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1144223

registered interest
date	03/09/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons: Mental Health Services
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what use his Department has made of mindfulness-based therapy techniques in (a) improving well-being and (b) reducing recidivism in the prison population.
tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
uin	286125
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <table><tbody><tr><td><p>Mindfulness-based therapy techniques are used in prisons in England and Wales. A summary of evidence relating to the impact of mindfulness on people in prison and on probation has been published and can be found at the following link; <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mindfulness-in-prison-and-probation" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mindfulness-in-prison-and-probation</a> In addition to this, HMPPS Wales commissioned 2 studies in 2016 evaluating the impact of a mindfulness intervention at HMP Parc, Wales and within the National Probation Service Wales. Both staff and offenders took part in these studies. The research was led by Swansea University and the full reports, alongside a report from findings in the community, will be published later this year.</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Our work on mindfulness is just part of our efforts to reduce recidivism and improve the prison estate. Over the past 3 years, we have invested £100m to provide additional Prison Officers to improve frontline safety, security and rehabilitation.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer grouped question UIN 286131 question first answered 09/09/2019 13:35:54 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1144225

registered interest
date	03/09/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons: Mental Health Services
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what use his Department has made of mindfulness-based techniques for (a) reducing stress and (b) improving well-being among prison staff.
tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
uin	286127
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>Mindfulness workshops forms part of a range of mental and physical health wellbeing workshops on offer to prison staff, with over 200 wellbeing days provided to prison establishments over the last two years. The workshops are also available on request through the HMPPS bespoke wellbeing initiative, <em>Wellness Together</em> programme which provides a series of workshops to selected prison establishments over a 12-week period.</p><p> </p><p>Some prisons also provide local independently organised staff mindfulness training sessions for instance, at lunch times.</p><p> </p><p>More widely, confidential counselling, wellbeing/lifestyle advice, wellbeing workshops, training and coaching to prison staff are also available to prison staff.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 09/09/2019 13:51:00 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1144229

registered interest
date	03/09/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Administration of Justice and Prisons: Mental Health Services
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will place in the Library a copy of the results of any pilot projects undertaken by his Department on the use of mindfulness-based therapies in prisons and the justice system.
tabling member constituency	Vale of Clwyd
tabling member printed	Chris Ruane
uin	286131
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <table><tbody><tr><td><p>Mindfulness-based therapy techniques are used in prisons in England and Wales. A summary of evidence relating to the impact of mindfulness on people in prison and on probation has been published and can be found at the following link; <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mindfulness-in-prison-and-probation" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mindfulness-in-prison-and-probation</a> In addition to this, HMPPS Wales commissioned 2 studies in 2016 evaluating the impact of a mindfulness intervention at HMP Parc, Wales and within the National Probation Service Wales. Both staff and offenders took part in these studies. The research was led by Swansea University and the full reports, alongside a report from findings in the community, will be published later this year.</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Our work on mindfulness is just part of our efforts to reduce recidivism and improve the prison estate. Over the past 3 years, we have invested £100m to provide additional Prison Officers to improve frontline safety, security and rehabilitation.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer grouped question UIN 286125 question first answered 09/09/2019 13:35:55 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	534 label Biography information for Chris Ruane

1144237

registered interest
date	03/09/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Remand in Custody: Long Term Unemployed People
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 placements for people on short-term remand that have been in long-term unemployment.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	286235
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>Prisoners on remand are permitted to work while in prison. However, we do not collect data centrally relating to the number of prisoners remanded in custody who are in employment while in prison, or who were unemployed prior to being imprisoned. Sentenced prisoners can be released on temporary licence to attend places of work, provided they meet certain criteria.</p><p> </p><p>Prisons must be places of rehabilitation, which will ultimately reduce reoffending. Our Education and Employment strategy sets out how we will transform our approach to ensure prisoners develop the skills they need to secure employment on release. We are engaging with employers to take on ex-prisoners via the New Futures Network (NFN) and have consulted on proposals to increase the opportunities available to prisoners to gain experience in real workplaces through Release on Temporary Licence.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 09/09/2019 11:34:20 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1144238

registered interest
date	03/09/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisoners' Release: Community Development
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans his Department has further its co-operation with (a) churches and (b) prison ministries to help prisoners re assimilate into communities after release from prison.
tabling member constituency	Strangford
tabling member printed	Jim Shannon
uin	286236
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>In England and Wales; Prison chaplaincies are proactive in building local community links, recognising the value of a released prisoner having the opportunity to join a new and positive community.</p><p> </p><p>Working with faith-based organisations, such as Caring for Ex-Offenders and Prison Advice and Care Trust; Prison chaplaincy teams assist in introducing volunteer mentors to prisoners, whilst in custody; with a view to building relationships with a prisoner that will continue on release.</p><p> </p><p>The Welcome Directory, a nationwide directory of faith communities who have identified themselves as places that will provide welcome support for people leaving prison, continues to expand in collaboration with HMPPS Chaplaincy. The directory is available on-line and can be used by prison chaplains, resettlement agencies, and charities, as well as those who have left prison. With over 90 registered faith communities across England and Wales, this gives our Chaplaincy teams a considerable network to liaise with, to ensure that prisoners can continue to receive pastoral support on release from custody.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 09/09/2019 11:27:53 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	4131 label Biography information for Jim Shannon

1144250

registered interest
date	03/09/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to his Department’s press release of 9 November 2015, Prison building revolution announced by Chancellor and Justice Secretary relating to the 2015 Spending Review, how much of the Government's planned £1.3 billion capital investment to transform the prison estate has been spent since the 2015 Spending Review; which (a) new prisons have been successfully opened and (b) prisons have closed since the 2015 Spending Review; and how many (i) new prison places and (ii) additional prison places have been created since the 2015 Spending Review.
tabling member constituency	Leeds East
tabling member printed	Richard Burgon
uin	286299
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>Since the 2015 Spending Review we have:</p><p> </p><ul><li>opened HMP&amp;YOI Berwyn, a new rehabilitative male prison in North Wales, in February 2017. As we build up to full occupancy this will provide 2106 places.</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>closed a total of four prisons (Holloway, Kennet, Glen Parva, and Blantyre House) and one immigration removal centre (IRC) (Dover) since October 2015. On 8 March this year we announced the sale of the former HMP&amp;YOI Holloway site to social housing group Peabody in partnership with London Square Ltd</li></ul><p> </p><ul><li>created new houseblocks in HMP Peterborough, HMP Parc, HMP The Mount, HMP Thameside and HMP Stocken which has delivered an additional 1,465 prison places.</li></ul><p> </p><p>Of the £1.3 billion planned capital investment, the total spent to date (i.e. to the end of July 2019) has been around £0.25 billion. This has been spent on the early stages of long-term projects including the building of the new prison at HMP Wellingborough and the start of work at Glen Parva. Significant further spend is expected in future years to complete these projects.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 09/09/2019 13:13:50 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	4493 label Biography information for Richard Burgon

1144260

registered interest
date	03/09/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons: Publications
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to increase the number of books available in prisons.
tabling member constituency	Mid Sussex
tabling member printed	Sir Nicholas Soames
uin	286079
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>Education is key to helping prisoners break a cycle of reoffending, therefore it is essential that prisoners have access to books and libraries. The prison library aims to provide an accessible service which has a focus on supporting learning, improving literacy and to promote reading as a source of pleasure and wider cultural engagement.</p><p>Every prison is required to have a library and every prisoner must be allowed to have and exchange library books under the Prison Rules.</p><p>The new Education contracts launched in April gave prisons more freedom to shape the way prisoners had access to libraries. Prisons could continue to receive library provision from its Local Authority or opt into new provision through the Prison Education Framework (PEF).</p><p>Family and friends of prisoners are able to hand or send books in directly. They may also order books via the approved book retailers scheme (as set out in Prison Service Instruction 30/2013). Prisoners are also able to purchase books with monies earned in prison or where sent in by family and friends.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 09/09/2019 13:21:22 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	116 label Biography information for Lord Soames of Fletching

1144261

registered interest
date	03/09/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons: Publications
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 potential merits of the Howard League for Penal Reform's review of access to books in prisons; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Mid Sussex
tabling member printed	Sir Nicholas Soames
uin	286080
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>Education is key to helping prisoners break a cycle of reoffending, therefore it is essential that prisoners have access to books and libraries. The prison library aims to provide an accessible service which has a focus on supporting learning, improving literacy and to promote reading as a source of pleasure and wider cultural engagement.</p><p>There may be several operational reasons why books posted to a prisoner would be returned to sender, including volumetric control on property or if the item fails security screening (for example if it’s impregnated with psychoactive substances). Governors may also restrict an individual’s access to some specific reading material on a case-by-case basis in accordance with HMPPS’s Public Protection Manual, in light of the prisoner’s offence or offending behaviour work.</p><p>In April we launched new education contracts to enable prisons to shape the way prisoners had access to libraries. Prisons could continue to receive library provision from its Local Authority or opt into new provision through the Prison Education Framework (PEF). Family and friends of prisoners are able to send books in directly. They may also order books via the approved book retailers scheme (as set out in Prison Service Instruction 30/2013). Prisoners are also able to purchase books with monies earned in prison or where sent in by family and friends.</p><p>Prisons must provide the opportunity for prisoners to rehabilitate, which will ultimately reduce reoffending – access to books forms an extremely important part of this.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 09/09/2019 13:45:56 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	116 label Biography information for Lord Soames of Fletching

1144309

registered interest
date	03/09/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Offender Assessment System
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 in each prison have an up to date Offender Assessment System assessment.
tabling member constituency	Leeds East
tabling member printed	Richard Burgon
uin	286300
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>Prison and probation officers use the Offender Assessment System (OASys) to help them assess the needs and risks of offenders – specifically, the risk of reoffending and risk of harm which a given offender presents. Based on the resulting assessment, prison and probation officers may then formulate plans designed to reduce those risks; the plans require the offender’s co-operation and engagement.</p><p>We cannot answer the question as asked, as the data needed are collected on two systems. Prison population data are collected as a snapshot on a particular date, with which comprehensive data on assessments on prisoners using OASys completed over time cannot be matched.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 09/09/2019 15:54:45 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	4493 label Biography information for Richard Burgon

1144310

registered interest
date	03/09/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Remand in Custody: Employment
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners remanded in custody were in employment in each prison in the financial year 2018-19.
tabling member constituency	Leeds East
tabling member printed	Richard Burgon
uin	286301
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/09/2019 answer text <p>According to Rule 31 of the Prison Rules 1999, while convicted prisoners can be required to do useful work for not more than 10 hours a day, the same does not apply to prisoners held on remand. Rule 31(5) merely states “An unconvicted prisoner shall be permitted, if he wishes, to work as if he were a convicted prisoner”. We do not collect data centrally relating to the number of prisoners remanded in custody who are in employment in prisons and this information could therefore only be provided at disproportionate cost.</p><p> </p><p>Prisons must be places of rehabilitation, which will ultimately reduce reoffending. Our Education and Employment strategy sets out how we will transform our approach to ensure prisoners develop the skills they need to secure employment on release. We are engaging with employers to take on ex-prisoners via the New Futures Network (NFN) and have consulted on proposals to increase the opportunities available to prisoners to gain experience in real workplaces through Release on Temporary Licence.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 09/09/2019 11:35:58 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
tabling member	4493 label Biography information for Richard Burgon