Asked by: Tom Hunt (Conservative - Ipswich)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the recommendations of the Education Select Committee's prison education report of May 2022, what steps he is taking to provide individual learning plans for those in the prison system linked to their sentence plan.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
We are working to ensure that every prisoner has a Personal Learning Plan.
Since April 2019, 35,832 have been created, and we are further developing these plans to bring together key information on the prisoner’s learning and support needs, as well as their aspirations and goals. In this way, we will ensure that everyone working with the prisoner on their education, skills and work pathways is aware of their individual needs.
Asked by: Tom Hunt (Conservative - Ipswich)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to improve data collection on the rate of learning disabilities among those in the prison system.
Answered by Damian Hinds - Minister of State (Education)
The implementation of Personal Learning Plans for all prisoners, together with the introduction, by 2024, of Neurodiversity Support Managers (NSMs) in all English and Welsh prisons, will help us to improve data collection in relation to prisoners who may need support with their learning and development.
As of January 2023, 51 NSMs have been recruited, and we are actively championing Autism Accreditation across the prison estate to increase support for neurodivergent people.
Since April 2019, 173,885 Learning Difficulties and Disabilities assessments have been conducted, with 91,987 prisoners receiving active support.
Asked by: Tom Hunt (Conservative - Ipswich)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of removing the requirement for grandparents to seek the leave of the court before applying for a child arrangement order.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
If they have not been living with the child(ren) concerned for one year immediately preceding the application, grandparents will first need to seek the permission of the court to apply for a child arrangements order. This requirement is not designed to be an obstacle but to sift out applications that are not in the child’s best interests. The welfare of the child is the paramount consideration in any decision the court makes, including in relation to who a child lives with or spends time with, and as such the current requirements in place are seen as the best method to ensure the safety and welfare of the child.
It is our intention to consult on measures to encourage and support more parents and other parties such as grandparents to resolve their disputes without needing to come to court.
Asked by: Tom Hunt (Conservative - Ipswich)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether the Government is taking steps to ensure that the legal framework adequately allows grandparents to maintain relationships with their grandchildren following parental separation.
Answered by Mike Freer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Government understands the difficulties that some grandparents face in continuing relationships with their grandchildren following disputes arising from parental separation and that grandparents often play an important role in children’s lives and can provide stability in families.
Grandparents who are excluded from the lives of their grandchildren and are unable to agree an informal, family-based arrangement with their grandchildren’s parents can attempt mediation before applying for a court order. The existing legal framework allows all grandparents to seek leave of the court to make an application for a child arrangements order or a special guardianship order. The court will determine based on the individual facts of the case, whether they can spend time with their grandchildren and if so, what sort of contact would be in the child’s interest. The child’s welfare will be the court’s paramount consideration in these cases.
Asked by: Tom Hunt (Conservative - Ipswich)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his Department's plan to open a new regional office in Ipswich, announced on 1 February 2022, when he expects that new office to open, and what estimate he has made of the number of jobs which that new office will create in Ipswich.
Answered by James Cartlidge - Minister of State (Ministry of Defence)
We are currently planning to open a Justice Collaboration Centre in Ipswich in late summer this year. The MoJ will be moving roles away from London through a national talent location strategy which relies on roles becoming vacant to then be advertised nationally to one of our 7 hubs. This allows MoJ to attract the best talent regardless of their location.
Due to this strategy, it is difficult for MoJ to estimate the number of jobs that may be created in Ipswich; however, this does mean the opening of the regional office will create new opportunities for the people of Ipswich, and its locality, to access good quality civil service jobs in the MoJ.
Asked by: Tom Hunt (Conservative - Ipswich)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the quality of literacy education in prisons.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The Prisons Strategy White Paper sets out the government’s ambition to equip all prisoners with the literacy skills they need to get jobs on release. To support this, HMPPS has introduced new performance measures for English and maths and we are holding Governors to account for improving the teaching of reading in their prisons.
The joint report by HM Inspectorate of Prisons and Ofsted on Prison education: a review of reading education in prisons highlighted the need to improve literacy education in prisons. To address its recommendations, we will review the current mechanisms for assessing and recording the levels of prisoners’ reading; improve the curriculum guidance given to governors to ensure they prioritise the teaching of reading and review teacher capability to ensure that all providers have staff who are properly qualified to teach reading.
We are also planning to develop a Literacy Innovation Scheme to encourage new providers to work with us to trial new approaches to teaching reading with the aim of driving up quality and improving outcomes across the estate.
Asked by: Tom Hunt (Conservative - Ipswich)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what cost-benefit analysis his Department has conducted on screening all prisoners for learning disabilities.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Screening for Learning Difficulties and Disabilities (LDD) is delivered in prisons by contractors. The number of assessments carried out increased during the pandemic with more learners being supported.
As part of the MoJ’s Action Plan response to the Justice inspectorate’s review of Neurodiversity in the Criminal Justice System, the Cross Government Neurodiversity Working Group will consider current screening tool use, including assessing practicality, affordability and value for money. To help improve support for neurodivergent people, a new role of lead for neurodiversity is also being introduced in the Accelerator prisons with the view to expanding the role across the estate.
We have recently commissioned external research to evaluate current provision and are awaiting the findings. Our response to the recommendations from the recently published HMIP/OFSTED report, ‘Prison education: a review of reading education in prisons’ will include a review of all initial assessments taking place within custody.
Asked by: Tom Hunt (Conservative - Ipswich)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department has taken to monitor older people’s experience of the criminal justice system.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
We recognise that some older people can need additional support to access services.
Vulnerable victims, including some older victims, may face specific barriers to engaging victim support services or the criminal justice system. The Victims’ Code sets out a clear framework of 12 key overarching entitlements that set out what all victims can expect from all criminal justice agencies. Vulnerable victims are eligible for enhanced support under the Code, such as being offered a referral to a specialist support service, being contacted sooner after key decisions and having access to special measures when giving evidence.
We have also recently consulted on a Victims’ Bill, which will build on the foundations provided by the Victims’ Code to substantially improve victims’ experiences of the criminal justice system. The consultation committed to placing the Code in legislation, and explored options in relation to using victims’ experiences to drive improvements, and making clearer and sharper lines of accountability if victims do not receive their entitlements from criminal justice agencies.
We also recognise that older individuals in the criminal justice system can face barriers to accessing services which can rehabilitate them. We are developing an ageing prison population strategy currently, with the aim of ensuring older prisoners are rehabilitated successfully, reducing reoffending and better protecting the public.
Asked by: Tom Hunt (Conservative - Ipswich)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people convicted of pet theft offences have been awarded a prison sentence in each of the last three years; and what the average length was of those sentences.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is sympathetic to the emotional trauma which the theft of a much-loved pet can cause. The Sentencing Council’s guidelines on theft now take account of the emotional distress on the victim caused by any theft offence, including theft of a pet, meaning that the courts will now take this into account when considering the appropriate sentence.
There are different theft offences under the Theft Act 1968 any of which could relate to the theft of pets depending on the individual circumstances of the case. Centrally held information on theft offences does not identify if a pet specifically was stolen. The information may be held on court records but to be able to identify cases in which pets were stolen would require access individual court records which would be of disproportionate cost.
Asked by: Tom Hunt (Conservative - Ipswich)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure that (a) pet sentience and (b) emotional harm to pet owners is considered in sentencing for pet theft offences.
Answered by Chris Philp - Minister of State (Home Office)
The Government is sympathetic to the emotional trauma which the theft of a much-loved pet can cause. The Sentencing Council’s guidelines on theft now take account of the emotional distress on the victim caused by any theft offence, including theft of a pet, meaning that the courts will now take this into account when considering the appropriate sentence.
There are different theft offences under the Theft Act 1968 any of which could relate to the theft of pets depending on the individual circumstances of the case. Centrally held information on theft offences does not identify if a pet specifically was stolen. The information may be held on court records but to be able to identify cases in which pets were stolen would require access individual court records which would be of disproportionate cost.