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1273296

	registered interest
	date	30/12/2020
	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 progress he has made in ensuring that people who are charged with an offence under the age of 18 years are tried in the youth justice system.
	tabling member constituency	York Central
	tabling member printed	Rachael Maskell
	uin	133047
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/01/2021 answer text <p>The age of the young person at their first appearance in court determines whether they are tried in the youth or adult court. The youth court does not have jurisdiction where the defendant has turned 18 before making their first court appearance. However, if the child has made their first court appearance and turns 18 during the proceedings it is possible for their case to continue to be heard in a Youth Court. Throughout court proceedings, consideration is given to the age - both chronological and developmental - of the defendant, and measures exist to ensure that those who turn 18 before trial are supported.</p><p>Where a child turns 18 after an offence is committed but before conviction, they will be tried in adult court. Youth and maturity will continue to inform sentencing decisions even after the offender turns 18 however, and the Sentencing Council’s definitive guideline, Sentencing Children and Young People, states that in these cases courts should use the sentence that would have been given at the time the offence was committed as a starting point.</p><p>Younger children have very different needs to young adults, and the special measures that exist in youth courts - such as the right to anonymity - are intended to protect vulnerable children. That is why they are not automatically available to defendants over the age of 18, regardless of when the offence was committed. However, assistance (including the Registered Intermediaries scheme) does exist to support adult defendants who are determined to be vulnerable.</p><p>We are also working to clear the courts backlogs and reduce the number of children awaiting trial. Significant work is being undertaken within HMCTS to carefully consider the impact that Covid-19 has had on the youth court and to develop measures which reduce the backlog while prioritising time-sensitive cases. The judiciary has also re-published a note of listing in magistrates’ courts the during Covid-19 outbreak, where it highlights the impact on the remand status of youth defendants (for example where delay might mean a relevant age-threshold is crossed).</p><p>Youth courts are now running at near to normal sitting patterns, and it is forecast that the outstanding caseload will soon return to pre-Covid levels. Since 20 July 2020 courts have disposed of more youth cases than they have received, reducing the number of outstanding youth cases week on week.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 14/01/2021 13:17:46 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
	tabling member	4471 label Biography information for Rachael Maskell

1190405

	registered interest
	date	27/04/2020
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Prisoners' Release: Coronavirus
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	What steps his Department is taking to protect the public in response to the temporary release of prisoners during the covid-19 outbreak.
	tabling member constituency	Ynys Môn
	tabling member printed	Virginia Crosbie
	uin	901948
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/04/2020 answer text <p>On 4 April, this Government announced its intention to temporarily release risk-assessed prisoners as part of the national plan to protect the NHS and save lives.</p><p> </p><p>Public protection is our top priority. No high-risk offenders will be considered for release, nor any prisoners who have not served at least half their custodial term. Likewise, no prisoner will be released if they have symptoms of coronavirus or without housing and health support being in place.</p><p> </p><p>Prisoners who pass the stringent criteria for early release will be subject to strict conditions, and will be electronically monitored, including with GPS tags, with the option to recall to prison if necessary.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 27/04/2020 16:54:07 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
	tabling member	4859 label Biography information for Virginia Crosbie

1176336

	registered interest
	date	05/02/2020
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Prisoners' Release: Wycombe
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether she has made an assessment of the threat to the public from individuals convicted of terrorism offences and subsequently released in Wycombe; and if she will make a statement.
	tabling member constituency	Wycombe
	tabling member printed	Mr Steve Baker
	uin	12877
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/02/2020 answer text <p>All terrorist offenders released on probation are closely managed by the National Probation Service and HMPPS.</p><p>Months before a terrorist offender is released, preparations for their management begin through the Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) process. This is led by HMPPS and Police, with input from other partners as required. This process ensures that a set of robust and appropriate licence conditions are drawn up for each offender. These restrictive licence conditions can include: living in approved premises; restrictions on movement and stringent curfews. Failure to adhere to conditions results in enforcement action, and could result in recall to prison.</p><p>For those subject to a Parole Hearing we will make sure all necessary evidence is made available to the Board and we will make representations in any case where we feel the decision is lacking.</p><p>Since the attack in Streatham, we have begun a further set of urgent assurance checks of all terrorists on licence to ensure their risk management arrangements remain appropriate following the incident. These reviews are to be led jointly with CT police colleagues.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 10/02/2020 17:41:38 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
	tabling member	4064 label Biography information for Mr Steve Baker

1236511

	registered interest
	date	22/09/2020
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Prisons: Coronavirus
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	What assessment he has made of the adequacy of the response to the covid-19 outbreak in prisons.
	tabling member constituency	Wrexham
	tabling member printed	Sarah Atherton
	uin	906362
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/09/2020 answer text <p>From the start of the pandemic our priority in prisons has been on protecting staff, prisoners, the NHS and the wider community from outbreaks in custody. Thanks to the hard work of prison staff we have so far been successful in achieving this, although we are not complacent and know challenges remain over the autumn and winter.</p><p>In March Public Health England (PHE) modelled an expected 2,300 deaths in prisons. We took decisive action to avoid thousands of prisoners and staff becoming infected with the virus. These included minimising movement between prisons and introducing measures to shield the vulnerable, isolate those with symptoms, and quarantine new entrants to custody.</p><p>As a result further modelling by PHE showed that our measures were being effective in controlling the spread of the virus, and avoiding widespread local outbreaks. There have to date been 23 prisoner deaths from Covid-19, and in recent months we have begun to ease restrictions in prison establishments. All our actions have been informed by the advice of experts from PHE and will be kept under constant review.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 22/09/2020 17:03:33 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
	tabling member	4855 label Biography information for Sarah Atherton

1248086

	registered interest
	date	03/11/2020
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Prisons: Coronavirus
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	What steps his Department is taking to help reduce the spread of covid-19 in prisons.
	tabling member constituency	Wrexham
	tabling member printed	Sarah Atherton
	uin	908331
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/11/2020 answer text <p>As community rates increase, the risk of outbreaks in prisons inevitably rises. We have planned for this and have a range of measures in place, informed by public health advice, to protect our staff, prisoners and the NHS over Winter.</p><p>Our hard-working prison staff are continuing to implement regimes that have been adapted for safety, with social distancing and PPE use. We are also quarantining new arrivals, isolating those with symptoms, and shielding the vulnerable.</p><p>These interventions are supporting us to minimise importation, limit the spread of infection and protect against explosive outbreaks.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 03/11/2020 17:36:34 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
	tabling member	4855 label Biography information for Sarah Atherton

1248278

	registered interest
	date	03/11/2020
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Prisons: Coronavirus
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to support prisons in the event of a covid-19 outbreak among staff.
	tabling member constituency	Worsley and Eccles South
	tabling member printed	Barbara Keeley
	uin	110764
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/11/2020 answer text <p>We have well-developed policies and procedures in place to manage outbreaks and infectious diseases, including COVID-19. This means prisons are well prepared to take immediate action whenever cases or suspected cases are identified. Our measures so far have included restricting regimes, minimising inter-prison transfers and compartmentalising our prisons into different units to isolate the sick, shield the vulnerable and quarantine new arrivals.</p><p>We are, however, prepared for continued staffing challenges and are driving forward with recruitment campaigns and using many of the tried and tested staffing interventions that worked effectively before, which will allow us to supply establishments with staff at short notice. These measures include enabling operationally qualified staff in HQ and non-operational roles to return to prisons and inviting retired and resigned former staff to return to work on temporary contracts.</p><p>There is currently adequate stock and forward supply of all PPE items in accordance with public health advice. We are making preparations and keeping demand for PPE under regular review as we move through each phase of managing the outbreak. We have issued a face mask strategy for staff which, in line with public health advice, sets out when face masks must be worn in HMPPS settings.</p><p>We have also begun introducing a testing regime for staff and prisoners across all prisons in England and Wales to help identify and isolate cases early and control the spread of coronavirus. Routine staff testing will also be rolled out from November for both directly employed and non-directly employed staff who work with prisoners on a weekly basis. Reception and transfer testing for prisoners is now in place in seven prisons in England and two in Wales. Further sites are expected to begin testing over the coming weeks with a focus on reception prisons first.</p><p>All of these measures collectively contribute to preventing the spread of coronavirus and protect staff, residents and the public and it is important to continue to follow all of the guidelines in place.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer grouped question UIN 110765 question first answered 09/11/2020 15:46:01 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
	tabling member	1588 label Biography information for Barbara Keeley

1248279

	registered interest
	date	03/11/2020
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Prison Officers: Coronavirus
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure that prison staff have adequate PPE during the covid-19 outbreak.
	tabling member constituency	Worsley and Eccles South
	tabling member printed	Barbara Keeley
	uin	110765
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/11/2020 answer text <p>We have well-developed policies and procedures in place to manage outbreaks and infectious diseases, including COVID-19. This means prisons are well prepared to take immediate action whenever cases or suspected cases are identified. Our measures so far have included restricting regimes, minimising inter-prison transfers and compartmentalising our prisons into different units to isolate the sick, shield the vulnerable and quarantine new arrivals.</p><p>We are, however, prepared for continued staffing challenges and are driving forward with recruitment campaigns and using many of the tried and tested staffing interventions that worked effectively before, which will allow us to supply establishments with staff at short notice. These measures include enabling operationally qualified staff in HQ and non-operational roles to return to prisons and inviting retired and resigned former staff to return to work on temporary contracts.</p><p>There is currently adequate stock and forward supply of all PPE items in accordance with public health advice. We are making preparations and keeping demand for PPE under regular review as we move through each phase of managing the outbreak. We have issued a face mask strategy for staff which, in line with public health advice, sets out when face masks must be worn in HMPPS settings.</p><p>We have also begun introducing a testing regime for staff and prisoners across all prisons in England and Wales to help identify and isolate cases early and control the spread of coronavirus. Routine staff testing will also be rolled out from November for both directly employed and non-directly employed staff who work with prisoners on a weekly basis. Reception and transfer testing for prisoners is now in place in seven prisons in England and two in Wales. Further sites are expected to begin testing over the coming weeks with a focus on reception prisons first.</p><p>All of these measures collectively contribute to preventing the spread of coronavirus and protect staff, residents and the public and it is important to continue to follow all of the guidelines in place.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer grouped question UIN 110764 question first answered 09/11/2020 15:46:01 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
	tabling member	1588 label Biography information for Barbara Keeley

1249443

	registered interest
	date	09/11/2020
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Prisons: Coronavirus
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to reduce the transmission of covid-19 on the prison estate.
	tabling member constituency	Worsley and Eccles South
	tabling member printed	Barbara Keeley
	uin	113039
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/11/2020 answer text <p>The safety of our staff and those in our care remains our top priority and when responding to Covid-19 we have worked closely with Public Health England and been guided by their advice. Closed settings such as prisons pose particular challenges in managing outbreaks, but we have well-developed policies and procedures in place to manage outbreaks and infectious diseases, including COVID-19. This means prisons are well prepared to take immediate action whenever cases or suspected cases are identified.</p><p>One of the range of measures HMPPS is taking to limit the spread of the virus in prisons and save lives is to compartmentalise prisoners. This requires establishments to introduce isolation units for the symptomatic, shielding units for the vulnerable, and reverse cohorting to quarantine new arrivals. Social distancing and basic hygiene are also effective controls to reduce transmission and we continue to provide access to the right cleaning and hygiene products in prisons. Other measures have included adapting prison regimes to support social distancing and PPE usage, and expanding the estate with new temporary units.</p><p>We have started to rollout regular testing for frontline staff which means we can identify positive cases earlier and will be able to minimise the spread of outbreaks. HMMPS is also rolling out testing for prisoners on reception and transfer.</p><p>We continue to work closely with PHE to develop and refine our response to the pandemic.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 12/11/2020 17:40:12 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
	tabling member	1588 label Biography information for Barbara Keeley

1289694

	registered interest
	date	24/02/2021
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Prisons: Crime
	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 reduce crime in prisons.
	tabling member constituency	Woking
	tabling member printed	Mr Jonathan Lord
	uin	158036
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/03/2021 answer text <p>Reducing crime in prisons is a key priority for the Ministry of Justice. In August 2019 we committed to spend £100m on prison security, and we are delivering on this commitment. This includes X-ray body scanners which have been installed in 40 prisons across England and Wales. These detect drugs and contraband that fuel crime in prisons and their use has already prevented over 2,300 illegal items from entering our prisons. This investment will also strengthen staff resilience to corruption and target organised criminals who seek to exploit prisons as a lucrative market.</p><p> </p><p>Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service also works closely with law enforcement agencies so that crimes committed in prison are dealt with effectively. In May 2019, a Crime in Prisons Referral Agreement was published jointly with the National Police Chiefs’ Council and the Crown Prosecution Service to help achieve an improved and consistent performance in the investigation and prosecution of offences in a custodial setting.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 03/03/2021 10:23:11 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
	tabling member	4090 label Biography information for Mr Jonathan Lord

1289696

	registered interest
	date	24/02/2021
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Prisons: Modernisation
	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 modernise prisons.
	tabling member constituency	Woking
	tabling member printed	Mr Jonathan Lord
	uin	158037
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/03/2021 answer text <p>Providing safe, decent, and secure prisons is a key priority for the Government. We are taking a number of steps to modernise our prisons, including building new prison places and increasing our investment in refurbishment and maintenance to upgrade the existing estate.</p><p>As announced at the spending review, we have committed over £4 billion capital funding to make significant progress in delivering 18,000 additional prison places across England and Wales by the mid-2020s, and £315m to improve the prison estate. These 18,000 prison places include 10,000 places being made available through the construction of four new prisons; the expansion of a further four prisons; refurbishment of the existing prison estate and the completion of our ongoing prison builds at Glen Parva and HMP Five Wells.</p><p>Digital technologies will also contribute to the Government’s modernisation of prisons. Access to modern, robust technology is a vital part of current prison design. During the pandemic, HMPPS delivered unprecedented digital innovation through the rollout of secure video call technology into every single prison in the male, female and youth estate, with 124,000 calls made as of 22<sup>nd</sup> February 2021. We are committed to expanding the use of digital technology in the existing estate and future prisons, including in-cell technology for prisoners.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 03/03/2021 10:25:21 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
	tabling member	4090 label Biography information for Mr Jonathan Lord