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1241443

	registered interest
	date	07/10/2020
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Marriage: Humanism
	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 potential merits of recognising Humanist Marriages in law following the 2014 Ministry of Justice review into marriages by non-religious belief organisations and the 2020 High Court ruling that a failure to recognise humanist marriages is discriminatory.
	tabling member constituency	Reigate
	tabling member printed	Crispin Blunt
	uin	100274
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/10/2020 answer text <p>The Government announced in June 2019 that the Law Commission will conduct a fundamental review of the law on how and where people can legally marry in England and Wales. As part of that review, the Government invited the Law Commission to make recommendations about how marriage by humanist and other non-religious belief organisations could be incorporated into a revised or new scheme for all marriages that is simple, fair and consistent. The Government will decide on provision on the basis of the Law Commission's recommendations.</p><p>The Law Commission published a consultation paper on 3 September 2020 as part of its review and will welcome responses from all.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk grouped question UIN 100275 question first answered 16/10/2020 10:27:10 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
	tabling member	104 label Biography information for Crispin Blunt

1241444

	registered interest
	date	07/10/2020
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Marriage: Humanism
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the proposals from the Law Commission on Humanist Marriages, what steps he will take to recognise humanist marriages while a comprehensive reform of marriage law is undertaken.
	tabling member constituency	Reigate
	tabling member printed	Crispin Blunt
	uin	100275
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/10/2020 answer text <p>The Government announced in June 2019 that the Law Commission will conduct a fundamental review of the law on how and where people can legally marry in England and Wales. As part of that review, the Government invited the Law Commission to make recommendations about how marriage by humanist and other non-religious belief organisations could be incorporated into a revised or new scheme for all marriages that is simple, fair and consistent. The Government will decide on provision on the basis of the Law Commission's recommendations.</p><p>The Law Commission published a consultation paper on 3 September 2020 as part of its review and will welcome responses from all.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk grouped question UIN 100274 question first answered 16/10/2020 10:27:11 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
	tabling member	104 label Biography information for Crispin Blunt

1241330

	registered interest
	date	07/10/2020
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Marriage: Coronavirus
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he enable local registry offices to permit wedding ceremonies to be held outdoors in the grounds of approved premises if covid-19 social distancing regulations cannot be complied with inside the premises.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Selly Oak
	tabling member printed	Steve McCabe
	uin	100283
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/10/2020 answer text <p>The Government announced in June 2019 that the Law Commission will conduct a fundamental review of the law on how and where people can legally marry in England and Wales. This is an important and complex social policy reform and requires careful thought and consideration.</p><p>The Law Commission published its consultation paper on 3 September 2020 and the Government, following the final report, will decide on provision on the basis of the Law Commission’s recommendations.</p><p>In parallel, the Government made clear when it announced the Law Commission project that it would also, as an interim measure, undertake work to allow more civil weddings and civil partnerships to take place outdoors through secondary legislation. This work is ongoing.</p><p>The Government has published guidance on planning COVID-19 secure marriages and civil partnerships at <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-for-small-marriages-and-civil-partnerships/covid-19-guidance-for-small-marriages-and-civil-partnerships" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-for-small-marriages-and-civil-partnerships/covid-19-guidance-for-small-marriages-and-civil-partnerships</a>.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk question first answered 16/10/2020 11:23:54 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
	tabling member	298 label Biography information for Steve McCabe

1241361

	registered interest
	date	07/10/2020
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Ministry of Justice: Written Questions
	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 his Department's internal guidance for officials on the drafting of answers to parliamentary questions; and if he will set out his Department's step by step sign off procedure before Ministerial approval is given to answers.
	tabling member constituency	Shipley
	tabling member printed	Philip Davies
	uin	100315
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/10/2020 answer text <p>This government values the ongoing work of MPs and Peers whose scrutiny, whether through written Parliamentary Questions or other methods, is an invaluable part of our democratic process.</p><p> </p><p>The Ministry of Justice’s internal guidance for answering parliamentary questions was updated and published on the Department’s intranet in April 2020. I will arrange for a copy of the attached guidance to be placed in the Libraries of the House.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, the Cabinet Office has produced guidance for civil servants on drafting answers to parliamentary questions. This may be found on the gov.uk website at:</p><p><a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/drafting-answers-to-parliamentary-questions-guidance" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/drafting-answers-to-parliamentary-questions-guidance</a></p><p> </p><p>Parliamentary questions are cleared by Senior Civil Servants in the relevant policy area, then Special Advisers, before receiving final sign off from Ministers.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk question first answered 16/10/2020 10:33:24 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk attachment 1 file name parliamentary-questions-guidance (1).doc title parliamentary questions guidance
	tabling member	1565 label Biography information for Sir Philip Davies

1241370

	registered interest
	date	07/10/2020
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Ministry of Justice: Pay
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the biggest pay rise given to someone in his Department was in (a) percentage and (b) cash terms in the last 12 months.
	tabling member constituency	Shipley
	tabling member printed	Philip Davies
	uin	100320
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/10/2020 answer text <p>Between the period of 01/07/19 - 30/06/2020 the biggest pay rise given to someone in the Department was (a) 7.6 in percentage terms and (b) £7,059 in cash terms.</p><p>This pay increase, determined through the independent Prison Service Pay Review Body process and calculated as a percentage increase, was for Prison Service staff. HMPPS received the highest pay rise.</p><p>Figures are based on staff in post as at 30 June who received their pay awards in September which were backdated to 1 April. Figures do not include annual pay increases for staff in the National Probation Service which have yet to be confirmed and paid and excludes pay award for SCS grades as not yet implemented.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 16/10/2020 10:39:00 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
	tabling member	1565 label Biography information for Sir Philip Davies

1241180

	registered interest
	date	07/10/2020
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Prison Sentences
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners are serving sentences of imprisonment for public protection in each prison in (a) England and (b) Wales for the most recent period for which information is available.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Ladywood
	tabling member printed	Shabana Mahmood
	uin	100342
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/10/2020 answer text <p>The number of prisoners serving a sentence of imprisonment for public protection (IPP) in each prison in (a) England and (b) Wales as at 30 June 2020 is set out in Table 1. The figures are a subset of those published in Offender Management Statistics Quarterly: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/offender-management-statistics-quarterly" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/offender-management-statistics-quarterly</a></p><p>A prisoner serving an IPP sentence will be released only when the independent Parole Board concludes that the risk s/he presents to the public is capable of being safely managed in the community on licence.</p><p>IPP prisoners continue to have a high chance of a positive outcome from Parole Board hearings. In 2019/20 72% of Parole Board hearings resulted in either a recommendation for a transfer to an open prison or release. As of 30 June 2020, the number of unreleased IPP prisoners who have completed their minimum tariff was 1,856. This is down from 2,136 on 30 June 2019.</p><p><strong>Table 1: Prisoners serving Imprisonment for Public Protection sentences in England, as at 30 June 2020</strong></p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Establishment</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>N</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Total</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>1905</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Altcourse</p></td><td><p>7</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Askham Grange</p></td><td><p>4</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Ashfield</p></td><td><p>25</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Belmarsh</p></td><td><p>8</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Buckley Hall</p></td><td><p>26</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Bedford</p></td><td><p>5</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Bristol</p></td><td><p>6</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Birmingham</p></td><td><p>8</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Bullingdon</p></td><td><p>15</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Bure</p></td><td><p>29</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Brixton</p></td><td><p>12</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Bronzefield</p></td><td><p>4</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Chelmsford</p></td><td><p>6</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Coldingley</p></td><td><p>*</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Channings Wood</p></td><td><p>10</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Dartmoor</p></td><td><p>12</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Dovegate</p></td><td><p>33</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Drake Hall</p></td><td><p>*</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Doncaster</p></td><td><p>6</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Downview</p></td><td><p>*</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Erlestoke</p></td><td><p>20</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Standford Hill (Sheppey cluster)</p></td><td><p>18</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>East Sutton Park</p></td><td><p>*</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Eastwood Park</p></td><td><p>*</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Exeter</p></td><td><p>3</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Elmley (Sheppey cluster)</p></td><td><p>17</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Forest Bank</p></td><td><p>7</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Ford</p></td><td><p>9</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Foston Hall</p></td><td><p>3</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Frankland</p></td><td><p>42</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Full Sutton</p></td><td><p>19</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Featherstone</p></td><td><p>11</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Garth</p></td><td><p>50</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Guys Marsh</p></td><td><p>6</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Grendon/Spring Hill</p></td><td><p>40</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Gartree</p></td><td><p>41</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Hollesley Bay</p></td><td><p>8</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Hatfield</p></td><td><p>5</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Hewell</p></td><td><p>9</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Holme House</p></td><td><p>23</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Hull</p></td><td><p>46</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Humber</p></td><td><p>18</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>High Down</p></td><td><p>9</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Highpoint (North and South)</p></td><td><p>37</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Haverigg</p></td><td><p>34</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Isle of Wight</p></td><td><p>39</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Kirkham</p></td><td><p>10</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Kirklevington Grange</p></td><td><p>6</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Leicester</p></td><td><p>6</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Leeds</p></td><td><p>4</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Lancaster Farms</p></td><td><p>8</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Lowdham Grange</p></td><td><p>25</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Lindholme</p></td><td><p>20</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Lincoln</p></td><td><p>8</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Long Lartin</p></td><td><p>18</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Low Newton</p></td><td><p>4</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Liverpool</p></td><td><p>9</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Littlehey</p></td><td><p>75</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Lewes</p></td><td><p>3</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Leyhill</p></td><td><p>146</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Moorland</p></td><td><p>8</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Manchester</p></td><td><p>23</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Mount</p></td><td><p>20</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>New Hall</p></td><td><p>*</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Northumberland</p></td><td><p>29</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Nottingham</p></td><td><p>10</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>North Sea Camp</p></td><td><p>87</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Norwich</p></td><td><p>8</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Onley</p></td><td><p>13</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Oakwood</p></td><td><p>22</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Peterborough (Male)</p></td><td><p>5</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Portland</p></td><td><p>*</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Peterborough (Female)</p></td><td><p>*</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Preston</p></td><td><p>5</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Pentonville</p></td><td><p>10</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Rochester</p></td><td><p>3</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Rye Hill</p></td><td><p>25</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Ranby</p></td><td><p>9</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Risley</p></td><td><p>24</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Send</p></td><td><p>7</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Stafford</p></td><td><p>25</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Stoke Heath</p></td><td><p>11</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Stocken</p></td><td><p>16</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Swaleside (Sheppey cluster)</p></td><td><p>41</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Swinfen Hall</p></td><td><p>3</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Sudbury</p></td><td><p>9</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Thorn Cross</p></td><td><p>9</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Thameside</p></td><td><p>*</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>The Verne</p></td><td><p>12</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Winchester</p></td><td><p>4</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Wakefield</p></td><td><p>46</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Wealstun</p></td><td><p>12</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Woodhill</p></td><td><p>17</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Warren Hill</p></td><td><p>51</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Wayland</p></td><td><p>43</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Wymott</p></td><td><p>65</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Whitemoor</p></td><td><p>26</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Wormwood Scrubs</p></td><td><p>*</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Whatton</p></td><td><p>117</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Wandsworth</p></td><td><p>*</p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><p><strong>Table 2: Prisoners serving Imprisonment for Public Protection sentences in Wales, as at 30 June 20</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Establishment</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>N</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Total</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>64</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Berwyn</p></td><td><p>31</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Cardiff</p></td><td><p>3</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Parc</p></td><td><p>14</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Swansea</p></td><td><p>*</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Usk</p></td><td><p>12</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Prescoed</p></td><td><p>*</p></td></tr></tbody></table><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Data sources and quality</strong></p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><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.</p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Note</strong></p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><p>An asterisk (*) has been used to suppress values of two or less. This is to prevent the disclosure of individual information. Further disclosure control may be completed where this alone is not sufficient.</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 12/10/2020 16:22:19 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
	tabling member	3914 label Biography information for Shabana Mahmood

1241181

	registered interest
	date	07/10/2020
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Prison Sentences
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the ten longest lengths of time have been that a prisoner has served longer than their original tariff as a result of serving sentences of imprisonment for public protection; and what the ethnicity was of each of those prisoners.
	tabling member constituency	Birmingham, Ladywood
	tabling member printed	Shabana Mahmood
	uin	100343
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/10/2020 answer text <p>As at 30 June 2020, the ten longest lengths of time post tariff and before first release which a prisoner on a sentence of imprisonment for public protection (IPP) has served are set out in the table below. The same table shows the recorded ethnicity of each of the ten prisoners.</p><p> </p><p>Our primary responsibility is to protect the public. A prisoner serving an IPP sentence will be released only when the independent Parole Board concludes that the risk to the public is capable of being safely managed in the community on licence. A prisoner serving an IPP sentence is statutorily entitled to a review of his/her detention by the independent Parole Board at least once every two years.</p><p> </p><p>Ten Longest Lengths of Time Post Tariff and before First Release for IPP prisoners (As of 30 June 2020)</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Days Post Tariff</p></td><td><p>Ethnicity</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>5223</p></td><td><p>White</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>5092</p></td><td><p>White</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>5087</p></td><td><p>White</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>4961</p></td><td><p>White</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>4911</p></td><td><p>White</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>4889</p></td><td><p>Black / Black British</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>4849</p></td><td><p>White</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>4824</p></td><td><p>White</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>4806</p></td><td><p>White</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>4802</p></td><td><p>Asian / Asian British</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Notes:</p><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.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 12/10/2020 16:23:48 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
	tabling member	3914 label Biography information for Shabana Mahmood

1241215

	registered interest
	date	07/10/2020
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Prisons: Mobile Phones
	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 use of in-cell technology in prisons for (a) education, (b) rehabilitation, (c) communication and (d) other purposes.
	tabling member constituency	Easington
	tabling member printed	Grahame Morris
	uin	100350
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/10/2020 answer text <p>The department’s technology priority since the beginning of the Covid-19 outbreak has been focused on enabling communication between prisoners and their families and friends.</p><p>Since the beginning of March, this has resulted in the deployment of over 1000 secure mobile phones to complement existing in-cell telephones and wing phones.</p><p>We have deployed nearly 250 tablets for compassionate calls across all public prisons in England and Wales and most significantly we have deployed video calls across 105 sites to enable an interim alternative whilst face-to-face meetings were suspended. There are still 7 sites which are yet to have fully operational video visits, these are being worked on by our teams as a priority. Over 27,000 video calls have been made so far.</p><p>As announced in June, £20m was secured to increase technology infrastructure across the estate. This work is enabling additional video-conferencing facilities and the extension of in-cell technology across sites with existing network infrastructure.</p><p>This complements existing work to install technology across the entire youth estate, which will support education and rehabilitation by providing secure access to appropriate content on laptops via our Content Hub. The Content Hub provides access to education materials such as maths exercises, books supporting people learning to read, and specific vocational learning materials (including customer service skills, food safety awareness, and Khan Academy materials to support people learning to be electricians).</p><p>During the COVID-19 crisis, additional education services have been added to the Content Hub, including mindfulness tools, in-cell exercises, and audio books to support the residents during longer periods in cells. National Prison Radio shows have also been used to keep residents calm and to reduce frustration.</p><p>The use of secure technology to enable the safe delivery of education in-cell is a key part of our strategy to improve rehabilitation, get more prisoners ready for jobs on release and reduce reoffending. We continue to consider the recommendations of the Farmer Review when prioritising future deployment of technology.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer grouped question UIN 100351 question first answered 12/10/2020 16:25:32 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
	tabling member	3973 label Biography information for Grahame Morris

1241216

	registered interest
	date	07/10/2020
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Prisons: Mobile Phones
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he has taken to increase the use of in-cell technology in prisons for education since the start of the covid-19 outbreak.
	tabling member constituency	Easington
	tabling member printed	Grahame Morris
	uin	100351
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/10/2020 answer text <p>The department’s technology priority since the beginning of the Covid-19 outbreak has been focused on enabling communication between prisoners and their families and friends.</p><p>Since the beginning of March, this has resulted in the deployment of over 1000 secure mobile phones to complement existing in-cell telephones and wing phones.</p><p>We have deployed nearly 250 tablets for compassionate calls across all public prisons in England and Wales and most significantly we have deployed video calls across 105 sites to enable an interim alternative whilst face-to-face meetings were suspended. There are still 7 sites which are yet to have fully operational video visits, these are being worked on by our teams as a priority. Over 27,000 video calls have been made so far.</p><p>As announced in June, £20m was secured to increase technology infrastructure across the estate. This work is enabling additional video-conferencing facilities and the extension of in-cell technology across sites with existing network infrastructure.</p><p>This complements existing work to install technology across the entire youth estate, which will support education and rehabilitation by providing secure access to appropriate content on laptops via our Content Hub. The Content Hub provides access to education materials such as maths exercises, books supporting people learning to read, and specific vocational learning materials (including customer service skills, food safety awareness, and Khan Academy materials to support people learning to be electricians).</p><p>During the COVID-19 crisis, additional education services have been added to the Content Hub, including mindfulness tools, in-cell exercises, and audio books to support the residents during longer periods in cells. National Prison Radio shows have also been used to keep residents calm and to reduce frustration.</p><p>The use of secure technology to enable the safe delivery of education in-cell is a key part of our strategy to improve rehabilitation, get more prisoners ready for jobs on release and reduce reoffending. We continue to consider the recommendations of the Farmer Review when prioritising future deployment of technology.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer grouped question UIN 100350 question first answered 12/10/2020 16:25:32 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
	tabling member	3973 label Biography information for Grahame Morris

1241289

	registered interest
	date	07/10/2020
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Prisons: Crimes of Violence
	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 trends in the level of violence in prisons.
	tabling member constituency	Coventry North East
	tabling member printed	Colleen Fletcher
	uin	100427
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/10/2020 answer text <p>Data showing the trends for and levels of violence in prisons is published in the quarterly in the government’s Safety in Custody statistics publication:<br> <br> <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/safety-in-custody-statistics" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/safety-in-custody-statistics</a></p><p>The most recent data shows a decrease in assault incidents in the 12 months to March 2020, which are down 8% from the previous year. This included a 5% decrease in assaults on staff and a 7% reduction in serious assault from the previous 12 months. Assaults have now fallen for the last three published quarters.</p><p>Despite the progress made, the level of violence in prisons remains too high and we continue to work hard to address this. We are giving staff the tools and training to help them reduce violence including embedding the Challenge, Support and Intervention Plan to support those at risk of violence, the roll-out of PAVA incapacitant spray and implementing key work across the prison estate. We are also increasing staffing numbers, and investing in £100 million in tough security measures to keep the illicit items which fuel violence out of prisons.</p> answering member constituency South East Cambridgeshire answering member printed Lucy Frazer question first answered 12/10/2020 16:27:41 answering member 4517 label Biography information for Lucy Frazer
	tabling member	4378 label Biography information for Colleen Fletcher