Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of prisoners at HMP Wandsworth are serving (a) Imprisonment for Public Protection and (b) Detention for Public Protection sentences.
Answered by Edward Argar - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The number and proportion of prisoners in HMP Wandsworth serving Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) and Detention for Public Protection sentences (DPP), as at 31 March 2024, are set out in the table below.
Sentence type | Number of prisoners | Proportion of the total population at HMP Wandsworth |
IPP | 10 | 0.7% |
DPP | 0 | - |
Please note:
(1) IPP prisoners include both unreleased IPP prisoners and recalled IPP prisoners.
(2) DPP is the youth equivalent of the IPP sentence, given to those aged under 18 at the time of conviction.
(3) The figures in this table 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.
We have taken significant action through the Victims and Prisoners Bill to curtail IPP and DPP licence periods to give offenders the opportunity to move on with their lives. In addition to these changes, the actions this Government is taking are working; the number of prisoners serving the IPP sentence, including those serving DPP sentences, who have never been released now stands at 1,180 as of March 2024, down from more than 6000 in 2012.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of prisoners at HMP Wandsworth are awaiting dispersal to another category of prison following an assessment.
Answered by Edward Argar - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
HMP Wandsworth’s main function is to hold unsentenced prisoners while their cases progress through the courts. Once prisoners are sentenced, they are categorised and can then be transferred to a prison with an appropriate security category if required. On 02 May 2024, there were 313 prisoners at Wandsworth who had been categorised as B, C or D, 20% of Wandsworth’s total population. The number of these who are currently awaiting transfer is not centrally collated, as some will be due for release from Wandsworth itself and some will be currently unable to transfer for other reasons such as completing programmes or medical conditions.
There are complex and wide-ranging issues involved in transferring and locating prisoners, and allocation decisions must reflect both the specific needs and circumstances of the prisoner, including their security assessment, as well as the operating environment and range of services at the receiving prison. How these considerations apply in individual cases is not recorded in centrally collated data.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of prisoners at HMP Wandsworth who have been sentenced are awaiting prison category assessment.
Answered by Edward Argar - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
As of Monday 29 April 2024, 54 prisoners at HMP Wandsworth who had been sentenced were awaiting prison category assessment. This represents 3.6 per cent of the prison’s total population and 15.9 per cent of sentenced offenders at the prison.
Categorisation reviews ensure that, throughout their sentences, prisoners are assigned to the security category most appropriate for managing their risk. An initial security category assessment is conducted within 10 working days of sentencing, to facilitate transfer to an appropriate prison.
Asked by: Fleur Anderson (Labour - Putney)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of prisoners at HMP Wandsworth are on remand awaiting trial; and what is the average length of time such prisoners have been on remand.
Answered by Edward Argar - Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
As of 31 March 2024, there were 785 prisoners at HMP Wandsworth on remand awaiting trial, 51.1% of its total population. These figures 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.
Information relating to the time spent on custodial remand is not centrally held by the Ministry of Justice. To obtain the data to answer this part of the question would involve a manual interrogation of court records which would result in a disproportionate cost to the department.
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 Health and Social Care
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 Health and Social Care
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 Health and Social Care
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 Health and Social Care
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.
Correspondence Jan. 26 2024
Committee: Justice and Home Affairs CommitteeFound: Justice, to the Chair, Justice and Home Affairs Committee, regarding the independent investigation into HMP
Correspondence Jan. 09 2024
Committee: Justice Committee (Department: Ministry of Justice)Found: Secretary of State for Justice, dated 08 January 2024 regarding the Independent Investigation into HMP