Prison and Youth Custody Centre Safety

Nick Smith Excerpts

Wednesday 19th July 2017 Commons Chamber

[Dr Lee]

I thank my hon. Friend for his question. We have improved the seizure of drugs; the figure for the past 12 months is about 225 kg, which is up on the previous year. We have employed dogs to detect psychoactive substances, and we were the first jurisdiction in the world to introduce drug testing for psychoactive substances. We continue to develop that service as the substances evolve.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

I hope that the planned new youth custody service works, but will the Minister say how many new prison officers will join the existing service this year?

[Dr Lee]

No, I cannot give the hon. Gentleman an exact figure, but I will write to him with it. We are actively seeking to recruit in every single institution area, particularly in south-east England, where there are always challenges in recruiting prison staff. Perhaps more importantly, we are trying to recruit people who have a history of working with young people. Working with troubled young individuals is a difficult business, and we recognise that there may have been recruitment errors in the past. We want to recruit people who have the proper experience.

Prisons and Courts Bill (First sitting)

Nick Smith Excerpts

Committee Debate: 1st Sitting: House of Commons
Tuesday 28th March 2017 Public Bill Committees

[Mr Gyimah]

Q On deaths in custody, I would like to hear Nigel Newcomen’s thoughts on how putting the PPO on a statutory footing is beneficial and what difference it could make to your investigations.

Nigel Newcomen: I am very clear that this is a step-change improvement in the situation for the prisons and probation ombudsman and I hope my successor benefits from it. It is quite astounding that a body tasked with investigating some of the most sensitive and secretive contexts in looking at deaths in custody and complaints in custody is basically dependent on the goodwill of those whom it is investigating for access to places, people and documents. The Bill rectifies this. This is something that not just I but parliamentarians of many hues have been calling for for many years.

There have been two previous attempts. You will note that there has been very little objection in any of the materials I have seen from NGOs. I think it will enhance the actual and perceived independence of the office, but more particularly it will improve the practical and investigative capacity and, I hope, contribute to the outcome of greater safety and fairness in custody.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

Q I want to touch on the point about the education and health needs of offenders. I will refer to the written evidence submitted by the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists today that there is a high prevalence of speech, language and communication needs in the criminal justice system. It says that

“over 60% of young offenders have speech, language and communication needs”—

and that this affects offenders’ ability to engage with

“verbally mediated physical and mental health assessments effectively including suicide risk screening”

and their health and rehabilitation programmes. Will the Bill help to address these issues, particularly in commissioning health and education professionals to support offenders with these needs?

Martin Lomas: The Bill sets out the purposes of imprisonment, which are meant to take account of specific needs and rehabilitative agendas. If a needs analysis of a particular population group confirms that view—and I believe it—then that is a priority that the governor will need to emphasise.

If the Bill works, and that is to be seen, it gives opportunities for governors to make decisions locally based on their understanding of what is going on around them and the connectivities they can create with local providers and services. What applies to the specific case you have identified also applies to a range of other things to do with—for example, education or mental health intervention, partnerships with health authorities, safeguarding initiatives and all sorts of opportunities in that regard.

Rachel O'Brien: Yes, I think the implication of that key change is profound, but the prison system does not communicate well, generally, I would say, from top to bottom. It is a huge and complex system. We had Nils Öberg from Sweden over recently. He said the most important thing they had changed was how they communicate across the system. That goes right down to that level of forms and communication on the wings, how you do education, and so on. In my experience the best way to change that is not top down. Again, often the prisoners will say, “The way we are going to try to engage people in this is through a different format”—very visual, very simplistic. They will be best placed, often, alongside officers, to know how to do that, rather than that being mediated from above.

I am doing some work at the moment on something called the New Futures Network, which will look at how you drive innovation through the system. A key part of what we want to look at is the way we use animation, visuals and so on, right across the piece. That requires technology questions to be answered, but absolutely it is about innovation and fairness, and sensitivity in thinking about the audience. I do not think that is a kind of legislative issue in that way.

[The Chair]

A final brief question, because I want to give time for declarations, and a brief response, please.

--- Later in debate ---

[Nick Smith]

I am pretty sure it is not declarable, but I used to work for the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.

[Nick Thomas-Symonds]

To add to the point made by the Lord Commissioner of Her Majesty’s Treasury, the hon. Member for Hexham, I am still owed thousands of pounds in fees, some of which I think may be from insurers.

Prison Officers Association: Withdrawal from Voluntary Tasks

Nick Smith Excerpts

Tuesday 28th February 2017 Commons Chamber

[Mr Gyimah]

In addition to the workforce strategy that we will publish later this year, which will focus on the professionalisation of the workforce, last week we announced a progressive promotion opportunity that will allow band 3 officers to do roles relating to safer custody, mentoring and hostage negotiation, and to get a pay rise. That is a huge step not just in professionalising the workforce and allowing people to operate in more senior roles, but in improving the pay packets of our hard-working prison officers.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

Does the Minister accept that his precipitative action will be counterproductive and that any lockdowns are likely to lead to a lot more trouble in prisons?

[Mr Gyimah]

The precipitous action, if I understand the hon. Gentleman correctly, is unlawful strike action, which will do nothing to make our prisons safe.

HMP Birmingham

Nick Smith Excerpts

Monday 19th December 2016 Commons Chamber

[Elizabeth Truss]

The White Paper is very clear about reforming and making sure IMB recommendations are taken seriously, and about working closely with Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons, because at the moment there is no duty for the Secretary of State to respond. We are putting that in place, to make sure it triggers action.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

How many staff were on duty when the riot started, and what is the Secretary of State’s estimate of the cost of the disturbance?

[Elizabeth Truss]

I have recounted the events of the day as far as we are aware of them, but there will be a full investigation that will make all those facts clear.

Oral Answers to Questions

Nick Smith Excerpts

Tuesday 8th December 2015 Commons Chamber

[Mike Penning]

The whole idea of a victim statement is for the victim to feel that they are part of the process, and not for it to be a burden on them. Naturally I will meet my hon. Friend and Mrs Forbes to see how her experiences, and other victims’ experiences, can improve the situation for them. I look forward to the meeting.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

The average time taken from charging to Crown court trial is close to a year. That is lamentable for victims. What is the Minister going to do to bring this time down substantially?

[Mike Penning]

I fully agree that the length of time between charging and the case coming to court needs to be improved for victims, and that their whole experience needs to be improved within the criminal justice system. The Justice Secretary has already announced measures to speed up the process, and more will be coming forward shortly.

Oral Answers to Questions

Nick Smith Excerpts

Tuesday 23rd June 2015 Commons Chamber

[Michael Gove]

The excellent work that is done in Stafford prison is close to my hon. Friend’s heart, and he is absolutely right. We need to make use of the most sophisticated means that psychologists can devise to help people to tackle the problems that led them to offend. I had the opportunity earlier this week to talk to the psychologist in charge of that work at the National Offender Management Service, and to guarantee her all support in the weeks and months ahead in dealing with those terrible crimes.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

23. Lord Laming is inquiring into looked-after children and the criminal justice system. As well as rehabilitation, what is the Justice Secretary doing to help youngsters who have been in care to avoid a life in crime?

[Michael Gove]

I welcome Herbert Laming’s work. He has been an inspirational figure in social work. He is right to draw attention to the high number of male and particularly female offenders in our jails who spent their lives in care. Working with the Education Secretary and the Minister for Children and Families, who has responsibility for children in care, I hope we can work on the reforms of the coalition Government to ensure that more children in dysfunctional homes can be adopted and fostered quickly, and that there are better educational outcomes for children who have to spend their lives in care.

Oral Answers to Questions

Nick Smith Excerpts

Tuesday 3rd February 2015 Commons Chamber

[Andrew Selous]

I pay tribute to the staff at Kirkham prison for the good work they do in getting inmates into work. My hon. Friend is right that this is a really important area; we do take it seriously. I am pleased to tell him that we have increased the number of hours worked in prison from 10.6 million to 14.2 million and that our transforming rehabilitation reforms will ensure that prisoners are prepared for the world of work as they leave. I am pleased to say that increasing numbers of employers are doing really well at taking on ex-offenders.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

The average number of days taken to remove a foreign national offender has increased year on year from 143 days in 2010 to 187 days in 2013. Why is the Government’s record so poor?

[Andrew Selous]

I think the hon. Gentleman should tread carefully, given that the number of foreign national offenders in our prisons doubled while his party was in power and has come down while we have been in power. On a serious note, I share his frustration. I want to see removals speeded up. I can tell him that we now have the first prisoners taken back on the prisoner transfer agreement with both Nigeria and Albania, but he is right that there is further progress to be made.

Oral Answers to Questions

Nick Smith Excerpts

Tuesday 16th December 2014 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Andrew Selous)]

I fully appreciate the positive impact that being a member of a sports club can have on release. The National Offender Management Service is keen to discuss options for how it can improve links between England Boxing, in which I know my hon. Friend has a particular interest, so that offenders can benefit once they have left custody. If she has new ideas to share on this matter, I will of course be delighted to meet her.

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

T7. Will the Secretary of State update the House on how many Members of Parliament have had their telephone calls with prisoners recorded, and have all those MPs been informed?

[Chris Grayling]

I can confirm that all MPs who have had their calls listened to have indeed been informed. I can also inform the hon. Gentleman that I have now received an interim report from the chief inspector, which is being made available to Members of Parliament through the Library. The chief inspector’s interim findings are that there is no systemic problem and that the situation has improved substantially since 2012, but he recommends a number of other things we can do to improve the situation still further.

Oral Answers to Questions

Nick Smith Excerpts

Tuesday 11th November 2014 Commons Chamber

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

Can the Minister confirm that 200 sets of prison keys have been lost since 2010? Does he think that that is good prison management?

[Andrew Selous]

I answered a parliamentary question on this matter, so the hon. Gentleman probably knows the answer to his question. Regrettably, keys are lost from time to time. The largest loss was by G4S, so there was no cost to the taxpayer, but it is obviously regrettable and we do not want it to happen. We investigate fully and will try to minimise it as much as possible.

Oral Answers to Questions

Nick Smith Excerpts

Tuesday 9th September 2014 Commons Chamber

The Secretary of State was asked—

[Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent) (Lab)]

1. Whether he has any plans for further court closures.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Mr Shailesh Vara)]

With the exception of recently published proposals on Abergavenny magistrates court and Caerphilly magistrates court, Bracknell magistrates court, Knutsford Crown court and Spalding magistrates court there are no plans for further court closures.

[Nick Smith]

How many courts closed since May 2010 have yet to be disposed of?

[Mr Vara]

I will come back to the hon. Gentleman with the precise figures.