Oral Answers to Questions

Nicholas Dakin Excerpts

Tuesday 10th September 2024 Commons Chamber

[Paul Davies (Colne Valley) (Lab)]

15. What steps her Department is taking to help reduce levels of reoffending.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Sir Nicholas Dakin)]

Hon. Members are right to focus on reducing reoffending. Nearly 80% of offending is reoffending, and it has an immense cost to the taxpayer and to communities. As the Lord Chancellor said, we have inherited a difficult situation in relation to prison capacity, which makes it harder to address the rehabilitation needs of prisoners. The House should have no doubt that this Government will roll up our sleeves and get on with the job of reducing reoffending.

[Bobby Dean]

My point speaks to what the Minister just said. The lack of prison capacity means that some people are locked up in their cells for 22 or 23 hours a day, and many prisons are ranked insufficient or poor for delivering purposeful activities such as education and training. How does the Minister plan to address that while we still have a bulging prison population? How will he increase the provision of those purposeful activities?

[Sir Nicholas Dakin]

We are taking the hard decisions that are necessary to create space and capacity in the Prison Service to address that issue. The hon. Member is right that the report from His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons identified the provision of sufficient purposeful activity as its No. 1 issue to address. We know that education and employment help to reduce significantly the chance of reoffending, and we will work to do that with the Prison and Probation Service.

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[Monica Harding]

As my hon. Friend the Member for Carshalton and Wallington (Bobby Dean) mentioned, the chief inspector of prisons said this morning that prisoners can sometimes be banged up in their cells for up to 22 hours a day, that classrooms and workshops are empty, and that education and training are simply not given the priority they need. Does the Secretary of State agree that, in order to cut reoffending, it is time to introduce a proper workable plan to improve the rehabilitation of people leaving prison?

[Sir Nicholas Dakin]

My own example demonstrates that training and education are very important in whatever role one takes on, so I agree wholeheartedly with what the hon. Member says.

[Paul Davies]

Addressing literacy in UK prisons is crucial for successful rehabilitation. Improved literacy skills empower inmates with better job prospects, aiding their reintegration into society. Education fosters personal growth, self-esteem and decision-making abilities, which are essential for a crime-free life. Investing in prison literacy programmes is a vital step towards creating safer communities and offering inmates a genuine second chance. What comprehensive strategies are being implemented to address that?

[Sir Nicholas Dakin]

My hon. Friend is exactly right: literacy and numeracy are crucial. I was pleased to visit HMP Humber recently, where I saw excellent best practice. It is important that those programmes are in place, that we learn from best practice and that we continue to do our best in that area.

[Andy Slaughter (Hammersmith and Chiswick) (Lab)]

A key driver of rehabilitation and the prevention of reoffending is sentencing policy. In our manifesto, we promised a review of sentencing policy—quite properly. When is that likely to take place, and will it take account of the very interesting recent paper by former Lord Chief Justices on sentencing inflation?

[Sir Nicholas Dakin]

The paper to which my hon. Friend refers is a significant one, and I urge all Members to look at it. The Government are committed to a review of sentencing policy, and it will commence as soon as it can. We will report in due time.

[Alison Hume (Scarborough and Whitby) (Lab)]

3. What steps her Department is taking to support victims of rape and sexual violence.

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[Josh MacAlister (Whitehaven and Workington) (Lab)]

8. What steps she plans to take to meet prison officer recruitment targets.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Sir Nicholas Dakin)]

My hon. Friend is completely right: prison officer recruitment targets are essential. Prison officers do a fantastic job. We have seen how they have gone above and beyond over recent weeks and months, so I pay tribute to them. Nationally, we are currently above staffing targets, but challenges remain in certain sites with a high number of vacancies, and bespoke interventions are being developed for those sites.

[Josh MacAlister]

I thank the Minister for that answer, and I praise the Government team for the way they have responded to the complete chaos left in the wake of 14 years of a Conservative Government.

In my previous work I visited young offenders institutions, which have been left in total chaos by the last Government. Part of their recklessness was to start a botched recruitment process for the graduate recruitment training programme for prison officers. It is currently delivered by Unlocked Graduates, which is doing fantastic work. The Government’s chief inspector of prisons has said there is a real risk that that programme ending will add to the recruitment problems that the Government face. Will they restart that procurement process and meet me to discuss its future?

[Sir Nicholas Dakin]

I am happy to meet my hon. Friend to discuss that matter. His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service worked to reprocure the next iteration of the graduate scheme, with contracts for an open procurement exercise. Although Unlocked Graduates was identified as the winning bidder and was offered the contract, it did not confirm its intent to sign the contract. The Department is now working hard to come up with plans to put a graduate scheme in place for future years.

[Mr Jonathan Brash (Hartlepool) (Lab)]

10. What steps she is taking to tackle the court backlog.

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[Christine Jardine (Edinburgh West) (LD)]

T4. There are yet more depressing figures this morning about drug-related deaths in Scotland. Will the Government discuss how drug addicts are treated in the criminal justice system and look at ways of improving that to tackle the issue, and perhaps move towards safer consumption?

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Sir Nicholas Dakin)]

The hon. Member is right that drugs in prison is a big issue that the Government are working hard to tackle. I would be very happy to write to her with further details of what we are doing.

[Jess Asato (Lowestoft) (Lab)]

T7. Today, the first tranche of prisoners will be released early under the Government’s emergency measures to address the prison overcrowding crisis. It is welcome that this Government have excluded some domestic abuse offenders from the scheme. However, not all domestic abuse perpetrators can be excluded. Will the Secretary of State consider extending the victim contact scheme to all survivors of domestic abuse and violence against women and girls, regardless of the length of time that their perpetrator spends in prison?

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[Siân Berry (Brighton Pavilion) (Green)]

T9. The harm done to families and women by incarcerating women is huge and made worse when they do not have safe homes after they leave. Some 47% of women are currently leaving prison without settled accommodation. This breaks up families and leaves them at risk of further exploitation and harm, often the same exploitation that led to their offending. Will Ministers tell the House what they are doing to ensure that every woman set to leave prison, including all those leaving early as a result of the Government’s reforms, is supported into safe and stable accommodation?

[Sir Nicholas Dakin]

The hon. Member is right that this is a big issue. The Prison and Probation Service is working hard to ensure that appropriate accommodation is available, and working hard with partners across the country in different regions. I am very happy to meet the hon. Member to talk about the issue further.

[Rachael Maskell (York Central) (Lab/Co-op)]

Amazing charities such as Survive in York depend for their survival on the rape and sexual abuse support fund. However, without certainty over the amount, and if and when the funding will come, it is hard to leverage funding from other sources, such as the national lottery. When will the funding be announced, and will the Minister meet me to discuss this vital funding as demand rises?