Asked by: Ben Maguire (Liberal Democrat - North Cornwall)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that prisoners are not at risk of harm or violence while serving their sentences.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Vice Chamberlain (HM Household) (Whip, House of Commons)
Safety in prisons is a key priority and we are working hard to make prisons as safe as possible for those who live and work in them.
Safe prisons are vital to enable prisoners to engage in rehabilitative activities that reduce reoffending.
We are supporting prisons to effectively manage individuals who are violent or at risk of self-harm or suicide and providing prison officers with the right tools to do their jobs.
Prisons have a range of physical security measures to counter the smuggling of contraband such as drugs, mobile phones and weapons – that drive prison violence and undermine safety. We have rolled out over 13,000 Body Worn Video Cameras across adult public sector prisons which means that every Band 3-5 officer has access to a camera whilst on shift.
All new members of staff with prisoner contact receive training on suicide and self-harm prevention, and violence reduction. In addition, a violence reduction, and a gangs and harmful group behaviour training module are available to help staff better understand the drivers of violence and how to mitigate and manage these risks. All staff who undertake key roles relating to risk assessment and case management for those at a raised risk of suicide and self-harm or of being violent also receive specific training relating to these roles.
Asked by: Kevin McKenna (Labour - Sittingbourne and Sheppey)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to help improve transitions between closed and open prisons; and if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of (a) resources allocated to the open estate, (b) the (i) approvals and (ii) transfer process and (c) measures to safeguard the (A) public and (B) prison officers on those transitions.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Vice Chamberlain (HM Household) (Whip, House of Commons)
There are 13 Category D (or “open”) prisons in the adult male prison estate, as well as two open units linked to closed establishments. There are two open prisons in the women’s estate. HM Prison & Probation Service has developed and implemented a ‘National Allocation Protocol’ and ‘National Offender Flows’ to guide prisons on allocating male prisoners from a reception prison to the next-stage establishment. Together, these two documents determine how prisoners are moved, to help ensure that they are in the right prison at the right time during their sentence to access the services they need to manage their risks. Depending on their behaviour and progress, prisoners may be transferred to different prisons with varying security levels, including open conditions. As in the men's estate, women are assigned to the lowest security category appropriate to managing their risks.
There has not been any need to review resources for transitions or the open estate, other than as part of general reviews of staffing levels as and when additional capacity is added. In those cases, the time to recruit additional staff is factored into the process for capacity expansion.
The criteria for transferring prisoners to open conditions ensure that only those whose risk is assessed as suitable will be transferred. This process balances rehabilitation opportunities with public safety concerns.
The safety of prisoners and prison staff is our priority, and measures are in place to assess and manage risks associated with transfers to open conditions.
Asked by: Martin Wrigley (Liberal Democrat - Newton Abbot)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her policies of the parole board report on IPP prison sentences.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Vice Chamberlain (HM Household) (Whip, House of Commons)
The Parole Board published interim guidance on 12 November 2024 to provide Parole Board panels with points to consider when undertaking parole reviews for prisoners sentenced to an Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) or Detention for Public Protection (DPP) sentence. It assists panels with identifying ways of working to effectively manage such cases fairly and justly, whilst maintaining a focus on risk and the test for release and taking public protection as the over-riding priority.
On 15 November 2024, the Government published the updated IPP Action Plan, which puts a stronger emphasis on effective frontline delivery in our prisons. It will ensure that prisoners serving IPP sentences have robust and effective sentence plans, which they are actively engaging with, and that they are in the correct prison to access the right interventions and rehabilitative services.
Asked by: Nick Timothy (Conservative - West Suffolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what (a) interviews and (b) security checks there are for foreign nationals applying for positions in the prison service; and whether their country of origin is a factor.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Vice Chamberlain (HM Household) (Whip, House of Commons)
HM Prison & Probation Service welcomes applications from people wishing to work in prisons in England and Wales. The interview process is the same for both UK and non-UK nationals. Selection is on the basis of fair and open competition, in accordance with the legal requirement set out in the Civil Service Recruitment Principles.
Each candidate is assessed against the criteria published in the job advertisement. Most recruitment is managed locally. In relation to nationality, eligibility is governed by the Civil Service Nationality Rules.
All candidates, regardless of nationality, are subject to robust screening to assess their suitability against the relevant legislative requirements and security-related factors. These checks include confirmation of identity; confirmation of right to work in the UK; a criminal record check, declaration of any connections with offenders; employment reference enquiries; and a financial vulnerability assessment.
All directly-employed prison staff must achieve, as a minimum, security clearance at Enhanced Level 2. HM Prison & Probation Service also undertakes a range of digital vetting and social media checks for new prison officer starters and chaplains.
Non-directly employed staff working in our prisons must achieve, as a minimum, clearance at Enhanced Level 1. In some cases, depending on risk and role, these staff may additionally require either a Standard or an Enhanced Check by the Disclosure and Barring Service. For staff working in prisons in the Long-Term High Security Estate, an additional National Security Vetting Check, at Counter-Terrorist level, is required as a minimum for all staff.
Asked by: James Wild (Conservative - North West Norfolk)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to her oral contribution of 5 November 2024, Official Report column 164, and to the oral contribution of 14 January 2025 by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice, Official Report column 170, what steps the (a) Minister of State for Prisons, Probation and Reducing Reoffending and (b) Governor of HMP Garth have taken to tackle drone issues at that prison.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Vice Chamberlain (HM Household) (Whip, House of Commons)
We are working hard to deter, detect and disrupt the illegal use of drones to deliver contraband into prisons. HM Prison & Probation Service uses targeted countermeasures such as improvements to windows, netting and grills to stop drones delivering contraband such as drugs, mobile telephones and weapons.
A vulnerability assessment has been conducted to assess the risk of drone incursions at HMP Garth, and an action plan has been developed and implemented to manage and mitigate this threat. Owing to the operational sensitivity, it would not be appropriate to disclose the exact countermeasures that have been put in place.
Asked by: Helen Grant (Conservative - Maidstone and Malling)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of prolonged imprisonment on the (a) mental health and (b) prospects for safe release of prisoners serving imprisonment for public protection sentences; and what steps her Department is taking to support those prisoners who have served more than 10 years beyond their tariff.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Vice Chamberlain (HM Household) (Whip, House of Commons)
The Ministry of Justice routinely publishes data on the average length of time Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) prisoners spent in custody following recall. The most recent data can be found in Table 5.Q.11: licence-recalls-Apr-to-June-2024.ods.
The figures from the latest publication on the last five quarters of available data have been provided below:
Period | Average time recalled (months) |
Apr to Jun 2023 | 27 |
Jul to Sep 2023 | 28 |
Oct to Dec 2023 | 27 |
Jan to Mar 2024 | 28 |
Apr to Jun 2024 | 24 |
Where an offender on an IPP licence is recalled to custody, the Secretary of State must refer the offender to the Parole Board, and the Board will conduct a review in order to determine whether the offender may be safely re-released. The Ministry of Justice, HMPPS and the Parole Board are working together to improve the efficiency of the parole system, including with a view to ensuring that the Board completes post-recall reviews as quickly as possible.
Following commencement of the majority of IPP provisions in the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 on 1 November 2024, and as an alternative to review by the Parole Board, the Secretary of State now has a power to release recalled IPP prisoners – without the need for a release decision by the Parole Board – following a process known as Risk Assessed Recall Review (RARR). The Secretary of State must apply the same test as the Parole Board and therefore, must be satisfied that it is no longer necessary for the protection of the public that they should stay in prison.
The Ministry of Justice routinely publishes data on the number of IPP prisoners and IPP offenders under probation supervision as part of its quarterly Offender Management Statistics publication. Prison figures can be found under ‘Prison Population’ in Table 1.Q.14 and community figures can be found under ‘Probation’ in Table 6.13: Offender management statistics quarterly - GOV.UK. The figures from the last five years of available data have been provided below.
Table 1. Shows the number of IPP prisoners, at end of period, September 2020 to September 2024, England and Wales.
Caseload period | Number of IPP prisoners |
30 Sep 2020 | 3,252 |
30 Sep 2021 | 3,018 |
30 Sep 2022 | 2,890 |
30 Sep 2023 | 2,921 |
30 Sep 2024 | 2,694 |
Table 2. Shows the number of offenders serving IPP sentences in the community on licence, at end of period, June 2020 to June 2024, England and Wales.
Caseload period | Number of IPP offenders in the community |
30 June 2020 | 2,993 |
30 June 2021 | 3,202 |
30 June 2022 | 3,246 |
30 June 2023 | 3,098 |
30 June 2024 | 2,958 |
Please note:
(1) Includes offenders serving a Detention for Public Protection (DPP) sentence who are defined in the data as offenders serving an IPP sentence, but were aged under 18 at the time of sentencing.
(2) The data pipeline used to compile the figures in this table has been updated. This change was introduced from June 2024. More details can be found in the 'Probation data process transition' section of Chapter 6 of the Offender Management Statistics quarterly publication, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/offender-management-statistics-quarterly-april-to-june-2024.
The Government is committed to ensuring that implementation of the IPP Action Plan and its initiatives safely reduce the IPP population both in custody and the community, whilst still prioritising public protection.
On 1 November 2024, the Government implemented the first phase of IPP provisions in the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024, which saw licences terminated for 1,742 IPP offenders in the community. In addition to this, around 600 people will be referred to the Parole Board for consideration of licence termination on the commencement of phase two on 1 February 2025. We anticipate that these changes, once fully implemented, will reduce the number of people serving IPP sentences in the community by around two-thirds.
The Government recognises the specific challenges faced by those serving IPP sentences. We are committed to improving outcomes for individuals with mental health needs, including IPP prisoners, and recognise the importance of providing the right interventions at the right time. This is reflected in the National Partnership Agreement on Health and Social Care in England which was published in 2023, which sets out a shared priority workplan to deliver safe, decent and effective care for offenders in prison and the community. The Chief Medical Officer has agreed to the Lord Chancellor’s request to consider the IPP sentence as part of his independent review of offender health.
Health and justice partners provide an equivalent standard, range and quality of healthcare in prisons to that available in the community. If a prisoner has a severe mental health need to an extent that detention under the Mental Health Act 1983 may be appropriate, they will be referred and assessed by qualified clinicians to determine whether to transfer to a mental health hospital is warranted.
HMPPS operates a traffic light system for all never-released IPP offenders to identify those who are struggling to progress through their sentence plan, so that resources can be directed to offenders who need it most. HMPPS is rolling this system out to all IPP offenders, including those recalled to custody and those on licence in the community, in the first quarter of 2025.
Asked by: Helen Grant (Conservative - Maidstone and Malling)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many Imprisonment for Public Protection prisoners were (a) in custody and (b) in the community on licence in each of the last five years; and what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of these trends.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Vice Chamberlain (HM Household) (Whip, House of Commons)
The Ministry of Justice routinely publishes data on the average length of time Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) prisoners spent in custody following recall. The most recent data can be found in Table 5.Q.11: licence-recalls-Apr-to-June-2024.ods.
The figures from the latest publication on the last five quarters of available data have been provided below:
Period | Average time recalled (months) |
Apr to Jun 2023 | 27 |
Jul to Sep 2023 | 28 |
Oct to Dec 2023 | 27 |
Jan to Mar 2024 | 28 |
Apr to Jun 2024 | 24 |
Where an offender on an IPP licence is recalled to custody, the Secretary of State must refer the offender to the Parole Board, and the Board will conduct a review in order to determine whether the offender may be safely re-released. The Ministry of Justice, HMPPS and the Parole Board are working together to improve the efficiency of the parole system, including with a view to ensuring that the Board completes post-recall reviews as quickly as possible.
Following commencement of the majority of IPP provisions in the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 on 1 November 2024, and as an alternative to review by the Parole Board, the Secretary of State now has a power to release recalled IPP prisoners – without the need for a release decision by the Parole Board – following a process known as Risk Assessed Recall Review (RARR). The Secretary of State must apply the same test as the Parole Board and therefore, must be satisfied that it is no longer necessary for the protection of the public that they should stay in prison.
The Ministry of Justice routinely publishes data on the number of IPP prisoners and IPP offenders under probation supervision as part of its quarterly Offender Management Statistics publication. Prison figures can be found under ‘Prison Population’ in Table 1.Q.14 and community figures can be found under ‘Probation’ in Table 6.13: Offender management statistics quarterly - GOV.UK. The figures from the last five years of available data have been provided below.
Table 1. Shows the number of IPP prisoners, at end of period, September 2020 to September 2024, England and Wales.
Caseload period | Number of IPP prisoners |
30 Sep 2020 | 3,252 |
30 Sep 2021 | 3,018 |
30 Sep 2022 | 2,890 |
30 Sep 2023 | 2,921 |
30 Sep 2024 | 2,694 |
Table 2. Shows the number of offenders serving IPP sentences in the community on licence, at end of period, June 2020 to June 2024, England and Wales.
Caseload period | Number of IPP offenders in the community |
30 June 2020 | 2,993 |
30 June 2021 | 3,202 |
30 June 2022 | 3,246 |
30 June 2023 | 3,098 |
30 June 2024 | 2,958 |
Please note:
(1) Includes offenders serving a Detention for Public Protection (DPP) sentence who are defined in the data as offenders serving an IPP sentence, but were aged under 18 at the time of sentencing.
(2) The data pipeline used to compile the figures in this table has been updated. This change was introduced from June 2024. More details can be found in the 'Probation data process transition' section of Chapter 6 of the Offender Management Statistics quarterly publication, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/offender-management-statistics-quarterly-april-to-june-2024.
The Government is committed to ensuring that implementation of the IPP Action Plan and its initiatives safely reduce the IPP population both in custody and the community, whilst still prioritising public protection.
On 1 November 2024, the Government implemented the first phase of IPP provisions in the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024, which saw licences terminated for 1,742 IPP offenders in the community. In addition to this, around 600 people will be referred to the Parole Board for consideration of licence termination on the commencement of phase two on 1 February 2025. We anticipate that these changes, once fully implemented, will reduce the number of people serving IPP sentences in the community by around two-thirds.
The Government recognises the specific challenges faced by those serving IPP sentences. We are committed to improving outcomes for individuals with mental health needs, including IPP prisoners, and recognise the importance of providing the right interventions at the right time. This is reflected in the National Partnership Agreement on Health and Social Care in England which was published in 2023, which sets out a shared priority workplan to deliver safe, decent and effective care for offenders in prison and the community. The Chief Medical Officer has agreed to the Lord Chancellor’s request to consider the IPP sentence as part of his independent review of offender health.
Health and justice partners provide an equivalent standard, range and quality of healthcare in prisons to that available in the community. If a prisoner has a severe mental health need to an extent that detention under the Mental Health Act 1983 may be appropriate, they will be referred and assessed by qualified clinicians to determine whether to transfer to a mental health hospital is warranted.
HMPPS operates a traffic light system for all never-released IPP offenders to identify those who are struggling to progress through their sentence plan, so that resources can be directed to offenders who need it most. HMPPS is rolling this system out to all IPP offenders, including those recalled to custody and those on licence in the community, in the first quarter of 2025.
Asked by: Helen Grant (Conservative - Maidstone and Malling)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average length of time imprisonment for public protection prisoners spend in custody following a recall; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of extended recall periods on trends in successful re-release rates.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Vice Chamberlain (HM Household) (Whip, House of Commons)
The Ministry of Justice routinely publishes data on the average length of time Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) prisoners spent in custody following recall. The most recent data can be found in Table 5.Q.11: licence-recalls-Apr-to-June-2024.ods.
The figures from the latest publication on the last five quarters of available data have been provided below:
Period | Average time recalled (months) |
Apr to Jun 2023 | 27 |
Jul to Sep 2023 | 28 |
Oct to Dec 2023 | 27 |
Jan to Mar 2024 | 28 |
Apr to Jun 2024 | 24 |
Where an offender on an IPP licence is recalled to custody, the Secretary of State must refer the offender to the Parole Board, and the Board will conduct a review in order to determine whether the offender may be safely re-released. The Ministry of Justice, HMPPS and the Parole Board are working together to improve the efficiency of the parole system, including with a view to ensuring that the Board completes post-recall reviews as quickly as possible.
Following commencement of the majority of IPP provisions in the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 on 1 November 2024, and as an alternative to review by the Parole Board, the Secretary of State now has a power to release recalled IPP prisoners – without the need for a release decision by the Parole Board – following a process known as Risk Assessed Recall Review (RARR). The Secretary of State must apply the same test as the Parole Board and therefore, must be satisfied that it is no longer necessary for the protection of the public that they should stay in prison.
The Ministry of Justice routinely publishes data on the number of IPP prisoners and IPP offenders under probation supervision as part of its quarterly Offender Management Statistics publication. Prison figures can be found under ‘Prison Population’ in Table 1.Q.14 and community figures can be found under ‘Probation’ in Table 6.13: Offender management statistics quarterly - GOV.UK. The figures from the last five years of available data have been provided below.
Table 1. Shows the number of IPP prisoners, at end of period, September 2020 to September 2024, England and Wales.
Caseload period | Number of IPP prisoners |
30 Sep 2020 | 3,252 |
30 Sep 2021 | 3,018 |
30 Sep 2022 | 2,890 |
30 Sep 2023 | 2,921 |
30 Sep 2024 | 2,694 |
Table 2. Shows the number of offenders serving IPP sentences in the community on licence, at end of period, June 2020 to June 2024, England and Wales.
Caseload period | Number of IPP offenders in the community |
30 June 2020 | 2,993 |
30 June 2021 | 3,202 |
30 June 2022 | 3,246 |
30 June 2023 | 3,098 |
30 June 2024 | 2,958 |
Please note:
(1) Includes offenders serving a Detention for Public Protection (DPP) sentence who are defined in the data as offenders serving an IPP sentence, but were aged under 18 at the time of sentencing.
(2) The data pipeline used to compile the figures in this table has been updated. This change was introduced from June 2024. More details can be found in the 'Probation data process transition' section of Chapter 6 of the Offender Management Statistics quarterly publication, available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/offender-management-statistics-quarterly-april-to-june-2024.
The Government is committed to ensuring that implementation of the IPP Action Plan and its initiatives safely reduce the IPP population both in custody and the community, whilst still prioritising public protection.
On 1 November 2024, the Government implemented the first phase of IPP provisions in the Victims and Prisoners Act 2024, which saw licences terminated for 1,742 IPP offenders in the community. In addition to this, around 600 people will be referred to the Parole Board for consideration of licence termination on the commencement of phase two on 1 February 2025. We anticipate that these changes, once fully implemented, will reduce the number of people serving IPP sentences in the community by around two-thirds.
The Government recognises the specific challenges faced by those serving IPP sentences. We are committed to improving outcomes for individuals with mental health needs, including IPP prisoners, and recognise the importance of providing the right interventions at the right time. This is reflected in the National Partnership Agreement on Health and Social Care in England which was published in 2023, which sets out a shared priority workplan to deliver safe, decent and effective care for offenders in prison and the community. The Chief Medical Officer has agreed to the Lord Chancellor’s request to consider the IPP sentence as part of his independent review of offender health.
Health and justice partners provide an equivalent standard, range and quality of healthcare in prisons to that available in the community. If a prisoner has a severe mental health need to an extent that detention under the Mental Health Act 1983 may be appropriate, they will be referred and assessed by qualified clinicians to determine whether to transfer to a mental health hospital is warranted.
HMPPS operates a traffic light system for all never-released IPP offenders to identify those who are struggling to progress through their sentence plan, so that resources can be directed to offenders who need it most. HMPPS is rolling this system out to all IPP offenders, including those recalled to custody and those on licence in the community, in the first quarter of 2025.
Asked by: Josh Babarinde (Liberal Democrat - Eastbourne)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of providing kettles in prison on (a) prisoner and (b) staff welfare.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Vice Chamberlain (HM Household) (Whip, House of Commons)
Small travel kettles have been allowed in prisoners’ possession for many years. HM Prison & Probation Service is aware of the risk of assaults by throwing of boiling water and works constantly to mitigate and reduce these risks.
All prisons carry out regular risk assessments relating to safety and security and implement associated safe systems of work. If a specific risk is identified in relation to use of a kettle, or intelligence is received that one may be used in an assault, the kettle will be withdrawn until it is assessed that it is safe to return it.
Asked by: Chris Hinchliff (Labour - North East Hertfordshire)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will make an assessment of the potential implications for her policies of HM Inspectorate of Prisons' report entitled Separation of children in young offender institutions – review of progress, published on 1 October 2024.
Answered by Nicholas Dakin - Vice Chamberlain (HM Household) (Whip, House of Commons)
Where there is a clear risk of harm, separation is used to prevent harm to the child or young person who is being separated, or to others. Separation should be a last resort when managing behaviour, but it can be critical to reducing the risk of harm in difficult situations.
The separation of children and young people is rightly an area for scrutiny. The Youth Custody Service (YCS) has clear oversight at a national level of every child and young person who is separated, including the length of time for which they have been separated, and their access to regime. It should be noted that there are some children and young people who are subject to separation who have elected not to associate with their peers.
The increase in use of separation should be seen in the context of the change over time in the level of risk. In 2023-24, on average, 68% of children and young people were in custody for offences of violence against the person, compared with 33% in 2015-16. In Young Offender Institutions (YOIs), approximately 40% of the population are on remand, which adds to high number of new admissions and consequent instability. Unlike other parts of the Children and Young People Secure Estate, YOIs are required to accept any child or young person placed with them.
Our YOIs are working hard to reduce the use of separation and non-association, which is often necessary to manage risk and safeguarding concerns. The YCS has taken a range of actions to improve use of separation in the youth estate, including providing additional resources to ensure effective management and to improve national and local oversight. It is working hard to improve regime and time-out-of-room for all children.