the armed forces. The MoJ is focussed on increasing declaration rates amongst this important group.
We remain committed to ensuring that those who have served in the Armed Forces and who find themselves in the criminal justice system are able to access support, whether they are serving their sentence in custody or in the community. Through the Armed Forces Covenant Trust Fund, we have committed to support programmes worth £5.7 million targeted at former service personnel in the criminal justice system.
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people currently serving a prison sentence were previously members of the armed forces.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service records previous service in the Armed Forces as part of the reception process for newly received prisoners. Information on previous service does not distinguish between those who have served in the British Armed Forces or those of another nation. Those who choose to declare previous service may be referring to time spent with the UK forces or with those of another country.
As of 30 June 2020, there were 1,406 prisoners serving a custodial sentence in England and Wales who had declared former military service.
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the backlog before the courts in West Yorkshire.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The courts in West Yorkshire have continued throughout the pandemic and list as many cases as possible whilst complying with HMCTS COVID-secure working arrangements.
This has been enabled by physical changes to courtrooms and jury facilities through the use of Plexiglass screens, which have been installed in magistrates’ courts and the Crown Court, and other significant physical changes to the dock and courtroom provision to enable large multi-handed trials to proceed.
The use of buildings has changed: the proactive management of public areas, provision of additional waiting areas in some busy buildings, and opening more magistrates’ courtrooms on Saturdays has further increased capacity. A Nightingale Court has additionally been opened in Cloth Hall Court, Leeds.
The way that cases are heard has also changed: using the Cloud Video Platform to enable certain cases to be heard remotely has helped limit the number who need to physically attend court and increased overall capacity.
Arrangements are also in place for flexible deployment of work between Bradford and Leeds Crown Courts, and listing some magistrates’ court work in nearby Skipton.
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of staff in (a) prisons and (b) young offender institutions in West Yorkshire are employed by private contractors.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
I can confirm that as of 16 March 2021 in prisons and young offender institutions within the West Yorkshire region (HMPs Leeds, New Hall, Wealstun, Wetherby and Wakefield), there was a total of c.2,100 directly employed staff, and approximately 700 non-directly employed employees.
Staff employed by private contractors mainly provide services in healthcare, education and facilities management. This information has been taken from individual local prison records and has not been verified centrally.
HM Prison and Probation Workforce statistics are published quarterly, and the latest publication can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/her-majestys-prison-and-probation-service-workforce-quarterly-december-2020. These only provide data for directly employed staff.
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a national scheme to provide written legal resources to prisoners.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
We are committed to ensuring that prisoners have access to resources to exercise their legal rights.
All prisoners have access to a wide variety of legal information through prison libraries, including access to legal documentation, prison policy documents, and guidance on legal procedure. Essential visits from legal representatives and volunteers are also permitted in prisons during the pandemic.
In addition, we work with partner organisations who offer legal advice and representation.
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners were segregated under Rule 45 of the Prison Rules for a period longer than three days in the last five years in (a) West Yorkshire and (b) England.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
Establishments manage all offenders in segregation under the policy laid out in Prison Service Order 1700 -Segregation. This policy states that segregation should only be used as a last resort and those segregated should have their health, wellbeing and basic needs safeguarded. Dedicated segregation staff focus on helping prisoners manage their behaviour, address their problems and prepare them for return to normal location when it is safe and appropriate to do so.
Local records are maintained at each individual establishment, but HMPPS does not centrally hold regional (West Yorkshire) or national data (including timeframes) on the number of prisoners segregated under Rule 45.
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of assaults on prison staff in (a) young offenders institutions and (b) prisons were investigated by police forces external to the prison disciplinary system in (i) West Yorkshire and (ii) England in 2019.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
Any prisoner who commits an act of violence whether that be against a fellow inmate or member of staff can expect to have action taken against them.
Currently, data is not held centrally on the number of assaults that are committed by prisoners against staff in young offender’s institutions or prisons that were investigated by Police in West Yorkshire and England. This is being reviewed with the aim to collate data from all establishments for all crimes committed in prison, whilst also creating guidance on how to appropriately refer crimes committed in prison to the police.
The ‘Crime in Prison Referral Agreement’ was created in May 2019 and sets out the agreement between Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS), National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). The aim is to ensure that acts of criminality that occur in prison are appropriately addressed within the Criminal Justice System.
In line with the Crime in Prison Referral Agreement, assaults against members of staff will be referred to the police for investigation and consideration for prosecution where appropriate. Less serious assaults, are more appropriately dealt with by the prison disciplinary system.
The courts retain the discretion to decide whether sentences should be served concurrently or consecutively, based on the facts of the case. The Sentencing Council’s Totality guideline provides courts with guidance on whether sentences should be served concurrently or consecutively. Where the individual is serving a determinate sentence and commits another offence after the original sentence was imposed, the new sentence will generally be consecutive to the original sentence.
It was announced in March 2020 that anyone using coronavirus to threaten emergency workers would face serious criminal charges punishable by up to 12 months in prison under the Assaults on Emergency Workers Offences Act 2018. HMPPS has since issued guidance to support staff in referring such cases to the police.
Asked by: Imran Ahmad Khan (Independent - Wakefield)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his Department's press release, Judicial retirement age to rise to 75, published on 9 March 2021, how his Department plans to allocate the £1 million to increase diversity within the magistracy.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
MoJ is investing in a recruitment and attraction programme to recruit more and more diverse magistrates. This will include the introduction of new IT that will enable better tracking of magistrate recruitment data, and outcomes, including by diversity data. We will also be investing in a targeted marketing strategy in 2021 directed at under-represented groups in local areas to boost magistrate recruitment.