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1175585

registered interest
date	03/02/2020
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Acquittals: Legal Costs
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of reimbursing legal costs for defendants acquitted during legal trials.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	11493
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/02/2020 answer text <p>The Government has measures in place to reimburse acquitted defendants in the criminal courts. Defendants who have been granted legal aid for representation in the Crown Court are paid back the sum of any income contributions, which they have made, in full upon acquittal.</p><p> </p><p>Acquitted defendants who were financially ineligible for legal aid and who have paid privately for legal representation in the Magistrates’ or Crown Court are entitled to recover their costs at the legal aid rates, via a Defendant’s Cost Order.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Aldridge-Brownhills answering member printed Wendy Morton question first answered 11/02/2020 16:07:46 answering member 4358 label Biography information for Wendy Morton
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

1365489

registered interest
date	02/11/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Rape: Victims
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 improve the experience of victims during the investigation of rape cases.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	68236
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/11/2021 answer text <p>Our End-to-End Rape Review Action Plan sets out actions to increase the confidence of victims to come forward to report these horrendous crimes and ensure that they are dealt with professionally and sensitively during the investigation and throughout the whole Criminal Justice process.</p><p> </p><p>We are committed to transforming the way the police and CPS investigate and prosecute cases towards a default investigatory model that radically shifts the focus away from victim credibility towards the suspect’s behaviour. We are also taking action to ensure that any digital material requested from victims is strictly limited to what is necessary and proportionate to allow reasonable lines of inquiry into the alleged offence, that victims are communicated with effectively throughout any digital evidence collection process and to deliver on the ambition that no victim will be left without a phone for more than 24 hours, in any circumstances.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, we recognise that that access to early and continuing support is an essential factor in enabling rape victims to engage with the criminal justice system. As such, during 2021/22 £16 million has been committed to the Rape &amp; Sexual Abuse Support Fund, providing vital funding to almost 80 local support services for victims and survivors of sexual violence and we will be increasing funding to see the number of ISVAs/IDVAs rise to over 1000 by 2024/25 because we know that the right support can help victims continue with cases.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 10/11/2021 12:30:03 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

1365490

registered interest
date	02/11/2021
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 discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on increasing the operational capacity of the prison estate in England.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	68237
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/11/2021 answer text <p>The Justice Secretary has regular conversations on prison capacity with the Chancellor of the Exchequer. These conversations have informed the Spending Review that has just taken place.</p><p> </p><p>At the Spending Review, the Chancellor confirmed that the Ministry of Justice would receive £3.5bn over the next three years to create 18,000 additional, modern prison places, and a further £250m was provided to fund up to 2,000 new temporary places.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 10/11/2021 12:31:09 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

1365491

registered interest
date	02/11/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons: Drugs
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many incidents of drugs smuggling into prisons were detected in England in each of the last 12 months.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	68238
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 11/11/2021 answer text <p>We are spending £100 million to bolster prison security and clamp down on the weapons, drugs and mobile phones that fuel violence and crime behind bars. This money fund measures including airport-style security, x-ray body scanners and phone-blocking technology. To date, x-ray body scanners have stopped over 10,000 attempts by prisoners to smuggle contraband into prisons and HMPPS currently has over 500 drug detection dogs working across the estate.</p><p>In the 12-months ending March 2021, there were 20,295 finds of drugs in prisons; a decrease of 6% from the 21,575 in the 12-months to March 2020. These figures are available in the <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1007486/HMPPS-annual-digest-2020-21_vFINAL.pdf" target="_blank">HMPPS Annual Digest</a>.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 11/11/2021 18:06:01 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

1385730

registered interest
date	07/12/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisoners: Basic Skills
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what baseline assessment is used to judge improvements in basic numeracy and literacy rates of offenders in prison.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	88698
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/12/2021 answer text <p>Every prisoner should undertake an English and Maths assessment on entry into prison. The assessment is undertaken using the Basic and Key Skills Builder Tool. This is a standard functional skills assessment tool used across Further Education in the community as well as in prisons.</p><p> </p><p>The current Prison Education Framework contracts started in April 2019. 55,099 prisoners undertook an initial assessment between April 2019 and March 2020, over half of the initial assessments undertaken were at entry level 1-3 (equivalent to primary school): 57% in English and 61% in maths. During this period 11% of maths and 12% of English Initial Assessments were at level 2 (equivalent to Key Stage 4), or above.</p><p> </p><p>We do not currently assess on exit from prison. However, we plan to start measuring the progress prisoners make in English and maths from the start of next year.</p><p> </p><p>The Prison Strategy White Paper published on 7<sup>th</sup> December 2021 sets out the clear strategic priority to improve the numeracy and literacy of prisoners.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins grouped question UIN 88700 88701 question first answered 15/12/2021 16:16:25 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

1385731

registered interest
date	07/12/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Offenders: Employment
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 assist offenders to obtain employment after their release from prison.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	88699
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/12/2021 answer text <p>We know that employment reduces reoffending significantly, with prison leavers in employment being nine percentage points less likely to reoffend.</p><p> </p><p>In the Prisons Strategy White Paper published last week, we set out our plans to transform how prisons get offenders into work.</p><p> </p><p>We will open our doors to the private sector to overhaul the opportunities for work offered in prisons and on Release on Temporary Licence. This will improve prison leavers’ job prospects by giving them skills and experience with real employers. We will also drive job outcomes on release, and improve the service we offer employers, by implementing dedicated Employment Advisors in prisons and through the development of a digital tool that will match prisoners to jobs on release.</p><p> </p><p>Employers play a role in providing advice and challenge on how we can make a step-change in prison leaver employment. We are working to establish more local employment boards to link prisons with business networks and provide this support. We also need to ensure that prisons are performing and developing these links so are establishing ‘Employment Hubs’, the equivalent of a ‘jobcentre in a prison’ where prisoners can find out about job opportunities.</p><p> </p><p>This is part of our £200m a year investment by 2024-25 to improve prison leavers’ access to accommodation, employment support and substance misuse treatment and further measures for early intervention to tackle youth offending.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 15/12/2021 16:18:21 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

1385732

registered interest
date	07/12/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisoners: Basic Skills
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many convicted offenders entered the prison estate in the last three years who lacked basic literacy and numeracy skills comparable to Key Stage 4 qualifications.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	88700
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/12/2021 answer text <p>Every prisoner should undertake an English and Maths assessment on entry into prison. The assessment is undertaken using the Basic and Key Skills Builder Tool. This is a standard functional skills assessment tool used across Further Education in the community as well as in prisons.</p><p> </p><p>The current Prison Education Framework contracts started in April 2019. 55,099 prisoners undertook an initial assessment between April 2019 and March 2020, over half of the initial assessments undertaken were at entry level 1-3 (equivalent to primary school): 57% in English and 61% in maths. During this period 11% of maths and 12% of English Initial Assessments were at level 2 (equivalent to Key Stage 4), or above.</p><p> </p><p>We do not currently assess on exit from prison. However, we plan to start measuring the progress prisoners make in English and maths from the start of next year.</p><p> </p><p>The Prison Strategy White Paper published on 7<sup>th</sup> December 2021 sets out the clear strategic priority to improve the numeracy and literacy of prisoners.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins grouped question UIN 88698 88701 question first answered 15/12/2021 16:16:25 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

1385733

registered interest
date	07/12/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisoners: Basic Skills
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many convicted offenders left the prison estate in the last three years who possessed basic literacy and numeracy skills comparable to Key Stage 4 qualifications.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	88701
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 15/12/2021 answer text <p>Every prisoner should undertake an English and Maths assessment on entry into prison. The assessment is undertaken using the Basic and Key Skills Builder Tool. This is a standard functional skills assessment tool used across Further Education in the community as well as in prisons.</p><p> </p><p>The current Prison Education Framework contracts started in April 2019. 55,099 prisoners undertook an initial assessment between April 2019 and March 2020, over half of the initial assessments undertaken were at entry level 1-3 (equivalent to primary school): 57% in English and 61% in maths. During this period 11% of maths and 12% of English Initial Assessments were at level 2 (equivalent to Key Stage 4), or above.</p><p> </p><p>We do not currently assess on exit from prison. However, we plan to start measuring the progress prisoners make in English and maths from the start of next year.</p><p> </p><p>The Prison Strategy White Paper published on 7<sup>th</sup> December 2021 sets out the clear strategic priority to improve the numeracy and literacy of prisoners.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins grouped question UIN 88698 88700 question first answered 15/12/2021 16:16:25 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

1461856

registered interest
date	11/05/2022
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons: Food
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make assessment of the need to review diets and meals provided to prisoners on the prison estate to help ensure high nutritional provision and reduced use of processed foods.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	707
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 20/05/2022 answer text <p>Prison Rules require that prisoners are provided with meals that are wholesome, nutritious, well prepared, reasonably varied and sufficient in quantity. All meals take religious, cultural and medical requirements into account and are informed by Government guidance on eating a healthy diet.</p><p> </p><p>We are working in partnership to review menus across the public sector estate, with 2,600 recipes being improved, removing unhealthy choices while ensuring religious, cultural and nutritional requirements continue to be met.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 20/05/2022 11:06:03 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord

1467259

registered interest
date	01/06/2022
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons: Telephones
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much the Government has spent on installing in cell telephones on the prison estate in the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Hendon
tabling member printed	Dr Matthew Offord
uin	11653
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/06/2022 answer text <p>The Government has spent £36.34m on installing in cell telephony on the prison estate in the past 5 years. This technology is vital in boosting prisoners’ rehabilitation prospects, as it helps them maintain family ties and access the support they need to stay away from crime on release.</p><p> </p><p>In-cell telephony has also reduced the need for prisoners to share communal pin phones, which can be potential trigger points for violence, arising from prisoners queuing for public phones on the landings. Disagreements around communal phones can in turn fuel demand for illicit mobile phones.</p><p> </p><p>All calls remain restricted to pre-approved numbers only, and public protection and safeguarding factors have been considered prior to the number being approved by the prison. All calls are recorded for the purpose of call monitoring, with the exception of legal calls and support lines such as the Samaritans. Phones are active during the agreed operating times specified by the prison.</p> answering member constituency Louth and Horncastle answering member printed Victoria Atkins question first answered 10/06/2022 11:28:07 answering member 4399 label Biography information for Victoria Atkins
tabling member	4006 label Biography information for Dr Matthew Offord