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171660

registered interest
date	18/12/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisoners: Mental Illness
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people serving custodial sentences in each year since 2010 have been sectioned under the Mental Health Act 1983.
tabling member constituency	Tooting
tabling member printed	Sadiq Khan
uin	219549
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/01/2015 answer text <p /> <p>By virtue of Section 47 of the Mental Health Act 1983 (the 1983 Act), the Secretary of State for Justice may, by warrant, direct that a sentenced prisoner be removed and detained in a secure hospital provided that he is satisfied by reports from at least two registered medical practitioners that:</p><p>· the person is suffering from mental disorder; and</p><p>· the mental disorder is of a nature or degree which makes it appropriate for him to be detained in hospital for medical treatment; and</p><p>· appropriate treatment is available for him.</p><p>The number of prisoners serving custodial sentences who have been admitted to hospital after the issue of a transfer direction under the 1983 Act in each year since 2010 is set out in the table below. Such transfers directions are valid for 14 days. The figures for total admissions include sentenced prisoners admitted to hospital more than once in a given year.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Table One</p><p>Year Total Admissions</p><p>2010 446</p><p>2011 442</p><p>2012 462</p><p>2013 457</p><p> </p><p>Once a transfer direction has been issued, it is the Secretary of State’s expectation that the prisoner is always transferred to hospital within 14 days.</p><p> </p><p>However, there may be exceptional circumstances in which the transfer does not take place or is delayed. Such circumstances may include:-</p><p> </p><p>· the proposed hospital bed placement becomes unexpectedly unavailable and the transfer direction expires after 14 days (in which case the Secretary of State will issue a new direction once a new bed placement has been confirmed);</p><p>· other court proceedings may intervene, with a new court order superseding the transfer direction</p><p> </p><p>The number of transfer directions issued under section 47 the Act in respect of prisoners serving custodial sentences in each year since 2010 is set out in the table below.</p><p> </p><p>Table Two</p><p>Year Total of Directions Issued</p><p>2010 451</p><p>2011 444</p><p>2012 458</p><p>2013 463</p><p> </p><p>It should also be noted that as the direction is valid for 14 days, it may be issued in late December one calendar year with the actual admission to hospital not taking place until early January the next calendar year.</p><p> </p><p>For the reasons set out above, the number of transfer directions issued in each year will not match exactly the number of hospital admissions in that year. However, the difference between the figures for any given year is small.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Notes</p><p>1. Table One - These figures include those admitted more than once in the year</p><p>2. Table One - The data is drawn from Ministry of Justice/National Offender Management Service casework systems and from published Offender Management Annual and Quarterly tables. The link is: <a title="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/offender-management-statistics-quarterly-october-december-2013-and-annual" href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/offender-management-statistics-quarterly-october-december-2013-and-annual" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/offender-management-statistics-quarterly-october-december-2013-and-annual</a></p><p>3. 2013 is the latest year for which we have audited and published statistics.</p> answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous grouped question UIN 219545 question first answered 05/01/2015 16:56:30 answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous
tabling member	1577 label Biography information for Sadiq Khan

171661

registered interest
date	18/12/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisoners: Mental Illness
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many of those serving custodial sentences who were sectioned under the Mental Health Act 1983 were (a) moved and (b) not moved to secure mental health establishments before the section expired in each year since 2010.
tabling member constituency	Tooting
tabling member printed	Sadiq Khan
uin	219545
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/01/2015 answer text <p>By virtue of Section 47 of the Mental Health Act 1983 (the 1983 Act), the Secretary of State for Justice may, by warrant, direct that a sentenced prisoner be removed and detained in a secure hospital provided that he is satisfied by reports from at least two registered medical practitioners that:</p><p>· the person is suffering from mental disorder; and</p><p>· the mental disorder is of a nature or degree which makes it appropriate for him to be detained in hospital for medical treatment; and</p><p>· appropriate treatment is available for him.</p><p>The number of prisoners serving custodial sentences who have been admitted to hospital after the issue of a transfer direction under the 1983 Act in each year since 2010 is set out in the table below. Such transfers directions are valid for 14 days. The figures for total admissions include sentenced prisoners admitted to hospital more than once in a given year.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Table One</p><p>Year Total Admissions</p><p>2010 446</p><p>2011 442</p><p>2012 462</p><p>2013 457</p><p> </p><p>Once a transfer direction has been issued, it is the Secretary of State’s expectation that the prisoner is always transferred to hospital within 14 days.</p><p> </p><p>However, there may be exceptional circumstances in which the transfer does not take place or is delayed. Such circumstances may include:-</p><p> </p><p>· the proposed hospital bed placement becomes unexpectedly unavailable and the transfer direction expires after 14 days (in which case the Secretary of State will issue a new direction once a new bed placement has been confirmed);</p><p>· other court proceedings may intervene, with a new court order superseding the transfer direction</p><p> </p><p>The number of transfer directions issued under section 47 the Act in respect of prisoners serving custodial sentences in each year since 2010 is set out in the table below.</p><p> </p><p>Table Two</p><p>Year Total of Directions Issued</p><p>2010 451</p><p>2011 444</p><p>2012 458</p><p>2013 463</p><p> </p><p>It should also be noted that as the direction is valid for 14 days, it may be issued in late December one calendar year with the actual admission to hospital not taking place until early January the next calendar year.</p><p> </p><p>For the reasons set out above, the number of transfer directions issued in each year will not match exactly the number of hospital admissions in that year. However, the difference between the figures for any given year is small.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Notes</p><p>1. Table One - These figures include those admitted more than once in the year</p><p>2. Table One - The data is drawn from Ministry of Justice/National Offender Management Service casework systems and from published Offender Management Annual and Quarterly tables. The link is: <a title="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/offender-management-statistics-quarterly-october-december-2013-and-annual" href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/offender-management-statistics-quarterly-october-december-2013-and-annual" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/offender-management-statistics-quarterly-october-december-2013-and-annual</a></p><p>3. 2013 is the latest year for which we have audited and published statistics.</p> answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous grouped question UIN 219549 question first answered 05/01/2015 16:56:30 answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous
tabling member	1577 label Biography information for Sadiq Khan

171662

registered interest
date	18/12/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisoners' Release
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many victims of crime were consulted before the perpetrator was released in each of the last three years.
tabling member constituency	Shipley
tabling member printed	Philip Davies
uin	219535
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/01/2015 answer text <p>The Victim Contact Scheme enables victims of offenders who receive a sentence of imprisonment of 12 months or more or a hospital order, for violent or sexual offences, to be informed at key stages of the offender’s sentence. Key stages include any transfer to open prison conditions. Victims will also be informed of the prospective date of release.</p><p> </p><p>Where the offender is serving a determinate sentence, the release date is fixed. Victims will be informed of the expected month of release very early following sentence and will be updated should this date change - for example, if the offender receives added days.</p><p> </p><p>Where the offender is subject to discretionary release by the Parole Board, the victim will be informed early in the sentence of the month in which the offender will become eligible for consideration for release, and be informed of the Parole Board’s decision, including if this is to release the offender.</p><p> </p><p>Where release is subject to a Parole Board hearing the victim has the right to make a Victim Personal Statement. The Victim Personal Statement (VPS) provides victims with a valuable opportunity to tell the Parole Board how the prisoner’s offence has affected them or their family and what the impact of the prisoner’s release will be on them. The victim can apply to the Parole Board to read the VPS in person, with the presumption that the Parole Board will agree to this. The right to make a VPS to the Parole Board, and to apply to read it in person, was enshrined in the revised Victims Code which was published in October 2013.</p><p> </p><p>The Victim Contact Scheme also provides a statutory right for victims to make representations about the licence conditions that should be in place on release, to reassure and protect them, and to be informed which conditions have been included on the licence as a result of their request. These will typically be exclusion zones to reduce the risks of unexpected contact, and to prohibit contact with the victim.</p><p> </p><p>The National Offender Management Service does not record information centrally in relation to the number of victims who make a VPS and has not made an estimate of this number.</p><p> </p><p>In September this year, we published “Our Commitment to Victims” undertaking to do more to help victims navigate the criminal justice system, access the information and support they need, protect vulnerable victims and witnesses in court and to guarantee their rights in law.</p> answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous question first answered 05/01/2015 17:41:09 answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous
tabling member	1565 label Biography information for Sir Philip Davies

171663

registered interest
date	18/12/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons: Publications
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much the Government spent on the case Gordon-Jones, R (on the appplication of) v The Secretary of State for Justice & Anor [2014] EWHC 3997 (Admin) (5 December 2014).
tabling member constituency	Hammersmith
tabling member printed	Mr Andy Slaughter
uin	219542
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/01/2015 answer text <p>I anticipate that the Ministry of Justice will incur costs of approximately £72,000, including VAT.</p> answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous question first answered 05/01/2015 17:47:38 answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous
tabling member	1516 label Biography information for Andy Slaughter

171665

registered interest
date	18/12/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Young Offenders
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate his Department has made of changes in the numbers of young offenders in each of the last five years; and what assessment he has made of the causes of those changes.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	219491
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/01/2015 answer text <p>Reducing offending by young people is a key priority for the Ministry of Justice and the Government routinely publishes data on the number of cautioning and sentencing occasions for young people as part of the Criminal Justice Statistics Quarterly report: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/criminal-justice-statistics-quarterly" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/criminal-justice-statistics-quarterly</a> (see Table Q6.1).</p><p> </p><p>Table 1 below shows the numbers of cautioning and sentencing occasions for 10-17 year olds residing in England and Wales in each of the last five years, for the 12 months ending June.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Table 1</strong></p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p><strong>First Occasion</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Further Occasions</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Total</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p><strong> </strong></p></td><td><p><strong> </strong></p></td><td><p><strong> </strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010</p></td><td><p>56,742</p></td><td><p>87,859</p></td><td><p>144,601</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011</p></td><td><p>43,170</p></td><td><p>74,602</p></td><td><p>117,772</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012</p></td><td><p>34,136</p></td><td><p>59,581</p></td><td><p>93,716</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013</p></td><td><p>26,267</p></td><td><p>44,018</p></td><td><p>70,285</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014</p></td><td><p>22,080</p></td><td><p>37,132</p></td><td><p>59,213</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p>The reduction in the numbers of cautions and sentences has been largely driven by the fall in First Time Entrants (FTEs) to the Youth Justice System (see First Occasion column in Table 1).</p><p> </p><p>The Ministry of Justice, in partnership with the Youth Justice Board and other Government Departments, keeps under review the effectiveness of all elements of the youth justice system, and associated services for young people and their families at risk of developing offending behaviour. [1]</p><br /><p>Notes to Table 1</p><p>(1) The first occasion on which offenders received a caution or conviction for offences committed in England and Wales. Where there were multiple offences on the same occasion, the primary offence as recorded on the Police National Computer would be counted.</p><p> </p><p>(2) Subsequent occasions on which offenders received a further youth caution, caution or conviction for offences committed in England and Wales. Where there were multiple offences on the same occasion, the primary offence as recorded on the Police National Computer would be counted.</p><p>(3) Cautions include juveniles receiving reprimands and warnings or youth cautions. Youth Cautions were introduced on April 8th 2013 replacing reprimands and warnings for young offenders. The guidance is published at the link http://www.justice gov.uk/out-of-court-disposals</p><p>(4) Includes offenders whose gender is not recorded on the Police National Computer.</p><p> </p><p>(5) Figures include offenders residing only in England and Wales at the time of their caution or conviction.</p> answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous question first answered 05/01/2015 17:04:49 answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

171667

registered interest
date	18/12/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prison Accommodation
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to ensure the availability of places in the prison estate to safely accommodate those sentenced to custodial sentences by the courts.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	219492
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/01/2015 answer text <p>This Government will always ensure that we have enough prison places for those sent to us by the courts and we continue to modernise the prison estate so that it delivers best value for the taxpayer.</p><p> </p><p>We have a long term strategy for managing the prison estate which will provide more adult male prison capacity than we inherited from the previous Government. We also have a range of contingencies available to manage temporary or unexpected increases in the population.</p><p> </p><p>We are expecting to open over 2,000 adult male prison places in the coming months, which include 1,250 new places at four new house-blocks. We are also building a new prison in Wrexham that will increase capacity by a further 2,100 places by 2017.</p><p> </p><p>Taken together, these measures will enable us to accommodate safely those sentenced to custody by the courts.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous question first answered 05/01/2015 17:31:02 answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

171669

registered interest
date	18/12/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prison Accommodation
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many offenders held in a cell designed for one inmate shared it with (a) one other and (b) more than one other inmate in each of the last four years.
tabling member constituency	Hammersmith
tabling member printed	Mr Andy Slaughter
uin	219502
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/01/2015 answer text <p>Figures for the number of prisoners held two to a cell designed for one (known as ‘doubling’) are set out in the table below for the years 2008-09 to 2013-14. To place the numbers in context they are shown alongside the average prisoner population and the percentage of the population held two to a cell designed for one.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Year</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Average number of prisoners held two to a cell designed for one</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Average prisoner population</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>% of average prisoner population held two to a cell designed for one</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2008-09</p></td><td><p>19,153</p></td><td><p>82,830</p></td><td><p>23.1</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2009-10</p></td><td><p>19,083</p></td><td><p>83,971</p></td><td><p>22.7</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010-11</p></td><td><p>19,268</p></td><td><p>84,920</p></td><td><p>22.7</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011-12</p></td><td><p>20,152</p></td><td><p>86,638</p></td><td><p>23.3</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012-13</p></td><td><p>19,044</p></td><td><p>85,729</p></td><td><p>22.2</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013-14</p></td><td><p>18,515</p></td><td><p>84,594</p></td><td><p>21.9</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>While the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) collects the total number of prisoners held in crowded conditions (e.g. two prisoners held in a cell designed for one, or three prisoners held in a cell designed for two) it does not centrally record how many prisoners were held in a cell designed for one prisoner and shared it with more than one other prisoner. To identify the number of prisoners who were held in a cell designed for one but shared it with more than one other prisoner in each of the last four years would require manually going through individual prison cell certificate records in each prison, followed by a manual trawl of prisoners' individuals records to identify each prisoner’s cell location in each of the last four years, which could only be undertaken at disproportionate cost.</p><p> </p><p>We will always have enough prison places for those sent to us by the courts and continue to modernise the prison estate so that it delivers best value for the taxpayer. This Government has a long term strategy for managing the prison estate which will provide more adult male prison capacity than we inherited from the previous Government.</p><p> </p><p>Crowding occurs when the number of prisoners in an accommodation unit exceeds the Certified Normal Accommodation in that unit. The average rate of crowding is published in NOMS Annual Report and Accounts.</p><p> </p><p>In 2013-14, the average number of prisoners held in crowded conditions decreased to 22.9% of the total population compared to 23.3% in 2012-13. This is the lowest level since 2001-02 and has come down from a high of 25.3% in 2007-08.</p> answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous question first answered 05/01/2015 17:44:21 answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous
tabling member	1516 label Biography information for Andy Slaughter

171672

registered interest
date	18/12/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisoner Escapes
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners are unlawfully at large having escaped or absconded between 1 June 2010 and the most recent date for which information is available; and of what offence those prisoners had been convicted.
tabling member constituency	Coventry South
tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
uin	219497
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/01/2015 answer text <p>Offenders who escape or abscond are an extremely small proportion of the almost 86,000 offenders in the prison system at the moment. The number of escapes from custody has been falling since 1995 when central records began, despite an increasing prison population. Absconds have reached record lows under this Government, falling by more than 80 per cent in the last 10 years, but we have not been complacent and have made major changes to tighten the system.</p><p> </p><p>The table below shows the offence details of 17 offenders who remain unlawfully at large having escaped or absconded between 1 June 2010 and 31 March 2014. The offence is that recorded at the time of the escape. The table does not includes escapes from escorts conducted under the Prison Escort and Custody Services contract where the prisoner had not previously been received into NOMS’ custody and absconds from NOMS’ run immigration removal centres.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Table 1: Offence details of offenders who escaped or absconded between 1 June 2010 and 31 March 2014 and who remain unlawfully at large: </strong></p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Offence</p></td><td><p>Total</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Arson</p></td><td><p>1</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Burglary</p></td><td><p>4</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Conspire to defraud</p></td><td><p>1</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Drink Driving</p></td><td><p>1</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Possession of a firearm</p></td><td><p>1</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Possession of drugs</p></td><td><p>1</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Rape</p></td><td><p>1</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Robbery</p></td><td><p>4</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Theft</p></td><td><p>1</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Wounding with intent</p></td><td><p>2</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Total UAL</p></td><td><p>17</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>Figures for the number of escapes since 1995 are provided in the Prison Digest contained in the Prison and Probation Trusts Performance Statistics. This can be found at:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/prison-and-probation-trusts-performance-statistics-201314" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/prison-and-probation-trusts-performance-statistics-201314</a></p><p> </p> answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous question first answered 05/01/2015 17:24:59 answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous
tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

171673

registered interest
date	18/12/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Open Prisons
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his Department’s Analytical Summary on absconding incidents, published in November 2014, how many prisoners with a previous absconding incident and already in open conditions were assessed by the National Offender Management Service in the last three years; how many of those prisoners were allowed to remain in open conditions; and what crimes those prisoners have committed.
tabling member constituency	Coventry South
tabling member printed	Mr Jim Cunningham
uin	219498
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/01/2015 answer text <p>We do not hold information centrally on how many offenders with an abscond history were assessed for open conditions over the last three years.</p><p> </p><p>No prisoner will be transferred to open conditions, whether he has an abscond history or not, without an assessment. For indeterminate sentence prisoners (ISPs – those serving life or Imprisonment for Public Protection sentences), the principal means of approval for transfer to open conditions is by way of a positive recommendation from the independent Parole Board, which falls to officials either to accept or reject on behalf of the Secretary of State, under agreed delegated authority and in accordance with policy agreed by the Secretary of State. However, ISPs may also apply to progress to open conditions without a positive recommendation from the Parole Board being sought, where they can show exceptional progress in reducing their risk. Each application is determined on its merits under agreed delegated authority by officials in the Offender Management and Public Protection Group in the Ministry of Justice.</p><p> </p><p>Determinate sentenced prisoners are assessed for their suitability for open conditions by experienced prison staff with relevant input from offender managers and other professionals within the prison. The assessment will consider the extent to which the prisoner has reduced identified risks and any intelligence or other information that provides evidence of the prisoner’s trustworthiness for conditions of low security. Determinate sentence prisoners should not generally be moved to open prison if they have more than two years to serve to their earliest release date, unless assessment of a prisoner’s individual risks and needs support earlier categorisation to open conditions. Such cases must have the reasons for their categorisation fully documented and confirmed in writing by the Governing Governor.</p><p> </p><p>The public have understandable concerns about the failure of some prisoners to return from temporary release from open prison. Keeping the public safe is our priority and we will not allow the actions of a small minority of offenders to undermine public confidence in the prison system. The number of temporary release failures remains very low; less that one failure in every 1,000 releases and about five in every 100,000 releases involving alleged offending, but we take each and every incident seriously. The Government has already made changes to tighten up the system as a matter of urgency. Prisoners are now no longer eligible for transfer to open conditions if they have previously absconded from open prisons; or if they have failed to return or have reoffended whilst released on temporary licence, unless there are exceptional circumstances.</p> answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous question first answered 05/01/2015 17:16:44 answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous
tabling member	308 label Biography information for Mr Jim Cunningham

171197

registered interest
date	17/12/2014
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons: Publications
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the decision by Mr Justice Collins of 5 December 2014 on the legality of a ban on sending books into prison, when he plans to amend the rules of the Incentives and Earned Privileges scheme in line with that judgement.
tabling member constituency	Darlington
tabling member printed	Jenny Chapman
uin	219267
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/01/2015 answer text <p>We need to await the terms of the Court Order before we can decide how best to fulfil the ruling of the Court.</p><p> </p><p>The judgment in this case was surprising, as there was never a specific ban on books. The restrictions on parcels have been in existence across most of the prison estate for many years and for very good reasons. Prisoners have access to the same library service as the rest of us, and can buy books through the prison shop.</p> answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous question first answered 05/01/2015 11:15:02 answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous
tabling member	3972 label Biography information for Baroness Chapman of Darlington