Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham, Ladywood)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he expects the consultation with the President of the Supreme Court on the appropriateness of UK legal professionals sitting on proceedings in nations where human rights abuses have been noted to conclude; and whether the findings of that consultation will be published.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
The UK Government are committed to ensuring that the UK judiciary and UK lawyers should maintain the highest reputation in upholding the rule of law wherever they may sit on proceedings.
For example, in relation to Hong Kong, UK judges have played an important role in supporting the independence of Hong Kong’s judiciary for many years. We want this to, and hope that it can, continue. The UK judiciary is independent of the Government and it is therefore for them to make an assessment on this. The Lord Chancellor has, however, discussed with Lord Reed how they may jointly monitor developments to enable the Supreme Court to consider carefully the role of their sitting justices, and to assist other serving judges to determine the propriety of their continued service.
No formal consultation with the President of the UK Supreme Court is taking place.
Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham, Ladywood)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has targets in place on the maximum waiting period expected for someone in receipt of universal credit to receive a decision on court fine deductions payment plans if they are queried by the claimant.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
No departmental targets exist in respect of reviewing requests to withdraw a deduction from benefit order. In most cases, a decision will be made immediately over the phone. Timescales may vary dependant on how and why a request is made, if supporting documentation is required to support a decision, and whether the matter needs to be referred back to Court.
Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham, Ladywood)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people resident in Birmingham at the point of their original sentencing are serving sentences of imprisonment for public protection; and as a proportion of that number, what the (a) ethnicity and (b) diagnosed (i) mental and (ii) physical health conditions are of those prisoners.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The Ministry of Justice does not hold centrally a record of those IPP prisoners who were residing in Birmingham at the point they were sentenced to their IPP.
The Ministry of Justice does hold the number of prisoners serving a sentence of imprisonment for public protection (IPP) and (a) their ethnicity in England and Wales, and I have provided the proportions as requested in the table below.
The Ministry of Justice does not hold centrally a record of the diagnosed mental and physical condition of serving IPP prisoners.
Every prison in England and Wales must adhere to the Equality Act 2010. This includes support for those with mental and physical health conditions, such as the duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled persons, in accordance with the Public Sector Equality Duty.
Since April 2018, a National Partnership Agreement on Prison Healthcare has been in place, to deliver safe, decent, effective healthcare for offenders.
Our primary responsibility is to protect the public. Prisoners serving IPP sentences will be released only when the independent Parole Board concludes that the risk to the public is capable of being safely managed in the community under probation supervision.
IPP prisoners continue to have a high chance of a positive outcome from Parole Board hearings. In 2019/20 72% of Parole Board hearings resulted in either a recommendation for a transfer to an open prison or release. As of 30 June 2020, the number of unreleased IPP prisoners who have completed their minimum tariff was 1,856. This is down from 2,136 on 30 June 2019.
Proportion of IPPs in prison by ethnicity as at 30 June 2020
Ethnicity | Proportion of IPP prisoners |
White | 78% |
Mixed | 4% |
Asian / Asian British | 4% |
Black / Black British | 13% |
Chinese / Other | less than 1% |
Not Stated/Missing | less than 1% |
Data sources and quality |
|
The figures in this table has been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. | |
Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham, Ladywood)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people in England and Wales are subject to Imprisonment for Public Protection sentences; and as a proportion of that number, what the (a) ethnicity and (b) diagnosed (i) mental and (ii) physical health conditions are of those prisoners.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The Ministry of Justice does not hold centrally a record of those IPP prisoners who were residing in Birmingham at the point they were sentenced to their IPP.
The Ministry of Justice does hold the number of prisoners serving a sentence of imprisonment for public protection (IPP) and (a) their ethnicity in England and Wales, and I have provided the proportions as requested in the table below.
The Ministry of Justice does not hold centrally a record of the diagnosed mental and physical condition of serving IPP prisoners.
Every prison in England and Wales must adhere to the Equality Act 2010. This includes support for those with mental and physical health conditions, such as the duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled persons, in accordance with the Public Sector Equality Duty.
Since April 2018, a National Partnership Agreement on Prison Healthcare has been in place, to deliver safe, decent, effective healthcare for offenders.
Our primary responsibility is to protect the public. Prisoners serving IPP sentences will be released only when the independent Parole Board concludes that the risk to the public is capable of being safely managed in the community under probation supervision.
IPP prisoners continue to have a high chance of a positive outcome from Parole Board hearings. In 2019/20 72% of Parole Board hearings resulted in either a recommendation for a transfer to an open prison or release. As of 30 June 2020, the number of unreleased IPP prisoners who have completed their minimum tariff was 1,856. This is down from 2,136 on 30 June 2019.
Proportion of IPPs in prison by ethnicity as at 30 June 2020
Ethnicity | Proportion of IPP prisoners |
White | 78% |
Mixed | 4% |
Asian / Asian British | 4% |
Black / Black British | 13% |
Chinese / Other | less than 1% |
Not Stated/Missing | less than 1% |
Data sources and quality |
|
The figures in this table has been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. | |
Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham, Ladywood)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners are serving sentences of imprisonment for public protection in each prison in (a) England and (b) Wales for the most recent period for which information is available.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The number of prisoners serving a sentence of imprisonment for public protection (IPP) in each prison in (a) England and (b) Wales as at 30 June 2020 is set out in Table 1. The figures are a subset of those published in Offender Management Statistics Quarterly: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/offender-management-statistics-quarterly
A prisoner serving an IPP sentence will be released only when the independent Parole Board concludes that the risk s/he presents to the public is capable of being safely managed in the community on licence.
IPP prisoners continue to have a high chance of a positive outcome from Parole Board hearings. In 2019/20 72% of Parole Board hearings resulted in either a recommendation for a transfer to an open prison or release. As of 30 June 2020, the number of unreleased IPP prisoners who have completed their minimum tariff was 1,856. This is down from 2,136 on 30 June 2019.
Table 1: Prisoners serving Imprisonment for Public Protection sentences in England, as at 30 June 2020
Establishment | N |
Total | 1905 |
|
|
Altcourse | 7 |
Askham Grange | 4 |
Ashfield | 25 |
Belmarsh | 8 |
Buckley Hall | 26 |
Bedford | 5 |
Bristol | 6 |
Birmingham | 8 |
Bullingdon | 15 |
Bure | 29 |
Brixton | 12 |
Bronzefield | 4 |
Chelmsford | 6 |
Coldingley | * |
Channings Wood | 10 |
Dartmoor | 12 |
Dovegate | 33 |
Drake Hall | * |
Doncaster | 6 |
Downview | * |
Erlestoke | 20 |
Standford Hill (Sheppey cluster) | 18 |
East Sutton Park | * |
Eastwood Park | * |
Exeter | 3 |
Elmley (Sheppey cluster) | 17 |
Forest Bank | 7 |
Ford | 9 |
Foston Hall | 3 |
Frankland | 42 |
Full Sutton | 19 |
Featherstone | 11 |
Garth | 50 |
Guys Marsh | 6 |
Grendon/Spring Hill | 40 |
Gartree | 41 |
Hollesley Bay | 8 |
Hatfield | 5 |
Hewell | 9 |
Holme House | 23 |
Hull | 46 |
Humber | 18 |
High Down | 9 |
Highpoint (North and South) | 37 |
Haverigg | 34 |
Isle of Wight | 39 |
Kirkham | 10 |
Kirklevington Grange | 6 |
Leicester | 6 |
Leeds | 4 |
Lancaster Farms | 8 |
Lowdham Grange | 25 |
Lindholme | 20 |
Lincoln | 8 |
Long Lartin | 18 |
Low Newton | 4 |
Liverpool | 9 |
Littlehey | 75 |
Lewes | 3 |
Leyhill | 146 |
Moorland | 8 |
Manchester | 23 |
Mount | 20 |
New Hall | * |
Northumberland | 29 |
Nottingham | 10 |
North Sea Camp | 87 |
Norwich | 8 |
Onley | 13 |
Oakwood | 22 |
Peterborough (Male) | 5 |
Portland | * |
Peterborough (Female) | * |
Preston | 5 |
Pentonville | 10 |
Rochester | 3 |
Rye Hill | 25 |
Ranby | 9 |
Risley | 24 |
Send | 7 |
Stafford | 25 |
Stoke Heath | 11 |
Stocken | 16 |
Swaleside (Sheppey cluster) | 41 |
Swinfen Hall | 3 |
Sudbury | 9 |
Thorn Cross | 9 |
Thameside | * |
The Verne | 12 |
Winchester | 4 |
Wakefield | 46 |
Wealstun | 12 |
Woodhill | 17 |
Warren Hill | 51 |
Wayland | 43 |
Wymott | 65 |
Whitemoor | 26 |
Wormwood Scrubs | * |
Whatton | 117 |
Wandsworth | * |
|
|
|
|
Table 2: Prisoners serving Imprisonment for Public Protection sentences in Wales, as at 30 June 20 | |
|
|
Establishment | N |
Total | 64 |
|
|
Berwyn | 31 |
Cardiff | 3 |
Parc | 14 |
Swansea | * |
Usk | 12 |
Prescoed | * |
Data sources and quality |
|
The figures in these tables have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing. | |
|
|
Note |
|
An asterisk (*) has been used to suppress values of two or less. This is to prevent the disclosure of individual information. Further disclosure control may be completed where this alone is not sufficient. | |
Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham, Ladywood)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the ten longest lengths of time have been that a prisoner has served longer than their original tariff as a result of serving sentences of imprisonment for public protection; and what the ethnicity was of each of those prisoners.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
As at 30 June 2020, the ten longest lengths of time post tariff and before first release which a prisoner on a sentence of imprisonment for public protection (IPP) has served are set out in the table below. The same table shows the recorded ethnicity of each of the ten prisoners.
Our primary responsibility is to protect the public. A prisoner serving an IPP sentence will be released only when the independent Parole Board concludes that the risk to the public is capable of being safely managed in the community on licence. A prisoner serving an IPP sentence is statutorily entitled to a review of his/her detention by the independent Parole Board at least once every two years.
Ten Longest Lengths of Time Post Tariff and before First Release for IPP prisoners (As of 30 June 2020)
Days Post Tariff | Ethnicity |
5223 | White |
5092 | White |
5087 | White |
4961 | White |
4911 | White |
4889 | Black / Black British |
4849 | White |
4824 | White |
4806 | White |
4802 | Asian / Asian British |
Notes:
The figures in these tables have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large-scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham, Ladywood)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department has taken with Birmingham City Council to ensure that local officials are included in discussions on the protocols, processes and monitoring of any resettlement of prisoners on early release as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
In response to the current unprecedented emergency, over recent weeks the Government has released on temporary licence a small number of risk-assessed prisoners who are already within two months of their release date as part of the national plan to protect the NHS and save lives.
HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) works closely with a number of partners to check suitability for release. This includes working with policing colleagues to ensure local forces are notified of an offender’s proposed release and inviting them to provide any additional information regarding risk surrounding an individual’s release.
In this instance, senior probation staff in Birmingham have confirmed they are engaging with local partners, including the local authority, West Midlands Combined Authority and the office of the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner.
No offender will be released without housing and healthcare support in place to ensure the impact on local public services is minimised. HMPPS have set up seven Homelessness Prevention Taskforces, including in the Midlands, to coordinate the sourcing of accommodation for those offenders released early. We have also implemented a process for the voluntary sector to match offers of support services for released individuals.
Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham, Ladywood)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what safeguards his Department has put in place to ensure adequacy of the provision of local public services in Birmingham as a result of the early release of prisoners during the covid-19 outbreak.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
In response to the current unprecedented emergency, over recent weeks the Government has released on temporary licence a small number of risk-assessed prisoners who are already within two months of their release date as part of the national plan to protect the NHS and save lives.
HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) works closely with a number of partners to check suitability for release. This includes working with policing colleagues to ensure local forces are notified of an offender’s proposed release and inviting them to provide any additional information regarding risk surrounding an individual’s release.
In this instance, senior probation staff in Birmingham have confirmed they are engaging with local partners, including the local authority, West Midlands Combined Authority and the office of the West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner.
No offender will be released without housing and healthcare support in place to ensure the impact on local public services is minimised. HMPPS have set up seven Homelessness Prevention Taskforces, including in the Midlands, to coordinate the sourcing of accommodation for those offenders released early. We have also implemented a process for the voluntary sector to match offers of support services for released individuals.
Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham, Ladywood)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment she has made of the accessibility of legal aid by claimants of universal credit.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government passports all recipients of Universal Credit through the criminal legal aid means test as well as the income test applied under the civil legal aid scheme, and will continue to do so whilst the review of legal aid means testing is ongoing. The review, announced in the Government’s Legal Support Action Plan on 7 February 2019, is studying the thresholds for legal aid entitlement and will assess the effectiveness with which the means testing arrangements appropriately protect access to justice. The review will particularly focus on those who are vulnerable.
The Legal Aid Agency regularly monitors access to legal aid-funded services by undertaking capacity reviews. A list of law firms offering legal aid, showing location and type of advice, each can provide, is published at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/directory-of-legal-aid-providers.
Asked by: Shabana Mahmood (Labour - Birmingham, Ladywood)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of access to legal aid by claimants of universal credit.
Answered by Paul Maynard - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Work and Pensions)
The Government passports all recipients of Universal Credit through the criminal legal aid means test as well as the income test applied under the civil legal aid scheme, and will continue to do so whilst the review of legal aid means testing is ongoing. The review, announced in the Government’s Legal Support Action Plan on 7 February 2019, is studying the thresholds for legal aid entitlement and will assess the effectiveness with which the means testing arrangements appropriately protect access to justice. The review will particularly focus on those who are vulnerable.
The Legal Aid Agency regularly monitors access to legal aid-funded services by undertaking capacity reviews. A list of law firms offering legal aid, showing location and type of advice, each can provide, is published at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/directory-of-legal-aid-providers.