Asked by: Baroness Burt of Solihull (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made in increasing access to electronic monitoring for the release of prisoners subject to Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentences, further to the Joint IPP Action Plan published by Her Majesty's Prison and Probation Service and Parole Board in June 2019.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
The IPP Action Plan is regularly reviewed to ensure that it is responsive to the needs of those serving IPP sentences, whether in prison or in the community. A large number of IPP prisoners have been released each year since the IPP Action Plan was first introduced in 2016, and the Plan will be refreshed, reviewed and republished after careful consideration of the forthcoming Justice Select Committee’s Report and recommendations.
The Public Protection Casework Section in HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) HQ has implemented active case management, which is directed towards ensuring that probation and prison staff comply with directions from Parole Board Panels in a timely fashion.
Best practice ideals, based on an initiative that started in prisons in the East of England Region, were developed and rolled out for use in a number of prisons prior to the pandemic. The roll out was then unavoidably disrupted by the exceptional delivery models which had to be implemented on the grounds of public health. Progress of the best practice ideals will be reviewed as part of the wider action plan following consideration of the Justice Select Committee’s report and recommendations.
Offenders subject to IPP sentences are eligible for electronic monitoring following release on licence, where considered necessary and proportionate by the Parole Board. The additional investment of £183m in the expansion of electronic monitoring will also increase the availability of electronic monitoring for IPP offenders. Those whose risk is linked to alcohol are eligible for alcohol monitoring on licence, which was introduced in Wales in November and will be rolled out to England this summer. IPP releases will also be eligible for a project targeting high-risk domestic abuse perpetrators, where they will have their whereabouts monitored using GPS tags to protect victims, and potential future victims, from further trauma. The project will begin in 2023 and we expect to tag around 3,500 offenders.
HM Prison and Probation Service has developed a dataset and data dashboard, which is shared on a quarterly basis with Probation Regions and Prison Groups to support them in their efforts to monitor and manage their IPP populations, both in prisons and the community. The dashboard is still evolving and kept under review, as we identify new ways to capture additional key management information and present it in such a way as to be the most helpful to the operational line.
The following table shows the number of progression panels (lifers and IPPs) that have taken place in each Probation region by year since June 2019*: During the COVID-19 pandemic, and in accordance with measures mandated in the interests of public health, HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) implemented exceptional delivery models which inevitably had some impact on all operational work.
Probation Region | The number of progression panels held (Lifers and IPPs) | ||||
01/06/2019 to 31/12/2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 01/01/2022 to 22/03/2022 | Total | |
East Midlands Region | 114 | 466 | 241 | 23 | 844 |
East of England | 224 | 715 | 554 | 107 | 1,600 |
Greater Manchester | 294 | 472 | 291 | 36 | 1,093 |
Kent Surrey Sussex Region | 129 | 529 | 426 | 79 | 1,163 |
London | 236 | 551 | 629 | 134 | 1,550 |
National Security Division | - | * | 4 | * | 9 |
North East Region | 117 | 423 | 196 | 33 | 769 |
North West Region | 298 | 710 | 447 | 85 | 1,540 |
South Central | 156 | 271 | 328 | 79 | 834 |
South West | 111 | 469 | 197 | 137 | 914 |
Wales | 174 | 197 | 150 | 16 | 537 |
West Midlands Region | 304 | 868 | 522 | 126 | 1,820 |
Yorkshire and The Humber | 170 | 635 | 422 | 72 | 1,299 |
Unknown Region | 3 | * | - | * | 16 |
Total | 2,330 | 6,322 | 4,407 | 929 | 13,988 |
*Notes:
1. Panels without a recorded outcome (from the point that an outcome was required to be recorded) were assumed to not have taken place.
2. Due to probation restructures in 2020 and 2021, a small number of panels could not be assigned to a region. These are recorded as 'Unknown Region'.
3. Disclosure control. An asterisk (*) has been used to suppress values of one or two. This is to prevent the disclosure of individual information. Further disclosure control may be completed where this alone is not sufficient.
4. Data sources and quality. The figures in these tables have been drawn from the Probation Case Management System, National Delius administrative, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
Asked by: Baroness Burt of Solihull (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made in establishing (1) an estate-wide set of non-mandatory best practice standards in prisons in England and Wales, and (2) best practice probation standards, further to the Joint IPP Action Plan published by Her Majesty's Prison and Probation Service and Parole Board in June 2019.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
The IPP Action Plan is regularly reviewed to ensure that it is responsive to the needs of those serving IPP sentences, whether in prison or in the community. A large number of IPP prisoners have been released each year since the IPP Action Plan was first introduced in 2016, and the Plan will be refreshed, reviewed and republished after careful consideration of the forthcoming Justice Select Committee’s Report and recommendations.
The Public Protection Casework Section in HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) HQ has implemented active case management, which is directed towards ensuring that probation and prison staff comply with directions from Parole Board Panels in a timely fashion.
Best practice ideals, based on an initiative that started in prisons in the East of England Region, were developed and rolled out for use in a number of prisons prior to the pandemic. The roll out was then unavoidably disrupted by the exceptional delivery models which had to be implemented on the grounds of public health. Progress of the best practice ideals will be reviewed as part of the wider action plan following consideration of the Justice Select Committee’s report and recommendations.
Offenders subject to IPP sentences are eligible for electronic monitoring following release on licence, where considered necessary and proportionate by the Parole Board. The additional investment of £183m in the expansion of electronic monitoring will also increase the availability of electronic monitoring for IPP offenders. Those whose risk is linked to alcohol are eligible for alcohol monitoring on licence, which was introduced in Wales in November and will be rolled out to England this summer. IPP releases will also be eligible for a project targeting high-risk domestic abuse perpetrators, where they will have their whereabouts monitored using GPS tags to protect victims, and potential future victims, from further trauma. The project will begin in 2023 and we expect to tag around 3,500 offenders.
HM Prison and Probation Service has developed a dataset and data dashboard, which is shared on a quarterly basis with Probation Regions and Prison Groups to support them in their efforts to monitor and manage their IPP populations, both in prisons and the community. The dashboard is still evolving and kept under review, as we identify new ways to capture additional key management information and present it in such a way as to be the most helpful to the operational line.
The following table shows the number of progression panels (lifers and IPPs) that have taken place in each Probation region by year since June 2019*: During the COVID-19 pandemic, and in accordance with measures mandated in the interests of public health, HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) implemented exceptional delivery models which inevitably had some impact on all operational work.
Probation Region | The number of progression panels held (Lifers and IPPs) | ||||
01/06/2019 to 31/12/2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 01/01/2022 to 22/03/2022 | Total | |
East Midlands Region | 114 | 466 | 241 | 23 | 844 |
East of England | 224 | 715 | 554 | 107 | 1,600 |
Greater Manchester | 294 | 472 | 291 | 36 | 1,093 |
Kent Surrey Sussex Region | 129 | 529 | 426 | 79 | 1,163 |
London | 236 | 551 | 629 | 134 | 1,550 |
National Security Division | - | * | 4 | * | 9 |
North East Region | 117 | 423 | 196 | 33 | 769 |
North West Region | 298 | 710 | 447 | 85 | 1,540 |
South Central | 156 | 271 | 328 | 79 | 834 |
South West | 111 | 469 | 197 | 137 | 914 |
Wales | 174 | 197 | 150 | 16 | 537 |
West Midlands Region | 304 | 868 | 522 | 126 | 1,820 |
Yorkshire and The Humber | 170 | 635 | 422 | 72 | 1,299 |
Unknown Region | 3 | * | - | * | 16 |
Total | 2,330 | 6,322 | 4,407 | 929 | 13,988 |
*Notes:
1. Panels without a recorded outcome (from the point that an outcome was required to be recorded) were assumed to not have taken place.
2. Due to probation restructures in 2020 and 2021, a small number of panels could not be assigned to a region. These are recorded as 'Unknown Region'.
3. Disclosure control. An asterisk (*) has been used to suppress values of one or two. This is to prevent the disclosure of individual information. Further disclosure control may be completed where this alone is not sufficient.
4. Data sources and quality. The figures in these tables have been drawn from the Probation Case Management System, National Delius administrative, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
Asked by: Baroness Burt of Solihull (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to publish the East of England developed standards for working with prisoners subject to Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) sentences that are referenced in the Joint IPP Action Plan published by Her Majesty's Prison and Probation Service and Parole Board in June 2019.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
The IPP Action Plan is regularly reviewed to ensure that it is responsive to the needs of those serving IPP sentences, whether in prison or in the community. A large number of IPP prisoners have been released each year since the IPP Action Plan was first introduced in 2016, and the Plan will be refreshed, reviewed and republished after careful consideration of the forthcoming Justice Select Committee’s Report and recommendations.
The Public Protection Casework Section in HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) HQ has implemented active case management, which is directed towards ensuring that probation and prison staff comply with directions from Parole Board Panels in a timely fashion.
Best practice ideals, based on an initiative that started in prisons in the East of England Region, were developed and rolled out for use in a number of prisons prior to the pandemic. The roll out was then unavoidably disrupted by the exceptional delivery models which had to be implemented on the grounds of public health. Progress of the best practice ideals will be reviewed as part of the wider action plan following consideration of the Justice Select Committee’s report and recommendations.
Offenders subject to IPP sentences are eligible for electronic monitoring following release on licence, where considered necessary and proportionate by the Parole Board. The additional investment of £183m in the expansion of electronic monitoring will also increase the availability of electronic monitoring for IPP offenders. Those whose risk is linked to alcohol are eligible for alcohol monitoring on licence, which was introduced in Wales in November and will be rolled out to England this summer. IPP releases will also be eligible for a project targeting high-risk domestic abuse perpetrators, where they will have their whereabouts monitored using GPS tags to protect victims, and potential future victims, from further trauma. The project will begin in 2023 and we expect to tag around 3,500 offenders.
HM Prison and Probation Service has developed a dataset and data dashboard, which is shared on a quarterly basis with Probation Regions and Prison Groups to support them in their efforts to monitor and manage their IPP populations, both in prisons and the community. The dashboard is still evolving and kept under review, as we identify new ways to capture additional key management information and present it in such a way as to be the most helpful to the operational line.
The following table shows the number of progression panels (lifers and IPPs) that have taken place in each Probation region by year since June 2019*: During the COVID-19 pandemic, and in accordance with measures mandated in the interests of public health, HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) implemented exceptional delivery models which inevitably had some impact on all operational work.
Probation Region | The number of progression panels held (Lifers and IPPs) | ||||
01/06/2019 to 31/12/2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 01/01/2022 to 22/03/2022 | Total | |
East Midlands Region | 114 | 466 | 241 | 23 | 844 |
East of England | 224 | 715 | 554 | 107 | 1,600 |
Greater Manchester | 294 | 472 | 291 | 36 | 1,093 |
Kent Surrey Sussex Region | 129 | 529 | 426 | 79 | 1,163 |
London | 236 | 551 | 629 | 134 | 1,550 |
National Security Division | - | * | 4 | * | 9 |
North East Region | 117 | 423 | 196 | 33 | 769 |
North West Region | 298 | 710 | 447 | 85 | 1,540 |
South Central | 156 | 271 | 328 | 79 | 834 |
South West | 111 | 469 | 197 | 137 | 914 |
Wales | 174 | 197 | 150 | 16 | 537 |
West Midlands Region | 304 | 868 | 522 | 126 | 1,820 |
Yorkshire and The Humber | 170 | 635 | 422 | 72 | 1,299 |
Unknown Region | 3 | * | - | * | 16 |
Total | 2,330 | 6,322 | 4,407 | 929 | 13,988 |
*Notes:
1. Panels without a recorded outcome (from the point that an outcome was required to be recorded) were assumed to not have taken place.
2. Due to probation restructures in 2020 and 2021, a small number of panels could not be assigned to a region. These are recorded as 'Unknown Region'.
3. Disclosure control. An asterisk (*) has been used to suppress values of one or two. This is to prevent the disclosure of individual information. Further disclosure control may be completed where this alone is not sufficient.
4. Data sources and quality. The figures in these tables have been drawn from the Probation Case Management System, National Delius administrative, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
Asked by: Baroness Burt of Solihull (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made in establishing an active case management approach in public protection casework, further to the Joint IPP Action Plan published by Her Majesty's Prison and Probation Service and the Parole Board in June 2019.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
The IPP Action Plan is regularly reviewed to ensure that it is responsive to the needs of those serving IPP sentences, whether in prison or in the community. A large number of IPP prisoners have been released each year since the IPP Action Plan was first introduced in 2016, and the Plan will be refreshed, reviewed and republished after careful consideration of the forthcoming Justice Select Committee’s Report and recommendations.
The Public Protection Casework Section in HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) HQ has implemented active case management, which is directed towards ensuring that probation and prison staff comply with directions from Parole Board Panels in a timely fashion.
Best practice ideals, based on an initiative that started in prisons in the East of England Region, were developed and rolled out for use in a number of prisons prior to the pandemic. The roll out was then unavoidably disrupted by the exceptional delivery models which had to be implemented on the grounds of public health. Progress of the best practice ideals will be reviewed as part of the wider action plan following consideration of the Justice Select Committee’s report and recommendations.
Offenders subject to IPP sentences are eligible for electronic monitoring following release on licence, where considered necessary and proportionate by the Parole Board. The additional investment of £183m in the expansion of electronic monitoring will also increase the availability of electronic monitoring for IPP offenders. Those whose risk is linked to alcohol are eligible for alcohol monitoring on licence, which was introduced in Wales in November and will be rolled out to England this summer. IPP releases will also be eligible for a project targeting high-risk domestic abuse perpetrators, where they will have their whereabouts monitored using GPS tags to protect victims, and potential future victims, from further trauma. The project will begin in 2023 and we expect to tag around 3,500 offenders.
HM Prison and Probation Service has developed a dataset and data dashboard, which is shared on a quarterly basis with Probation Regions and Prison Groups to support them in their efforts to monitor and manage their IPP populations, both in prisons and the community. The dashboard is still evolving and kept under review, as we identify new ways to capture additional key management information and present it in such a way as to be the most helpful to the operational line.
The following table shows the number of progression panels (lifers and IPPs) that have taken place in each Probation region by year since June 2019*: During the COVID-19 pandemic, and in accordance with measures mandated in the interests of public health, HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) implemented exceptional delivery models which inevitably had some impact on all operational work.
Probation Region | The number of progression panels held (Lifers and IPPs) | ||||
01/06/2019 to 31/12/2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 01/01/2022 to 22/03/2022 | Total | |
East Midlands Region | 114 | 466 | 241 | 23 | 844 |
East of England | 224 | 715 | 554 | 107 | 1,600 |
Greater Manchester | 294 | 472 | 291 | 36 | 1,093 |
Kent Surrey Sussex Region | 129 | 529 | 426 | 79 | 1,163 |
London | 236 | 551 | 629 | 134 | 1,550 |
National Security Division | - | * | 4 | * | 9 |
North East Region | 117 | 423 | 196 | 33 | 769 |
North West Region | 298 | 710 | 447 | 85 | 1,540 |
South Central | 156 | 271 | 328 | 79 | 834 |
South West | 111 | 469 | 197 | 137 | 914 |
Wales | 174 | 197 | 150 | 16 | 537 |
West Midlands Region | 304 | 868 | 522 | 126 | 1,820 |
Yorkshire and The Humber | 170 | 635 | 422 | 72 | 1,299 |
Unknown Region | 3 | * | - | * | 16 |
Total | 2,330 | 6,322 | 4,407 | 929 | 13,988 |
*Notes:
1. Panels without a recorded outcome (from the point that an outcome was required to be recorded) were assumed to not have taken place.
2. Due to probation restructures in 2020 and 2021, a small number of panels could not be assigned to a region. These are recorded as 'Unknown Region'.
3. Disclosure control. An asterisk (*) has been used to suppress values of one or two. This is to prevent the disclosure of individual information. Further disclosure control may be completed where this alone is not sufficient.
4. Data sources and quality. The figures in these tables have been drawn from the Probation Case Management System, National Delius administrative, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
Asked by: Lord Faulkner of Worcester (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many disabled people are (1) in prison, and (2) on probation, in England and Wales broken down by type of disability.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
Self-declared information on disability is held on national databases, however, it is of mixed quality and not suitable for publication. Obtaining reliable information would require matching against local records and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Prison and Probation Services in England and Wales must adhere to the Equality Act 2010, including the duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled persons. Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) works to respond to the individual needs of all prisoners and those on probation. We have developed a national, consistent approach to all prisoners and people on probation with care and support needs.
The National Disability Strategy published by the Government in July 2021 sets out a number of commitments for the Ministry of Justice, including improving the knowledge of front-line staff on neurodiversity. Steps are taken to ensure that prisoners and those in the community are able to progress with their sentence plans and rehabilitate and that reasonable adjustments are provided.
The use of a Diversity Information Form (DIF) is mandated at court for those for whom the probation service is preparing a pre-sentence report. This includes the collation of data on disability status and type of disability, which is also used to inform the pre-sentence report. The form has recently been revised and reissued with guidance to incorporate a wider range of disabilities. However, this data is self-reported, and there can be some reluctance on the part of disabled people to share this information, for understandable reasons.
All prisoners’ needs are assessed when they enter custody and arrangements are made locally to ensure they are met. In the case of disabled people arrangements may include Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans (PEEPs), access to necessary services or equipment to aid their wellbeing, social interactions and rehabilitation.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to Dame Carol Black’s Review of drugs part two: prevention, treatment, and recovery, published on 8 July 2021, what discussions he is having with the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on improving the consistency and level of resourcing for Jobcentre Plus staff to enable prisoners to start the benefit claim process before release.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
Combating illegal drug misuse is a top priority for this Government. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is working closely with key departments across government to tackle the misuse of drugs, including reducing drug supply and demand and improving treatment and recovery for offenders with substance misuse needs. We welcome Part 2 of Dame Carol Black’s Independent Review of Drugs and the Government will shortly be publishing an initial response to the report, including on those recommendations made to the MoJ.
There are a number of areas where work is ongoing to address drug misuse in the criminal justice system. In January 2021, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) received £80m additional funding for drug treatment in 2021/22. This will be used to enhance drug treatment and the numbers of treatment places available, including places for those leaving prison, to reduce drug-related crime.
This funding will support us to increase the use of Drug Rehabilitation Requirement (DRR) or Alcohol Treatment Requirement (ATR) under the Community Sentence Treatment Requirement (CSTR) programme; officials from Public Health England (PHE) are working to recruit criminal justice substance misuse practitioners to individual local authorities, with implementation plans being monitored on a quarterly basis.
The MoJ, Her Majesty Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS), DHSC and NHSE/I are also working to promote and support the use of existing CSTRs in every area and to maximize the use of these additional funds provided for substance misuse services dedicated to the criminal justice system.
Activities are also underway to ensure the Probation Service align their services with the recently announced treatment funding to support criminal justice pathways. For example, HMPPS has introduced Health and Justice Coordinators across five areas in England and Wales, with a further five to be introduced next year, to test how these roles can enhance the connection between mental health and substance misuse commissioners and providers with the aim of improving continuity of care for those leaving prison. The Health and Justice Coordinator role will be evaluated as part of the wider Accelerator Prison Pilot, which will be subject to both impact and process evaluations.
This work is supported by HMPPS’ National Drug Strategy, which was published in 2019 and focuses on restricting supply, reducing demand and improving treatment. The strategy is being refreshed to address issues around continuity of drug treatment for prison leavers in the community. We are considering the workforce needs of supporting prisons out of recovery and as part of our prison reforms, including how we support access to a full range of health and social care services.
Furthermore, offenders are routinely supported in custody to prepare for release. Firstly, MoJ and DWP officials meet regularly at national and local level, and within the framework of the National Partnership Agreement, to plan how the departments can work together to support prisoners. This includes support with benefit claims in the crucial period leading to release and through the gate. Secondly, as part of the Government’s Covid-19 response, DWP established a bespoke phone service to help prison leavers make a Universal Credit (UC) claim on or after the day of release whilst restrictions prevented Prison Work Coaches providing the usual support with this. This service has now been adopted permanently by DWP to assist prison leavers to make a claim for UC quickly on release, where they are unable to make a claim online.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made towards the restoration of the probation service in England and Wales to public ownership and control.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
We are on track to launch a new unified Probation Service for England and Wales on 26 June this year. The new Service will bring together staff from the previous National Probation Service (NPS) and 21 Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) and will strengthen public protection by bringing together management of offenders of all levels of risk into one organisation.
The new unified service will strengthen rehabilitation by delivering unpaid work and behavioural change programmes in England and Wales. Specialist organisations will continue to play a role in the probation system, delivering resettlement and rehabilitative services such as education, training and employment and accommodation and other rehabilitative interventions. 110 contracts are now in place for these commissioned services. We are also in the final stages of the estates and digital transfers needed to support transition.
Once we have completed transition to the new organisation, we will begin implementing the new operating model for the unified service. We have already recruited a record 1,000 new trainee probation officers in 2020/21 and plan to recruit a further 1,500 in this financial year.
Our progress in delivering these crucial reforms will ensure a joined up and improved Probation Service to cut crime and reduce reoffending, meet the needs of our communities, offer more support in rehabilitating offenders and protect the public from crime.
Asked by: Lord Hylton (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many (1) prison staff, and (2) prisoners, have received their (a) first, and (b) second, COVID-19 vaccinations; and what progress they have made in restoring family visits to prisoners.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
The total number of staff in Public Sector and Youth Custody Prisons who have declared that they have received their first COVID-19 vaccination, as at midday 21 May 2021, was 10,612. The total number of staff in Public Sector and Youth Custody Prisons who have declared that they have received their second COVID-19 vaccination, as at midday 21 May 2021, was 2,508.
For prisoners in England as at the end of 14 May 2021, the total number who had received their first COVID-19 vaccination was 25,655. The total number of prisoners of all ages who had received their second COVID-19 vaccination was 8,485.
Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service strongly encourages all staff and prisoners who are offered the Covid-19 vaccine, to take it. We ask employees to let us know when they have had each dose of the Covid-19 vaccine by recording their vaccine status on our HR system. As the disclosure of their vaccine status is entirely voluntary, it means the self-declaration rates presented below will be lower than the actual number of staff who have been vaccinated. However, the data collected to date is still valuable in understanding staff vaccination take up and coverage.
We are acutely aware of the impact of the restrictions on family visits, and we have had to make some difficult decisions to protect both prisoners and staff. As of 20 May, 107 establishments have commenced delivery of Stage 3 of the National Framework for Prisons which allows for the delivery of social visits with social distancing and face coverings. We are also working with Public Health England and Public Health Wales to look at how we can take safe and incremental steps to improve the experience of such visits. As part of this work we are piloting lateral flow testing for visitors.
Asked by: Conor McGinn (Independent - St Helens North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to increase the number of Probation Service user contact centres in (a) Liverpool City Region, (b) the North West and (c) England.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
Public Protection remains the number one priority in the probation system. With this in mind we continue to manage our high risk and complex cases face to face, as far as possible. Last summer, the Probation Roadmap to Recovery was published, which has since been revised to align with the Prime Minister’s National Roadmap. It sets out the aims for delivery in the coming weeks and months and outlines when we will lift national pauses, rather than mandate when services will be re-introduced.
A four-year estates strategy will see £131m of funding allocated to the refurbishment of existing sites and creation of 65 new sites across England and Wales. As part of the Probation Reform Programme 191 sites which are currently used by Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) will be transferred to the National Probation Service.
As part of the Probation Reform Programme, the estates strategy for Liverpool City region and the North West has been reviewed. The probation contact centre in St Helens closed in March 2021 as a result of the Probation Reform Programme estates strategy review. Staff and supervised individuals subsequently moved to Probation contact centres in Knowsley and Prescot. Changes to the estate have not affected the existing partnerships arrangements that are in place between the National Probation Service and key stakeholders/partners in St Helens. Currently there are no plans to increase the number of Probation contact centres in the region, however, we continue to source local premises for specific needs as required.
Funding for the Probation regions for 2021/22 is yet to be finalised. Given the changes to the nature and scope of Probation Service provision since 2010 it is not possible to provide meaningful figures covering the period requested without incurring disproportionate costs.
Data on the number of service users from 2014 to 2019 is provided on the attached table. It is not possible to provide probation caseload figures for the Liverpool City region specifically prior to 2014 as this would involve re-extracting data which would now be incomplete due to deletions in line with Data Protection Act rules applied on the recording system at the time; the cost of undertaking this exercise would therefore be disproportionate.
The number of offenders supervised by each National Probation Service region, division and CRC is regularly published as part of the Offender Management Quarterly series of statistics and can be found via the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/offender-management-statistics-quarterly
Asked by: Conor McGinn (Independent - St Helens North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what funding his Department has allocated to maintain probation services for each National Probation Service region from April 2021 onwards.
Answered by Alex Chalk - Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice
Public Protection remains the number one priority in the probation system. With this in mind we continue to manage our high risk and complex cases face to face, as far as possible. Last summer, the Probation Roadmap to Recovery was published, which has since been revised to align with the Prime Minister’s National Roadmap. It sets out the aims for delivery in the coming weeks and months and outlines when we will lift national pauses, rather than mandate when services will be re-introduced.
A four-year estates strategy will see £131m of funding allocated to the refurbishment of existing sites and creation of 65 new sites across England and Wales. As part of the Probation Reform Programme 191 sites which are currently used by Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) will be transferred to the National Probation Service.
As part of the Probation Reform Programme, the estates strategy for Liverpool City region and the North West has been reviewed. The probation contact centre in St Helens closed in March 2021 as a result of the Probation Reform Programme estates strategy review. Staff and supervised individuals subsequently moved to Probation contact centres in Knowsley and Prescot. Changes to the estate have not affected the existing partnerships arrangements that are in place between the National Probation Service and key stakeholders/partners in St Helens. Currently there are no plans to increase the number of Probation contact centres in the region, however, we continue to source local premises for specific needs as required.
Funding for the Probation regions for 2021/22 is yet to be finalised. Given the changes to the nature and scope of Probation Service provision since 2010 it is not possible to provide meaningful figures covering the period requested without incurring disproportionate costs.
Data on the number of service users from 2014 to 2019 is provided on the attached table. It is not possible to provide probation caseload figures for the Liverpool City region specifically prior to 2014 as this would involve re-extracting data which would now be incomplete due to deletions in line with Data Protection Act rules applied on the recording system at the time; the cost of undertaking this exercise would therefore be disproportionate.
The number of offenders supervised by each National Probation Service region, division and CRC is regularly published as part of the Offender Management Quarterly series of statistics and can be found via the following link:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/offender-management-statistics-quarterly