Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what proportion of education courses embarked upon by prisoners are (a) completed in the same prison in which they were started, (b) completed in a different prison and (c) not completed.
Answered by Rory Stewart
Data on learner participation and achievement is recorded by prison education providers and held by the Department for Education. The available published data on prison education participation and completion rates covers the academic years 2010/11 to 2017/18 and can be found at the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/761349/201718_Nov_MAIN_OLASS_Particpation_FINALv1.xlsx
Our reforms to prison education are in line with our Education and Employment Strategy. The new Prison Education Framework contracts let on the basis of groups of prisons within which many prisoners can expect to serve their sentence, mean that continuity of provision should improve significantly. Our key reforms to empower prison governors, enabling them to determine their curriculum and how it is organised and delivered within the context of a coherent Lot, will improve significantly the system’s ability to ensure learning that commences is completed.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners have completed courses in (a) English, (b) maths, (c) ICT, (d) construction and (e) other subjects in each of the last five years.
Answered by Rory Stewart
Data on prison education participation and completion is published by the Department for Education. Data for the academic years 2010/11 to 2017/18 can be found at the following link: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/761349/201718_Nov_MAIN_OLASS_Particpation_FINALv1.xlsx.
Separate data on subjects other than maths and English are not published.
Our Education and Employment Strategy published earlier this year sets out our clear intention to ensure that more offenders leave prison with the basic skills that are essential to entering the workplace, and with the skills employers need.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prosecutions for selling a bladed article to a person under 18 years of age there have been in each of the last five years.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
The number of defendants prosecuted for selling a bladed article to a person under 18 years of age in the last five years can be found in the Criminal Justice Statistics Outcomes by Offence tool in the following link:
Select offence: ‘195 Criminal Justice Act 1988 S.141A(1) - Selling a blade to a person aged under 18’
Figures for 2018 are planned for publication in May 2019.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much has been spent on incarcerating the perpetrators of (a) acid attacks, (b) knife attacks and (c) violent crimes; in each year since 2010.
Answered by Rory Stewart
Her Majesty’s Prisons and Probation Service (HMPPS), formerly known as the National Offender Management Service, does not calculate separately the costs of incarcerating perpetrators of acid attacks, knife attacks and violent crimes. The information recorded on the HMPPS central accounting system does not allow the identification of such costs.
An average cost per prisoner, costs per prison place and overall prison unit costs for each private and public sector prison in England and Wales are routinely published by HMPPS. This information is produced on an annual basis and is published after the end of each financial year.
Information on prison expenditure can be accessed in the Prison and Probation Performance Statistics pages for each financial year on the www.gov.uk website. Prison unit costs can be found within the Excel document Costs per prison place and cost per prisoner by individual prison establishment in the ‘Cost by Establishment’ tab.
The most recent published figures for financial year 2016-17 can be accessed on the www.gov.uk website from the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistic s/prison-performance-statistics-2016-to-2017
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many decisions since February 2014 to curtail a person's leave to remain in the UK on the ground of cheating in an English language test administered by ETS have been overturned on appeal.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
The information requested is not held centrally, and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many decisions since February 2014 to curtail a person's leave to remain in the UK on the ground of cheating in an English language test administered by ETS are subject to appeal.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
The information requested is not held centrally, and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 13 March to Question 131737, what the maximum length of time is for a prisoner to continue to be incarcerated after a Parole Board has granted release where there are no further adjudications.
Answered by Rory Stewart
The information requested could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.
In 2017, over 2,100 prisoners who were serving indeterminate or determinate parole eligible sentences were released. To obtain the requested information would require a manual check of all records for the prisoners directed to be released in this period.
The Secretary of State has a statutory duty to give effect to Parole Board release decisions. As set out in the written answer of 13 March, where possible, HMPPS aim to release prisoners within 14 days of receipt of the Parole Board’s decision. The safe release of a prisoner is the priority, in order that they have the best possible chance of successful rehabilitation. That means that prior to release, the full risk management plan, including approved accommodation, must be in place.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average waiting time is after the issue date of the judgment for prisoners who have been granted release to directed premises by Parole Boards (a) being found suitable premises and (b) being released from prison in the most recent period for which figures are available.
Answered by Rory Stewart
The information requested could only be obtained at a disproportionate cost.
Case management systems cannot readily distinguish between releases that are made to “directed” premises and those that are not. 2017 saw the release of over 2100 prisoners who were serving indeterminate or determinate parole eligible sentences. To obtain the requested information would require a manual check of all records for the prisoners directed to be released in this period.
Where the release plan of a prisoner requires accommodation in National Probation Service approved premises then the prisoner cannot be released until a place in those premises becomes available, allowing the prisoner to be safely released. Where possible, HMPPS aim to release prisoners within 14 days of receipt of the Parole Board’s decision.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
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 reinstating legal aid for early advice in family law cases.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
Legal aid for private family law cases in England and Wales was mainly removed from scope by the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO). However, legal aid is still available for some private family cases including mediation and for victims, and those at risk, of domestic abuse.
The Lord Chancellor has confirmed that we shall conduct an evidence-based review of Part 1 of LASPO, assessing the changes against their objectives. This review will include changes made to provision of legal aid for private family law cases.
Asked by: Stephen Timms (Labour - East Ham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the timetable is for revised guidelines on sentencing people convicted of offences involving corrosive substances to be published.
Answered by Dominic Raab
The sentencing guidelines are issued by the independent Sentencing Council.
The Council is currently developing new guidelines on offences relating to possession of offensive weapons and threats to use them, which include possession and threats involving corrosive substances.