Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - North Tyneside)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what information on assessed risks from covid-19 in courts was shared with staff unions before jury trials restarted; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
A judicial led Jury Trials Working Group (JTWG) was set up to establish ways in which jury trials can be commenced safely. The JTWG developed a Crown Court Jury Trial checklist which was discussed with the Departmental Trade Union Side (DTUS) on 30 April and a copy shared with them on 4 May. Completed risk assessments were shared with the DTUS before the first jury trials resumed on 18 May.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - North Tyneside)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of availability of personal protective equipment for HM Courts and Tribunal Service staff who are not able to socially distance in the workplace during the covid-19 outbreak; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
HM Courts & Tribunals Service has comprehensively assessed the risk to its staff and users. We have published and implemented safety controls to help prevent the spread of Covid-19.
Face coverings are available on request for staff, judges and jurors. Personal protective equipment (PPE) is available to staff where local assessments show that this is necessary. In line with Government guidance, PPE will be reserved for those most at risk of close contact through their workplace, such as security officers involved in interventions, fire-marshals and first-aiders.
We are keeping the use and distribution of PPE under close review and we will continue to ensure that we comply with Government guidance.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - North Tyneside)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether a rise in levels of violence has been recorded in any of the prisons where PAVA has been rolled out.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Published data on violence is only available until September 2019, and the only prisons with PAVA for the duration of this period were the four pilot sites: HMPs Hull, Wealstun, Preston and Risley.
There was an increase in the average number of assaults in prisons in across England and Wales between January 2018 to September 2019, which is the timeframe that PAVA has been in available in these four prisons.
When comparing the 21 months prior to January 2018, HMPs Hull, Wealstun and Preston had a slightly lower increase in violence compared to the wider estate.
We have been rolling out PAVA incapacitant spray to all band 3-5 staff in the adult male estate. Staff need appropriate training to use PAVA and only prisons that have implemented the key worker scheme – which is vital in building relationships between offenders and staff – will receive it.
PAVA has not been introduced as a violence reduction measure, it is intended to help protect staff and prisoners from incidents where there is serious violence, or an imminent or perceived risk of serious violence. It has been introduced alongside a range of other measures aimed to improve safety.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - North Tyneside)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the viability of releasing low-risk prisoners to ease overcrowding during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
We have no plans to release prisoners or to use prison ships in response to the Covid-19 outbreak.
HMPPS is doing everything it can to prevent the spread of COVID-19, based on the very latest scientific and medical advice. We are working closely with Public Health England, the NHS and the Department of Health and Social Care to manage the challenges we face.
In line with broader clinical advice, HMPPS has introduced a procedure for the protective isolation of individuals in prison custody when it is considered that they may be potentially infected with the virus.
Our capacity to isolate prisoners varies across the estate depending on the type of establishment, its configuration and the category of prisoner held. Each establishment has in place local contingency plans setting out how it will manage should isolation of prisoners be necessary.
People in prison custody who become unwell have the benefit of on-site NHS healthcare services which provide the first line assessment and treatment response. HMPPS has worked closely with our partners in the NHS to make arrangements for transfer to hospital should an individual be sufficiently unwell to require hospital admission, building on our business as usual procedures for access to healthcare.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - North Tyneside)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the viability of using prison ships to ease overcrowding during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
We have no plans to release prisoners or to use prison ships in response to the Covid-19 outbreak.
HMPPS is doing everything it can to prevent the spread of COVID-19, based on the very latest scientific and medical advice. We are working closely with Public Health England, the NHS and the Department of Health and Social Care to manage the challenges we face.
In line with broader clinical advice, HMPPS has introduced a procedure for the protective isolation of individuals in prison custody when it is considered that they may be potentially infected with the virus.
Our capacity to isolate prisoners varies across the estate depending on the type of establishment, its configuration and the category of prisoner held. Each establishment has in place local contingency plans setting out how it will manage should isolation of prisoners be necessary.
People in prison custody who become unwell have the benefit of on-site NHS healthcare services which provide the first line assessment and treatment response. HMPPS has worked closely with our partners in the NHS to make arrangements for transfer to hospital should an individual be sufficiently unwell to require hospital admission, building on our business as usual procedures for access to healthcare.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - North Tyneside)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many times has PAVA been deployed in each prison in each of the last 12 months.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
PAVA spray is being provided to all band 3-5 staff in the adult male estate and it is currently being rolled out across the estate. Staff need appropriate training to use PAVA and only prisons who have the key worker scheme – which is vital in building relationships between offenders and staff – will receive it.
The following uses of PAVA have been recorded in the last 12 months;
4 pilot sites were live: March 2019* |
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PAVA Drawn OR Used* |
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Hull | 2 |
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Wealstun | 1 |
| |
Risley | 2 |
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Preston | 0 |
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|
|
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Live: April 2019 - Feb 2020 |
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Drawn (not used) | Used |
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Hull | 0 | 10 |
|
Wealstun | 1 | 6 |
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Risley | 7 | 20 |
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Preston | 6 | 13 |
|
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Live: October 2019 - Feb 2020 |
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Brinsford | 0 | 1 |
|
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Live: December 2019 - Feb 2020 |
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Hindley | 1 | 2** |
|
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*pre-April 2019 the collection system did not ask staff to distinguish between PAVA being drawn and/or being used. |
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**accidental uses by staff with no prisoners present. | |||
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - North Tyneside)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many times have rigid handcuffs been used in each prison in each of the last 12 months.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Rigid bar handcuffs are being rolled out to all band 3-5 staff in the adult male estate.
Data on the number of times that rigid bar handcuffs have been used is recorded locally. As we do not currently hold this information centrally, we are unable to provide the number of times that these have been used in prisons. However, we are piloting the use of a Digital Tool for establishments to record this and other Use of Force data, which will improve our ability to interrogate and extract any relevant data, such as this.
Rigid bar handcuffs are only one of the tools we are giving prison officers to help them do their job more safely. This also includes body worn cameras and PAVA spray.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - North Tyneside)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Prison Service Pay Review Body Summary of England and Wales Visits 2019, published in February 2020, what steps he is taking to address the finding in that report that the Band 3 prison officer pay scale was not a wage staff could live on or afford a mortgage with.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
We are giving staff the tools they need to do the job safely – rolling out PAVA incapacitant spray, and investing £100 million, as part of a wider £2.75 billion package, to fund tough airport-style security that will clamp down on the illicit items which fuel violence and hinder rehabilitation.
The Ministry of Justice is actively engaged with the Prison Service Pay Review Body in support of their evidence gathering process and we look forward to receiving their considered recommendations later this year. To maintain the integrity of this independent process we will not be commenting on any material that will not be formally published. The document referred to is not a published document.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - North Tyneside)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Prison Service Pay Review Body Summary of England and Wales Visits 2019, published in February 2020, what steps he is taking to address the finding in that report that Operational Support Grade staff reported that they could earn more working in factories and supermarkets.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
We are giving staff the tools they need to do the job safely – rolling out PAVA incapacitant spray, and investing £100 million, as part of a wider £2.75 billion package, to fund tough airport-style security that will clamp down on the illicit items which fuel violence and hinder rehabilitation.
The Ministry of Justice is actively engaged with the Prison Service Pay Review Body in support of their evidence gathering process and we look forward to receiving their considered recommendations later this year. To maintain the integrity of this independent process we will not be commenting on any material that will not be formally published. The document referred to is not a published document.
Asked by: Mary Glindon (Labour - North Tyneside)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Prison Service Pay Review Body Summary of England and Wales Visits 2019, published in February 2020, what steps he is taking to address the finding in that report that Band 3 prison officers were reported to be leaving the service for a whole host of different types of employment, some of which had much lower levels of violence.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
We are giving staff the tools they need to do the job safely – rolling out PAVA incapacitant spray, and investing £100 million, as part of a wider £2.75 billion package, to fund tough airport-style security that will clamp down on the illicit items which fuel violence and hinder rehabilitation.
The Ministry of Justice is actively engaged with the Prison Service Pay Review Body in support of their evidence gathering process and we look forward to receiving their considered recommendations later this year. To maintain the integrity of this independent process we will not be commenting on any material that will not be formally published. The document referred to is not a published document.