Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of prison staff were excluded from a prison by (a) their role and (b) the category of exclusion in each of the last 16 quarters.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make it his policy to convene a Royal Commission on criminal justice before the next general election.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Although we recognise the opportunity that a Royal Commission could present to look at structural questions in the criminal justice system, we think it is right that, following the pandemic and the CBA’s disruptive action, we focus on delivering recovery priorities over the coming months.
We continue to keep issues in the wider criminal justice system under review.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has taken recent steps to help tackle the backlogs in the probate service.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Despite the unprecedented challenges faced by the probate service during the Covid 19 pandemic, and the increased volume of applications that have been seen since, the average length of time taken for a grant of probate following receipt of the documents required has been maintained at between five and seven weeks – with the average responses being almost 1 week faster in quarter 2 of 2022 than the yearly average for 2020 and 2021.
Average waiting times for probate grants, up to April to June 2022, are published on gov.uk via Family Court Statistics Quarterly (Table 25): https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/family-court-statistics-quarterly-april-to-june-2022.
HMCTS has increased resources to meet the higher demand following an increased number of estates requiring probate and is further increasing resourcing to further bring down overall timeliness on digital and paper applications.
The improvement of the online probate system remains a priority for HMCTS, to ensure more applications can be issued first time and resources can be focused on reducing waiting times.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the areas of development set out on page 6 of the Annual Report of the Independent Monitoring Board for HMP/YOI Low Newton for 2020-21, published in October 2021, what funding the Government plans to provide to enable the governor of HMP/YOI Low Newton to invest in new educational and vocational initiatives to allow for additional and less stereotypically women’s employment opportunities.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The funding of Prison Education is based on the number of prisoners and the type of establishment. Governors are able to decide, within limit, how much of the education budget is allocated to the core (Prison Education Framework) contract and how much is spent on niche provision via an Education Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS). There is further scope to move allocated monies around between establishments to cater for individual learner need at the discretion of the Director. The total education budget is just under £150 Million.
The Curriculum at HMP Low Newton is reviewed annually and learners are surveyed to ensure courses are relevant and of interest to them. Whilst it is important to provide learning that meets the wishes of learners, we also deliver the core skills of numeracy, literacy and IT. We also continue to deliver courses which will support the women into employment on release and provide personal development, specifically tailored to meet the needs of the women in Low Newton’s care.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, by what date will in-cell telephony be fully installed in HMP Frankland.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
BT conducted a site survey at HMP Frankland on 14th October 2021 and we expect to receive an estimated cost from them in the coming weeks. This is the initial stage in the delivery of in-cell telephony, however, we will not be able to proceed until funding is made available. That position is expected to be known by the end of the financial year and if favourable the project team will engage in more detailed discussion with the prison on a detailed installation plan.
Asked by: Mary Kelly Foy (Labour - City of Durham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the 2021 Independent Monitoring Board Report for HMP/YOI Low Newton, what steps he plans to take to (a) ensure that women with severe mental health issues are fast tracked to secure hospitals and (b) reduce the number of women with severe mental health issues in prison.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
We have a responsibility to ensure those in prison receive appropriate care in the right setting, at the right time. Transfer from prison to hospital for those with severe mental health issues can take too long – we acknowledged this in the Government response to the independent review of the Mental Health Act. Since then, NHS England has published guidance to speed up transfers and we have committed to legislate and enshrine a 28-day limit on such transfers in statute. Where a request is received for a transfer to hospital, and the prisoner meets the statutory criteria, a warrant for their transfer should be issued within 7 days.
We are also looking to introduce an independent role to oversee such transfers as part of our reforms to the Mental Health Act.
We have acknowledged that prison should not be used as a ‘place of safety’, where the court can send a person to be temporarily held on the grounds of mental health for their own or others’ protection whilst awaiting an assessment or transfer, and have committed to ending this by amending the Mental Health Act, and putting the necessary operational reforms in place.
More widely, it is essential to ensure that individuals with vulnerabilities are identified early in the criminal justice system. Last year, NHS England secured full coverage of Liaison and Diversion Services in all courts, including women’s pathways to address women’s specific needs. Currently, NHS England is working to enhance these women’s pathways, and a specific women’s lead has been appointed in each service, to work on developing the pathway and appropriately address the needs of female offenders.
We have also invested £9.5m through our Female Offender Strategy to support women’s community services, which provide holistic support to women in contact with the justice system, and those at risk of offending.