Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to reduce prison landing overcrowding to allow for safer and more secure phone calls from prison.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie
Currently, 20 public sector prisons have in-cell telephony, meaning prisoners at these prisons can access the same telephony service that they would through the landing phones but through phones in their cells. We are currently rolling out in-cell telephony to a further 30 prisons, meaning that by March 2020, 50 public sector prisons will have phones in cells.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to allow competition in the provision of phones in prison.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie
The Ministry of Justice is currently pulling together requirements for future telephony provision in prisons. Once completed, it is the intention of the Ministry to run a competitive process to coincide with the expiry of the current contract.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to reduce the costs of phone calls from prisons to reflect the tariffs in place for the rest of the UK.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie
The prisons PINphone system is not comparable to any other public payphone service, it requires significant investment to meet specific requirements and delivery into prisons and is reflected in the cost of calls. That said, HMPPS is keen to make calls as reasonable as is possible and is therefore working on a programme to extend the availability of in-cell telephony so that by March 2020 there are 50 public sector prisons with phones in cells with call rates reduced.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many violent incidents occurred at shared phones in prison landings in each year from 2012 to 2018.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie
This information is not recorded centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
We recognise that access to telephones can be one of the causes of violence in prisons. As part of our prison safety programme we have developed a violence diagnostic tool that allows prisons to analyse patterns of violent incidents and to identify any ‘hotspots’, such as telephone queues, where preventative action needs to be taken.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government (1) how many, and (2) what percentage of, offenders in England and Wales completing a custodial sentence of greater than 12 months have gone on to occupy non-temporary accommodation three months after leaving custody in the last year.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie
Accommodation status of offenders 3 months after release from Custody during 2017, including Allocated Persons of Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRC) and the National Probation Service (NPS), is provided in the annexed table.
Everyone leaving custody should have a safe and suitable home to go to on release; having somewhere to live gives people a stable platform from which to access health services, hold down a job and reduces the likelihood of them reoffending. As part of the joint approach between us and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) we will pilot initiatives, helping those with a history of offending to access and sustain suitable accommodation.
ANNEX
| Custodial sentence length less than 12 months |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Settled Accommodation | 18,455 | 61% |
| Approved Premises and Bail Hostel (short and long stay) | 503 | 2% |
| Friends/Family (settled) | 8,494 | 28% |
| Long Term Residential Healthcare | 51 | 0% |
| Permanent Independent Housing (LA or private rent, owner and type unknown) | 7,202 | 24% |
| Supported Housing | 2,205 | 7% |
| Unsettled Accommodation | 11,592 | 39% |
| Bail Hostel (short stay) | 58 | 0% |
| Friends/Family (transient) | 2,323 | 8% |
| Homeless (Other, Rough Sleeping and Squat) | 4,076 | 14% |
| Missing Data / Recording Error | 3,994 | 13% |
| Transient/short term accommodation | 1,141 | 4% |
| less than 12m Total | 30,047 | 100% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Custodial sentence length greater or equal to 12 months |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Settled Accommodation | 21,966 | 75% |
| Approved Premises and Bail Hostel (short and long stay) | 3,441 | 12% |
| Friends/Family (settled) | 11,103 | 38% |
| Long Term Residential Healthcare | 68 | 0% |
| Permanent Independent Housing (LA or private rent, owner and type unknown) | 5,646 | 19% |
| Supported Housing | 1,708 | 6% |
| Unsettled Accommodation | 7,503 | 25% |
| Bail Hostel (short stay) | 132 | 0% |
| Friends/Family (transient) | 1,722 | 6% |
| Homeless (Other, Rough Sleeping and Squat) | 1,579 | 5% |
| Missing Data / Recording Error | 3,185 | 11% |
| Transient/short term accommodation | 885 | 3% |
| over 12m Total | 29,469 | 100% |
|
|
|
|
| Notes: |
|
|
| (1) Data based on offender releases during calendar year 2017 recorded in the Probation case management system, therefore this may not align with published prison release statistics. | ||
| (2) Cases terminating before the 3 month date from release are excluded |
| |
| (3) Cases recalled to prison before the 3 month date from release are excluded but a re-release in the period will be included (4) LA = Local Authority | ||
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government (1) how many, and (2) what percentage of, offenders in England and Wales completing a custodial sentence of 12 months or less have gone on to occupy non-temporary accommodation three months after leaving custody, in the last year.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie
Accommodation status of offenders 3 months after release from Custody during 2017, including Allocated Persons of Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRC) and the National Probation Service (NPS), is provided in the annexed table.
Everyone leaving custody should have a safe and suitable home to go to on release; having somewhere to live gives people a stable platform from which to access health services, hold down a job and reduces the likelihood of them reoffending. As part of the joint approach between us and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) we will pilot initiatives, helping those with a history of offending to access and sustain suitable accommodation.
ANNEX
| Custodial sentence length less than 12 months |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Settled Accommodation | 18,455 | 61% |
| Approved Premises and Bail Hostel (short and long stay) | 503 | 2% |
| Friends/Family (settled) | 8,494 | 28% |
| Long Term Residential Healthcare | 51 | 0% |
| Permanent Independent Housing (LA or private rent, owner and type unknown) | 7,202 | 24% |
| Supported Housing | 2,205 | 7% |
| Unsettled Accommodation | 11,592 | 39% |
| Bail Hostel (short stay) | 58 | 0% |
| Friends/Family (transient) | 2,323 | 8% |
| Homeless (Other, Rough Sleeping and Squat) | 4,076 | 14% |
| Missing Data / Recording Error | 3,994 | 13% |
| Transient/short term accommodation | 1,141 | 4% |
| less than 12m Total | 30,047 | 100% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Custodial sentence length greater or equal to 12 months |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Settled Accommodation | 21,966 | 75% |
| Approved Premises and Bail Hostel (short and long stay) | 3,441 | 12% |
| Friends/Family (settled) | 11,103 | 38% |
| Long Term Residential Healthcare | 68 | 0% |
| Permanent Independent Housing (LA or private rent, owner and type unknown) | 5,646 | 19% |
| Supported Housing | 1,708 | 6% |
| Unsettled Accommodation | 7,503 | 25% |
| Bail Hostel (short stay) | 132 | 0% |
| Friends/Family (transient) | 1,722 | 6% |
| Homeless (Other, Rough Sleeping and Squat) | 1,579 | 5% |
| Missing Data / Recording Error | 3,185 | 11% |
| Transient/short term accommodation | 885 | 3% |
| over 12m Total | 29,469 | 100% |
|
|
|
|
| Notes: |
|
|
| (1) Data based on offender releases during calendar year 2017 recorded in the Probation case management system, therefore this may not align with published prison release statistics. | ||
| (2) Cases terminating before the 3 month date from release are excluded |
| |
| (3) Cases recalled to prison before the 3 month date from release are excluded but a re-release in the period will be included (4) LA = Local Authority | ||
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government (1) how many, and (2) what percentage of offenders in England and Wales completing custodial sentences of greater than 12 months are in (a) full-time training, and (b) full-time employment three months after leaving custody, in the last year.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie
We do not currently hold the data as requested.
Based on matched MOJ-DWP data on the proportion of working age adult offenders released from prison in 2011/12 who were in P45 employment one year after release we know that there is no difference in P45 employment rates over a one year period for those serving sentences of fewer or greater than 12 months.
For those serving custodial sentences of fewer than 12 months;
And for those serving custodial sentences of greater than 12 months;
More recent data from 2014/15 indicates that at a national level, 26.5% of prisoners were entering employment upon release, but this data was self-reported and we don’t have a split in this rate for length of sentence served.
Securing employment after a sentence has a positive impact on rates of reoffending. Offenders who found P45 employment in the twelve months after release from prison had one year re-offending rates that were 6-9 percentage points lower than similar offenders who did not find employment.
That is why we have launched the Education and Employment Strategy. The strategy will create a system in which each prisoner is set on a path to employment from the outset, with prison education and work geared towards employment on release.
Our strategy includes a range of initiatives to support this ambition. For example, we will empower governors to commission education provision that leads to work, we will engage and persuade employers to take on ex-prisoners via the New Futures Network (NFN) and we will consult governors and employers on proposals to increase the opportunities available to prisoners to gain experience in real workplaces through Release On Temporary Licence.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government (1) how many, and (2) what percentage of offenders in England and Wales completing a custodial sentence of 12 months or fewer are in (a) full-time training, and (b) full-time employment three months after leaving custody, in the last year.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie
We do not currently hold the data as requested.
Based on matched MOJ-DWP data on the proportion of working age adult offenders released from prison in 2011/12 who were in P45 employment one year after release we know that there is no difference in P45 employment rates over a one year period for those serving sentences of fewer or greater than 12 months.
For those serving custodial sentences of fewer than 12 months;
And for those serving custodial sentences of greater than 12 months;
More recent data from 2014/15 indicates that at a national level, 26.5% of prisoners were entering employment upon release, but this data was self-reported and we don’t have a split in this rate for length of sentence served.
Securing employment after a sentence has a positive impact on rates of reoffending. Offenders who found P45 employment in the twelve months after release from prison had one year re-offending rates that were 6-9 percentage points lower than similar offenders who did not find employment.
That is why we have launched the Education and Employment Strategy. The strategy will create a system in which each prisoner is set on a path to employment from the outset, with prison education and work geared towards employment on release.
Our strategy includes a range of initiatives to support this ambition. For example, we will empower governors to commission education provision that leads to work, we will engage and persuade employers to take on ex-prisoners via the New Futures Network (NFN) and we will consult governors and employers on proposals to increase the opportunities available to prisoners to gain experience in real workplaces through Release On Temporary Licence.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they are proposing to make further changes to the contractual or financial arrangements of the Community Rehabilitation Company following the recent inspection report of HM Chief Inspector of Probation, Quality and Impact inspection: The effectiveness of probation work by the National Probation Service in London.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie
The report of Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Probation (HMI Probation) published on 10 January focuses on the performance of the National Probation Service (NPS) in London. The NPS works closely with London Community Rehabilitation Centre (CRC), and as HMI Probation note, that relationship is much improved since the last inspection in 2016.
We will continue to work with both the NPS and CRC to improve probation services in London. We robustly manage CRC performance and will make further changes to contracts if that is necessary to ensure we are delivering a probation system that protects the public, rehabilitates offenders and commands the confidence of the courts.
Asked by: Lord German (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what services community rehabilitation companies are required to deliver as part of their contract with Government.
Answered by Lord Keen of Elie
Contractual requirements are available online via the Contracts Finder section on Gov.uk. All offenders, including those sentenced to less than 12 months, now get targeted support when they leave prison to help them reintegrate into society.
We are carrying out a comprehensive review of the probation service to improve outcomes for offenders and communities.
Public protection is our top priority and we will not hesitate to take the necessary action to make sure our vital reforms are being delivered to reduce reoffending, cut crime and prevent future victims. We will set out more detailed plans after our review is completed in April.