Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Philip Hollobone and Elizabeth Truss

Tuesday 25th April 2017 Commons Chamber

[Elizabeth Truss]

I agree with the hon. Gentleman that this issue is concerning and I am very happy to look at it.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

How many foreign nationals do we have in our prisons, and what steps are being taken to send them back to prison in their own country, at the expense of their own Governments?

HMP Birmingham

Debate between Philip Hollobone and Elizabeth Truss

Monday 19th December 2016 Commons Chamber

[Elizabeth Truss]

I have been very clear about the issues in our prison system. Since I secured this role in July, I have been focused on dealing with them, making sure that we make our prisons safer, invest in prison staff and invest in mental health facilities in our prisons in order to deal with this situation.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

In her statement, the Justice Secretary said that the prisons Minister chairs daily meetings with the chief executive of the Prison Service to monitor prisons for risk factors that might indicate potential violence and unrest. Why was the risk of serious violence at HMP Birmingham not raised in the relevant daily meeting, and if the biggest rise in violence in our prisons for 26 years was not raised, what is the point of having daily meetings?

[Elizabeth Truss]

I thank my hon. Friend for his question. I am sure he will recognise that with an operational service such as the Prison Service, we can reduce and minimise risk, but we cannot eliminate it completely. That is what the efforts of the daily meeting are about—reducing the level of violence and giving governors what they need to keep our prisons as safe as possible. When the incidents occurred, they were dealt with extremely effectively by the tornado teams. I want to see a more stable prison estate, which means building extra capacity so that we do not have overcrowding, and investing in staff so that our prisons can be staffed at a proper level. I have to tell Members that this will take time. While we are seeking to minimise risk, we cannot of course prevent every incident from happening.

Prison Officers Association: Protest Action

Debate between Philip Hollobone and Elizabeth Truss

Tuesday 15th November 2016 Commons Chamber

[Elizabeth Truss]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right that psychoactive substances have played a large part in the violence issues, which is why it was so important that we rolled out those drugs tests over the past month or so and that we have trained dogs to detect those substances. We have also seen a rise in the use of mobile phones and drones, which poses a new security threat. Again, we are dealing with that.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

In order to get staff numbers up quickly before the fresh permanent recruitment kicks in, will the Government consider swallowing their pride and launch a programme to re-recruit prison officers who have recently left the service on temporary six or 12-month contracts?

[Elizabeth Truss]

We are absolutely willing to consider those people returning to the service. We want to recruit high-quality officers.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Philip Hollobone and Elizabeth Truss

Thursday 5th May 2016 Commons Chamber

[Elizabeth Truss]

I agree that Morecambe bay shrimps are a fine product, along with other great Lancashire products, such as Bury black pudding, the Eccles cake and the hotpot. May I make a suggestion? Yorkshire has three protected food names, whereas Lancashire has only one. At the Department we would be very keen to help Lancashire producers get that protected status, so that they can become world renowned, too.

[Mr Philip Hollobone (Kettering) (Con)]

My right hon. Friend will know that Weetabix, which is based in Burton Latimer in my constituency, is a great British breakfast cereal, because she launched the Great British Food Unit at its headquarters. Will she ensure that Weetabix is always served at her Department’s breakfast meetings and all the international trade symposiums it organises around the world?

[Elizabeth Truss]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right that Weetabix is a fantastic product. Not only is it exported around the world, but all of the wheat is grown within 50 miles of the Weetabix factory, so it is a real example of linking through from farm to fork. I proudly display my own box of Elizabeth Truss Weetabix on my desk at the Department for all visitors to see when they arrive at my office.