Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many times Governors from (a) Cookham Wood, (b) Feltham, (c) Parc, (d) Werrington and (e) Wetherby Young Offender Institution have met (i) the Youth Custody Service and (ii) officials from his Department in the last 12 months.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The Youth Custody Service (YCS) is a specialist service which forms part of His Majesty’s Prison & Probation Service, which is an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice. Governors of young offender institutions are officials of the Ministry of Justice and members of the YCS. Headquarters staff in the YCS are in frequent daily communication with governors of young offender institutions, with the Director of HMYOI Parc, and with the senior leadership teams at Oakhill Secure Training Centre and those secure children’s homes in which young people sentenced to custody are placed. Owing to their frequency, it is not possible to calculate the number of meetings that have taken place within the last 12 months although contact between YCS HQ and sites is a daily occurrence.

The YCS will shortly be launching a regular event at which Governors of public sector young offender institutions, the Directors of HMYOI Parc and Oakhill Secure Centre, and Registered Managers from secure children’s homes come together to share best practice and experience of managing children at their sites. In addition, a new staff exchange programme will shortly be launched, to enable staff in each sector of the youth estate to gain experience of how children and young people are supervised and cared for in other sectors.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many times Senior Leadership teams at Secure Children’s Homes in England and Wales have met (a) the Youth Custody Service and (b) officials in his Department in the last 12 months.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The Youth Custody Service (YCS) is a specialist service which forms part of His Majesty’s Prison & Probation Service, which is an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice. Governors of young offender institutions are officials of the Ministry of Justice and members of the YCS. Headquarters staff in the YCS are in frequent daily communication with governors of young offender institutions, with the Director of HMYOI Parc, and with the senior leadership teams at Oakhill Secure Training Centre and those secure children’s homes in which young people sentenced to custody are placed. Owing to their frequency, it is not possible to calculate the number of meetings that have taken place within the last 12 months although contact between YCS HQ and sites is a daily occurrence.

The YCS will shortly be launching a regular event at which Governors of public sector young offender institutions, the Directors of HMYOI Parc and Oakhill Secure Centre, and Registered Managers from secure children’s homes come together to share best practice and experience of managing children at their sites. In addition, a new staff exchange programme will shortly be launched, to enable staff in each sector of the youth estate to gain experience of how children and young people are supervised and cared for in other sectors.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many times Governors from HM YOI (a) Cookham Wood, (b) Feltham, (c) Parc, (d) Werrington and (e) Wetherby have met the (i) Senior Leadership Team from Oakhill Secure Training Centre ii) the Senior Leadership teams at Secure Children’s Homes in England and Wales in the last 12 months.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The Youth Custody Service (YCS) is a specialist service which forms part of His Majesty’s Prison & Probation Service, which is an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice. Governors of young offender institutions are officials of the Ministry of Justice and members of the YCS. Headquarters staff in the YCS are in frequent daily communication with governors of young offender institutions, with the Director of HMYOI Parc, and with the senior leadership teams at Oakhill Secure Training Centre and those secure children’s homes in which young people sentenced to custody are placed. Owing to their frequency, it is not possible to calculate the number of meetings that have taken place within the last 12 months although contact between YCS HQ and sites is a daily occurrence.

The YCS will shortly be launching a regular event at which Governors of public sector young offender institutions, the Directors of HMYOI Parc and Oakhill Secure Centre, and Registered Managers from secure children’s homes come together to share best practice and experience of managing children at their sites. In addition, a new staff exchange programme will shortly be launched, to enable staff in each sector of the youth estate to gain experience of how children and young people are supervised and cared for in other sectors.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he has taken to promote communication between (a) HM YOI governors, (b) the senior leadership team of Oakhill Secure Training Centre and (c) Secure Children Home managers in England and Wales and (i) the Youth Custody Service and (ii) officials in his Department.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The Youth Custody Service (YCS) is a specialist service which forms part of His Majesty’s Prison & Probation Service, which is an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice. Governors of young offender institutions are officials of the Ministry of Justice and members of the YCS. Headquarters staff in the YCS are in frequent daily communication with governors of young offender institutions, with the Director of HMYOI Parc, and with the senior leadership teams at Oakhill Secure Training Centre and those secure children’s homes in which young people sentenced to custody are placed. Owing to their frequency, it is not possible to calculate the number of meetings that have taken place within the last 12 months although contact between YCS HQ and sites is a daily occurrence.

The YCS will shortly be launching a regular event at which Governors of public sector young offender institutions, the Directors of HMYOI Parc and Oakhill Secure Centre, and Registered Managers from secure children’s homes come together to share best practice and experience of managing children at their sites. In addition, a new staff exchange programme will shortly be launched, to enable staff in each sector of the youth estate to gain experience of how children and young people are supervised and cared for in other sectors.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many times a member of the Senior Leadership Team from Oakhill Secure Training Centre has met (a) the Youth Custody Service and (b) officials from his Department in the last 12 months.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The Youth Custody Service (YCS) is a specialist service which forms part of His Majesty’s Prison & Probation Service, which is an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice. Governors of young offender institutions are officials of the Ministry of Justice and members of the YCS. Headquarters staff in the YCS are in frequent daily communication with governors of young offender institutions, with the Director of HMYOI Parc, and with the senior leadership teams at Oakhill Secure Training Centre and those secure children’s homes in which young people sentenced to custody are placed. Owing to their frequency, it is not possible to calculate the number of meetings that have taken place within the last 12 months although contact between YCS HQ and sites is a daily occurrence.

The YCS will shortly be launching a regular event at which Governors of public sector young offender institutions, the Directors of HMYOI Parc and Oakhill Secure Centre, and Registered Managers from secure children’s homes come together to share best practice and experience of managing children at their sites. In addition, a new staff exchange programme will shortly be launched, to enable staff in each sector of the youth estate to gain experience of how children and young people are supervised and cared for in other sectors.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish the number of reoffenders aged 18 years or over by (a) age and (b) offence type for the year ending March 2023.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

The number of reoffenders aged 18 years or over by (a) age and (b) offence type for the year ending March 2023 will be published at the end of January 2025.

The attached tables show the number of reoffenders by (a) age and (b) index offence type for the year ending March 2022.

This Government is committed to reducing reoffending, and reoffending rates have fallen from 31.3% in 2011/12 to 25.2% in 2021/22. We are investing in rehabilitation to stop prison leavers falling back into crime – including tackling drug addiction, increasing the number of offenders in work and providing basic, short-term accommodation on release. We are also delivering the Prison Education Service which raises the level of numeracy, literacy and skills of prisoners, with the aim of securing jobs or apprenticeships after they leave custody.

On top of this, we are doubling the number of GPS tags available to courts for sentencing, ensuring more burglars and robbers are tagged which ultimately keeps our communities safer.

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of girls aged under the age of 15 (a) have been placed in the last 12 months and (b) are expected to be placed within the next 12 months at the Wetherby and Keppel Young Offender Institution.

Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)

No girls under 15 have been placed at HMYOI Wetherby in the last 12 months. We do not expect to make any such placement in the next 12 months.