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60619

	registered interest
	date	09/06/2014
	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, how many prisoners in an open prison have previously breached a licence condition while released on temporary licence.
	tabling member constituency	Shipley
	tabling member printed	Philip Davies
	uin	199722
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/06/2014 answer text <p>Keeping the public safe is our priority. That is why this Government has taken action on both releases on temporary licence (ROTL) and absconds from prison.</p><p> </p><p>We commissioned a fundamental review of ROTL policy and practice last year and, in March, announced a package of measures to ensure that the public was properly protected. We have brought forward some of those measures so that they take effect immediately; particularly with more serious offenders, where the review concluded that an enhanced risk assessment approach should be taken.</p><p> </p><p>Absconds have reached record lows under this Government but each incident is taken seriously. Immediate changes have already been ordered to tighten up the system as a matter of urgency. Prisoners will no longer be transferred to open conditions or allowed out on temporary release if they have previously absconded.</p><p><ins class="ministerial">My officials are currently working to provide the information requested. I will write to you in due course. </ins></p> answering member constituency Kenilworth and Southam answering member printed Jeremy Wright question first answered 16/06/2014 16:59:29 question first ministerially corrected 09/10/2014 13:55:00 answering member 1560 label Biography information for Sir Jeremy Wright previous answer version 1732 answering member constituency Kenilworth and Southam answering member printed Jeremy Wright answering member 1560 label Biography information for Sir Jeremy Wright
	tabling member	1565 label Biography information for Sir Philip Davies

79430

	registered interest
	date	22/07/2014
	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, how many indeterminate sentenced prisoners were held in open prisons in the years ending 31 March (a) 2012, (b) 2013 and (c) 2014.
	tabling member constituency	Shipley
	tabling member printed	Philip Davies
	uin	206954
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/09/2014 answer text <p>The number of indeterminate sentenced prisoners held in open prisons in England and Wales, for financial years 2012 - 2014, can be found in table 1.</p><p> </p><p>A life sentence is mandatory on conviction for murder. Under a life sentence, and an indeterminate sentence for public protection (IPP), the court determines the minimum period to be served in prison for the purposes of punishment and deterrence. Prisoners serving these indeterminate sentences have no automatic right to be released. If released they are subject to recall for the rest of their life or, in the case of an offender serving an IPP, for at least 10 years. Public protection is the priority and the release of indeterminate sentence prisoners once they have served their minimum term is entirely a matter for the Parole Board.</p><p>Progression to open conditions is never automatic and only follows a satisfactory assessment of risk, generally involving the independent Parole Board in the case of prisoners serving indeterminate sentences.</p><p>The Parole Board may recommend such prisoners for open conditions if, for example: they have successfully completed any offending behaviour programmes identified in their sentence plan as essential to the risk reduction process; their behaviour in custody is such that it is considered that a move is appropriate; and their risks are manageable in open conditions.</p><p>Once allocated to open prison, prisoners continue to be monitored and are returned to closed prison immediately if there are any concerns about their suitability for low security conditions.</p><p> </p><p>Open prisons have been used since 1936, because they are the most effective means of ensuring that prisoners are suitably risk-assessed before they are released into the community under appropriate licence conditions. When a prisoner moves to the less rigid structure of open conditions an assessment can be made in a relatively safe environment of how the prisoner will adapt to increasing responsibility. For many prisoners, in particular those such as life sentence prisoners, who have spent a considerable amount of time in custody; these are essential components for successful reintegration in the community and therefore an important factor in protecting the public.</p> answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous question first answered 04/09/2014 16:35:02 question first ministerially corrected 04/12/2014 11:34:33 answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous attachment 1 file name PQ 206954 - table.pdf title Indeterminate Sentenced Prisoners in open prisons previous answer version 18219 answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous
	tabling member	1565 label Biography information for Sir Philip Davies

60511

	registered interest
	date	06/06/2014
	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, how many prisoners serving custodial sentences for serious violent and sexual assaults were held in open prisons on 1 May (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012, (d) 2013 and (e) 2014.
	tabling member constituency	Tooting
	tabling member printed	Sadiq Khan
	uin	199513
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/06/2014 answer text <p>Open prisons have been used since 1936, because they are the most effective means of ensuring that prisoners are suitably risk-assessed before they are released into the community under appropriate licence conditions. These prisons also provide effective supervision for prisoners who do not require the security conditions of the closed estate, because they have been assessed as having a low risk of harm to the public and a low risk of absconding by the independent Parole Board and/or NOMS.</p><p> </p><p>Indeterminate sentence prisoners located in open conditions have been risk assessed and categorised as being of a low enough risk to the public to warrant their placement in an open prison. They will have previously spent time in prisons with higher levels of security, before being transferred to open conditions if recommended by the Parole Board - or directed through NOMS.</p><p> </p><p>The main purpose of open conditions is to test prisoners in conditions more similar to those that they will face in the community. Time spent in open prisons affords prisoners the opportunity to find work, re-establish family ties, reintegrate into the community and ensure housing needs are met. For many prisoners who have spent a considerable amount of time in custody; these can assist in their successful reintegration in the community and protecting the public. To release these prisoners directly from a closed prison without the resettlement benefits of the open estate could lead to higher levels of post-release re-offending. The re-offending rates of those released from open prisons are low when compared to all prisoners released from custody in England and Wales.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Kenilworth and Southam answering member printed Jeremy Wright question first answered 16/06/2014 16:51:24 answering member 1560 label Biography information for Sir Jeremy Wright
	tabling member	1577 label Biography information for Sadiq Khan

60514

	registered interest
	date	06/06/2014
	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, how many prisoners were held in open prisons on 1 May (a) 2010, (b) 2011, (c) 2012, (d) 2013 and (e) 2014.
	tabling member constituency	Tooting
	tabling member printed	Sadiq Khan
	uin	199528
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/06/2014 answer text <p>The table below identifies the total population of predominant function open prisons as at the last Friday in April in each year from 2010 to 2014.This includes open female prisons, open young offender institutions and the relevant open parts of multi-site establishments performing different functions; it does not include those held in non predominant function open prisons or in small open units at closed prisons.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Year</p></td><td><p>Total Population in Predominant Function Open Prisons</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2010</p></td><td><p>4,655</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011</p></td><td><p>4,711</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012</p></td><td><p>4,911</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013</p></td><td><p>4,993</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014</p></td><td><p>5,041</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p>Open prisons have been used since 1936, because they are the most effective means of ensuring that prisoners are suitably risk-assessed before they are released into the community under appropriate licence conditions. These prisons also provide effective supervision for prisoners who do not require the security conditions of the closed estate, because they have been assessed as having a low risk of harm to the public and a low risk of absconding by NOMS and/or the independent Parole Board .</p><p> </p><p>Indeterminate sentence prisoners located in open conditions have been risk assessed and categorised as being of a low enough risk to the public to warrant their placement in an open prison. They will have previously spent time in prisons with higher levels of security, before being transferred to open conditions if recommended by the Parole Board - or directed through NOMS.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>The main purpose of open conditions is to test prisoners in conditions more similar to those that they will face in the community. Time spent in open prisons affords prisoners the opportunity to find work, re-establish family ties, reintegrate into the community and ensure housing needs are met. For many prisoners who have spent a considerable amount of time in custody; these can assist in their successful reintegration in the community and protecting the public. To release these prisoners directly from a closed prison without the resettlement benefits of the open estate could lead to higher levels of post-release re-offending. The re-offending rates of those released from open prisons are low when compared to all prisoners released from custody in England and Wales.</p><p> </p><p>The public have understandable concerns in the light of recent high profile absconds. 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 prisoners absconding has reached record lows, down from 952 absconds in 1995-96 (the first year for which this data is available) to 204 in 2012-13, but we take each and every incident seriously. The Government has already ordered immediate changes to tighten up the system as a matter of urgency. With immediate effect, prisoners will no longer be transferred to open conditions if they have previously absconded from open prisons; or absconded or reoffended whilst released on temporary licence.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Kenilworth and Southam answering member printed Jeremy Wright question first answered 16/06/2014 10:07:42 answering member 1560 label Biography information for Sir Jeremy Wright
	tabling member	1577 label Biography information for Sadiq Khan

60618

	registered interest
	date	09/06/2014
	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, how many prisoners in open prisons were returned to closed prisons in each of the last three years by (a) reason for their return and (b) type of offence originally committed.
	tabling member constituency	Shipley
	tabling member printed	Philip Davies
	uin	199720
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/07/2014 answer text <p>We do not centrally hold data on the individual reasons for determinate sentence prisoner transfers, including transfers following re-categorisation and when prisoners have been returned to closed conditions from open prisons. Where this is available, the information could only be obtained at disproportionate cost as it would involve a manual trawl through the records of every prisoner to identify if they have ever been held in open conditions and subsequently returned to closed conditions.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>However, the information, in part, is centrally available in respect of indeterminate sentence prisoners.</p><p> </p><p>Table 1 provides the number of indeterminate sentence prisoners who have been returned from open conditions to closed conditions and where the transfer occurred between 1 April 2011 and 31 March 2014, grouped by year and by reason for transfer. The data has been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.</p><p> </p><p>We are unable to provide a breakdown of this information by index offence as this information is not held centrally; to obtain it would require a manual trawl through every case and this would incur disproportionate cost.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>REASON FOR RETURN TO CLOSED PRISON</p></td><td><p>2011-12</p></td><td><p>2012-13</p></td><td><p>2013-14</p></td><td><p>Grand Total</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Abscond</p></td><td><p>117</p></td><td><p>161</p></td><td><p>170</p></td><td><p>448</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Antisocial Behaviour</p></td><td><p>48</p></td><td><p>96</p></td><td><p>74</p></td><td><p>218</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Breach of Licence Conditions</p></td><td><p>30</p></td><td><p>33</p></td><td><p>56</p></td><td><p>120</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Drink/Drugs</p></td><td><p>139</p></td><td><p>171</p></td><td><p>256</p></td><td><p>568</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>FNP</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p>3</p></td><td><p>3</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Healthcare issues</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p>5</p></td><td><p>5</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>New charges/offences</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p>2</p></td><td><p>2</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Non compliance</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>28</p></td><td><p>29</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Other</p></td><td><p>135</p></td><td><p>235</p></td><td><p>298</p></td><td><p>668</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Prisoner request</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p>2</p></td><td><p>2</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Psychology concerns/issues</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p>6</p></td><td><p>6</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Serious breach of prison rules</p></td><td><p> </p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>21</p></td><td><p>22</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Grand Total</p></td><td><p>469</p></td><td><p>698</p></td><td><p>921</p></td><td><p>2,087</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>The main purpose of open conditions is to test prisoners in conditions more similar to those that they will face in the community. Time spent in open prisons affords prisoners the opportunity to find work, re-establish family ties, reintegrate into the community and ensure housing needs are met. For many prisoners who have spent a considerable amount of time in custody; these can assist in their successful reintegration in the community and protecting the public.</p><p>We make no apologies for taking a firm approach in returning prisoners to closed conditions wherever we need to do so.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>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 ordered immediate changes to tighten up the system as a matter of urgency. With immediate effect, prisoners will no longer be transferred to open conditions if they have previously absconded from open prisons; or if they have failed to return or reoffended whilst released on temporary licence.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Kenilworth and Southam answering member printed Jeremy Wright question first answered 03/07/2014 16:19:03 answering member 1560 label Biography information for Sir Jeremy Wright
	tabling member	1565 label Biography information for Sir Philip Davies

64211

	registered interest
	date	26/06/2014
	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, pursuant to the Answer of 16 June 2014, Official Report, column 458W, on open prisons, what data his Department holds on the number of (a) prisoners in an open prison who previously breached a licence condition while released on temporary licence and (b) prisoners in open prisons who have previously absconded or escaped from prison on the latest date for which figures are available.
	tabling member constituency	Shipley
	tabling member printed	Philip Davies
	uin	202556
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/07/2014 answer text <p>I refer my hon Friend to the reply I gave on 16 June 2014, Official Report, column 458W, on open prisons.</p><p> </p><p>My officials are currently working to provide the information requested. I will write to you in due course.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Kenilworth and Southam answering member printed Jeremy Wright question first answered 03/07/2014 16:24:57 answering member 1560 label Biography information for Sir Jeremy Wright
	tabling member	1565 label Biography information for Sir Philip Davies

76894

	registered interest
	date	09/07/2014
	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, how many and what proportion of prisoners who were liable for deportation (a) applied for and (b) were refused Category D prison status in each of the last five years.
	tabling member constituency	Shipley
	tabling member printed	Philip Davies
	uin	204755
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 04/09/2014 answer text <p /> <p /> <p>Prisoners liable to any type of enforcement proceedings are risk assessed very carefully to ensure they are suitable for open conditions. On 13 August 2014 we amended the Prison and YOI Rules so that prisoners who have a Deportation Order served against them and have exhausted their rights of appeal from within the UK can no longer be moved to open conditions or considered for temporary release.</p><p>Prisoners who have not yet been served with a Deportation Order, but are being considered by the Home Office for removal from the UK, are now subject to a more rigorous assessment before being considered for open conditions or temporary release to ensure that they are of very low risk of absconding.</p><p>To provide information on the number and proportion of prisoners who were liable for deportation and had applied for, and were refused Category D/open conditions status in each of the last five years could only be provided at disproportionate cost.</p> answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous question first answered 04/09/2014 16:45:00 answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous
	tabling member	1565 label Biography information for Sir Philip Davies

77208

	registered interest
	date	10/07/2014
	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, what the least amount of time spent in an open prison by a prisoner was before (a) absconding and (b) breaching prison regulations in each of the last five years.
	tabling member constituency	Shipley
	tabling member printed	Philip Davies
	uin	205158
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/07/2014 answer text <p>To answer either part of this question it is necessary to look at the record of every prisoner who has been in an open prison and either absconded or breached prison disciplinary regulations in the last five years, in order to identify the date of transfer to open conditions and make a calculation. This could only be achieved at disproportionate cost.</p><p> </p><p>Figures for the number of absconds, by prison, 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/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/225234/prison-performance-digest-12-13.xls" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/225234/prison-performance-digest-12-13.xls</a></p><p> </p> answering member constituency North West Cambridgeshire answering member printed Mr Shailesh Vara question first answered 21/07/2014 13:05:48 answering member 1496 label Biography information for Shailesh Vara
	tabling member	1565 label Biography information for Sir Philip Davies

93359

	registered interest
	date	14/10/2014
	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, how many prisoners with determinate sentences with more than two years to serve until their earliest release date were moved to open prisons in (a) 2013-14, (b) 2012-13 and (c) 2011-12.
	tabling member constituency	Exeter
	tabling member printed	Mr Ben Bradshaw
	uin	210430
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/10/2014 answer text <p /> <p>I refer the hon Member to the reply I gave, the Member for Exeter on 4 September 2014, Official report, column 319W.</p> answering member constituency South West Bedfordshire answering member printed Andrew Selous question first answered 20/10/2014 08:26:12 answering member 1453 label Biography information for Andrew Selous
	tabling member	230 label Biography information for Mr Ben Bradshaw

63517

	registered interest
	date	24/06/2014
	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, how many offenders convicted of murder were held in open prisons in each of the last 20 years.
	tabling member constituency	Shipley
	tabling member printed	Philip Davies
	uin	202001
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/06/2014 answer text <p /> <p /> <p>It is not possible to provide the total number of offenders serving life sentences who were held in open prisons in each of the last 20 years, or the total number of offenders convicted of murder who were held in open prisons in each of the last 20 years, without incurring disproportionate cost.</p> answering member constituency Kenilworth and Southam answering member printed Jeremy Wright grouped question UIN 201999 question first answered 30/06/2014 14:06:11 answering member 1560 label Biography information for Sir Jeremy Wright
	tabling member	1565 label Biography information for Sir Philip Davies