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1716617

	registered interest
	date	08/05/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Parc Prison: Drugs and Mobile Phones
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Action Plan: HMP Parc following the July 2022 HM Inspectorate of Prisons report, published on 11 October 2022, what assessment he has made of the potential implications for his policies of the review of the current suite of available technology to detect drugs and mobile phones at HMP Parc.
	tabling member constituency	Cynon Valley
	tabling member printed	Beth Winter
	uin	25374
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/05/2024 answer text <p>The Ministry of Justice continues to focus on the use technology to disrupt the supply of drugs, mobile phones and other illicit items into prisons, including through assessing the provision of equipment across the prison estate.</p><p> </p><p>Following His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons report published on 11 October 2022, HMP/YOI Parc have worked towards implementing the recommendations identified in the action plan, with a successful bid submitted via G4S for an additional itemiser and X-Ray body scanner.</p><p> </p><p>Across the wider estate our £100 million Security Investment Programme, aimed at reducing crime in prisons, completed in March 2022. It included funding to reduce smuggling of illicit items, including drugs, and our measures are producing results.</p><p> </p><p>This investment delivered 75 additional X-ray body scanners, resulting in full coverage across the closed adult male estate. As of October 2023, we had recorded over 46,900 positive indications, helping tackle the supply of drugs into prisons.</p><p> </p><p>Furthermore, in January of this year we introduced new 400 metre Restricted Fly Zones around all closed prisons and young offender institutions in England and Wales. This makes it easier for prison staff and the police to identify illicit drones and take action to disrupt them, intercept any contraband and pursue prosecution.</p><p> </p><p>Since 2016, HMPPS has helped the police secure more than 75 convictions from criminal drone activity around prisons. Those convicted have been sentenced to a combined total of over 265 years behind bars.</p><p>HMPPS is working hard to conduct assessments all across the prison estate to implement a range of physical upgrades and countermeasures to prevent drones from reaching their target destinations.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 17/05/2024 10:27:27 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
	tabling member	4809 label Biography information for Beth Winter

1716626

	registered interest
	date	08/05/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Parc Prison: Inspections
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when the next inspection by HM Inspectorate of Prisons of HMP Parc will occur.
	tabling member constituency	Cynon Valley
	tabling member printed	Beth Winter
	uin	25383
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/05/2024 answer text <p>His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) is operationally independent of Government and is responsible for deciding its own inspection programme. Therefore, the Government is not normally notified of inspections in advance, except in rare cases where the Chief Inspector believes a notice period might specifically help promote improvement at a particular institution.</p><p> </p><p>Under HMIP's framework each prison should be inspected at least once every five years and in practice most prisons can expect to be inspected every two to three years. HMI Prisons last inspected HMP Parc in June 2022.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 17/05/2024 10:33:37 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
	tabling member	4809 label Biography information for Beth Winter

1716627

	registered interest
	date	08/05/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Parc Prison: Annual Reports
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether he has had discussion with the Independent Monitoring Board at HMP Parc on the publication dates of the Annual reports for (a) 1 March 2022-31 March 2023 and (b) 1 March 2023-31 March 2024.
	tabling member constituency	Cynon Valley
	tabling member printed	Beth Winter
	uin	25384
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/05/2024 answer text <p>The Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) at HMP Parc write two separate reports, one for the Young Person’s Unit (YPU) and one for the adult prison. Publication dates for (a) the YPU report covering 01 March 2021 – 31 March 2023, (b) the adult prison report covering 01 April 2022 – 31 March 2023, and (c) subsequent reports, are all being discussed with Ministry of Justice Officials. It is anticipated that both reports covering periods up to March 2023 will be published in Summer 2024.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 17/05/2024 10:38:00 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
	tabling member	4809 label Biography information for Beth Winter

1716846

	registered interest
	date	09/05/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Prisons: Construction
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many new prison places have been created in each of the last five years.
	tabling member constituency	South Holland and The Deepings
	tabling member printed	Sir John Hayes
	uin	25408
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/05/2024 answer text <p>The below table provides a summary of the number of prison places that have opened in each year since 2019. This includes places delivered as part of the 20,000 places portfolio, including two new c.1,700 place prisons and new prison places delivered through houseblocks and Rapid Deployment Cells (RDCs)</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Year</p></td><td><p>Places opened</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2019</p></td><td><p>206</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2020</p></td><td><p>508</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2021</p></td><td><p>1,064</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2022</p></td><td><p>2,176</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2023</p></td><td><p>2,459</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Total</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>6,413</strong></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>For simplicity, all places relating to a prison opening are included in the year that the prison opened. In practice, a new prison may take more than a year before reaching its final operational capacity.</p><p> </p><p>We continue to push ahead with the largest prison expansion programme since the Victorian era – with 10,000 of the pledged 20,000 additional places on track to be delivered by the end of 2025. This will include our third new prison, HMP Millsike, delivering c.1,500 places, new houseblocks at HMP Stocken and Rye Hill, as well as hundreds more RDCs.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 17/05/2024 10:42:25 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
	tabling member	350 label Biography information for Sir John Hayes

1717863

	registered interest
	date	14/05/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) knives and (b) other similar weapons were taken off prisoners at HMP Parc in the last six months.
	tabling member constituency	Blaenau Gwent
	tabling member printed	Nick Smith
	uin	26108
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/05/2024 answer text <p>Data on finds for April 2023 onwards is subject to future publication. Data to March 2024 will be released on 25th July, in the 23/24 HMPPS Annual Digest.</p><p> </p><p>Figures for the number of finds within prison custody, including finds of weapons, are published once per year on a financial year basis in the HMMPS Annual Digest: HMPPS Annual Digest, April 2022 to March 2023 - GOV.UK, specifically in tables 8.2b, 8.3 and 8.4 of this link: <a href="https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/64c143b41e10bf000e17cf9e/8.__Finds.ods" target="_blank">https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/64c143b41e10bf000e17cf9e/8.__Finds.ods</a>.</p><p> </p><p>HMPPS continues to work extensively with G4S and is closely overseeing the prison to improve safety and reduce harm. All establishments are required to have a safety strategy in place, which includes actions to address violence. HMPPS remains committed to providing a safe, decent and secure environment for all committed to our care.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 17/05/2024 10:59:25 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
	tabling member	3928 label Biography information for Nick Smith

1717651

	registered interest
	date	13/05/2024
	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, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the £100m Security Investment Programme in preventing drugs being smuggled into prisons since March 2022.
	tabling member constituency	East Londonderry
	tabling member printed	Mr Gregory Campbell
	uin	25784
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/05/2024 answer text <p>The Government’s £100m Security Investment Programme, aimed at reducing the conveyance of illicit items such as drugs, was completed in March 2022.</p><p> </p><p>This investment delivered 75 additional X-ray body scanners resulting in full coverage across the closed adult male estate. As of October 2023, we have recorded 46,925 positive indications, helping to tackle the smuggling of drugs and other illicit items into prisons.</p><p> </p><p>The investment also funded Enhanced Gate Security at 42 high-risk sites, enhancing our routine searching of staff and visitors. Over 140 new staff were recruited into the Counter-Corruption Unit through the Security Investment Programme. This includes regional Prevent teams dedicated to building staff resilience through training, awareness raising and individual support, as well as 20 Police Investigators dedicated to investigating corruption within HMPPS.</p><p> </p><p>As part of this investment, we are undertaking a full evaluation for the Security Investment Programme. The evaluation explores whether the programme has achieved its intended outcomes, how the programme has been delivered, whether it has been delivered as intended and to identify factors which further strengthen its effectiveness.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 16/05/2024 13:57:03 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
	tabling member	1409 label Biography information for Mr Gregory Campbell

1717741

	registered interest
	date	13/05/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Young Offender Institutions: Prison Accommodation
	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 inmates spent out of their cell was on (a) weekdays and (b) weekend days in each young offender institution in April 2024.
	tabling member constituency	Lewisham East
	tabling member printed	Janet Daby
	uin	25980
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/05/2024 answer text <p>The information requested regarding average time-out-of-room spent by children and young people in young offender institutions during April 2024 is shown in the table below.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>Cookham Wood</p></td><td><p>Feltham</p></td><td><p>Parc</p></td><td><p>Werrington</p></td><td><p>Wetherby</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Weekdays</p></td><td><p>4:16</p></td><td><p>4:28</p></td><td><p>8:20</p></td><td><p>4:40</p></td><td><p>5:05</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Weekends</p></td><td><p>4:19</p></td><td><p>3:51</p></td><td><p>6:28</p></td><td><p>3:30</p></td><td><p>3:40</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><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> </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 can safely be managed, 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> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 16/05/2024 14:00:31 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
	tabling member	4698 label Biography information for Janet Daby

1716483

	registered interest
	date	08/05/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Prisons: Nitazenes
	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 level of availability of nitazenes in prisons.
	tabling member constituency	Brentford and Isleworth
	tabling member printed	Ruth Cadbury
	uin	25240
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/05/2024 answer text <p>Since February 2024, all prisoners subject to mandatory drug testing in prisons have been tested for fentanyl, a potent synthetic opioid. We are working closely with our contracted drug testing provider to further improve our capabilities to test prisoners for other synthetic opioids, including nitazenes.</p><p> </p><p>Forensic testing of suspected drug finds was made available to all public sector prisons in April 2023. Our contracted forensic analysis provider has capability to detect synthetic opioids including all fentanyls and nitazenes.</p><p> </p><p>All prisons have a zero-tolerance approach to drugs and we are aware of the threat synthetic drugs present. Our current assessment is that there is a low prevalence of Nitazenes in prison custody. However, we are alert to the risks and continue to monitor this.</p><p> </p><p>Our £100 million investment in tough security measures, such as X-ray body scanners, is helping tackle the supply of illicit drugs into prisons.</p><p> </p><p>To prevent the smuggling of drugs through the mail, we have also invested in next-generation drug trace detection machines. As of March 2024, every public sector prison now has this cutting-edge technology.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar grouped question UIN 25241 question first answered 14/05/2024 16:25:47 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
	tabling member	4389 label Biography information for Ruth Cadbury

1716484

	registered interest
	date	08/05/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Prisons: Nitazenes
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether mandatory random drug testing in prisons includes testing for nitrazenes.
	tabling member constituency	Brentford and Isleworth
	tabling member printed	Ruth Cadbury
	uin	25241
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/05/2024 answer text <p>Since February 2024, all prisoners subject to mandatory drug testing in prisons have been tested for fentanyl, a potent synthetic opioid. We are working closely with our contracted drug testing provider to further improve our capabilities to test prisoners for other synthetic opioids, including nitazenes.</p><p> </p><p>Forensic testing of suspected drug finds was made available to all public sector prisons in April 2023. Our contracted forensic analysis provider has capability to detect synthetic opioids including all fentanyls and nitazenes.</p><p> </p><p>All prisons have a zero-tolerance approach to drugs and we are aware of the threat synthetic drugs present. Our current assessment is that there is a low prevalence of Nitazenes in prison custody. However, we are alert to the risks and continue to monitor this.</p><p> </p><p>Our £100 million investment in tough security measures, such as X-ray body scanners, is helping tackle the supply of illicit drugs into prisons.</p><p> </p><p>To prevent the smuggling of drugs through the mail, we have also invested in next-generation drug trace detection machines. As of March 2024, every public sector prison now has this cutting-edge technology.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar grouped question UIN 25240 question first answered 14/05/2024 16:25:47 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
	tabling member	4389 label Biography information for Ruth Cadbury

1716488

	registered interest
	date	08/05/2024
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Parc Prison: Staff
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison (a) officers and (b) staff have been investigated for (i) drug smuggling and (ii) corruption at HMP Parc in each of the last four years.
	tabling member constituency	Brentford and Isleworth
	tabling member printed	Ruth Cadbury
	uin	25242
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/05/2024 answer text <p>The information requested is not held centrally.</p> answering member constituency Charnwood answering member printed Edward Argar question first answered 14/05/2024 16:27:36 answering member 4362 label Biography information for Edward Argar
	tabling member	4389 label Biography information for Ruth Cadbury