Asked by: Feryal Clark (Labour - Enfield North)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent steps his Department has taken to ensure the safety of women in prison.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The safety of those who live and work in our prisons is our top priority. We have established a Women’s Estate Self-Harm taskforce which is co-ordinating longer-term work to address the factors driving self-harm
Our Offender Management in Custody (OMiC) model is transforming how we support prisoners and significant investments have been made to improve safety and deliver key work. In April 2021 we began implementing a gender specific Offender Management in Custody (OMiC) model in the women’s estate.
The Challenge, Intervention and Support Plan (CSIP) is also in place for the effective case-management of those prisoners who are at a raised risk of violence towards others. While the newly revised version of the Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork (ACCT) framework includes a stronger person-centred approach and improved focus on risks, triggers, and protective factors.
Asked by: Carolyn Harris (Labour - Swansea East)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many women known to be pregnant from July 2020 to March 2021, as reported in the HMPPS Annual Digest 2020/21, were under Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork (ACCT) monitoring for risks of self-harm and/or suicide.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
The specific information requested is not collected centrally, and therefore could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
On 20 September the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) published a new policy on pregnancy, Mother and Baby Units and maternal separation from children up to the age of two in women’s prisons, which contains a range of reforms for improving the care of pregnant women. The policy requires increased both local and central data collection on self-declared pregnant women in our care, to ensure individuals are receiving the relevant support and to ensure policy is more informed.
We publish some of this data in the HMPPS Annual Digest of statistical information. We published the first of these on 29 July 2021, which showed that during the period July 2020-April 2021 an average of 26 women self-declared as pregnant each week. Data on how many of these women were subject to Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork (ACCT) or self-declared as pregnant on first reception into custody is not centrally collected, however this data is reviewed locally.
This is a dynamic area of policy and we will continue to consider our central collection as it develops.
Asked by: Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure the safety of women in prison.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
Safety of prisoners in our custody is a key priority. We have established a Women’s Estate Self-Harm taskforce which is co-ordinating longer-term work to address the factors driving self-harm.
Our Offender Management in Custody (OMiC) model is transforming how we support prisoners and significant investments have been made to recruit an additional 2,500 prison officers to improve safety and deliver key work. In April 2021 we began implementing a gender specific OMiC model in the women’s estate.
The Challenge, Intervention and Support Plan (CSIP) is also in place for the effective case management of those prisoners who are at a raised risk of violence towards other prisoners. While the newly revised version of the Assessment, Care in Custody and Teamwork (ACCT) framework includes a stronger person-centred approach and improved focus on risks, triggers, and protective factors.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Annual Report of the Independent Monitoring Board at HMP / YOI Downview, published on 29 September 2021, page 11, if he will make an assessment on the impact on the (a) accuracy and (b) comparability over time of self-harm in custody incident statistics of the decision to remove incidents of noose-making from the noose: ligature-making category.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Self-harm in prison custody is defined as “any act where a prisoner deliberately harms themselves, irrespective of method, intent or severity of any injury”.
Our assessment of the impact on the self-harm statistics was set out in the Safety in Custody statistical bulletin published in January 2021, available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/safety-in-custody-quarterly-update-to-september-2020/safety-in-custody-statistics-england-and-wales-deaths-in-prison-custody-to-december-2020-assaults-and-self-harm-to-september-2020. There has been a reduction of less than 2% in the number of incidents where ‘noose: ligature making’ has been reported.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar on 21 July (HL1789), how many pregnancies have been reported in the male prison estate in each of the last five years; and whether they will provide a breakdown of the outcomes of any such pregnancies.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
Sex between prisoners is not permitted. Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service ensure the safety of all prisoners by managing prisoners on a case-by-case basis and consider any relevant risks (including risks to, or from, the prisoner, as well as the risk of self-harm).
The NHS England and NHS Improvement constitution mandates that all healthcare delivered within prisons must be equivalent to healthcare delivered in the community and the fact that a patient is a prisoner should not impair their access to any healthcare they require.
All secure and detained settings therefore ensure that prisoners have access to appropriate contraceptives, which are prescribed or made available as necessary. This applies to both the men’s and women’s estate and includes all prisoners .
There have been no recorded incidents of prisoners becoming pregnant in the male prison estate.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar on 21 July (HL1789), whether biologically female transgender prisoners in the male prison estate have access to contraceptive devices.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
Sex between prisoners is not permitted. Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service ensure the safety of all prisoners by managing prisoners on a case-by-case basis and consider any relevant risks (including risks to, or from, the prisoner, as well as the risk of self-harm).
The NHS England and NHS Improvement constitution mandates that all healthcare delivered within prisons must be equivalent to healthcare delivered in the community and the fact that a patient is a prisoner should not impair their access to any healthcare they require.
All secure and detained settings therefore ensure that prisoners have access to appropriate contraceptives, which are prescribed or made available as necessary. This applies to both the men’s and women’s estate and includes all prisoners .
There have been no recorded incidents of prisoners becoming pregnant in the male prison estate.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar on 21 July (HL1789), what steps they plan to take to prevent pregnancy among biologically female transgender prisoners in the male prison estate.
Answered by Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
Sex between prisoners is not permitted. Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service ensure the safety of all prisoners by managing prisoners on a case-by-case basis and consider any relevant risks (including risks to, or from, the prisoner, as well as the risk of self-harm).
The NHS England and NHS Improvement constitution mandates that all healthcare delivered within prisons must be equivalent to healthcare delivered in the community and the fact that a patient is a prisoner should not impair their access to any healthcare they require.
All secure and detained settings therefore ensure that prisoners have access to appropriate contraceptives, which are prescribed or made available as necessary. This applies to both the men’s and women’s estate and includes all prisoners .
There have been no recorded incidents of prisoners becoming pregnant in the male prison estate.
Asked by: Lyn Brown (Labour - West Ham)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the findings of Urgent Notification: HMP & YOI Chelmsford, published by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons on 27 August 2021 that (a) chronic failings at Chelmsford have now been evident for at least a decade and (b) despite serious concerns about the prison’s work to prevent suicide or self-harm being raised in 2018, outcomes had deteriorated further, what steps (i) the Government has taken to ensure progress on those matters in the last five years and (ii) he will take to help ensure the lives of prisoners at HMP Chelmsford are protected.
Answered by Victoria Atkins - Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
We accept that HMP Chelmsford needs to improve and prior to the Urgent Notification, it began receiving specialist support through the Prison Performance Support Programme (PPSP) – which provides intensive support to some of our most challenging prisons.
To date, around £6 million has been invested through the PPSP allowing repairs to address decency, advanced technology to improve security, family ties and additional staffing to support improvement.
We are working hard to reduce self-harm and the number of those taking their lives in custody. Vulnerable prisoners are supported through the ACCT case management and we are currently rolling out further improvements to this framework. We have also given 25,000 new and existing staff self-harm and suicide prevention training to help them better support prisoners with complex needs and refreshed our partnership with the Samaritans who provide the excellent Listeners scheme, which trains selected prisoners to provide emotional support to their fellow prisoners.
There is evidence of progress at HMP Chelmsford during 2018/19 and 2019/20, prior to the pandemic. The April 2019 Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) Independent Review of Progress report noted some positive progress including:
“…reasonable progress in addressing violence, supported by additional national and regional resources” as well as “…good progress in improving the quality of care to those at risk [of self-harm].”
It also noted that the “Governor continued to set a clear vision for the prison and had retained the support of those around her” and that “regional and national resources had been used to good effect”.
The report acknowledged the benefits of additional central investment, including complete refurbishment of two landings, new flooring in cells and communal areas, new showers and new serveries. Since the inspection an x-ray body scanner was also installed at the prison – to prevent the flow of illicit items which fuel instability.
An initial detailed plan of action is being developed in response to the Urgent Notification and will include actions beyond those already agreed under the PPSP. This will outline how we are addressing the immediate concerns at the prison and will be published in due course.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what research his Department has approved that analyses how risk assessment panels understand the (a) risks being assessed and (b) needs of the female prison population when making decisions on placement of transgender people.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has not commissioned any relevant research since the current version of the policy framework ‘The Care and Management of Individuals who are Transgender’ was published in 2019. However, this policy was formulated following consultation with a range of stakeholders including staff and external groups representing the interests of prisoners, and after consideration of the existing evidence on transgender people in prison, including internal data. Decisions regarding transgender prisoners continue to be made on a case-by-case basis, and all known risk factors (including any risk to the person, risk to others and risk of self-harm) are thoroughly assessed in each case.
The MoJ recognises the importance of good quality data and evidence and this will continue to be considered, as part of the ongoing implementation review, where evidence gaps are highlighted.
Asked by: Tonia Antoniazzi (Labour - Gower)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what research his Department has approved that analyses the efficacy of prison placement policy of transgender people from the perspective of the prison management systems of (a) male and female prison officers and (b) female offenders in prisons.
Answered by Lucy Frazer - Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has not commissioned any relevant research since the current version of the policy framework ‘The Care and Management of Individuals who are Transgender’ was published in 2019. However, this policy was formulated following consultation with a range of stakeholders including staff and external groups representing the interests of prisoners, and after consideration of the existing evidence on transgender people in prison, including internal data. Decisions regarding transgender prisoners continue to be made on a case-by-case basis, and all known risk factors (including any risk to the person, risk to others and risk of self-harm) are thoroughly assessed in each case.
The MoJ recognises the importance of good quality data and evidence and this will continue to be considered, as part of the ongoing implementation review, where evidence gaps are highlighted.