Asked by: John Penrose (Conservative - Weston-super-Mare)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the (a) rehabilitation, (b) employment and (c) reablement programmes provided by HM Prison and Probation Service.
Answered by Rob Butler
We are investing £550 million to rehabilitate offenders by getting them off drugs and into work and stable accommodation.
Between April 2021 and March 2022, the proportion of prisoners released from custody employed at six months rose by almost two thirds.
Together with NHS England, we are continuing to improve services in prison to ensure that people have access to timely and effective mental health care that is tailored to their needs. This will be reflected in the new National Partnership Agreement on health and social care in England, which is due to be published shortly, and the refreshed NHS England mental health service specification for prisons, which will be rolled out by April 2023.
Asked by: John Penrose (Conservative - Weston-super-Mare)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of when the Office of the Public Guardian will reply to the correspondence from the hon. Member for Weston-super-Mare of (a) 14 July and (b) 5 September 2022 on behalf of his constituent Jeremy Gwyn-Williams.
Answered by Rachel Maclean
I can confirm the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) has received the letters from the Hon. Member for Weston-super-Mare. OPG sent a response to the letters, including an apology for the delay, on Wednesday 12 October.
The current backlog in Lasting Power of Attorney applications has led to an increase in correspondence, including from MPs, which means responses are taking longer than usual. The teams responding to correspondence have been taking steps to improve turnaround times, including working overtime and making processes more efficient.
I appreciate the impact that delays are having on families and applicants and I am taking a close interest in improving the performance of this organisation.
Asked by: John Penrose (Conservative - Weston-super-Mare)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when the Probate Office plans to respond to the correspondence from the hon. Member for Weston-super-Mare of (a) 11 July and (b) 12 August 2022 on behalf of his constituent, Anthony Westacott.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
HMCTS apologises for the delay in responding and confirms they have now responded on 23 September 2022.
Asked by: John Penrose (Conservative - Weston-super-Mare)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to reply to the letters from the hon. Member for Weston-super-Mare of 25 October and 23 November 2021 on behalf of his constituent, Holly Saunders.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
The Government recognises the great importance of the effective and timely handling of correspondence.
The delay in responding to your letters of the 25 October and 23 November 2021 was the result of an administrative error. We have now responded to both letters.
Asked by: John Penrose (Conservative - Weston-super-Mare)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he plans to reply to the letters from the hon. Member for Weston-super-Mare of 16 December 2020 and 8 February 2021 on behalf of a constituent, Mrs Frances Littlewood on shared parenting.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Hon. Member’s letters were transferred to us on 22 February from the Department for Education. I can confirm that a response has been sent to the Hon. Member today, 16 March 2021.