Asked by: Lord Bishop of Gloucester (Bishops - Bishops)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the pilot, launched in March 2021, with 15 magistrates’ courts, involving the Ministry of Justice, HMCTS and the probation service, of an alternative delivery model to increase the number of cases receiving pre-sentence reports.
Answered by Lord Bellamy
The Pre-Sentence Report (PSR) Pilot tested an Alternative Delivery Model for PSRs in 15 magistrates’ courts’ and concluded in March 2023.
Monitoring data collected during the pilot revealed that pilot courts delivered a higher proportion of PSRs per in-court disposal than non-pilot courts, including for each of the priority cohorts (young adults aged 18-24; women; offenders at risk of short-term custody). We also conducted a process evaluation to explore how the Alternative Delivery Model was implemented, including identifying any benefits, challenges, or unintended outcomes. The process evaluation was published on 15 June 2023 (Process evaluation of the Pre-Sentence Report Pilot - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)) and has found that:
Findings from the pilot have shown some successful elements of the Alternative Delivery Model that we will now integrate into national delivery. This includes rolling out a refreshed training package for probation staff in court across England and Wales and rolling out the processes for the early identification of cases that would benefit from a PSR.
Asked by: Caroline Nokes (Conservative - Romsey and Southampton North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the National Disability Strategy published on 28 July 2021, which of his Department’s commitments in that strategy that have not been paused as a result of legal action have (a) been fully, (b) been partially and (c) not been implemented.
Answered by Mike Freer
In January 2022, the High Court declared the National Disability Strategy (NDS) was unlawful because the UK Disability Survey, which informed it, was held to be a voluntary consultation that failed to comply with the legal requirements on public consultations.
The Ministry of Justice had five policies included in the National Disability Strategy. These include to:
○ attract more disabled people to the magistracy;
○ set out enhanced rights for disabled victims;
○ progress legislation in 2021 as part of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill to amend common law so that deaf people who need a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter can do jury service
○ develop a neurodiversity training toolkit for frontline staff;
○ improve provision for disabled users, including through the accessibility of the estate and use of digital support.
Fully Implemented Policies
We remain fully committed to supporting disabled people in the UK through creating more opportunities, protecting their rights and ensuring they fully benefit from, and can contribute to, every aspect of our society. To support this, the Ministry of Justice will be providing further details of our recent achievements to improve disabled people’s lives in the forthcoming Disability Action Plan consultation due for publication in the summer.
Ahead of this, the Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work will write providing a list of these achievements and will place a copy in the House Library.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether any category of foreign national prisoners has access to (1) legal aid, or (2) any other public funding.
Answered by Lord Bellamy
As of 31 December 2022, there were 9,797 Foreign National Offenders (FNOs) held in prisons in England and Wales, with the top ten origin countries being Albania, Poland, Romania, Ireland (Republic of), Lithuania, Jamaica, Pakistan, Somalia, Portugal, and Iraq.
We do not disaggregate prison run costs by nationality and the cost to hold individuals depends on category. Our unit costs for holding prisoners are published on Gov.uk alongside the HM Prison and Probation Service Annual Reports and Accounts.
Under the Early Removal Scheme (ERS) and Tariff Expired Removal Scheme (TERS) FNOs are removed from the UK, they are not released from their sentence and are liable to continue their sentence should they return to the UK. ERS applies to those serving determinate sentences, and TERS to those serving indeterminate sentences (Life or Imprisonment for Public Protection, which stopped being used in 2012).
Between January 2010 and June 2022, the Home Office removed 22,707 FNOs through ERS with 1,322 of those in the year ending June 2022. Since its implementation in May 2012, 571 FNOs have been removed through TERS. The disparity in numbers under the two schemes is due to there being significantly fewer FNOs with indeterminate sentences than determinate, and the need for the tariff to be expired before they can be removed.
The below table shows the number of FNOs who escaped from custody over the last 5 years. A prisoner escapes when they pass beyond the perimeter of a secure prison or the control of escorting staff. All three from 2017-18 were recaptured within 30 days.
Year | 2017-18 | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 |
Number of Foreign National Offenders escaped from custody | 3 | ..* | .. | .. | .. |
* Figures of 1 and 2 are supressed
A Foreign National Offender may access legal aid if they satisfy the relevant eligibility criteria: their legal issue is in scope, as set out in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, and they pass relevant means and merits tests. For immigration matters, all immigration detainees held in prison can access 30 minutes of legally aided legal advice. This provides a functional equivalent to the advice available to detainees held in immigration removal centres. Broader access to public funds would be based on the immigration status of an individual.
The Bill of Rights will strengthen the wider framework around appeals made on Article 8 grounds (the right to private and family life) by foreign criminals subject to deportation. Clause 8 of the Bill sets out how the courts should consider the compatibility of new deportation laws.
Clause 20 of the Bill of Rights establishes a threshold for successful appeals on Article 6 grounds. This new provision is intended to strengthen the existing approach in this area.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many foreign national prisoners have been released under the (1) Early Removal Scheme (ERS), and (2) Tariff-Expired Removal Scheme (TERS).
Answered by Lord Bellamy
As of 31 December 2022, there were 9,797 Foreign National Offenders (FNOs) held in prisons in England and Wales, with the top ten origin countries being Albania, Poland, Romania, Ireland (Republic of), Lithuania, Jamaica, Pakistan, Somalia, Portugal, and Iraq.
We do not disaggregate prison run costs by nationality and the cost to hold individuals depends on category. Our unit costs for holding prisoners are published on Gov.uk alongside the HM Prison and Probation Service Annual Reports and Accounts.
Under the Early Removal Scheme (ERS) and Tariff Expired Removal Scheme (TERS) FNOs are removed from the UK, they are not released from their sentence and are liable to continue their sentence should they return to the UK. ERS applies to those serving determinate sentences, and TERS to those serving indeterminate sentences (Life or Imprisonment for Public Protection, which stopped being used in 2012).
Between January 2010 and June 2022, the Home Office removed 22,707 FNOs through ERS with 1,322 of those in the year ending June 2022. Since its implementation in May 2012, 571 FNOs have been removed through TERS. The disparity in numbers under the two schemes is due to there being significantly fewer FNOs with indeterminate sentences than determinate, and the need for the tariff to be expired before they can be removed.
The below table shows the number of FNOs who escaped from custody over the last 5 years. A prisoner escapes when they pass beyond the perimeter of a secure prison or the control of escorting staff. All three from 2017-18 were recaptured within 30 days.
Year | 2017-18 | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 |
Number of Foreign National Offenders escaped from custody | 3 | ..* | .. | .. | .. |
* Figures of 1 and 2 are supressed
A Foreign National Offender may access legal aid if they satisfy the relevant eligibility criteria: their legal issue is in scope, as set out in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, and they pass relevant means and merits tests. For immigration matters, all immigration detainees held in prison can access 30 minutes of legally aided legal advice. This provides a functional equivalent to the advice available to detainees held in immigration removal centres. Broader access to public funds would be based on the immigration status of an individual.
The Bill of Rights will strengthen the wider framework around appeals made on Article 8 grounds (the right to private and family life) by foreign criminals subject to deportation. Clause 8 of the Bill sets out how the courts should consider the compatibility of new deportation laws.
Clause 20 of the Bill of Rights establishes a threshold for successful appeals on Article 6 grounds. This new provision is intended to strengthen the existing approach in this area.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many foreign national prisoners have escaped custody in each of the last five years.
Answered by Lord Bellamy
As of 31 December 2022, there were 9,797 Foreign National Offenders (FNOs) held in prisons in England and Wales, with the top ten origin countries being Albania, Poland, Romania, Ireland (Republic of), Lithuania, Jamaica, Pakistan, Somalia, Portugal, and Iraq.
We do not disaggregate prison run costs by nationality and the cost to hold individuals depends on category. Our unit costs for holding prisoners are published on Gov.uk alongside the HM Prison and Probation Service Annual Reports and Accounts.
Under the Early Removal Scheme (ERS) and Tariff Expired Removal Scheme (TERS) FNOs are removed from the UK, they are not released from their sentence and are liable to continue their sentence should they return to the UK. ERS applies to those serving determinate sentences, and TERS to those serving indeterminate sentences (Life or Imprisonment for Public Protection, which stopped being used in 2012).
Between January 2010 and June 2022, the Home Office removed 22,707 FNOs through ERS with 1,322 of those in the year ending June 2022. Since its implementation in May 2012, 571 FNOs have been removed through TERS. The disparity in numbers under the two schemes is due to there being significantly fewer FNOs with indeterminate sentences than determinate, and the need for the tariff to be expired before they can be removed.
The below table shows the number of FNOs who escaped from custody over the last 5 years. A prisoner escapes when they pass beyond the perimeter of a secure prison or the control of escorting staff. All three from 2017-18 were recaptured within 30 days.
Year | 2017-18 | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 |
Number of Foreign National Offenders escaped from custody | 3 | ..* | .. | .. | .. |
* Figures of 1 and 2 are supressed
A Foreign National Offender may access legal aid if they satisfy the relevant eligibility criteria: their legal issue is in scope, as set out in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, and they pass relevant means and merits tests. For immigration matters, all immigration detainees held in prison can access 30 minutes of legally aided legal advice. This provides a functional equivalent to the advice available to detainees held in immigration removal centres. Broader access to public funds would be based on the immigration status of an individual.
The Bill of Rights will strengthen the wider framework around appeals made on Article 8 grounds (the right to private and family life) by foreign criminals subject to deportation. Clause 8 of the Bill sets out how the courts should consider the compatibility of new deportation laws.
Clause 20 of the Bill of Rights establishes a threshold for successful appeals on Article 6 grounds. This new provision is intended to strengthen the existing approach in this area.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what was the cost of housing foreign national prisoners for each of the last five years.
Answered by Lord Bellamy
As of 31 December 2022, there were 9,797 Foreign National Offenders (FNOs) held in prisons in England and Wales, with the top ten origin countries being Albania, Poland, Romania, Ireland (Republic of), Lithuania, Jamaica, Pakistan, Somalia, Portugal, and Iraq.
We do not disaggregate prison run costs by nationality and the cost to hold individuals depends on category. Our unit costs for holding prisoners are published on Gov.uk alongside the HM Prison and Probation Service Annual Reports and Accounts.
Under the Early Removal Scheme (ERS) and Tariff Expired Removal Scheme (TERS) FNOs are removed from the UK, they are not released from their sentence and are liable to continue their sentence should they return to the UK. ERS applies to those serving determinate sentences, and TERS to those serving indeterminate sentences (Life or Imprisonment for Public Protection, which stopped being used in 2012).
Between January 2010 and June 2022, the Home Office removed 22,707 FNOs through ERS with 1,322 of those in the year ending June 2022. Since its implementation in May 2012, 571 FNOs have been removed through TERS. The disparity in numbers under the two schemes is due to there being significantly fewer FNOs with indeterminate sentences than determinate, and the need for the tariff to be expired before they can be removed.
The below table shows the number of FNOs who escaped from custody over the last 5 years. A prisoner escapes when they pass beyond the perimeter of a secure prison or the control of escorting staff. All three from 2017-18 were recaptured within 30 days.
Year | 2017-18 | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 |
Number of Foreign National Offenders escaped from custody | 3 | ..* | .. | .. | .. |
* Figures of 1 and 2 are supressed
A Foreign National Offender may access legal aid if they satisfy the relevant eligibility criteria: their legal issue is in scope, as set out in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, and they pass relevant means and merits tests. For immigration matters, all immigration detainees held in prison can access 30 minutes of legally aided legal advice. This provides a functional equivalent to the advice available to detainees held in immigration removal centres. Broader access to public funds would be based on the immigration status of an individual.
The Bill of Rights will strengthen the wider framework around appeals made on Article 8 grounds (the right to private and family life) by foreign criminals subject to deportation. Clause 8 of the Bill sets out how the courts should consider the compatibility of new deportation laws.
Clause 20 of the Bill of Rights establishes a threshold for successful appeals on Article 6 grounds. This new provision is intended to strengthen the existing approach in this area.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many foreign nationals are currently held in prisons in England and Wales.
Answered by Lord Bellamy
As of 31 December 2022, there were 9,797 Foreign National Offenders (FNOs) held in prisons in England and Wales, with the top ten origin countries being Albania, Poland, Romania, Ireland (Republic of), Lithuania, Jamaica, Pakistan, Somalia, Portugal, and Iraq.
We do not disaggregate prison run costs by nationality and the cost to hold individuals depends on category. Our unit costs for holding prisoners are published on Gov.uk alongside the HM Prison and Probation Service Annual Reports and Accounts.
Under the Early Removal Scheme (ERS) and Tariff Expired Removal Scheme (TERS) FNOs are removed from the UK, they are not released from their sentence and are liable to continue their sentence should they return to the UK. ERS applies to those serving determinate sentences, and TERS to those serving indeterminate sentences (Life or Imprisonment for Public Protection, which stopped being used in 2012).
Between January 2010 and June 2022, the Home Office removed 22,707 FNOs through ERS with 1,322 of those in the year ending June 2022. Since its implementation in May 2012, 571 FNOs have been removed through TERS. The disparity in numbers under the two schemes is due to there being significantly fewer FNOs with indeterminate sentences than determinate, and the need for the tariff to be expired before they can be removed.
The below table shows the number of FNOs who escaped from custody over the last 5 years. A prisoner escapes when they pass beyond the perimeter of a secure prison or the control of escorting staff. All three from 2017-18 were recaptured within 30 days.
Year | 2017-18 | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 |
Number of Foreign National Offenders escaped from custody | 3 | ..* | .. | .. | .. |
* Figures of 1 and 2 are supressed
A Foreign National Offender may access legal aid if they satisfy the relevant eligibility criteria: their legal issue is in scope, as set out in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, and they pass relevant means and merits tests. For immigration matters, all immigration detainees held in prison can access 30 minutes of legally aided legal advice. This provides a functional equivalent to the advice available to detainees held in immigration removal centres. Broader access to public funds would be based on the immigration status of an individual.
The Bill of Rights will strengthen the wider framework around appeals made on Article 8 grounds (the right to private and family life) by foreign criminals subject to deportation. Clause 8 of the Bill sets out how the courts should consider the compatibility of new deportation laws.
Clause 20 of the Bill of Rights establishes a threshold for successful appeals on Article 6 grounds. This new provision is intended to strengthen the existing approach in this area.
Asked by: Lord Swire (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what are the top 10 countries from which foreign national prisoners originate.
Answered by Lord Bellamy
As of 31 December 2022, there were 9,797 Foreign National Offenders (FNOs) held in prisons in England and Wales, with the top ten origin countries being Albania, Poland, Romania, Ireland (Republic of), Lithuania, Jamaica, Pakistan, Somalia, Portugal, and Iraq.
We do not disaggregate prison run costs by nationality and the cost to hold individuals depends on category. Our unit costs for holding prisoners are published on Gov.uk alongside the HM Prison and Probation Service Annual Reports and Accounts.
Under the Early Removal Scheme (ERS) and Tariff Expired Removal Scheme (TERS) FNOs are removed from the UK, they are not released from their sentence and are liable to continue their sentence should they return to the UK. ERS applies to those serving determinate sentences, and TERS to those serving indeterminate sentences (Life or Imprisonment for Public Protection, which stopped being used in 2012).
Between January 2010 and June 2022, the Home Office removed 22,707 FNOs through ERS with 1,322 of those in the year ending June 2022. Since its implementation in May 2012, 571 FNOs have been removed through TERS. The disparity in numbers under the two schemes is due to there being significantly fewer FNOs with indeterminate sentences than determinate, and the need for the tariff to be expired before they can be removed.
The below table shows the number of FNOs who escaped from custody over the last 5 years. A prisoner escapes when they pass beyond the perimeter of a secure prison or the control of escorting staff. All three from 2017-18 were recaptured within 30 days.
Year | 2017-18 | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 |
Number of Foreign National Offenders escaped from custody | 3 | ..* | .. | .. | .. |
* Figures of 1 and 2 are supressed
A Foreign National Offender may access legal aid if they satisfy the relevant eligibility criteria: their legal issue is in scope, as set out in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, and they pass relevant means and merits tests. For immigration matters, all immigration detainees held in prison can access 30 minutes of legally aided legal advice. This provides a functional equivalent to the advice available to detainees held in immigration removal centres. Broader access to public funds would be based on the immigration status of an individual.
The Bill of Rights will strengthen the wider framework around appeals made on Article 8 grounds (the right to private and family life) by foreign criminals subject to deportation. Clause 8 of the Bill sets out how the courts should consider the compatibility of new deportation laws.
Clause 20 of the Bill of Rights establishes a threshold for successful appeals on Article 6 grounds. This new provision is intended to strengthen the existing approach in this area.
Asked by: Grahame Morris (Labour - Easington)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent estimate his Department has made of the cumulative number of years of experience held by all probation officers in each year since 2010.
Answered by Damian Hinds
The cumulative length of service, in years, held by all probation officers is given in the following table. Most years’ figures are given as at 31st December each year, aside from 2022, where the latest published figures are as at 30 September 2022.
It should be noted that Information on probation officers is only available from the creation of National Probation Service (NPS) in June 2014.
Table 1 – Probation Officers in England and Wales cumulative length of service1,2, as at 31 December each year from 2014 to 2021 and September 20223,4
Date | Cumulative length of service of all probation officers |
31/12/2014 | 1,969 |
31/12/2015 | 5,537 |
31/12/2016 | 9,801 |
31/12/2017 | 12,727 |
31/12/2018 | 15,522 |
31/12/2019 | 19,195 |
31/12/2020 | 22,411 |
31/12/2021 | 36,017 |
30/09/2022 | 36,053 |
Notes to tables:
1. The length of service in HMPPS is calculated from most recent hire date. Where staff have transferred in from another Government Department or have transferred in through HMPPS taking over a function, length of service is calculated from entry to HMPPS
2. Figures presented here do not represent the full experience of Probation Officers
3. The dates reflect the Full Time Equivalent and cumulative years of service at that particular point of the year.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department has taken to train prison staff on the additional needs of people in prison on remand with disabilities, including for neurodiverse people.
Answered by Damian Hinds
On 30 June 2022, the Government published our Action Plan in response to the Evidence Review on Neurodiversity in the Criminal Justice System, setting set out a number of steps we are taking to increase support for neurodivergent people encountering the criminal justice system (CJS), including those on remand.
The action plan includes a number of steps specifically focused on training staff:
we are on track to have a dedicated Neurodiversity Support Manager in every prison across England and Wales by March 2024. A key part of their role is to deliver awareness sessions to upskill staff, and to improve prisoners’ access to education, skills and work;
by the end of 2022, we will have developed and launched a National Neurodiversity Training Toolkit available for all prison and probation staff; and
HM Prison and Probation Service has commissioned the organisation Skills for Justice to develop an ‘Adult Health, Care and Wellbeing Core Capabilities Framework’ for frontline staff, to set out what skills, knowledge and behaviour are required to support offenders with health requirements, including neurodivergent need.