Asked by: Robert Jenrick (Conservative - Newark)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether her Department has conducted a value for money assessment of the proposed agreement with Mauritius on the Chagos Islands.
Answered by Darren Jones - Chief Secretary to the Treasury
HMT has been working with the FCDO and the MOD on the agreement who, as the lead departments, are responsible for assessing its value for money under the Managing Public Money framework.
Asked by: Robert Jenrick (Conservative - Newark)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when she plans to respond to the letter from the Rt hon. Member for Newark of 18 November 2024 on the assessment of the Government on the potential impact of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill on the criminal justice system.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Minister Davies-Jones responded to the letter from the Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP on 27 November 2024. The Government remains neutral on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill but, as the public would expect, the Government has a responsibility to make sure any legislation that passes through Parliament is effective and enforceable. The Government will continue to assess the potential impacts of the Bill, which will include publishing an Impact Assessment before MPs consider the Bill at Report Stage.
Asked by: Robert Jenrick (Conservative - Newark)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what meetings she has held with the Lady Chief Justice since her appointment.
Answered by Sarah Sackman - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Lord Chancellor meets the Lady Chief Justice regularly in the course of her duties, as part of her constitutional obligation to engage the judiciary on relevant matters.
Asked by: Robert Jenrick (Conservative - Newark)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether her Department has had recent discussions with security companies on the provision of technology that can jam drone signals to help tackle drones delivering weapons into prisons.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
We are working hard to deter, detect and disrupt the use of drones to deliver contraband into prisons. We conduct vulnerability assessments across the prison estate to identify risks, and to develop and implement plans to manage and mitigate them.
We work across Government, to examine options to mitigate the threat of drones to prisons. We are also engaging with international counterparts to support our strategy and share best practice. Owing to security sensitivities, we are not able to discuss in detail the measures used to disrupt drones.
Asked by: Robert Jenrick (Conservative - Newark)
Question to the Attorney General:
To ask the Solicitor General, whether the Attorney General has provided the (a) Permanent Secretary and (b) Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards a list of his (a) paid and (b) unpaid fees further to his past employment at Matrix Chambers.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Solicitor General (Attorney General's Office)
As I set out to the House on Thursday 23 January, and the Attorney General repeated in the House of Lords on Monday 27 January, the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) has an established and rigorous process for identifying and dealing with conflicts, and potential conflicts, that arise from the Law Officers’ past practice. That process predates the appointment of the Attorney General and sits against the backdrop of every lawyer’s professional obligation to be alert to, and actively manage, any situation that might give rise to a potential or actual conflict.
This rigorous process for identifying and managing conflicts sits alongside the system relating to ministerial interests, overseen by the Prime Minister’s Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards. Both the Director General of the AGO and the Independent Adviser were provided with the Attorney General’s list of conflicts following his appointment.
Asked by: Robert Jenrick (Conservative - Newark)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether she has visited HMP Manchester since the urgent notification was issued by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons on 9 October 2024.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Since her appointment, the Secretary of State has made a range of Ministerial Visits across the UK. She is due to visit HMP Manchester in the coming months but will not be giving a running commentary on her diary. Lord Timpson, Minister for Prisons, Probation and Reducing Reoffending, visited the prison on 24 October, in advance of our published response to the UN on 6 November.
In response to the UN, the Lord Chancellor instructed the Prison Service to make a number of significant improvements to the site. As such, the Department has published a new action plan to radically improve safety, security and conditions at HMP Manchester. This includes installing a new CCTV system, enhanced staff training and the introduction of netting across the site to combat drones and clamp down on the contraband which fuels violence behind bars.
We are determined to drive improvement at HMP Manchester and Lord Timpson met with the Executive Director on 13 January 2025, to understand the progress made since the inspection. He also receives regular updates on progress at HMP Manchester from his officials.
The Government is tackling the crisis it inherited from the previous Government who left our criminal justice system on the point of collapse.
Asked by: Robert Jenrick (Conservative - Newark)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on how many occasions she has visited (a) HMP Long Lartin and (b) HMP Manchester since her appointment.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
Since her appointment, the Secretary of State for Justice has made a range of Ministerial Visits across the UK. She is due to visit HMP Manchester in the coming months but will not be giving a running commentary on her diary.
The Minister for Prisons, Probation and Reducing Reoffending visited HMP Manchester on 24 October, in advance of our published response to the UN on 6 November. He will be visiting Long Lartin in the coming months. Details of Ministerial meetings are published on the gov.uk website.
Asked by: Robert Jenrick (Conservative - Newark)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what her planned timeframe is for fixing broken (a) netting, (b) windows and (c) CCTV at (i) HMP Long Lartin and (ii) HMP Manchester.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
At HMP Manchester, a project to install grills and restrictors on all windows, and to install netting around all buildings, is in the design and development phase. As the prison is a listed building, full planning permission is required. The project is expected to be fully delivered by mid-2026. Maintenance teams at HMP Manchester have completed a full CCTV survey. Work to upgrade wiring and replace faulty cameras, as well as filling gaps in coverage, is projected to complete by April 2025.
Similarly, at HMP Long Lartin, a project to install grills and restrictors on all windows, and to install netting around all buildings, has been commissioned, and is expected to be fully delivered by mid-2026. A local review of the condition of all windows across the site is also being completed, and funding is being sought to begin the work in 2025-26. The local maintenance team has commissioned a full CCTV survey: this will inform a programme of rapid improvement works.
In addition, major projects to upgrade security systems at both Manchester and Long Lartin form part of the 2025-26 custodial capital maintenance programme. This includes upgrading CCTV and Perimeter Intruder Detection Systems. The timescale for completing this work is dependent on completion of the design and contract stages.
Asked by: Robert Jenrick (Conservative - Newark)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to help tackle the use of drones delivering (a) weapons and (b) drugs into prisons.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
We are working hard to deter, detect and disrupt the use of illegal drones that deliver contraband, including weapons and drugs, so that prisoners have access to a safe and stable rehabilitative environment. Our approach is multi-faceted and includes physical security countermeasures, joint working with law enforcement agencies, and collaborating across Government and with international partners on this global issue.
Whilst it is not possible to outline in detail the tactics used to disrupt drones given the security implications, HMPPS invests in targeted countermeasures such as improvements to windows, specialist netting and grills to prevent drones from successfully delivering contraband into prisons. HMPPS also conducts assessments across the estate to understand the risk and develop and implement tailored local plans to mitigate the threat.
In January 2024, Restricted Fly Zones were introduced around all closed prisons and young offender institutions to disrupt illegal drone use. These restrictions make all unauthorised drone incursions a crime, and support police and prison collaboration to pursue drone operators. Those using drones to smuggle illicit items which drive violence and criminality in custody may face up to a decade behind bars.
Asked by: Robert Jenrick (Conservative - Newark)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether she plans to implement the recommendations of the reports by HM Inspectorate of Prisons on (a) HMP Long Lartin and (b) HMP Manchester, published on 14 January 2025.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Government Whip, Lord Commissioner of HM Treasury
HM Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) and HM Inspectorate of Probation for England and Wales are independent inspectorates which provide scrutiny of the conditions for, and treatment of prisoners and offenders. They report their findings for prisons, Young Offender Institutions, and effectiveness of the work of probation, and youth offending services across England and Wales to the Ministry of Justice and His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS).
In response to the report, HMPPS/the Ministry of Justice are required to draft a robust and timely action plan to address the priority and key concerns. Action plans provide specific steps and actions to address the priority and key concerns, which are clear, outcome focussed, measurable, achievable, and relevant with the owner and timescale of each step clearly identified. Action plans are sent to HMIP and published on the GOV.UK website. Progress against the implementation and delivery of the action plans will also be monitored and reported on.
Actions plans are active for both HMP Manchester and HMP Long Lartin in line with this process, which seek to address the concerns of the Inspectorate.