Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the presumption of contact at the Family Court does not result in unsafe contact arrangements.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The welfare of a child must be the court’s paramount consideration when making decisions about a child’s life. This is known as the welfare principle. Prior to the application of the presumption of parental involvement, the court is legally obliged to assess if a parent poses a risk of harm to the child - if their involvement would pose a risk to the child, the presumption does not apply.
The Ministry of Justice has undertaken evidence gathering on the presumption of parental involvement, focused on its application in the family court. We will publish the evidence and proposed next steps in due course.
As part of our commitment to ensuring the justice system is designed to put victims and survivors first, including those who have experienced domestic abuse, we are carefully considering the next steps for supporting victims and survivors across the justice system, including in the family court. We are working across departments to ensure that victims and survivors are supported and that children are kept safe.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether she plans to review the recommendations of the Final Report on Assessing Risk of Harm to Children and Parents in Private Law Children Cases.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
We are committed to ensuring that parties to private law children cases in the family courts are protected from harm and that the welfare of the child is always the court’s paramount consideration when making decisions about children’s lives.
The Ministry of Justice published a delivery update in May 2023 which outlined the progress made against the recommendations of the Final Report on Assessing Risk of Harm to Children and Parents in Private Law Children Cases. This can be found at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/646e0e577dd6e7000ca9b2f8/harm-panel-delivery-update.pdf.
We will now take the time to consider what more should be done to ensure that children and families are kept safe and supported throughout the family justice system.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what her planned timetable is to publish her Department's response to the Chief Inspector of Prison's Urgent Notification letter of 8 May 2024 on HMP Wandsworth.
Answered by Alex Davies-Jones - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons’ findings at HMP Wandsworth are deeply concerning. My right Hon. Friend, the Lord Chancellor, is determined to drive improvement at the prison and will publish her response to the Urgent Notification as soon as possible.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what information his Department holds on the secondment of police officers to cover shifts in Wandsworth Prison in the last 30 days.
Answered by Edward Argar - Shadow Secretary of State for Justice
No police officers have been seconded to cover shifts in HMP Wandsworth in the last 30 days.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many incidents of cell fires there have been in HMP Wandsworth in each year since 2010.
Answered by Edward Argar - Shadow Secretary of State for Justice
The number of fire incidents at HMP Wandsworth in each year since 2015 are shown in the table below. Information on fire incidents before 2015 is not available, because the records have been destroyed in line with our retention policy.
HMP Wandsworth Fire Incidents | ||
Calendar Year | Fires |
|
2015 | 53 |
|
2016 | 66 |
|
2017 | 105 |
|
2018 | 36 |
|
2019 | 45 |
|
2020 | 47 |
|
2021 | 52 |
|
2022 | 103 |
|
2023 | 78 |
|
The overwhelming majority of the cell fires were considered ‘minor’ and quickly dealt with by staff, and medical assessment is provided for anyone who may have been exposed to smoke or heat. Since 2015, in most years 100% of the fires were considered as minor, and in all years over 95% were considered as minor. Where it is found that a fire is the result of arson, or of recklessness, the prisoner responsible will face robust punitive action, which can include further criminal charges.
All operational staff receive Respiratory Protective Equipment training. Prison officers receive it as part of their Prison Officer Entry Level Training.
To promote staff awareness and proficiency, the Governor of HMP Wandsworth has arranged for an additional refresher training session to be delivered each week.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to increase the percentage of prison officers at HMP Wandsworth trained in the use of respiratory protective equipment.
Answered by Edward Argar - Shadow Secretary of State for Justice
The number of fire incidents at HMP Wandsworth in each year since 2015 are shown in the table below. Information on fire incidents before 2015 is not available, because the records have been destroyed in line with our retention policy.
HMP Wandsworth Fire Incidents | ||
Calendar Year | Fires |
|
2015 | 53 |
|
2016 | 66 |
|
2017 | 105 |
|
2018 | 36 |
|
2019 | 45 |
|
2020 | 47 |
|
2021 | 52 |
|
2022 | 103 |
|
2023 | 78 |
|
The overwhelming majority of the cell fires were considered ‘minor’ and quickly dealt with by staff, and medical assessment is provided for anyone who may have been exposed to smoke or heat. Since 2015, in most years 100% of the fires were considered as minor, and in all years over 95% were considered as minor. Where it is found that a fire is the result of arson, or of recklessness, the prisoner responsible will face robust punitive action, which can include further criminal charges.
All operational staff receive Respiratory Protective Equipment training. Prison officers receive it as part of their Prison Officer Entry Level Training.
To promote staff awareness and proficiency, the Governor of HMP Wandsworth has arranged for an additional refresher training session to be delivered each week.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what percentage of prison officers have received respiratory protective equipment training at HMP Wandsworth.
Answered by Edward Argar - Shadow Secretary of State for Justice
The number of fire incidents at HMP Wandsworth in each year since 2015 are shown in the table below. Information on fire incidents before 2015 is not available, because the records have been destroyed in line with our retention policy.
HMP Wandsworth Fire Incidents | ||
Calendar Year | Fires |
|
2015 | 53 |
|
2016 | 66 |
|
2017 | 105 |
|
2018 | 36 |
|
2019 | 45 |
|
2020 | 47 |
|
2021 | 52 |
|
2022 | 103 |
|
2023 | 78 |
|
The overwhelming majority of the cell fires were considered ‘minor’ and quickly dealt with by staff, and medical assessment is provided for anyone who may have been exposed to smoke or heat. Since 2015, in most years 100% of the fires were considered as minor, and in all years over 95% were considered as minor. Where it is found that a fire is the result of arson, or of recklessness, the prisoner responsible will face robust punitive action, which can include further criminal charges.
All operational staff receive Respiratory Protective Equipment training. Prison officers receive it as part of their Prison Officer Entry Level Training.
To promote staff awareness and proficiency, the Governor of HMP Wandsworth has arranged for an additional refresher training session to be delivered each week.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many deaths have been recorded at HMP Wandsworth since 30 June 2023.
Answered by Edward Argar - Shadow Secretary of State for Justice
Deaths recorded by prison are published as part of our Safety in Custody statistics, updated quarterly, and available in the Deaths Data Tool at the following link: Safety in custody: quarterly update to September 2023 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Please note that deaths at Wandsworth are currently published from 30 June 2023 – end of December 2023. Figures to the end of March 2024 are not due for publication until April 2024 and cannot be released at this time.
Deaths in prison custody figures include all deaths of prisoners arising from incidents during prison custody. They include deaths of prisoners while released on temporary license (ROTL) for medical reasons but exclude other types of ROTL where the state has less direct responsibility.
In addition to deaths in prison custody which occur in hospitals, hospices or nursing homes, a small proportion will occur while in an ambulance on the way to hospital, while the prisoner is under escort.
Every death in custody is a tragedy and we continue to do all we can to improve the safety of prisoners.
We have implemented a revised version of the Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork (ACCT) case management approach across the prison estate. Revisions in ACCT v6 include a stronger emphasis on taking a person-centred approach; better multi-disciplinary team working; a consistent quality assurance process and an improved focus on identifying and addressing an individual’s risks, triggers and protective factors.
We are implementing a new safety training package for staff. It brings together related safety topics, including suicide and self-harm prevention and understanding risks, triggers and protective factors.
We fund Samaritans through a grant providing total funding of just under £2 million between 2022 and 2025. This is primarily for the delivery of the Listener scheme (through which selected prisoners are trained to provide support to fellow prisoners in emotional distress).
We have also worked with Samaritans to develop a postvention response to providing support in the period following a self-inflicted death in order to reduce the risk of further deaths. This has been successfully piloted and the renewed grant includes funding for this service to be maintained until March 2025.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department plans to take to measure productivity in the prison service.
Answered by Edward Argar - Shadow Secretary of State for Justice
Across the Ministry of Justice, we are focused on improving productivity through streamlining and strengthening key processes and funding innovative schemes that will drive down reoffending, delivering better value for taxpayers and a more efficient justice system. The Office for National Statistics publishes estimates for productivity across the public sector, and my officials are working with them to improve the way that productivity is measured for the justice sector. HMPPS is also in the process of refreshing the staffing resource model for prisons, which will support productivity by refining how we attribute target staffing to delivery outcomes, and support prioritisation of resources at both a local and national level.
We are also investing in digital and technological initiatives in prisons, which will increase staff productivity by reducing administrative burden on staff. This means staff time can be spent more meaningfully on core, purposeful tasks, such as running the regime, building on staff-prisoner relationships, and engaging more effectively with vulnerable prisoners.
I welcome the Chancellor’s public sector productivity review and, as part of this, the Ministry of Justice has been working to identify new opportunities for improving productivity across HMPPS and the MoJ. As announced in the Spring Budget, the Government is investing £170m into the justice system over the next four years to improve productivity and deliver a justice system fit for the modern era. This includes a £6m investment to accelerate the development of digital services to replace legacy systems and improve productivity, and £16m to increase prison workshop activity to boost employability and focus resources on rehabilitative activities.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has made a recent assessment of the potential impact of conditions in Wandsworth prison on the health of (a) prisoners and (b) staff.
Answered by Edward Argar - Shadow Secretary of State for Justice
The Prison Group Director for London is taking active measures to support the health and well-being of staff and prisoners at HMP Wandsworth. He conducts regular visits to assess and monitor conditions at the prison. Accompanied by lead representatives for Health, Safety and Wellbeing at His Majesty’s Prison & Probation Service, he meets regularly with the Governor to discuss any actions that need to be taken to address identified concerns.
In addition, monthly tripartite meetings are held between Regional Estates, Finance and Health and Safety representatives, where decency is a standing agenda item. A Senior Safety Lead has recently been appointed to support local initiatives and work to improve safety outcomes for prisoners. A Task and Finish Group has recently been set up to address concerns about the physical environment of the in-patient unit at HMP Wandsworth, to improve infection prevention and control.