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1433437

registered interest
date	21/02/2022
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisoners on Remand: Suicide
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what was the (1) number, and (2) ratio, of prisoners held on remand in England who have (a) committed suicide, and (b) attempted to commit suicide, in each of the last 10 years.
tabling member printed	Lord Patten
uin	HL6296
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/03/2022 answer text <p>The table below sets out the number of self-inflicted deaths of remand prisoners in the ten years to December 2021. It also shows the percentage of all such deaths that were of remand prisoners.</p><p> </p><p>Our figures refer to self-inflicted deaths, rather than suicides. Self-inflicted deaths include any death of a person who has apparently taken his or her own life, irrespective of intent. This includes not only suicides but also accidental deaths as a result of the person’s own actions. We use this classification because we cannot always know whether someone intended to take their own life. Those are ultimately decisions for coroners, who investigate all deaths in custody. For similar reasons, we cannot identify “attempted suicides” separately from other forms of self-harm, as we may not know the prisoner’s intention.</p><p> </p><p>HM Prison &amp; Probation Service does not operate a different approach to the prevention of suicide and self-harm among remand prisoners. All prisoners at risk of self-harm and suicide are supported equally, regardless of their situation. We recognise that remand is a known risk factor for self-harm and support is tailored to prisoners’ needs, particularly in the early days and weeks of custody. Following the unavoidable closure of courts in response to Covid-19, we are taking positive action to ensure more cases are heard and therefore to reduce the number of remand prisoners. This includes extending 32 nightingale courtrooms this year, installing video link equipment in all courts and increasing its capacity in prisons, removing the limit on Crown Court sitting days during 2021/22, and continuing to give priority to cases involving custody time limits.</p><p><strong>Self-inflicted deaths of remand prisoners, 2012 to 2021</strong></p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>year</p></td><td><p>number of self-inflicted deaths</p></td><td><p>% of all self-inflicted deaths</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2012</p></td><td><p>18</p></td><td><p>30%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013</p></td><td><p>29</p></td><td><p>38%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014</p></td><td><p>26</p></td><td><p>29%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015</p></td><td><p>36</p></td><td><p>40%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016</p></td><td><p>33</p></td><td><p>27%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017</p></td><td><p>73</p></td><td><p>21%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2018</p></td><td><p>27</p></td><td><p>29%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2019</p></td><td><p>24</p></td><td><p>28%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2020</p></td><td><p>19</p></td><td><p>28%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2021</p></td><td><p>32</p></td><td><p>37%</p></td></tr></tbody></table> answering member printed Lord Wolfson of Tredegar grouped question UIN HL6297 question first answered 07/03/2022 16:55:36 answering member 4901 label Biography information for Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
tabling member	1137 label Biography information for Lord Patten

1387976

registered interest
date	14/12/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Judges: Ethnic Groups
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the number of lawyers from ethnic minorities who go on to become judges.
tabling member printed	Lord Patten
uin	HL4973
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/12/2021 answer text <p>The most recent 2021 Judicial Diversity statistics indicate that while the proportion of Asian and mixed ethnicity individuals in the judiciary has increased since 2014, the proportion of Black judges has stayed the same. On 9 December 2021, the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) published an Ad Hoc Analysis of Candidate Progression Through Judicial Selection Tools, which reported that in legal exercises, success rates for Black, Asian and minority ethnic candidates were lower, even when other significant factors were held constant. The JAC is leading further investigation into the types of professional pools from which legally qualified candidates are drawn and how this may be playing a part in the observed disparities.</p><p> </p><p>The table below reports the number of applicants who declared they came from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds that the JAC recommended for judicial appointment in each financial year from 2015/16 onwards (data is not available by calendar year) and as a percentage of the overall recommendations. The figures are for legal judicial appointments and do not include any data on non-legal judicial appointments.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Financial year</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Number of recommendations for judicial appointments (per financial year) that declared as coming from a Black, Asian and minority ethnic background</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Percentage of all those recommended for judicial appointment who declared as coming from a Black, Asian and minority ethnic background</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2015 – 2016</strong></p></td><td><p>19</p></td><td><p>9%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2016 – 2017</strong></p></td><td><p>9</p></td><td><p>6%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2017 – 2018</strong></p></td><td><p>44</p></td><td><p>9%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2018 – 2019</strong></p></td><td><p>81</p></td><td><p>11%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2019 – 2020</strong></p></td><td><p>101</p></td><td><p>12%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2020 – 2021</strong></p></td><td><p>46</p></td><td><p>14%</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>The total number of recommendations the JAC makes varies each year depending on which exercises are run.</p><p>Actual appointments rather than recommendations for appointment have only been reported since 2020. There were 21 new Black, Asian and minority ethnic lawyers appointed as judges in 2019/20 and 42 in 2020/21. There can be a time lag between JAC recommending candidates and the appointment being made. These numbers do not include judges that have moved office or been promoted in year and do not include appointments of non-legal tribunal members.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Wolfson of Tredegar grouped question UIN HL4974 question first answered 29/12/2021 15:03:57 answering member 4901 label Biography information for Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
tabling member	1137 label Biography information for Lord Patten

1387977

registered interest
date	14/12/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Judges: Ethnic Groups
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many lawyers from ethnic minorities were appointed as judges in each of the years since 2015.
tabling member printed	Lord Patten
uin	HL4974
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 29/12/2021 answer text <p>The most recent 2021 Judicial Diversity statistics indicate that while the proportion of Asian and mixed ethnicity individuals in the judiciary has increased since 2014, the proportion of Black judges has stayed the same. On 9 December 2021, the Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) published an Ad Hoc Analysis of Candidate Progression Through Judicial Selection Tools, which reported that in legal exercises, success rates for Black, Asian and minority ethnic candidates were lower, even when other significant factors were held constant. The JAC is leading further investigation into the types of professional pools from which legally qualified candidates are drawn and how this may be playing a part in the observed disparities.</p><p> </p><p>The table below reports the number of applicants who declared they came from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds that the JAC recommended for judicial appointment in each financial year from 2015/16 onwards (data is not available by calendar year) and as a percentage of the overall recommendations. The figures are for legal judicial appointments and do not include any data on non-legal judicial appointments.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Financial year</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Number of recommendations for judicial appointments (per financial year) that declared as coming from a Black, Asian and minority ethnic background</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Percentage of all those recommended for judicial appointment who declared as coming from a Black, Asian and minority ethnic background</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2015 – 2016</strong></p></td><td><p>19</p></td><td><p>9%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2016 – 2017</strong></p></td><td><p>9</p></td><td><p>6%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2017 – 2018</strong></p></td><td><p>44</p></td><td><p>9%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2018 – 2019</strong></p></td><td><p>81</p></td><td><p>11%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2019 – 2020</strong></p></td><td><p>101</p></td><td><p>12%</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>2020 – 2021</strong></p></td><td><p>46</p></td><td><p>14%</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>The total number of recommendations the JAC makes varies each year depending on which exercises are run.</p><p>Actual appointments rather than recommendations for appointment have only been reported since 2020. There were 21 new Black, Asian and minority ethnic lawyers appointed as judges in 2019/20 and 42 in 2020/21. There can be a time lag between JAC recommending candidates and the appointment being made. These numbers do not include judges that have moved office or been promoted in year and do not include appointments of non-legal tribunal members.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Wolfson of Tredegar grouped question UIN HL4973 question first answered 29/12/2021 15:03:57 answering member 4901 label Biography information for Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
tabling member	1137 label Biography information for Lord Patten

1315026

registered interest
date	17/05/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisoners: Higher Education
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the effect on re-offending rates of prisoners participating in higher education while serving their sentences.
tabling member printed	Lord Patten
uin	HL297
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/06/2021 answer text <p>The Ministry of Justice has enabled the Open University and the Prisoners’ Education Trust to use The Justice Data Lab to explore the rates of reoffending for prisoners participating in higher education. The Justice Data Lab provides group-level reoffending information to organisations who have worked with offenders and would like to understand the impact of their intervention.</p><p> </p><p>The Justice Data Lab Analysis (2019) reports that 14% of people who studied for an OU degree committed a proven reoffence within one year, compared to 18% who did not.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Wolfson of Tredegar question first answered 01/06/2021 15:30:54 answering member 4901 label Biography information for Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
tabling member	1137 label Biography information for Lord Patten

1315027

registered interest
date	17/05/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisoners: Higher Education
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many prisoners are currently enrolled in higher education.
tabling member printed	Lord Patten
uin	HL298
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/06/2021 answer text <p>We do not hold information centrally on the number of prisoners currently enrolled in higher education. However, the Open University reports that around 1295 prisoners were registered for Open University courses in England in 2020/21.</p> answering member printed Lord Wolfson of Tredegar question first answered 01/06/2021 15:31:38 answering member 4901 label Biography information for Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
tabling member	1137 label Biography information for Lord Patten

1315028

registered interest
date	17/05/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisoners: Higher Education
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government why prisoners seeking higher education in prison must be within six years of their release date.
tabling member printed	Lord Patten
uin	HL299
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/06/2021 answer text <p>The six-year rule relates to eligibility of prisoners for student loans and is required by the Education (Student Support) Regulations 2011 (“the 2011 Regulations”). The rationale for this regulation is that prisoners studying an undergraduate degree in prison would take six years to complete on a part-time basis. Prisoners who wish to complete an undergraduate degree must self-fund if they have more than six years left on their sentence. Prisoners can also apply to the Prisoners’ Education Trust (PET) to fund Open University<strong> ‘</strong>access to higher education’ courses.</p> answering member printed Lord Wolfson of Tredegar question first answered 01/06/2021 15:32:20 answering member 4901 label Biography information for Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
tabling member	1137 label Biography information for Lord Patten

1305406

registered interest
date	23/03/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisoners: Mental Health
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the mental health of the prisoners serving an imprisonment for public protection sentence who continue to be detained 10 years or more beyond their tariff.
tabling member printed	Lord Patten
uin	HL14529
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 08/04/2021 answer text <p>The Government recognises that those serving indeterminate sentences (life and imprisonment for public protection (IPP)) face particular challenges in maintaining their emotional wellbeing, especially during the restrictions imposed on account of the COVID pandemic. The guidance and training produced by HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) directs the attention of prison staff to the needs of indeterminate sentence prisoners. HMPPS allocates a key worker to all such prisoners and also makes available to them peer supporters such as Samaritans-trained Listeners.</p><p>The unreleased IPP prisoner population is continuing to reduce, year on year; it stood at 1,849 on 31 December 2020, down from 2,134 on 31 December 2019. The majority of 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 progressive transfer to an open prison or release.</p><p>The Government’s primary responsibility is to protect the public; however, HMPPS remains committed to supporting prisoners serving an IPP to reduce their risk to the level where the Parole Board determines that they may be supervised effectively on licence in the community.</p> answering member printed Lord Wolfson of Tredegar question first answered 08/04/2021 15:16:40 answering member 4901 label Biography information for Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
tabling member	1137 label Biography information for Lord Patten

1281371

registered interest
date	27/01/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prison Officers: Recruitment
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of new prison officers being recruited in meeting the needs of (1) inmate security, and (2) prison security.
tabling member printed	Lord Patten
uin	HL12665
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/02/2021 answer text <p>Prison officers play an essential role in keeping the public safe and protecting those in our care from harm. They contribute to the security of a prison in many ways, from building positive relationships with prisoners, to preventing contraband entering the prison, to supervising daily prisoner activities.</p><p>We plan and assess prison regimes and take into account factors such as operational capacity and prison type to ensure there are sufficient staff to meet the needs of prisoners and ensure security. This informs workforce modelling and our ongoing efforts to attract people from diverse backgrounds and with the appropriate skills to work in our establishments.</p><p>In recent years, investment into prisons has led to a significant increase in the number of frontline prison officers and further developments in policy have enabled the creation of specialist roles such as prison officer keyworkers to better support the needs of prisoners or dedicated teams of officers recruited to search prisons for contrabands as part of our wider £100m investment in prison security. This investment has also seen the expansion of our counter-corruption teams to address the small minority of prison officers who act outside the law.</p><p>It is difficult to assess the long-term impact of recruitment on prison security. Our response to the Covid-19 pandemic has meant operating restricted regimes, with greater control measures being in place. This will be a priority in the future.</p> answering member printed Lord Wolfson of Tredegar question first answered 10/02/2021 17:24:58 answering member 4901 label Biography information for Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
tabling member	1137 label Biography information for Lord Patten

1281372

registered interest
date	27/01/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons: Ministers of Religion
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the work in prisons carried out by chaplains of all faith groups.
tabling member printed	Lord Patten
uin	HL12666
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 10/02/2021 answer text <p>Chaplains of all faiths and belief systems play a central role in supporting prisoners during the pandemic. They have continued to visit prisoners on a one-to-one basis providing pastoral care, spiritual support and resources for worship. Chaplains see new receptions, visit those in segregation and speak to men and women prior to release. They have also continued to provide one-to-one support including compassionate contact with families.</p><p>The hard work and dedication of chaplains was recently reflected in the Butler Trust Awards and is widely acknowledged in the annual reports of Independent Monitoring Boards from across the custodial estate and by HM Inspectorate of Prisons.</p> answering member printed Lord Wolfson of Tredegar question first answered 10/02/2021 17:26:52 answering member 4901 label Biography information for Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
tabling member	1137 label Biography information for Lord Patten

1254586

registered interest
date	23/11/2020
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Child Trust Fund
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government which Department has the overall responsibility for policy to ensure that young people without capacity can access child trust funds after reaching 18 years of age.
tabling member printed	Lord Patten
uin	HL10629
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/12/2020 answer text <p>Her Majesty’s Treasury is responsible for the policy for Child Trust Funds, including the fact that they can be accessed when a child reaches 18 years of age. However, the Mental Capacity Act 2005, which governs the processes around how to obtain the legal authority to manage the finances of people who lack the mental capacity do so for themselves, is the responsibility of the Ministry of Justice.</p><p>Consequently, policy surrounding access to Child Trust Funds of young people that lack mental capacity is ultimately the remit of the Ministry of Justice.</p> answering member printed Baroness Scott of Bybrook question first answered 02/12/2020 12:47:31 answering member 4553 label Biography information for Baroness Scott of Bybrook
tabling member	1137 label Biography information for Lord Patten