Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the backlog in prison maintenance (a) on 24 October 2019, (b) in October 2018, (c) in October 2015 and (d) in October 2010.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Information for October 2015 and October 2010 could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. I refer the Hon Member to PQ 165647 for repairs outstanding in 2010
As of October 2019 the current priority maintenance backlog totals approximately £900m. This is most up to date estimate we have of the costs associated with the maintenance backlog, inclusive of resource costs. This has increased from around £750m in 2018. The cost of the backlog increases each year owning largely to degradation of an aging estate.
This government has invested an additional £156m in 2020/21 to improve the conditions of existing prisons across the estate and underpin our commitment to a system that is decent, safe and secure.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number and proportion of prison cells out of commission because of poor maintenance (a) on 24 October 2019, (b) in October 2018, (c) in October 2015 and (d) in October 2010.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Routinely, the MoJ monitors capacity via prisoner places, rather than prison cells. This is to account for the variation in the type and size of cells across the estate.
As of October 2019 approximately 760 cells, against a Certified Normal Accommodation figure of 78,989, were identified as out of use across the estate as a result of maintenance, including reactive maintenance, planned maintenance projects, security concerns or as a result of vandalism.
Changes in the way data is collated in recent years means we cannot offer figures for 2010, 2015 and 2018.
This government has invested an additional £156m in 2020/21 to improve the conditions of existing prisons across the estate and underpin our commitment to a system that is decent, safe and secure.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure that prisoners can apply for universal credit before release.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
We have been working closely with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to improve access to Universal Credit for prisoners and prison leavers. We are exploring a range of options to improve the claims process and DWP has piloted a number of changes that will support offenders making claims prior to release.
One area that the pilots highlighted was the important role that dedicated DWP Prison Work Coaches play in our prison system to ensure access to Universal Credit. We continue to work with DWP to help support these work coaches, and to ensure they have both the right physical environment and access to the prisoners they need for efficient working.
In July 2019, we committed to ongoing collaboration in this area through the publication of our National Partnership Agreement with DWP, which sets out clear roles and responsibilities for each department in getting prisoners into work and access to benefits.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of contracting out service delivery under the new probation system.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Our initial estimate is that we will spend up to £280 million per year on contracted services under the future model of probation. This figure is subject to change as we refine the details of our plans and work with HM Treasury to agree sustainable funding arrangements.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether the new prison at Full Sutton will be operated by the public or private sector.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
We have not made any decisions on whether the new prisons as part of the Prime Minister’s announcement to build an additional 10,000 places will be operated by either the public or private sector. Decisions on the future management of these prisons will be announced in due course.
This Government remains committed to a mixed market in operating custodial services in England and Wales.
We believe that competition can deliver improvements to service quality, encourage innovation, secure capital investment, and achieve value for money.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to recruit more probation officers.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
Following the changes we made to the recruitment process and eligibility criteria for probation officers there have been increases in both the volume and diversity of probation officer applicants. A national campaign to recruit probation officers was conducted earlier this year with new officers starting in July. As of 30 June 2019 there were 614 FTE Trainee Probation Officers in post.
There were 3,357 FTE band 4 probation officers in post as at 30 June 2019. This figure represents a broadly steady trend. Regular figures on staffing in the NPS are released on Gov.uk;
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-offender-management-service-workforce-statistics
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many children were sentenced to custody for a sentence of six months or less in 2018 by ethnicity.
Answered by Wendy Morton
The Ministry of Justice has published information on the sentencing outcomes of court proceedings. Information on the age and ethnicity of those prosecuted, the type of crimes and the sentence given can be found by using the Sentencing data tool available here:
In the Sentencing data tool:
Use the ‘Age Group’ filter and select juveniles. Use the ‘Custodial Sentence Length’ filter to select ’01: up to and including 1 month’, ’02: over 1 month and up to and including 2 months’, ’03: over 2 months and up to and including 3 months’, ’04: over 3 months to less than 6 months’ and ’05: 6 months’
In the pivot table options remove ‘Offence Type’ from the Rows field and drag ‘Ethnicity in its place.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on how many occasions a video link failure led to the (a) delay and (b) postponement to another day for a (a) trial and (b) hearing in each of the last five years.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The department does not hold the information requested on how many occasions a video link failure led to the (a) delay and (b) postponement to another day for a (a) trial and (b) hearing in each of the last five years.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what information his Department holds on the financial deductions levied against companies with which his Department has contracts.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The information can only be provided at a disproportionate cost. The Ministry of Justice currently has over 1000 active contracts with 500+ suppliers. To obtain the information for each supplier would require an estimated 15 minutes per contract.
Asked by: Richard Burgon (Labour - Leeds East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) Crown (b) magistrates' courts closed in each year since 2010.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The table below provides the number of Crown court closures and Magistrates’ court closures since 2010.
Financial year | Crown Court closures | Magistrates’ Court closures |
2010-2011 | 0 | 1 |
2011-2012 | 0 | 83 |
2012-2013 | 0 | 5 |
2013-2014 | 0 | 5 |
2014-2015 | 1 | 4 |
2015-2016 | 0 | 6 |
2016-2017 | 4* | 41* |
2017-2018 | 0 | 13 |
2018-2019 | 1 | 4 |
1 April 2019 to 29 October 2019 | 0 | 3 |
The information above does not include local integrations.
*Includes Dolgellau Crown and Magistrates Court, and Bury St Edmunds Crown and Magistrates’ Court, these two sites are logged in both columns.
The decision to close any court is not taken lightly – it only happens following full public consultation and only when effective access to justice can be maintained. Courts that have closed were either underused, dilapidated or too close to one another.
Since 2015/6 HMCTS has raised approximately £129m from the sales of surplus buildings to reinvest in the wider reform programme.