Questioner: Victoria Prentis (CON - Banbury)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the effect of (a) resettlement day release and (b) overnight release on resettlement outcomes.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
The latest information available shows that in the 12 months to September 2018 there were 340,163 incidences of resettlement day release involving 7,232 individuals, and 19,107 incidences of resettlement overnight release involving 4,955 individuals.
Data on release on temporary licence is published quarterly and can be found here:
Resettlement day and overnight release are the most common forms of release on temporary licence (ROTL) and allow suitable, risk assessed prisoners to be released to undertake activities linked to the sentence plan that will ease their transition back to the community. There is promising international evidence to suggest that temporary release is associated with better post release employment outcomes, as well as lower re-arrest rates, return to custody rates, and re-imprisonment rates.
The MoJ published research in 2018 entitled ‘The reoffending impact of increased release of prisoners on temporary licence’ showed that for those given ROTL in the six month period leading up to release, increased use of it during this period was associated with reduced reoffending. After controlling for some other variables that might influence prisoner’s outcomes (such as demographic characteristics, offending history and prior ROTL failure)
- Each additional Resettlement Day Release was associated with 0.5% reduced odds of reoffending over a one-year follow-up period
- Each additional Resettlement Overnight Release was associated with 5% reduced odds of reoffending over a one-year follow-up period
Questioner: Victoria Prentis (CON - Banbury)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how often (a) resettlement day release and (b) overnight release has been used in the last 12 months.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
The latest information available shows that in the 12 months to September 2018 there were 340,163 incidences of resettlement day release involving 7,232 individuals, and 19,107 incidences of resettlement overnight release involving 4,955 individuals.
Data on release on temporary licence is published quarterly and can be found here:
Resettlement day and overnight release are the most common forms of release on temporary licence (ROTL) and allow suitable, risk assessed prisoners to be released to undertake activities linked to the sentence plan that will ease their transition back to the community. There is promising international evidence to suggest that temporary release is associated with better post release employment outcomes, as well as lower re-arrest rates, return to custody rates, and re-imprisonment rates.
The MoJ published research in 2018 entitled ‘The reoffending impact of increased release of prisoners on temporary licence’ showed that for those given ROTL in the six month period leading up to release, increased use of it during this period was associated with reduced reoffending. After controlling for some other variables that might influence prisoner’s outcomes (such as demographic characteristics, offending history and prior ROTL failure)
- Each additional Resettlement Day Release was associated with 0.5% reduced odds of reoffending over a one-year follow-up period
- Each additional Resettlement Overnight Release was associated with 5% reduced odds of reoffending over a one-year follow-up period
Questioner: Victoria Prentis (CON - Banbury)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to reduce the use of short prison sentences for women.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
In June 2018, we published the Female Offender Strategy which set out the Government’s aim to see fewer women in custody, especially on short term sentences. There is persuasive evidence that many women, particularly on short custodial sentences, can be better supported in the community on robust and effective community sentences.
The Strategy set out a new programme of work to improve outcomes for female offenders and shift our emphasis from custody to the community. This included a £5m investment in community provision for female offenders over 2018/19 and 2019/20. We awarded £3.3m to 12 organisations last November, and on 23 January we announced a further £1.6m, which will benefit 17 organisations and 83 female rape support centres.
We consider that the availability of intensive residential support packages, both at the point of sentencing and on release, is one important element in achieving the changes we want to see. We are therefore committed to working with local and national partners to develop a ‘residential women’s centre’ pilot in at least five sites across England and Wales.
The Strategy is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/female-offender-strategy.
Questioner: Victoria Prentis (CON - Banbury)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment his Department has made of the correlation between homelessness on release from prison and reoffending rates among prisoners serving sentences of under a year.
Answered by Rory Stewart
Published statistics for 2017/18 showing the accommodation status for all offenders released from custody and offenders on community sentences can be viewed here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/729062/accommodation-cirumstances-tables-2018.xlsx.
Everyone leaving custody should have a safe and suitable home to go to on release.
As part of the Government initiative to reduce and ultimately eliminate rough sleeping across England, we will invest up to £6.4 million in a pilot scheme to help ex-offenders into accommodation from three prisons, namely Bristol, Pentonville and Leeds. The pilots will specifically focus on male prisoners who have served shorter sentences of under 12 months, who have been identified as having a risk of homelessness.
Furthermore, as of 1 October 2018, Prisons and Probation providers have had a “Duty to Refer” anyone who is homeless or at risk of becoming homeless to the Local Authority. Following a referral, Local Authorities are then required to make an assessment, meaning offenders can receive meaningful housing assistance at an earlier stage irrespective of their priority need.
Questioner: Victoria Prentis (CON - Banbury)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to page 21 of the Victims Strategy, published in September 2018, what progress has been made on abolishing the rule of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme which denied compensation for some victims who lived with their attacker prior to 1979.
Answered by Edward Argar
The Government is planning to abolish the so-called pre-1979 “same roof rule” from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme. Under this rule, a compensation award cannot be made for a criminal injury sustained by a child or adult before October 1979 if, at the time of the incident giving rise to that injury, the applicant (as a child or as an adult) and the assailant were living together as members of the same family.
We will be laying an amended Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme 2012 before Parliament in due course. The amended Scheme will remove the pre-1979 same roof rule. Importantly, it is intended to enable victims whose applications for compensation had previously been refused under this rule to reapply. Applicants will still need to meet all the remaining eligibility criteria within the Scheme.
Questioner: Victoria Prentis (CON - Banbury)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of (a) the cost, (b) the availability, (c) the size of waiting lists for and (d) the average length of wait to participate in the new offender behaviour programmes Horizon and Kaizen.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) does not record expenditure in its central accounting system in a format that allows for the identification of expenditure on Horizon and Kaizen and, therefore, cannot provide the cost data requested. These programmes are delivered by in-house staff, and staffing costs are not captured separately for such specific activities.
Horizon has been rolled out steadily since it was commissioned in 2016/17, and an assessment of its delivery, and demand for places on it, including any resulting waiting lists, is currently being undertaken.
Whilst there are not any significant waiting lists for Kaizen at present, HMPPS will continue to assess its delivery and demand as we roll-up provision during 2018/19.
We keep offending behaviour programmes under constant review, to ensure that they are effective in reducing reoffending and protect the public. The recently introduced Horizon and Kaizen programmes for sex offenders draw on the latest international evidence on effective treatment for this cohort of offenders.
Questioner: Victoria Prentis (CON - Banbury)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much it has cost his Department to deliver the (a) Core Sex Offender Treatment and (b) Extended Sex Offender Treatment programme in the last 12 months; and how many people have participated with what outcomes in each such programme in the last 12 months.
Answered by Lucy Frazer
We are absolutely committed to reducing reoffending and addressing the needs of those individuals convicted of a sexual offence.
Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) does not record expenditure in its central accounting system in a format that allows for the identification of spend on Sex Offender Treatment Programmes and therefore, cannot provide cost data for the period requested.
The NOMS Annual Digest 2016/17 provides information on volumes of sex offender programmes delivered in 2016/17. This is included in the table below.
In April 2017 the final core and extended SOTP programmes completed and we stopped the programme and introduced new programmes. No offenders took part in the programme after April 2017.
The new programmes are Horizon (Moderate Intensity) and Kaizen SO (High Intensity), which we have introduced for men convicted of sexual offending.
These programmes draw on the latest international evidence on effective treatment for this cohort of offenders.
Table: Accredited Sexual Offending Programme Starts and Completions in Prison, England & Wales 2016/17 | ||
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|
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| Starts | Completions |
|
|
|
Core Programme | 527 | 594 |
Extended Programme | 133 | 128 |
|
|
|
All Sexual Offending Programmes | 1,173 | 1,171 |
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|
|
It should be noted that some of those completing a programme in 2016/17 will have started it in the preceding year, and some starting in 2016/17 will complete in the subsequent year.
Questioner: Victoria Prentis (CON - Banbury)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average caseload is of probation officers in the National Probation Service who carry a caseload.
Answered by Andrew Selous
The Ministry of Justice publishes statistics showing the total caseload of the probation service (the National Probation Service (NPS) and the 21 Community Rehabilitation Companies) and also staff in post in the NPS. Figures for total probation caseload are published quarterly in the Offender Management Statistics Bulletin, England and Wales:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/offender-management-statistics-quarterly
Figures for NPS staff in post are also published quarterly, in the National Offender Management Service Workforce Statistics Bulletin:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-offender-management-service-workforce-statistics
Figures on the average caseload of probation officers are not collected centrally. Individual probation officer caseloads across the NPS are, however, carefully monitored by experienced managers. We are also developing a Workload Management Tool to assist National Probation Service Divisions, which will help with the process of allocating cases appropriately between staff.
Questioner: Victoria Prentis (CON - Banbury)
Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many probation officers do not carry a caseload in each area of the National Probation Service.
Answered by Andrew Selous
The Ministry of Justice publishes statistics showing the total caseload of the probation service (the National Probation Service (NPS) and the 21 Community Rehabilitation Companies) and also staff in post in the NPS. Figures for total probation caseload are published quarterly in the Offender Management Statistics Bulletin, England and Wales:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/offender-management-statistics-quarterly
Figures for NPS staff in post are also published quarterly, in the National Offender Management Service Workforce Statistics Bulletin:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-offender-management-service-workforce-statistics
Figures on the average caseload of probation officers are not collected centrally. Individual probation officer caseloads across the NPS are, however, carefully monitored by experienced managers. We are also developing a Workload Management Tool to assist National Probation Service Divisions, which will help with the process of allocating cases appropriately between staff.