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1715175

	registered interest
	date	01/05/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Prison Officers: Vacancies
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department have made a risk assessment of prison officer vacancies in the Long Term High Security Estate.
	tabling member constituency	Brentford and Isleworth
	tabling member printed	Ruth Cadbury
	uin	24485
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/05/2024 answer text <p>We closely monitor staffing levels across the estate via a number of internal governance forums, which assess the vacancy levels for individual prisons and across regions and functions, including the Long Term High Security Estate (LTHSE). Vacancies are one of a number of contributory factors that determine HMPPS' assessment of risk and stability within prisons. We will always ensure that prisons are sufficiently staffed to deliver safe and secure regimes. Where establishments feel that their staffing levels will affect stability or regime, including because of vacancies, there are a number of ways they can maximise the use of their own resource and seek support from other establishments in the short term, through processes managed nationally at Agency level. These include overtime payments and support via Detached Duty staff from other prisons.</p><p> </p><p>We are continuing recruitment activity at all sites with a current or future need, including in the LTHSE. Nationally, we have seen a substantial improvement in the national staffing picture within prisons over the past year. The number of Band 3-5 prison officers increased by 1,634 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) between December 2022 and December 2023, and resignation rates have fallen over the same period. This is the result of significant efforts across the agency, including substantial increases in pay for staff, our first-ever nationwide advertising campaign, incentivized recruitment schemes where we incentivised applicants to relocate to ‘harder-to-staff’ sites, and the Prison Officer Alumni Network, where we have fast-tracked former staff back into the service.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 07/05/2024 11:24:44 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
	tabling member	4389 label Biography information for Ruth Cadbury

1715019

	registered interest
	date	30/04/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Young Offender Institutions
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average number of hours spent out of their cell by inmates was on (a) weekdays and (b) weekend days in each young offender institution in March 2024.
	tabling member constituency	Lewisham East
	tabling member printed	Janet Daby
	uin	24323
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/05/2024 answer text <p>The information requested regarding average time-out-of-room spent by children and young people in young offender institutions during March 2024 is shown in the table below.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p><strong>Cookham Wood</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Feltham</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Parc</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Werrington</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Wetherby</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Weekdays</strong></p></td><td><p>3:39</p></td><td><p>4:54</p></td><td><p>8:48</p></td><td><p>4:29</p></td><td><p>5:36</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Weekends</strong></p></td><td><p>2:39</p></td><td><p>4:20</p></td><td><p>6:22</p></td><td><p>3:06</p></td><td><p>3:50</p></td></tr></tbody></table></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>We know the importance of ensuring that time in custody is purposeful and are committed to ensuring that children and young people have the necessary and appropriate access to education, skills, and work provision with a consistent daily programme of activities.</p><p>The Youth Custody Service is reviewing regime models and staff deployment to maximise time out of room, creating as open a regime as it is safe to do so, as well as providing education and enrichment for those who cannot safely be in a classroom setting.  Additionally, work done to reduce conflict and manage behaviour, to increase the size of groups who are mixing in the regime, has increased time out of room.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 07/05/2024 14:12:56 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
	tabling member	4698 label Biography information for Janet Daby

1714760

	registered interest
	date	29/04/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Restraint Techniques: Children
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if his Department will end the use on children of (a) the inverted wrist hold and (b) other pain-inducing restraints.
	tabling member constituency	Stockton North
	tabling member printed	Alex Cunningham
	uin	24034
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/05/2024 answer text <p>The syllabus for training staff in under-18 young offender institutions and the secure training centre in Managing and Minimising Physical Restraint (MMPR) focuses exclusively on behaviour management and restraint.</p><p>It is essential that staff are trained for every aspect of their role, including in techniques they may need to use to prevent serious physical harm to a child or adult. Staff will continue to be trained in the safe use of pain-inducing techniques, as part of a separate package of interventions for use only in situations where that is the only means of preventing serious physical harm.</p><p>Any response must be necessary, reasonable, and proportionate in view of the risk of harm which is present. All instances where a pain-inducing technique is used are subject to detailed scrutiny by on site MMPR Coordinators, as well as by members of the Independent Restraint Review Panel.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 02/05/2024 08:37:06 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
	tabling member	4122 label Biography information for Alex Cunningham

1713964

	registered interest
	date	25/04/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Prisons: Synthetic Cannabinoids
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of (a) the detection of and (b) testing methods for synthetic cannabinoids in the prison estate; and what steps he is taking to improve effectiveness in these areas.
	tabling member constituency	Easington
	tabling member printed	Grahame Morris
	uin	23726
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/05/2024 answer text <p>All prisons have a zero-tolerance approach to drugs, and we are highly aware of the threat synthetic drugs present. In response, HMPPS has developed capabilities to drug test prisoners who are suspected to have used, or are at risk of using, these dangerous substances. In addition, all prisons have been provided with access to forensic testing of items seized or found within the estate.</p><p> </p><p>Our drug testing contract enables us to deliver key commitments in the cross-Government drug strategy such as: testing of offenders who receive a Drug Rehabilitation Requirement, the pilot of Intensive Supervision Courts, and increased flexibility to test for a broader range of drugs.</p><p> </p><p>Our £100 million Security Investment Programme, aimed at reducing crime in prisons, including reducing the conveyance of illicit items such as drugs, was completed in March 2022. This investment delivered 75 additional X-ray body scanners, resulting in full coverage across the closed adult male estate. Under this programme, all public sector sites have also been provided with next-generation drug trace detection machines. This technology enables prisons to detect attempts to convey drugs, including synthetic cannabinoids, into prisons. The equipment is effective in identifying synthetic cannabinoids that have been soaked onto letters, clothing and other items.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 07/05/2024 11:21:52 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
	tabling member	3973 label Biography information for Grahame Morris

1713469

	registered interest
	date	24/04/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Prison Officers: Vacancies
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many vacancies there were for band 3 prison officers in the Long Term High Security Estate - South at the start of each year from 2017 to 2023.
	tabling member constituency	Brentford and Isleworth
	tabling member printed	Ruth Cadbury
	uin	23505
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/04/2024 answer text <p>Following a period of staffing challenges after the COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen a substantial improvement in the national staffing picture within prisons. The number of Band 3-5 prison officers has increased by 1,634 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) between December 2022 - 2023, and resignation rates have fallen over the same period. This is the result of significant efforts across the agency, including substantial increases in pay for staff and launching our first-ever nationwide advertising campaign. <br> <br> Table One below shows the number of indicative vacancies for Band 3 Prison Officers in the Long Term &amp; High Security Estate (for prisons in the South) for January 2018, January 2019, January 2020, January 2021, January 2022 and January 2023. Data is not held for the period January 2017 and has not been provided.</p><p> </p><p>In reality, many establishments will routinely sit marginally below their Target Staffing level due to normal attrition and time to hire and so we would not expect establishments to run consistently at 100% staffing.</p><p> </p><p>Where prisons are not at their Target Staffing level, these are routinely supplemented (e.g., by using Payment Plus, a form of overtime) which is not accounted for in the indicative vacancy data provided. Use of detached duty, a long-standing mechanism to deploy staff from one prison or region to support another, is also not reflected in the data.</p><p> </p><p><strong><br> Table One: Total Band 3 Prison Officer Indicative Vacancies across Long Term &amp; High Security Estate (LTHSE) South, January 2018 to January 2023</strong></p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Month</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Indicative vacancies (FTE)</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Jan-18</p></td><td><p>104</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Jan-19</p></td><td><p>14</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Jan-20</p></td><td><p>62</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Jan-21</p></td><td><p>86</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Jan-22</p></td><td><p>127</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Jan-23</p></td><td><p>323</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p><strong>Notes </strong></p><ul><li>All data is taken from Workforce Planning Tool returns and show the average position across January for each year, adjusted for joiners and leavers in the month.</li><li>Workforce Planning Tool returns are manually completed by Prisons each month and, as with any manual returns, are subject to human error.</li><li>Data shows average resource across the month, adjusted for joiners and leavers in the month.</li><li>The Long Term &amp; High Security Estate South includes: Belmarsh, Isle of Wight, Long Lartin, Swaleside, Whitemoor and Woodhill.</li><li>Indicative vacancies are the difference between Target Staffing levels and Staff in Post at an individual establishment level. Where Staff in Post (FTE) exceeds Target Staffing (FTE) for an establishment, the number of indicative vacancies has been shown as 0 FTE. Indicative vacancies have been summed across establishments to give the number of indicative vacancies for LTHSE South.</li><li>Target Staffing level is the number of staff required to run an optimal regime in each prison. This level is greater than the minimum number of staff required for a prison to operate safely, and includes allowances for staff taking leave, being off sick or being on training.</li><li>The Target Staffing Figures are set on a site-specific basis and vary in size. Over the reporting period in question, Target Staffing levels for the LTHSE estate has increased which in part explains the increase in vacancies.</li><li>Band 3 Prison Officers include 'Prison Officer - Band 3' and 'Prison Officer - Youth Justice Worker - Band 3'.</li><li>Target Staffing levels are established based on a 39-hour working week. Staff in Post (FTE) is set at 1.0 FTE for those on a 39-hour contract / 1.05 FTE for those on a 41-hour contract and 0.95 FTE for those on a 37-hour contract.</li><li>Target Staffing levels cannot be used to directly calculate vacancies due to the discretion governors have to change establishment level staffing requirements through Governors' Freedoms. As a result, the Ministry of Justice does not regularly present vacancy data and the data presented should be treated with caution.</li><li>Staff in Post data used to calculate an indicative number of vacancies does not take into account those on long-term absences (e.g. career breaks / loans / secondments / agency staff or other forms of overtime).</li><li>Where prisons are not at their Target Staffing level, these are routinely supplemented (e.g., by using Payment Plus, a form of overtime) which is not accounted for in the indicative vacancy data provided. Use of detached duty, a long-standing mechanism to deploy staff from one prison or region to support another, is also not reflected in the data.</li></ul><p> </p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 30/04/2024 15:10:38 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
	tabling member	4389 label Biography information for Ruth Cadbury

1713565

	registered interest
	date	24/04/2024
	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 prisoners have been released early under the end of custody supervised license scheme since October 2023.
	tabling member constituency	Slough
	tabling member printed	Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi
	uin	23546
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/05/2024 answer text <p>The number of releases under End of Custody Supervised Licence will be published when sufficient robust and comprehensive data is available. To support orderly release, its publication will be announced through the GOV.UK release calendar.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 02/05/2024 13:00:33 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
	tabling member	4638 label Biography information for Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi

1713571

	registered interest
	date	24/04/2024
	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, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of the end of custody supervised licence scheme on rates of recidivism among early-release prisoners.
	tabling member constituency	Slough
	tabling member printed	Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi
	uin	23552
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 03/05/2024 answer text <p>We are constantly monitoring the use of End of Custody Supervised Licence (ECSL) and its impact.</p><p>We are taking action to drive down the reoffending rate for all offenders by investing in a wide range of rehabilitative interventions to get them into skills training, work, and stable accommodation. This includes delivering our ground-breaking transitional accommodation service, known as Community Accommodation Service – Tier 3 (CAS-3), so prison-leavers have a guaranteed 12 weeks of basic, temporary accommodation to provide a stable base on release. By January 2023, the proportion of offenders housed on the first night of their release from custody was 7.6 percentage points higher in CAS3 regions versus non-CAS3 regions.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 03/05/2024 13:40:29 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
	tabling member	4638 label Biography information for Mr Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi

1713644

	registered interest
	date	24/04/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Homicide: Reoffenders
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the reoffending rate was for people convicted of murder in each year since 2005.
	tabling member constituency	Luton South
	tabling member printed	Rachel Hopkins
	uin	23616
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/04/2024 answer text <p>Between 2011/12 and 2021/22, the overall proven reoffending rate decreased from 31.3% to 25.2%. As shown in the attached table, the most recent data shows that reoffending rates for both murderers and rapists are at their lowest levels since 2005. In particular, the proportion of rapists who reoffend has fallen from 10.2% in 2005/06 to 5.3% in 2021/22.</p><p> </p><p>We are taking action to drive down the reoffending rate for all offenders by investing in a wide range of rehabilitative interventions to get them into skills training, work, and stable accommodation. Since 2021, we’ve rolled out Employment Hubs and Prison Employment Leads in all resettlement prisons and are delivering our temporary accommodation service for all prisoners at risk of homelessness.</p><p> </p><p>The full information requested can be found in the attached table.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar grouped question UIN 23617 question first answered 29/04/2024 16:55:11 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar attachment 1 file name 2024-04-29 PQ 23616 23617 table.xlsx title Table
	tabling member	4873 label Biography information for Rachel Hopkins

1713645

	registered interest
	date	24/04/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Rape: Reoffenders
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the reoffending rate was for people convicted of rape in each year since 2005.
	tabling member constituency	Luton South
	tabling member printed	Rachel Hopkins
	uin	23617
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/04/2024 answer text <p>Between 2011/12 and 2021/22, the overall proven reoffending rate decreased from 31.3% to 25.2%. As shown in the attached table, the most recent data shows that reoffending rates for both murderers and rapists are at their lowest levels since 2005. In particular, the proportion of rapists who reoffend has fallen from 10.2% in 2005/06 to 5.3% in 2021/22.</p><p> </p><p>We are taking action to drive down the reoffending rate for all offenders by investing in a wide range of rehabilitative interventions to get them into skills training, work, and stable accommodation. Since 2021, we’ve rolled out Employment Hubs and Prison Employment Leads in all resettlement prisons and are delivering our temporary accommodation service for all prisoners at risk of homelessness.</p><p> </p><p>The full information requested can be found in the attached table.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar grouped question UIN 23616 question first answered 29/04/2024 16:55:11 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar attachment 1 file name 2024-04-29 PQ 23616 23617 table.xlsx title Table
	tabling member	4873 label Biography information for Rachel Hopkins

1713070

	registered interest
	date	23/04/2024
	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 people were released under the executive release scheme in each year between 2017 and 2023.
	tabling member constituency	Brentford and Isleworth
	tabling member printed	Ruth Cadbury
	uin	23202
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/05/2024 answer text <p>In the case of recalled standard determinate sentence and extended sentence offenders, the Secretary of State has an executive power to re-release them, if he considers that the statutory release test is met - that is, that it is no longer necessary on the grounds of public protection for the offender to remain confined. Thus, the Secretary of State’s power is exercised with regard to the same test to which the Parole Board has regard.</p><p>The power is exercised by officials in the Public Protection Group (PPG), in His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service under approved delegated authority. In exercising that power, PPG works closely with the Probation Service, in order to put in place a robust risk management plan before a final decision is made to re-release the prisoner.</p><p>The number of recalled offenders released using the Secretary of State’s re-release power for each year between 2017 and 2023 is set out in the table below. Executive re-release was refreshed and relaunched as Risk Assessed Recall Review (RARR) on 30 May 2023. Between 7 September and 31 December 2023, 89 people were released following a RARR.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Year of issuing </strong> <strong>the decision</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Number of releases</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017</p></td><td><p>1,584</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018</p></td><td><p>1,386</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2019</p></td><td><p>957</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2020</p></td><td><p>725</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2021</p></td><td><p>464</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2022</p></td><td><p>92</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2023 up to May</p></td><td><p>20</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The figures in these tables 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. As such, figures are subject to change as information is updated.</p><p><strong>Data source</strong>: Public Protection Unit Database (PPUD)</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar grouped question UIN 23203 question first answered 01/05/2024 14:05:34 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
	tabling member	4389 label Biography information for Ruth Cadbury