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731010

	registered interest
	date	21/06/2017
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	Her Majesty's Government what are the principal rules relating to young children visiting their parents in prison.
	tabling member printed	Lord Trefgarne
	uin	HL26
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/07/2017 answer text <p>As set out in our 2016 White Paper on Prison Safety and Reform, we are committed to giving prisoners the support and help they need to maintain and strengthen family ties.</p><p> </p><p>Lord Farmer was commissioned to undertake a review of family engagement, and to make proposals that will augment the Prison Safety and Reform agenda. The Ministry of Justice will consider his findings in due course.</p><p> </p><p>Visits, where appropriate, by children to their parent in prison are central to maintaining the relationship during the sentence. Ethos, statutory entitlement and practices are detailed in secondary legislation and in Prison Service Instructions, as follows:</p><p> </p><p>Prison Rules 1999, Rule 4 - ‘Outside Contacts‘, requires Governors to encourage and assist prisoners to maintain relations with persons and agencies outside of the prison which may, in the opinion of the Governor, best promote the interests of his family and own social rehabilitation. Rule 35 ‘Personal Letters and Visits’ sets out the statutory entitlement to visits and Governors may allow an additional privilege under Rule 8.</p><p> </p><p>Prison Service Instruction 16/2011 ‘Providing Visits and Services to Visitors’ sets out, among other things, guidelines to prisons on the management of family visits.</p><p> </p><p>Prison Governors are accountable for the safeguarding and welfare of children during prison visits. This is set out through the statutory framework under the Children Act 2004. Prison Service Instruction 15/2011 ‘Management of Security at Visits’ requires social visits to be conducted in a manner which ensures the safeguarding of children and provides arrangements for this.</p><p>Prisoners can earn additional visits by demonstrating good behaviour and commitment to their rehabilitation; this is detailed in Prison Service Instruction 30/2013 ‘Incentives and Earned Privileges’.</p> answering member printed Lord Keen of Elie question first answered 05/07/2017 12:27:48 answering member 4538 label Biography information for Lord Keen of Elie
	tabling member	1813 label Biography information for Lord Trefgarne

731088

	registered interest
	date	21/06/2017
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Burial and Cremation
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Burials and Cremations (Scotland) Act 2016 as a possible basis for reform of the law of England and Wales.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Meacher
	uin	HL96
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/07/2017 answer text <p>The Scottish legislative framework, among a range of other evidence, is being taken into account in developing burial and cremation policy in England and Wales.</p> answering member printed Lord Keen of Elie question first answered 03/07/2017 15:15:29 answering member 4538 label Biography information for Lord Keen of Elie
	tabling member	3810 label Biography information for Baroness Meacher

731007

	registered interest
	date	21/06/2017
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	Her Majesty's Government what is their response to the conclusion of the Equality and Human Rights Commission review published on 3 April, Being disabled in Britain: a journey less equal, that changes to legal aid in England and Wales have negatively affected disabled people's access to justice; and to the finding that a 54 per cent drop between 2012–13 and 2015–16 in employment tribunal claims on grounds of disability discrimination.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Deech
	uin	HL24
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/07/2017 answer text <p>The Government is considering the recommendations of the review and will respond in due course.</p><p> </p><p>The reforms to the scope of civil legal aid were designed to refocus funding on those who need it most and on the most serious cases in which legal advice and representation are justified. We have specifically protected legal aid (both for initial advice and representation), subject to the statutory means and merits tests, for civil legal services provided in relation to contravention of the Equality Act 2010. Publicly funded advice continues to be available for Employment Tribunal discrimination claims, and publicly funded advice and representation is available in the Employment Appeal Tribunal.</p><p> </p><p>The Government’s review of the impact of the introduction of fees in the Employment Tribunals was published on 31 January 2017. The review included proposals to extend the support available under the Help with Fees scheme. The Government is considering the responses to the consultation and will respond in due course.</p> answering member printed Lord Keen of Elie question first answered 05/07/2017 13:30:47 answering member 4538 label Biography information for Lord Keen of Elie
	tabling member	3756 label Biography information for Baroness Deech

731048

	registered interest
	date	21/06/2017
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	Her Majesty's Government what steps they intend to take to address the concerns raised by the joint report of HM Inspectorate of Probation and HM Inspectorate of Prisons, An Inspection of Through the Gate Resettlement Services for Prisoners Serving 12 Months or More.
	tabling member printed	Lord Laming
	uin	HL56
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/07/2017 answer text <p>As part of our review of the probation system we have been looking at Through-the-Gate services, including the issues raised by the HMI Probations report. The review has now concluded and we will be publishing our findings in due course.</p> answering member printed Lord Keen of Elie question first answered 05/07/2017 12:20:50 answering member 4538 label Biography information for Lord Keen of Elie
	tabling member	2079 label Biography information for Lord Laming

63769

	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	Voting Eligibility (Prisoners) Bill (Draft)
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government by what date they plan to publish their response to the report of the Joint Committee on the Draft Voting Eligibility (Prisoners) Bill (HL Paper 103, Session 2013–14) published in December 2013.
	tabling member printed	Lord Norton of Louth
	uin	HL553
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/07/2014 answer text <p>The Government continues to reflect on the report from the Joint Committee on Prisoner Voting Rights and is considering its recommendations.</p><p>This is not a straightforward issue and the Government is looking carefully at the Committee's conclusions, which included new options for implementation.</p> answering member printed Lord Faulks question first answered 01/07/2014 16:10:25 answering member 4183 label Biography information for Lord Faulks
	tabling member	3187 label Biography information for Lord Norton of Louth

62478

	registered interest
	date	18/06/2014
	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	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Category A prisoners have escaped in each of the last 10 years; and how long after the escape each was recaptured or how long each such uncaptured prisoner has been at large.
	tabling member printed	Lord Marlesford
	uin	HL407
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/07/2014 answer text <p>Category A escapes remain extremely rare occurrences. The table below provides details of the two Category A escapes that have occurred in the last 10 years; both have been recaptured.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Table 1: Category A Escape occurring between April 2002 and March 2013</strong></p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Year</p></td><td><p>Number of Category A escapers</p></td><td><p>Days spent unlawfully at large</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2011/12</p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>418<sup>(1)</sup></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012/13</p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>0<sup>(2)</sup></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Neither prisoner escaped from a prison establishment.</p><p><sup>(1) </sup>This prisoner escaped from prison contractor transport, through force of arms.</p><p><sup>(2) </sup>This prisoner escaped from the witness box during a court hearing and was recaptured in less than 1 hour.</p><p> </p><p>As a result of improved risk assessment procedures the number of prisoners absconding from open prisons has reduced significantly over the last 10 years. There were 225 absconds in 2013-14 compared to 1,301 in 2003-04.</p><p> </p><p>Figures for the number of escapes and 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 printed Lord Faulks grouped question UIN HL409 question first answered 02/07/2014 16:44:19 answering member 4183 label Biography information for Lord Faulks
	tabling member	1854 label Biography information for Lord Marlesford

46994

	registered interest
	date	03/04/2014
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Imprisonment for Public Protection prisoners were imprisoned at the latest date available date; how many of those were beyond the tariff; and of those beyond their tariff, how many (1) have completed rehabilitation programmes courses successfully, (2) have been on rehabilitation courses but have not completed them successfully, (3) have been offered rehabilitation courses but are awaiting their completion, and (4) have not been offered rehabilitation courses.
	tabling member printed	Lord Wigley
	uin	HL6602
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/04/2014 answer text <p /> <p /> <p>The Parole Board assesses the risk posed by individual prisoners when considering their release or transfer to open conditions, and work that has been completed to reduce these risks, rather than only looking at whether specific offending behaviour programmes (OBPs) have been completed. It is not mandatory for Indeterminate Sentence Prisoners to complete OBPs in order to achieve release. Other work that may help to reduce risk may take the form of accredited OBPs; however, it may also include activities such as education or training, work, one to one sessions with a psychologist and a range of other interventions. Although in some circumstances an OBP may be the preferred option, the Parole Board may consider that an offender has reduced their risk of harm, despite not being able to attend a particular course, because they have been able to undertake other offending behaviour work which has achieved the same outcome.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>As at 31 December 2013 there were 5,335 prisoners serving an Indeterminate Sentence of Imprisonment for Public Protection, of which 3,561 were beyond the tariff.</p><p>Of these prisoners beyond tariff, 3,160 had completed at least one accredited offending behaviour programme successfully; 415 had attended a programme and not completed it successfully and of these, 62 had yet to complete any programme successfully; and 184 are currently attending a programme and the outcome is not yet known.</p><p> </p><p>The figures have 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>No information is collected on how many prisoners have not been offered an accredited offending behaviour programme and this could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Wallace of Saltaire question first answered 28/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 1816 label Biography information for Lord Wallace of Saltaire
	tabling member	547 label Biography information for Lord Wigley

62453

	registered interest
	date	17/06/2014
	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	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many category A and category B prisoners are currently being held in category C or category D prisons.
	tabling member printed	Baroness Taylor of Bolton
	uin	HL391
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/06/2014 answer text <p /> <p /> <p>All prisoners are assessed as to their risk of escape or abscond, and their risk of harm to the public should they escape or abscond, which ensures allocation of prisoners to a prison providing appropriate levels of security. Only those prisoners categorised as C would be held in a category C prison and only those considered suitable would be held in category D open conditions.</p><p> </p><p>Those same procedures ensure that category A and B prisoners are not allocated to category C or D prisons and that all prisoners are held in an establishment of at least the security category to which they have been assigned.</p><p> </p><p>Prisoners re-categorised to a higher category would be held in the prison's Segregation Unit until such time as they could be moved to more appropriate accommodation.</p> answering member printed Lord Faulks question first answered 26/06/2014 12:43:11 answering member 4183 label Biography information for Lord Faulks
	tabling member	407 label Biography information for Baroness Taylor of Bolton

45744

	registered interest
	date	27/03/2014
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many legal cases were decided under Sharia law in the United Kingdom in 2012 and 2013.
	tabling member printed	Lord Bradshaw
	uin	HL6393
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/04/2014 answer text <p> </p><p> </p><p>Sharia law has no jurisdiction here and legal cases are not decided under Sharia law in the United Kingdom's courts and tribunals. The answer to the question is therefore ‘none'.</p><p>If people choose to use Sharia for the purposes of dispute resolution or to agree a contract, for example, the enforceability of such arrangements will be entirely dependent on the law of the relevant part of the United Kingdom.</p><p>Regardless of religious belief everyone in the United Kingdom is equal before the law of the land.</p> answering member printed Lord Faulks question first answered 10/04/2014 12:00:00 answering member 4183 label Biography information for Lord Faulks
	tabling member	2483 label Biography information for Lord Bradshaw

64107

	registered interest
	date	25/06/2014
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012
	house id	2
	legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
	question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many mandatory custodial sentences have been imposed under the provisions of section 142 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012.
	tabling member printed	Lord Beecham
	uin	HL611
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/07/2014 answer text <p>The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 introduced the new offences of threatening with a knife or offensive weapon in a public place or school. These offences carry a mandatory minimum sentence of a four month Detention and Training Order for 16-17 year olds, and six months custody for adults.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p> </p><p>The latest available figures on the number of custodial sentence given for the offence of threatening with a knife or offensive weapon are available at table 8 of the Knife Possession Sentencing Quarterly Brief January – March 2014. This quarterly bulletin was published on 11 June 2014 and is available from the Ministry of Justice website at:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/knife-possession-sentencing-quarterly" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/knife-possession-sentencing-quarterly</a></p><p> </p><p>The figures provided have been drawn from an extract of the Police National Computer (PNC) data held by the Department. The PNC holds details of all convictions and cautions given for recordable offences committed in England and Wales. In addition, as with any large scale recording system the PNC is subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.</p><p> </p><p>The Government is clear that people who are convicted of threatening with a knife should always go to prison. Sentencing in individual cases remains a matter for the courts and they may depart from the mandatory minimum custodial sentence if there are particular circumstances which would make it unjust to do so. Parliament has provided the courts with tough sentencing options. The Government is keeping this whole area under close scrutiny and the Sentencing Council are likely to provide further guidelines on knife offences in due course.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Faulks question first answered 10/07/2014 14:04:22 answering member 4183 label Biography information for Lord Faulks
	tabling member	4181 label Biography information for Lord Beecham