Asked by: Ben Lake (Plaid Cymru - Ceredigion Preseli)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of (a) ringfencing a minimum amount of community justice funding specifically for residential rehabilitation services, (b) establishing formal pathways between prison to residential rehabilitation provision and recovery housing services and (c) facilitating integrated discharge planning including proactive pathways into (i) community integration, (ii) employment, (iii) education and (iv) recovery support as part of her plans for justice reform.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Vice Chamberlain (HM Household) (Whip, House of Commons)
We know continued engagement with treatment and recovery throughout an offender’s journey is vital to reduce drug misuse, drug-related crime, and reoffending. Responsibility for funding and commissioning of substance misuse treatment lies with the Department for Health and Social Care and NHS Wales. We work very closely with health partners to ensure pathways are accessible for offenders, including to residential rehabilitation which can be a valuable treatment option for some.
In line with recommendations from the Independent Sentencing Review, we want to divert more offenders away from custody where appropriate, including increasing the use of Drug Rehabilitation Requirements to address the underlying causes of offending. For those who do go to prison, accessing support to resettle effectively in the community is crucial, particularly as the first few weeks after release are high-risk for relapse, overdose, and reoffending.
To support this, community probation practitioners coordinate the overall rehabilitation of an offender, supported by pre-release teams. They work proactively with all prisoners to make sure the right support is on offer during their time in prison and prior to release to address resettlement needs such as accommodation, employment, and substance misuse. Health and Justice Partnership Coordinators work nationwide to support prison leavers to maintain recovery in the community, strengthening links between prisons, probation and treatment providers. The latest data for June 2025 shows that 54% of adults released with an ongoing substance misuse need engaged in treatment within 3 weeks of release, an increase from 38% in April 2021.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment she has made of the level of violence against prison officers in prisons.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Vice Chamberlain (HM Household) (Whip, House of Commons)
Reducing the levels of violence in prisons is a key priority and we are working hard to make prisons as safe as possible.
In response to recent serious assaults on our brave and hardworking prison officers, we are mandating the use of Protective Body Armour in the highest risk units and this summer we will trial the use of tasers by specialist staff in adult male prisons.
To protect our staff from serious assaults, PAVA – a synthetic pepper spray – is available in the adult male closed estate and a limited rollout in three Youth Offender Institutions is planned to commence in the summer period, to be used as a last resort in response to an immediate threat of serious harm. We are also committed to removing wet shave razors, that can be used as weapons. Electric shavers are in 31 priority sites in the adult male closed estate and this rollout continues.
All new staff receive violence reduction training and prisoners who pose a raised risk of violence are supported through a case management approach to address the underlying causes of their violence. The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022 doubled the maximum penalty to two years’ imprisonment for those who assault prison officers.
We publish Safety in Custody statistics quarterly covering deaths, self-harm and assaults in prison custody in England and Wales. Statistics on assaults on staff can be found in Table 4 of the Safety in Custody summary tables to December 2024.
Asked by: Mark Hendrick (Labour (Co-op) - Preston)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what comparative assessment her Department has made of the rate of re-offending (a) in Preston and (b) nationally; what steps she is taking to reduce this rate in Preston.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Vice Chamberlain (HM Household) (Whip, House of Commons)
The overall proven reoffending rate for Preston was 34.5% for the July 22 - June 23 cohort (the latest reoffending data available by geography). By comparison, for the same cohort, the overall proven reoffending rate for England and Wales was 26.7%.
The Government is committed to tackling the causes of reoffending by giving people the tools to move away from crime. That's why we're investing in a wide range of interventions to directly support a prisoner’s rehabilitation journey, including employment, accommodation and substance misuse services.
We have, for example, recently launched regional Employment Councils, which for the first time will bring businesses together with probation services and the Department for Work and Pensions to support offenders in prison and the community. Preston is covered by the Cumbria & Lancashire Employment Council.
We are also delivering a transitional accommodation service (CAS3) to provide prison leavers who are under probation supervision and at risk of homelessness with up to 12 weeks of accommodation on release, and have recruited Health and Justice Partnership Coordinators to strengthen the links between substance misuse and health services in prisons and the community to support access to treatment. Both CAS3 and the Health and Justice Partnership Coordinators are in place across all 12 probation regions in England and Wales, with Preston falling under the North West probation region.
Asked by: Robert Jenrick (Reform UK - Newark)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of mandating the use of (a) scanners and (b) enhanced security screening upon entry to secure prisons for all prison officers.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Vice Chamberlain (HM Household) (Whip, House of Commons)
HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) maintains a zero-tolerance approach to smuggling contraband into prisons, including weapons, drugs and mobile phones, which can fuel violence and create instability.
Airport-style Enhanced Gate Security, comprising of metal detectors and X-ray baggage scanners, is used in 52 highest-risk prison sites (both private and public sector), including all of the High Security prisons in the Long Term High Security Estate.
Asked by: Sarah Gibson (Liberal Democrat - Chippenham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of early release schemes on the safety of domestic abuse survivors in Wiltshire.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Vice Chamberlain (HM Household) (Whip, House of Commons)
This Government inherited prisons days from collapse. We had no choice but to take decisive action to stop our prisons overflowing and keep the public safe.
Eligibility under SDS40 is determined by law and we exempted a number of offences from the measure. Unlike the previous Government’s ECSL scheme, we excluded certain offences connected to domestic abuse. SDS40 offence exclusions include specified offences linked to domestic abuse irrespective of sentence length including stalking, coercive or controlling behaviour and non-fatal strangulation. Our exclusions send a very clear message about how seriously domestic abuse is taken by this Government, which was elected on a landmark pledge to halve violence against women and girls over the next decade. Tackling domestic abuse is a core part of this mission.
However, there is no one offence for domestic abuse, meaning it was not possible to exempt all domestic abusers.
To safeguard victims and their families, SDS40 was introduced with an eight-week implementation period, clear offence-based exclusions, and extensive coordination across the Criminal Justice System. Offenders released under SDS40 are subject to strict licence conditions and close supervision by probation services. Any breach of these conditions can result in immediate recall to custody. We will also recruit a further 1,300 trainee probation officers by March 2026 to ensure probation has the right resource to supervise high risk offenders and meet the growing demands of our justice system.
We have published SDS40 release data as part of the quarterly Offender Management Statistics, in line with the Lord Chancellor’s commitment to transparency: Standard Determinate Sentence (SDS40) release data - GOV.UK.
Asked by: Jim Shannon (Democratic Unionist Party - Strangford)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps she is taking to ensure that people released under early-release schemes are prepared to return to society.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Vice Chamberlain (HM Household) (Whip, House of Commons)
This Government inherited prisons days from collapse. We had no choice but to take decisive action to stop our prisons overflowing and keep the public safe. Offenders released on licence are subject to strict conditions, such as curfews and exclusion zones, and face being returned to prison if they break the rules.
There is robust and varied preparation work that probation undertakes following a detailed assessment of individual needs, to ensure an effective resettlement into the community. This includes support with finding work, with Prison Employment Leads, Employment Hubs, ID and Banking Administrators and Employment Advisory Boards in every resettlement prison.
Release planning may also include temporary accommodation for those at risk of homelessness, with a transitional accommodation service which provides prison leavers at risk of homelessness and who are supervised by probation with up to 12 weeks of accommodation.
Asked by: Ben Goldsborough (Labour - South Norfolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether she has issued guidance for prison governors to ensure offenders receive first-night well-being checks upon arrival onto the secure estate.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Vice Chamberlain (HM Household) (Whip, House of Commons)
All prisons in England and Wales are guided by Prison Service Instruction (PSI) 07/2015 – ‘Early Days in Custody – Reception in, First Night in Custody and Induction to Custody’. This policy sets out the mandatory requirements for prisons in relation to those entering their custody. It ensures that prisoners are kept safe and supported during their first night in prison, with their immediate needs being met. This includes a medical assessment by healthcare and a risk assessment for potential harm to themselves, to and from others. Furthermore, they are provided with food, drink, access to a shower, and a telephone to contact their legal adviser or address urgent family issues.
These instructions mandate that prison governors complete assessments to identify and address the immediate risks and needs of prisoners upon arrival into the prison. Such measures underline the importance of ensuring prisoners' safety and well-being during their initial days in custody.
Asked by: Ben Goldsborough (Labour - South Norfolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a target for the number of offenders on the secure estate who have employment roles.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Vice Chamberlain (HM Household) (Whip, House of Commons)
We know that finding employment after release reduces the chance of reoffending significantly, by up to nine percentage points. Undertaking work in custody provides offenders with opportunity to develop key skills that will increase their chance of gaining employment on release and build links with real employers, reducing their risk of reoffending.
The Government has committed to break the cycle of reoffending by improving offenders’ access to purposeful activity and to better support prisons to link up with employers and the voluntary sector to get more people with convictions into work.
Whilst we do set targets for employment post-release, there are currently no plans to set targets for employment in prisons. However, HMPPS have introduced the National Regime Model, creating a national infrastructure for planning, reviewing and measuring purposeful activity for the first time.
Every prison must now deliver a minimum of 60 minutes time in open air per day, 120 minutes time out of cell per day, and one quality key work session per month, and must also set out and be accountable to HMPPS on how they are improving their regime offer year on year.
Asked by: Ayoub Khan (Independent - Birmingham Perry Barr)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of (a) prison and (b) probation staff have undertaken suicide prevention training.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Vice Chamberlain (HM Household) (Whip, House of Commons)
All new prison officers receive training in suicide and self-harm prevention as part of their seven-week Foundation training course.
For existing prison staff, there is a dedicated training module on suicide and self-harm. The training provides an understanding as to the context of self-harm and suicide within prisons, as well as the purpose and implementation of the Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork (ACCT) process which is used to support prisoners identified as being at risk of suicide or self-harm.
Responsibility for delivering this training sits locally with prisons, therefore it is not possible to accurately assess the overall numbers who have received this training, due to local variations in how training is recorded.
There are two suicide prevention learning packages for Probation Staff as part of the current core national offer. One is a Zero Suicide Alliance package for all staff. The other is a package aimed at new entrant learners undertaking Professional Qualification in Probation (PQiP) and new Probation Service Officers which was developed internally as part of a broader Introduction to Mental Health.
The Introduction to Mental Health learning is designated as required for those undertaking the Professional Qualification in Probation (PQiP) and new Probation Service Officers (PSOs) in sentence management, both in custody and the community and is also accessed by established staff. The product contains knowledge modules around suicide and self-harm awareness.
The core national offer referenced is a comprehensive learning package which was recently introduced. Staff who were in post prior to this would have completed other core learning programmes.
It is important to note that whilst we collate completion figures for the current core learning, this does not represent the totality of suicide and self-harm prevention learning received by staff.
This is due to regionally organised activities and previous learning opportunities where data is not nationally held.
Asked by: James McMurdock (Independent - South Basildon and East Thurrock)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 14 February 2025 to Question 29394 on Mentally Disordered Offenders: Crimes of Violence, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of collecting data on the number and proportion of prisoners that had (a) paranoid schizophrenia and (b) other mental health illnesses when they convicted in each of the last five years.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Vice Chamberlain (HM Household) (Whip, House of Commons)
Collecting mental health data at the point of conviction provides a limited snapshot in time. The diagnosis of physical and mental health conditions is a matter for medical professionals. NHS England, which is responsible for the commissioning and funding of healthcare services in all prisons in England, records at a national level how many prisoners have a diagnosis of severe and enduring mental health conditions. This does not detail when those diagnoses were made.
The Offender Assessment System (OASys), the core risk assessment tool used by His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service, already captures some psychological and emotional factors so practitioners can explore the impact of these on their offending behaviour, identify their need for specialist support or treatment and can refer or engage with relevant professionals to manage any risk of harm they may pose.
It is not possible to link medical records with justice datasets due to practical and legal issues.