Asked by: Rachael Maskell (Labour (Co-op) - York Central)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to help ensure that people convicted of a crime in which alcohol was an aggravating factor are provided with harm reduction (a) support and (b) education as part of their sentence.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Ministry of Justice is committed to tackling the underlying causes of offending, including alcohol misuse, as it is crucial to reducing reoffending. Between 2011/12 and 2021/22, the overall proven reoffending rate has decreased from 31.3% to 25.2% and we are continuing taking action to drive down the reoffending rate even further.
In the community, we want to make the best use of alternatives to custody to ensure that offenders with substance misuse needs are diverted to treatment wherever appropriate. Offenders can be given an Alcohol Treatment Requirement (ATR) as part of a community sentence, and we are committed to increasing the use of these. The Department for Health and Social Care are investing £532m to increase drug and alcohol treatment and recovery places and we have recruited new Health and Justice Coordinators in every probation region to improve links between probation and local drug and alcohol treatment services.
We are also piloting three Intensive Supervision Courts where offenders will be subject to regular reviews with a judge, drug testing, incentives and sanctions.
In custody, we have recruited Drug Strategy Leads in key prisons to ensure a focus on tackling drug and alcohol misuse. Staying in treatment on release is crucial and so we are also rolling out more secure video calling technology, providing prisoners with the opportunity to engage with community treatment pre-release. We are also expanding the number of Incentivised Substance-Free Living Units where prisoners commit to remaining free of illicit drugs and alcohol, with regular drug testing and incentives. We now have over 60 of these wings across the estate and are aiming to reach up to 100 by March 2025. This will dramatically expand the number of prisoners who have access to these wings.
Asked by: Lord Campbell-Savours (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many men aged (1) 70–72, (2) 73–75, (3) 76–79, and (4) 80 and above, were held in prisons nationally in each year since 2010; and of those, how many in each age category were diagnosed with progressive dementia.
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
Annual data on the number of men in prison in the specified age groups are set out in the table attached. Information about prisoners diagnosed with dementia is collected by the NHS. It is not collated in the form requested and could not be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.
Health services for those in custody, including dementia support, are the responsibility of the NHS, which is required to provide services of a standard equivalent to that which is available to the general population.
HMPPS works in partnership with the NHS and Adult Social Care services to support prisoners with dementia. Examples include awareness training for staff, cognitive exercises such as reminiscence activities, and cognitive stimulation therapy. Additionally, the Ministry of Justice has published guidance on the circumstances under which applications can be made for prisoners to be considered for early release on compassionate grounds subject to specific criteria being met. This can be accessed on gov.uk or using the link provided: www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-release-on-compassionate-grounds-policy-framework.
Asked by: Mike Amesbury (Labour - Weaver Vale)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he (a) is taking and (b) plans to take to ensure that people who are released from prison have suitable accommodation.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
A settled place to live is key to reducing reoffending, cutting crime and protecting the public. Our Prisons Strategy White Paper set out our plans to reduce reoffending, including improving prison leavers’ access to accommodation.
In July 2021, we launched a new transitional accommodation service, Community Accommodation Service - Tier 3 (CAS3), providing up to 12 weeks accommodation on release with support to move to settled accommodation, for those leaving prison at risk of homelessness, in five probation regions. The service is now operating in all 12 probation regions, and new places continue to be added as it develops. From the commencement of the service on 1 July 2021 up to 31 March 2023, a total of 5,796 people were placed in CAS3 accommodation.
We are working closely with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, through its Accommodation for Ex-Offenders scheme (AfEO), to build a pathway from prison, ensuring prison leavers can move-on into settled accommodation. We have also increased the number of Strategic Housing Specialists across England and Wales to 48 FTE and have embedded the Homelessness Prevention Teams within Probation regions to strengthen strategic relationships between prisons, probation and local authorities and build accommodation pathways.
Asked by: Matthew Offord (Conservative - Hendon)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make it his policy to ensure that serious sexual offenders are not allowed day release when serving their sentence.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Prison Rules in England and Wales provide that a prisoner may be allowed to leave prison for short periods on temporary licence (ROTL). The main purpose of ROTL is to aid resettlement and suitable, risk assessed prisoners may be allowed out during the day to, for example, work, attend college, attend an interview or maintain/re-establish links with their family. They are also, once at the required stage of their sentence, allowed to apply for temporary release overnight for a maximum of four consecutive nights a month.
Eligibility for temporary release is not restricted by seriousness of offence. The decision to allow temporary release is taken by the prison governor, on behalf of the Secretary of State, who must always balance the needs of the prisoner and the purpose of the ROTL applied for, against the need to maintain public safety and the public’s confidence in the criminal justice system. Each decision is taken on a case-by-case basis to safeguard the public. Any breaches can result in more time behind bars.
Category A prisoners, remand prisoners, and prisoners subject to extradition proceedings are not eligible for ROTL under any circumstances.
Asked by: Lord Woodley (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Bellamy on 30 January (HL1617), how many prisoners serving an imprisonment for public protection sentence (1) took their own life, or (2) died from other causes, in 2023 while on non-medical release on temporary license.
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
In 2023, no prisoners serving an imprisonment for public protection (IPP) sentence took their own life or died from other causes while on non-medical release on temporary license.
Asked by: Baroness Hamwee (Liberal Democrat - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to raise awareness of the benefits to business of employing prison-leavers and to support businesses to do so.
Answered by Lord Bellamy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Justice)
We remain committed in increasing the number of prison leavers securing employment on release. The proportion of prison leavers who were employed six months after release more than doubled in the two years to March 2023, from 14% to over 30%. Meanwhile, the proportion who were in employment six weeks after their release almost doubled in the same period, from 9.8% to 19.4%
We know that supporting businesses and raising awareness around the benefits of employing prison leavers are integral in continuing this upward trend.
New Futures Network is the prison service’s specialist employment team that supports businesses to fill skills gaps and prisoners to find employment on release. They use a dedicated website and social media pages to inform the public, including employers, about the opportunities to recruit from prisons. New Futures Network brokers three main types of partnership between prisons and employers:
To increase awareness across sectors facing labour market shortages, in October 2022 New Futures Network began running a series of ‘Unlocking Potential’ recruitment drives in prisons. The most recent event in October 2023, Unlocking Hospitality, saw around 65 events held across 40 sites, attended by 40 employers and 885 prisoners. This resulted in 184 interviews and 45 job offers to date.
We also know that employers want to hear from other employers when talking about the benefits of employing prison leavers. Employment Advisory Boards bring together experienced professionals across the private and third sectors and have been established across 93 prisons. Chaired by business leaders, these are a forum to collaborate with leadership teams within prisons, to support them in creating a positive culture of employment.
Similarly, we continue to work with the Employers Forum for Reducing Re-offending (EFFRR), an HMPPS-led group currently chaired by Greggs. This is a collective of local and national employers that provide training and employment opportunities for ex-offenders, including Greene King, Timpson, Marks & Spencer, Willmott Dixon and many more.
New Futures Network have also partnered with the Department for Education to raise awareness by featuring an employing prison leavers item on their business webpages: Find training and employment schemes for your business (education.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 his Department is taking to encourage newly released prisoners into employment.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Getting more prison leavers into employment is crucial to this government’s mission to cut crime and make our streets safer by reducing reoffending. We know that employment reduces the chance of reoffending significantly, by up to nine percentage points. That is why I am pleased to say that, in England and Wales, the proportion of prison leavers who were employed six months after their release almost doubled from 14% in April 2021 to over 30% in March 2023.
In England and Wales, we have completed recruitment of dedicated Prison Employment Leads, who get prisoners work ready and match them to jobs on release. They work with key partners in the prison including DWP, probation, education and Information Advice and Guidance providers to ensure joined-up working. In custody and in the community, HMPPS Creating Future Opportunities (CFO) provides tailored resettlement services in England, focusing on supporting those furthest from the labour market.
The Government will continue to progress this work to help businesses fill the nearly one million vacancies in the UK, while also cutting crime and reducing reoffending.
Prisons and Probation services are devolved in Northern Ireland, and employment support is a transferred matter and the responsibility of the Department for Communities.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether the end of custody supervised licence is in operation as of 30 January 2024.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
As announced in Parliament on 16 October, the End of Custody Supervised Licence is currently in operation. Its use is targeted, and we continue to monitor its use.
Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 10 November 2023 to Question 1357 on Prisoners' Release, if he will publish data in the prison releases quarterly publication on the number of releases under the End of Custody Supervised Licence scheme.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The number of releases under the End of Custody Supervised Licence scheme (s248) will be published in due course when sufficient robust and comprehensive data is available. To support orderly release, its publication will be announced through the gov.uk release calendar.
Asked by: John Hayes (Conservative - South Holland and The Deepings)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people serving prison sentences in England and Wales as of January 29 2024 were born outside of the United Kingdom.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
Data on the nationality of prisoners serving sentences in England and Wales are published in the Offender Management Statistics Quarterly, which is available online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/offender-management-statistics-quarterly.
As the data requested in relation to the place of birth of prisoners in custody on 29 January 2024 relates to nationality data for future publication, we cannot release it at this time.
The removal of Foreign National Offenders (FNO) is a Government priority and we removed 16,676 FNO between January 2019 and September 2023. Published figures show that FNO returns have increased in the latest 12-month period (ending September 2023) by 19% when compared to previous 12-month period (3,577 compared to 3,011).
We have recently announced measures to further increase removals including the extension of the Early Removal Scheme window to 18 months; working closely with Home Office to facilitate timely removals and using diplomatic pressure to conclude bilateral Prison Transfer Agreements with specific countries.