Asked by: Lord Patten (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the annual number of reported assaults on (1) prisoners, and (2) prison staff, in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
The Department publishes statistics on deaths, self-harm and assaults in prison custody in England and Wales in the quarterly Safety in Custody statistics available at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/safety-in-custody-statistics. The table below shows the requested data, broken down by financial year, from 2012-13 to 2021-22:
Financial Year | Total Number of Assaults: Prisoner on Prisoner (1,2,3,4,6) | Total Number of Assaults: Prisoner on Prison Staff (1,2,3,5,6) |
2012-13 | 11,173 | 2,964 |
2013-14 | 11,651 | 3,372 |
2014-15 | 12,953 | 3,887 |
2015-16 | 16,731 | 5,409 |
2016-17 | 19,360 | 7,159 |
2017-18 | 22,374 | 9,003 |
2018-19 | 22,821 | 9,630 |
2019-20 | 20,632 | 9,020 |
2020-21 | 10,977 | 7,011 |
2021-22 | 12,773 | 7,599 |
(1) Figures include incidents at HMPPS operated Immigration Removal Centres and during contracted out escorts |
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(2) Figures do not include incidents at Medway STC. For more information on Secure Training Centres, please see Youth justice annual statistics at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/youth-justice-annual-statistics | |
(3) Figures from April 2018 onwards exclude incidents occurring within the youth estate. The youth estate includes incidents occurring within Cookham Wood, Werrington and Wetherby, as well as the youth wing at Feltham and Parc. Prior to April 2018 these figures were collected via manual returns, so it is not possible to split out all youth estate incidents up to March 2018. Figures for incidents occurring within the youth estate are published within the ‘Safety in the children and young people secure estate’ statistics bulletin via the following link - https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/announcements/safety-in-the-youth-secure-estate-bulletin | |
(4) Prisoner-on-prisoner assaults are a subset of all assault incidents |
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(5) Assaults on staff are a subset of all assault incidents |
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(6) The sum of prisoner-on-prisoner assaults and assaults on staff may not equal the total number of assaults because staff may be assaulted in a prisoner-on-prisoner assault incident and other assault incidents may involve other people, e.g. visitors |
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The Prisons Strategy White Paper set out how we will improve safety and security in our prisons. Prison staff carry out a vital role in protecting the public and we will do all we can to protect them and prisoners from violence.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how much the Government has spent on youth services in (a) Birmingham and (b) the West Midlands in each of the last 12 years.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
We currently do not hold information on the number of youth workers and youth centres in Birmingham, however we are working with the National Youth Agency to conduct the National Youth Sector Census to better understand the spread of services, and number of youth workers in different areas across the country.
As set out in section 507B of the Education Act 1996, Local Authorities have a statutory duty to ‘secure, so far as is reasonably practicable, sufficient provision of educational and recreational leisure-time activities for young people’. This is funded from the Local Government settlement, which was over £12 billion last year.
DCMS is currently reviewing the statutory duty and its associated guidance to assess the effectiveness after a call for responses from key youth stakeholders. Local authorities are required by section 507B(12) to have regard to the statutory guidance when exercising their functions in relation to the statutory duty.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham, Edgbaston)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, how many (a) youth centres and (b) youth workers there were in (i) Birmingham and (ii) the West Midlands in each of the last 12 years.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
We currently do not hold information on the number of youth workers and youth centres in Birmingham, however we are working with the National Youth Agency to conduct the National Youth Sector Census to better understand the spread of services, and number of youth workers in different areas across the country.
As set out in section 507B of the Education Act 1996, Local Authorities have a statutory duty to ‘secure, so far as is reasonably practicable, sufficient provision of educational and recreational leisure-time activities for young people’. This is funded from the Local Government settlement, which was over £12 billion last year.
DCMS is currently reviewing the statutory duty and its associated guidance to assess the effectiveness after a call for responses from key youth stakeholders. Local authorities are required by section 507B(12) to have regard to the statutory guidance when exercising their functions in relation to the statutory duty.
Asked by: Tobias Ellwood (Conservative - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of trends in the level of (a) youth crime and (b) anti-social behaviour in (i) Bournemouth East and (ii) England in the last three years; and what steps she is taking to help tackle those crimes.
Answered by Kit Malthouse
The Government is committed to tackling and preventing anti-social behaviour (ASB). We know the serious impact that persistent ASB can have on both individuals and communities.
The Government introduced a range of flexible tools and powers for local agencies, including police forces, local authorities, and landlords, to tackle anti-social behaviour through the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 (‘the 2014 Act’). Local areas decide how best to deploy these powers depending on the specific circumstances.
Home Office statutory guidance, which was updated in June 2022, supports all local agencies in using the powers from the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 and in taking the multi-agency approach that is needed to tackle and prevent anti-social behaviour in a way that takes account of the needs of the victim and the wider community.
Last year the Beating Crime Plan laid out the Government’s plan for tackling crime and ASB and committed to working with local agencies and partners to drive down ASB using the full range of powers and tools in the ‘2014 Act’.
The Home Office announced in March this year that ASB would be one of the primary crime and issue types being targeted in the fourth and fifth rounds of the Safer Streets Fund. This is a total of £150m over two rounds which aims to support local areas in preventing and tackling neighbourhood crimes, ASB and violence against women and girls.
The Levelling-up Fund (LUF), which is a total of £4.8billion, will invest in infrastructure that improves everyday life across the UK, including regenerating town centres and high streets, upgrading local transport, and investing in cultural and heritage assets. Crime and ASB forms part of the LUF prospectus, which means that local areas will be able to include reduction of crime and ASB within their bids for funding. The Minister for Crime, Policing and Probation wrote out to all Police and Crime Commissioner’s in April 2022 encouraging them to work closely with local authorities on their bids to incorporate crime and ASB reducing elements.
The ONS publish data on trends of anti-social behaviour incidents recorded by the police in England and Wales at Police Force Area (PFA) level annually and the latest figures can be found here:
Data is not held centrally at Parliamentary Constituency level.
For ten years, the Youth Endowment Fund has invested £200million in early intervention and support initiatives to support young people at risk of involvement in serious violence. Violence Reduction Units divert young people away from crime, they reached 26,000 in their second year of funding.
Trends on juvenile offenders is held by the Ministry of Justice and Youth Justice Board and statistics on young people (aged 10 to 17) receiving cautions and convictions at court are published on a quarterly basis and the latest statistics can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/criminal-justice-system-statistics-quarterly-december-2021
Asked by: Paula Barker (Labour - Liverpool, Wavertree)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department has plans to increase the funding allocated to youth services in areas of high deprivation.
Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)
Local Authorities have a statutory duty to allocate funding to youth services in line with local need. This is funded from the Local Government settlement, which was over £12 billion last year. DCMS is currently reviewing the guidance associated with the statutory duty.
The Government recognises the vital role that youth services and activities play in improving the life chances and wellbeing of young people. The Government has committed to a National Youth Guarantee: that by 2025, every young person will have access to regular clubs and activities, adventures away from home and opportunities to volunteer. This will be supported by a three year £560 million investment in youth services, reflecting young people's priorities and addressing the inconsistencies in national youth spending, with a firm focus on levelling up.
The £368 million Youth Investment Fund will fund the construction or redevelopment of up to 300 youth facilities - such as small youth facilities, youth centres and activity centres - targeting investment in left-behind areas, where young people have the greatest need and lowest provision. Phase One of the Youth Investment Fund, administered by BBC Children in Need, has delivered £12 million of funding this year to over 400 local youth organisations in levelling up priority areas in England.
Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking in response to the finding in the National Audit Office's report, Children in custody: secure training centres and secure schools, published on 28 April 2022, that unsuitable provision alongside a cohort of more serious offenders has led to decline in children’s safety and outcomes.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
We are reforming and evolving the youth estate through the development of the first Secure School as a pilot for a future model of youth custody. We acknowledge that performance of parts of the youth estate has not been good enough in recent years but we are committed to taking appropriate action to address those issues and drive up standards wherever necessary. Some areas of the current estate deliver good services.
Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to page 29 of the National Audit Office's report entitled Children in custody: secure training centres and secure schools, published on 28 April 2022, whether it remains the case that children are being transferred to Young Offender Institutions who would have previously been considered too vulnerable.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
All children, whether vulnerable or not, are placed first and foremost on the basis of their needs. Within the Young Offender Institution (YOI) sector of the Youth Secure Estate, the Keppel Unit at Wetherby YOI, and the Enhanced Support Units and Teams at Wetherby and Feltham YOIs have all been specifically developed to meet the needs of the most vulnerable and complex children placed in YOIs.
We are committed to providing children with suitable and safe accommodation. We acknowledge that performance of parts of the youth estate has not been good enough in recent years and are committed to taking appropriate action to address those issues and drive up standards wherever necessary.
Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish figures for the number of occasions on which children and young adults required medical treatment for an injury following the use of force in youth custody in each of the last 10 years.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The safety and welfare of young people held in custody is our highest priority. It is our policy that physical restraint should only be used where there is no other suitable alternative and that staff should first utilise behaviour management techniques that focus on de-escalation and diversion. When restraint is used, we are clear that must be it must always be reasonable, necessary, and proportionate in the circumstances.
Data on the use of physical restraint at secure settings in the secure youth estate is published in the Youth Justice annual statistics. Information on rates of incidents of Restrictive Physical Intervention (RPI) by gender and the numbers of injuries requiring medical treatment as a result of an RPI are included in supplementary tables 8.6 and 8.7 respectively. Whilst there has been a significant reduction in the overall number of children in custody, girls, although accounting for a smaller proportion of children, present with particularly challenging and vulnerable needs. The latest publication covers the period from 2015 to 2021, and data for years 2010 to 2015 is included in the statistics for 2014 to 2015. The series can be accessed via the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/youth-justice-statistics.
Since June 2020, the Youth Custody Service has been working on revisions to the existing restraint syllabus which is used in Young Offender Institutions and Secure Training Centres. It will be piloted followed by a wider roll-out once the pilot scheme has been evaluated.
These revisions represent a significant change for the YCS, as the focus of the new syllabus will be on the positive behaviour management of children in our care. The new syllabus seeks to enhance the ability of staff to manage and de-escalate behaviour, wherever possible, in a child centred manner and reinforce good behaviour.
Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to reduce the use of forced restraint on girls held in youth custody.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The safety and welfare of young people held in custody is our highest priority. It is our policy that physical restraint should only be used where there is no other suitable alternative and that staff should first utilise behaviour management techniques that focus on de-escalation and diversion. When restraint is used, we are clear that must be it must always be reasonable, necessary, and proportionate in the circumstances.
Data on the use of physical restraint at secure settings in the secure youth estate is published in the Youth Justice annual statistics. Information on rates of incidents of Restrictive Physical Intervention (RPI) by gender and the numbers of injuries requiring medical treatment as a result of an RPI are included in supplementary tables 8.6 and 8.7 respectively. Whilst there has been a significant reduction in the overall number of children in custody, girls, although accounting for a smaller proportion of children, present with particularly challenging and vulnerable needs. The latest publication covers the period from 2015 to 2021, and data for years 2010 to 2015 is included in the statistics for 2014 to 2015. The series can be accessed via the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/youth-justice-statistics.
Since June 2020, the Youth Custody Service has been working on revisions to the existing restraint syllabus which is used in Young Offender Institutions and Secure Training Centres. It will be piloted followed by a wider roll-out once the pilot scheme has been evaluated.
These revisions represent a significant change for the YCS, as the focus of the new syllabus will be on the positive behaviour management of children in our care. The new syllabus seeks to enhance the ability of staff to manage and de-escalate behaviour, wherever possible, in a child centred manner and reinforce good behaviour.
Asked by: Steve Reed (Labour (Co-op) - Croydon North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if his Department will publish figures on the average monthly rate of use of force incidents per 100 children and young adults in youth custody for (a) girls and (b) boys in each of the last ten years.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The safety and welfare of young people held in custody is our highest priority. It is our policy that physical restraint should only be used where there is no other suitable alternative and that staff should first utilise behaviour management techniques that focus on de-escalation and diversion. When restraint is used, we are clear that must be it must always be reasonable, necessary, and proportionate in the circumstances.
Data on the use of physical restraint at secure settings in the secure youth estate is published in the Youth Justice annual statistics. Information on rates of incidents of Restrictive Physical Intervention (RPI) by gender and the numbers of injuries requiring medical treatment as a result of an RPI are included in supplementary tables 8.6 and 8.7 respectively. Whilst there has been a significant reduction in the overall number of children in custody, girls, although accounting for a smaller proportion of children, present with particularly challenging and vulnerable needs. The latest publication covers the period from 2015 to 2021, and data for years 2010 to 2015 is included in the statistics for 2014 to 2015. The series can be accessed via the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/youth-justice-statistics.
Since June 2020, the Youth Custody Service has been working on revisions to the existing restraint syllabus which is used in Young Offender Institutions and Secure Training Centres. It will be piloted followed by a wider roll-out once the pilot scheme has been evaluated.
These revisions represent a significant change for the YCS, as the focus of the new syllabus will be on the positive behaviour management of children in our care. The new syllabus seeks to enhance the ability of staff to manage and de-escalate behaviour, wherever possible, in a child centred manner and reinforce good behaviour.