Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, who the independent panel considering judicial review will be consulting with.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
The Independent Panel on Administrative Law commenced its work in July 2020 which is expected to run until the end of the year. The panel intends to gather evidence from a wide range of interested and representative parties including legal bodies, academia, professional associations, trade bodies, as well as from those who act for claimants and those who defend judicial reviews, amongst others. This will be a time limited exercise and anyone who wishes to submit comments or evidence may do so before the 19 October 2020. Details for how to submit are available on GOV.UK. A copy of the call for evidence will be deposited in the libraries of both Houses.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the planned timescale is for the consultation period of the independent panel to look at judicial review.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
The Independent Panel on Administrative Law commenced its work in July 2020 which is expected to run until the end of the year. The panel intends to gather evidence from a wide range of interested and representative parties including legal bodies, academia, professional associations, trade bodies, as well as from those who act for claimants and those who defend judicial reviews, amongst others. This will be a time limited exercise and anyone who wishes to submit comments or evidence may do so before the 19 October 2020. Details for how to submit are available on GOV.UK. A copy of the call for evidence will be deposited in the libraries of both Houses.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions he had with representatives of the judiciary in England and Wales ahead of the announcement of the launch of the independent panel to look at judicial review on 31 July 2020.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
The Lord Chancellor meets regularly with senior judges in England and Wales to discuss matters related to the administration of the justice system and the courts and tribunals.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, for what reasons the HM Prison and Probation Service has declared a moratorium on prison research during the period of covid-19 related solitary confinement; and if he will make an assessment of the (a) effects of confinement on individuals and (b) potential merits of different means of (i) ameliorating those effects and (ii) tackling future infections.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
As a result of the strong but necessary measures we introduced in prisons, lives have been saved and the NHS is being protected from the impact of widespread local outbreaks. The safety of our staff and those in our care remains our top priority, and social distancing is one of the most effective controls to reduce the transmission of infection.
HMPPS does not hold people in solitary confinement, but there are occasions where, for their own safety or that of others and in line with Prison Service Order 1700, prisoners are segregated from the main population of the prison. We have not changed this policy in response to Covid-19, and have therefore not put any prisoner into solitary confinement.
The response to the COVID-19 crisis has been guided by Public Health England and Wales advice. We have taken decisions to control the spread of infection across the estate, which has resulted in prisoners receiving less time out of their cells, compared to regimes before the pandemic. We recognise that the restrictions brought in to control the spread of infection must be proportionate, and we will continue to keep them under review. Our National Framework for Prison Regimes and Services, which has been guided by public health advice, sets out in detail how we will take decisions about easing coronavirus-related restrictions in prisons, while keeping staff and those in our care safe.
The National Research Committee (NRC) approves research to be conducted with staff and offenders across HMPPS. In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, the NRC has restricted the number of applications to conduct primary research across HMPPS until further notice; only applications to conduct high priority or urgent projects continue to be reviewed, including requests to access existing data for secondary analysis.
The decision was taken to prevent the spread of the virus, protect staff and those accommodated in prisons and to reduce the burden on prison resources while prisons operate under restricted regimes. The NRC restrictions will be kept under review and easement will be informed by the National Framework.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will commission independent research on the effects on prisoners of being placed in long-term solitary confinement in response to the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
As a result of the strong but necessary measures we introduced in prisons, lives have been saved and the NHS is being protected from the impact of widespread local outbreaks. The safety of our staff and those in our care remains our top priority, and social distancing is one of the most effective controls to reduce the transmission of infection.
HMPPS does not hold people in solitary confinement, but there are occasions where, for their own safety or that of others and in line with Prison Service Order 1700, prisoners are segregated from the main population of the prison. We have not changed this policy in response to Covid-19, and have therefore not put any prisoner into solitary confinement.
The response to the COVID-19 crisis has been guided by Public Health England and Wales advice. We have taken decisions to control the spread of infection across the estate, which has resulted in prisoners receiving less time out of their cells, compared to regimes before the pandemic. We recognise that the restrictions brought in to control the spread of infection must be proportionate, and we will continue to keep them under review. Our National Framework for Prison Regimes and Services, which has been guided by public health advice, sets out in detail how we will take decisions about easing coronavirus-related restrictions in prisons, while keeping staff and those in our care safe.
The National Research Committee (NRC) approves research to be conducted with staff and offenders across HMPPS. In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, the NRC has restricted the number of applications to conduct primary research across HMPPS until further notice; only applications to conduct high priority or urgent projects continue to be reviewed, including requests to access existing data for secondary analysis.
The decision was taken to prevent the spread of the virus, protect staff and those accommodated in prisons and to reduce the burden on prison resources while prisons operate under restricted regimes. The NRC restrictions will be kept under review and easement will be informed by the National Framework.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of prison staff (a) in administrative grades or (b) employed as instructional officers are currently (i) working remotely, (ii) shielding, or (iii) attending prison establishments, by grade; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The vast majority of operational staff in prisons continue to attend the workplace – for these staff we are providing Personal Protective Equipment where appropriate.
We are unable to provide data on the total number of prison staff working remotely as this data is collected by exception. However, we are able to provide the number of staff who are working from home and are unable fulfil all of their usual duties outside of their usual place of work for Covid-19 related reasons. We are also able to provide what data we do have as a proportion of our overall headcount of staff.
Of those, and as of 12 June, the number and proportion of public sector prison staff in administrative grades and employed as instructional officers working remotely or not working are as below:
| Working from home | Not working | ||
(a) in administrative grades | 19 | 0% | 336 | 7% |
(b) instructional officers (excludes vocational instructors) | ~ | 0% | 98 | 8% |
We do not hold information centrally on the number and proportion of prison staff who are shielding.
Data Sources & Quality
Source: HMPPS COVID-19 absences data collection
The symbol ~ denotes suppressed values of 3 or fewer (and totals that would allow values of 3 or fewer to be calculated) to avoid the risk of identifying individuals.
Excludes staff who have been reported absent from work but it is not clear if the staff member continues to work remotely or not.
These figures have been drawn from the HMPPS COVID-19 data collection. Care is taken when processing and analysing returns but the detail is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system. Although shown to the last case, the figures may not be accurate to that level. This data has been self-reported and has not yet been checked against our central databases
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of prison staff (a) in administrative grades and (b) employed as instructional officers have received (i) a financial incentive or (ii) extra pay since the start of the covid-19 pandemic, by grade; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
We are making special payments to our hardworking prison staff who continue to go above and beyond the call of duty during these exceptional times.
As at 31st May 2020, 1,843 (33%) of administrative staff and 1,032 (79%) of Instructional Officers working in prisons have received a financial incentive and extra pay.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of (a) operational, and (b) non-operational prison staff have received (i) a financial incentive, or (ii) extra pay since the start of the covid-19 outbreak, by grade; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
We are making special payments to our hardworking prison staff who continue to go above and beyond the call of duty during these exceptional times.
As at 31st May 2020, 30,799 prison staff have received a financial incentive or extra pay. This is made up of 26,272 (92%) of operational staff and 4,527 (50%) of non-operational staff in prisons.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans his Department has to extend the freeze on bailiff visits in England and Wales for people whose finances have been adversely affected by the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
Visits by enforcement agents (bailiffs) to take control of goods at residential premises and on highways are currently suspended under the Taking Control of Goods and Certification of Enforcement Agents (Amendment) (Coronavirus) Regulations 2020, which came into force on 25 April. This restriction will remain in place while the social distancing restrictions that limit the reasons for which a person can leave the place in which they live are in force under the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) Regulations 2020 and the Health Protection (Coronavirus Restrictions) (Wales) Regulations 2020.
My department is working with the enforcement agent industry to ensure that enforcement agents take a proportionate approach to payment with people who have been impacted by the Covid-19 outbreak.
Asked by: Kenny MacAskill (Alba Party - East Lothian)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of extending the freeze on bailiff visits in England and Wales until an independent regulator is established.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
Visits by enforcement agents (bailiffs) to take control of goods at residential premises and on highways are currently suspended under the Taking Control of Goods and Certification of Enforcement Agents (Amendment) (Coronavirus) Regulations 2020, which came into force on 25 April. This restriction is a public health measure and will remain in place while the social distancing restrictions that limit the reasons for which a person can leave the place in which they live are in force under the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) Regulations 2020 and the Health Protection (Coronavirus Restrictions) (Wales) Regulations 2020.
Separately, the Ministry of Justice is reviewing the implementation of reforms, contained in the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 and introduced in 2014, which govern how enforcement agents take control of goods. This includes consideration of how regulation of the sector might be strengthened. We will publish our review in due course.