Asked by: Madeleine Moon (Labour - Bridgend)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how her Department plans to support the efficient management of migration flows and integration of refugees when the UK no longer receives funding from the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
All projects under the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) will continue to receive funding for the lifetime of their projects, even if the UK leaves the EU without a deal.
Asked by: Madeleine Moon (Labour - Bridgend)
Question to the Wales Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what recent assessment he has made of the (a) current level of funding available for study abroad programmes and (b) level of funding for study abroad programmes available post 2020 for students in Wales; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Alun Cairns
As education is devolved, the UK Government does not hold figures on the current levels of funding for study abroad programmes in Wales.
The UK Government values international exchange and collaboration in education and training as part of our vision for a global Britain. That is why we support a number of outward mobility and exchange programmes which broaden access to international opportunities – schemes such as Fulbright scholarships and Generation UK China. We can expect our world-leading HE providers to continue their strong track record of partnering with overseas institutions post-2020.
Asked by: Madeleine Moon (Labour - Bridgend)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has made an assessment of the potential merits of changing the eligibility criteria for prison officer long service medals to enable officers employed in privately managed prisons to receive them; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
The Prison Service’s (operational duties) Long Service and Good Conduct Medal is awarded to operational staff in UK Prison Services on completion of 20 years continuous service. The medals are awarded by HM The Queen and aligns operational public sector prison staff with other comparable other front line public services such as the police, fire and ambulance services, and the Armed Forces.
HMPPS has previously approached the Cabinet Office in relation to making this medal available to staff in private sector prisons. The Cabinet Office confirmed that there are a series of protocols concerning the issue of medals of this type, one of which is that they can only be awarded to staff working in public sector prisons (civil servants) and not those prisons run by private sector companies.
Asked by: Madeleine Moon (Labour - Bridgend)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if he will provide The Share Foundation with support in identifying young people who would benefit from the Stepladder of Achievement programme; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Michelle Donelan
We recognise the importance of care leavers being well prepared to deal with the challenges of living independently at a young age, which includes having good budgeting skills. Care leavers have to be more independent and resilient than young people who live with their parents. My officials will contact the Share Foundation to discuss their request in more detail.
Asked by: Madeleine Moon (Labour - Bridgend)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many long service medals have been awarded in each of the last five years to prison officers; what the cost was of awarding each medal; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
The number of operational prison staff in public sectors prisons who were awarded Prison Services (operational duties) Long Service & Good Conduct medals in each of the last 5 years is shown in the table below.
| Number of operational prison staff who received a long service medal | |
| 2015 | 841 |
| 2016 | 415 |
| 2017 | 603 |
| 2018 | 828 |
| 2019 (up to 30/09/2019) | 523 |
Includes operational prison staff from Band 2 to Band 11
Prison Services (operational duties) Long Service & Good Conduct Medals are manufactured by the Royal Mint at a cost of £27 (+VAT) per medal.
These medals recognise the loyalty, commitment and unique role of operational prison staff in the United Kingdom prison services.
Asked by: Madeleine Moon (Labour - Bridgend)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, if she will bring forward legislative proposals to introduce independent regulation of the media to protect individuals from (a) invasive and (b) unethical journalism.
Answered by Nigel Adams
We have seen great improvements in press regulation with the formation of IPSO and Impress, which have the power to hold publications to account, including ordering prominent corrections. Both regulators are independent of government and enforce Codes of Practice, which include provisions on privacy and intrusion. They both operate free complaints handling systems and low cost arbitration schemes.
Ofcom, as the independent broadcast regulator, sets rules for broadcasters to meet in its Broadcasting Code. This includes rules ensuring that broadcasters avoid any unwarranted infringement of privacy in the making of programmes.
Asked by: Madeleine Moon (Labour - Bridgend)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Hong Kong counterparts on the use of excessive police force against protesters.
Answered by Heather Wheeler
We remain seriously concerned by the situation in Hong Kong and recent violent clashes between protesters and the police. It is essential that protests are conducted peacefully and within the law, and that the response of the authorities is proportionate. On 9 August, the Foreign Secretary spoke at length to the Hong Kong Chief Executive, Carrie Lam, about the police response to recent protests, and the UK Consul-General in Hong Kong is in regular contact with the authorities, including on this issue. We have made clear our view that there must be a robust, credible and independent investigation into events in Hong Kong. An inquiry is an important step in healing divisions and rebuilding trust that will support the process of dialogue and resolution.
Asked by: Madeleine Moon (Labour - Bridgend)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which prisons are in the comparator group with HMP Parc; for what reason those prisons were chosen; which of those prisons have (a) young offender institution and (b) sex offender wings; what the (i) category and (ii) size of prison population is of those prisons; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
Comparator groups of prisons for 2018/19 can be found within Annex D of the annual prison performance ratings, published on gov.uk: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/820601/annual-prison-performance-ratings-2018-19-guide.pdf
Further information for all establishments including population, operational capacity, and accommodation details, can also be found on gov.uk at the following links:
https://www.justice.gov.uk/contacts/prison-finder
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/prison-population-figures-2019
Asked by: Madeleine Moon (Labour - Bridgend)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department's statistics identify (a) individual episodes of self-harm and (b) episodes of self-harm by an individual in (i) HMP Parc and (ii) HMP Cardiff prisons; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
This question has been interpreted as the number of self-harm incidents and the number of individuals who self-harm. The data shows the number of self-harm incidents and individuals in HMPs Cardiff and Parc in each of the three financial years (the PQ didn’t specify a time period, so have used the latest three years).
Cardiff Prison |
| ||||
| 2016-17 | 2017-18 | 2018-19 | ||
Self-Harm Incidents | 202 | 273 | 527 |
| |
Self-Harm Individuals | 88 | 145 | 175 |
| |
Parc Prison |
| ||||
| 2016-17 | 2017-18 | 2018-19 | ||
Self-Harm Incidents | 1477 | 1604 | 1436 |
| |
Self-Harm Individuals | 346 | 331 | 271 |
|
|
Our most recent Safety in Custody statistics show that levels of self-harm in Welsh prisons are comparable with the national picture. These figures are published online every quarter, and are broken down by individual prisons to measure trends in specific area, as well as across the whole of England and Wales. There is a piece of work underway in Wales to identify the drivers of self-harm, regionally and at establishment level. Similar work is being done at a national level looking across all prisons.
Too many people self-harm in prisons and we are taking action to stop it. We are investing £100 million in security measures to tackle the drugs, weapons and mobile phones that fuel violence and self-harm behind bars – this is on top of the £70 million we have already spent improving safety and conditions. We have recruited more than 4,300 new prison officers and introduced the keyworker model - so every inmate can have a dedicated officer for support.
We’ve also given the Samaritans £1.5 million over three years, trained more than 24,000 staff in mental health awareness, and improved support for anyone at risk of suicide or self-harm.
Asked by: Madeleine Moon (Labour - Bridgend)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will detail the definitions of (a) concerted indiscipline and (b) violent incident required to be used at (i) HMP Parc and (ii) HMP Cardiff; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
The definitions of concerted indiscipline and assaults are:
Concerted indiscipline: the number of incidents in which two or more prisoners act together in defiance of a lawful instruction or against the requirements of the regime of the establishment. The act of indiscipline can be active or passive (i.e. involving aggression and violence or not) and the protagonists do not necessarily need to be acting in a common cause.
Assaults: refer to unwanted physical contact between two or more individuals, excluding lawful use of force by staff (but including where staff are assaulted during use of force) or anything of a purely verbal or threatening nature.
Assaults in prison custody cover a wide range of violent incidents including fights between prisoners.
Serious assaults are those which involve one or more of the following: a sexual assault, results in detention in outside hospital as an in-patient, requires medical treatment for concussion or internal injuries. It also includes incurring any of the following injuries: a fracture, scald or burn, stabbing, crushing, extensive or multiple bruising, black eye, broken nose, lost or broken tooth, cuts requiring suturing, bites, temporary or permanent blindness.
We do not tolerate violence or disruptive behaviour in our prisons. We’ve recruited 4,366 additional officers and are spending an extra £100m, introducing tough airport-style security, x-ray scanners and phone-blocking technology. We are also committed to ensuring our prison officers have the tools they need to do the job safely with body worn cameras, ‘police-style’ handcuffs and restraints, and PAVA incapacitant spray.