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1339382

registered interest
date	23/06/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons: Visits
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether an assessment has been made of the effect of the number of prison visits received by a prisoner on offending rates after release.
tabling member constituency	East Londonderry
tabling member printed	Mr Gregory Campbell
uin	21153
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/06/2021 answer text <p>This Government is committed to reducing reoffending by ensuring that all offenders have the tools they need to turn their backs on crime.</p><p>Families and friends can be a positive influence on reducing reoffending. Strengthening the ties individuals have with their families and friends is one of the many important factors to successful rehabilitation and reducing intergenerational crime.</p><p>We know family contact can reduce the likelihood of reoffending, Ministry of Justice research analysis reporting on surveys carried out from 2001 to 2004 found that the odds of reoffending were 39% higher for prisoners who had not received visits compared to those who had. The research summary is available here: <a href="http://www.antoniocasella.eu/nume/May_Sharma_Stewart_2008.pdf" target="_blank">Factors linked to re-offending: a one-year follow-up of prisoners who took part in the Resettlement Surveys 2001, 2003 and 2004 (antoniocasella.eu)</a>. However, information on the number of visits a prisoner receives and a reduction in reoffending behaviour is not available.</p><p>The latest published data on reoffending rates for those released from custody was published 27 May: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/proven-reoffending-statistics-january-to-march-2019" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/proven-reoffending-statistics-january-to-march-2019</a></p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk question first answered 28/06/2021 16:14:07 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
tabling member	1409 label Biography information for Mr Gregory Campbell

1339384

registered interest
date	23/06/2021
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, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing temporary legal recognition to humanist marriage ceremonies in the same way that temporary legal recognition has been granted to outdoor civil ceremonies until April 2022.
tabling member constituency	Gateshead
tabling member printed	Ian Mearns
uin	21189
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/06/2021 answer text <p>A Law Commission report due later this year is expected to present options for wholesale reform to the law governing marriage ceremonies, which the Government will consider carefully. Options being explored by the Law Commission include offering couples greater flexibility to form their own ceremonies, allowing the ceremony to take place in a much broader range of locations, and powers to hold weddings remotely in a national emergency. The Government will decide on provision for non-religious belief marriage (including humanist marriage) on the basis of the Law Commission's recommendations.</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk question first answered 28/06/2021 17:34:12 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
tabling member	4000 label Biography information for Ian Mearns

1339430

registered interest
date	23/06/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons: Wales
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of deaths in Welsh prisons since 2016.
tabling member constituency	Newport West
tabling member printed	Ruth Jones
uin	21334
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/07/2021 answer text <p>We publish the number of deaths in prison custody in England and Wales as part of the Safety in Custody quarterly statistics available in the deaths data tool at the following link:</p><p> </p><p>https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/safety-in-custody-statistics</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk question first answered 01/07/2021 16:47:34 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
tabling member	4716 label Biography information for Ruth Jones

1339520

registered interest
date	23/06/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Computers: Common Law
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans he has to review the common law presumption of the reliability of computers.
tabling member constituency	Newcastle upon Tyne Central
tabling member printed	Chi Onwurah
uin	21220
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 02/07/2021 answer text <p>I refer the Honourable member to the answers given to PQ 69550 on 9 July 2020 and PQ 72206 on 20 July 2020 on this subject. We have no plans to review the presumption, as it has wide application and is rebuttable if there is evidence to the contrary.</p><p> </p><p>Nonetheless, Government wants to be fully assured that there is a public summary of the failings associated with Post Office Ltd’s Horizon IT system and that lessons are learnt from this dispute. That is why the Inquiry into the Post Office Horizon IT dispute has been converted into a statutory enquiry with effect from 1 June 2021, with new powers to require the production of evidence and documents. The full, updated Terms of Reference for the Inquiry are available on the <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/post-office-horizon-it-inquiry-2020/terms-of-reference" target="_blank">Post Office Horizon IT inquiry 2020 ToR</a> page, and on gov.uk.</p> answering member constituency Croydon South answering member printed Chris Philp question first answered 02/07/2021 13:51:49 answering member 4503 label Biography information for Chris Philp
tabling member	4124 label Biography information for Chi Onwurah

1339668

registered interest
date	23/06/2021
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	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government how many cases of Imprisonment for Public Protection are supervised in the community by the National Probation Service, by number of years since the tariff.
tabling member printed	Baroness Whitaker
uin	HL1366
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/07/2021 answer text <p>As at 31 December 2020, there were 3,125 offenders serving a sentence of Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) being supervised in the community by the Probation Service in England and Wales. For the purposes of providing the information requested, relevant variables could be matched across the two separate datasets held centrally in only 2,637 of those cases.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Years since<br> tariff expiry</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Number of IPP offenders supervised in the community</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Less than 12 months</p></td><td><p>4</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>16</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2</p></td><td><p>38</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>3</p></td><td><p>58</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>4</p></td><td><p>80</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>5</p></td><td><p>125</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>6</p></td><td><p>145</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>7</p></td><td><p>230</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>8</p></td><td><p>260</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>9</p></td><td><p>314</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>10</p></td><td><p>361</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>11</p></td><td><p>431</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>12</p></td><td><p>347</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>13</p></td><td><p>196</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>14</p></td><td><p>32</p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Total</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2,637</strong></p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p>The figures in this table 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><p> </p><p>Offenders serving an IPP sentence may be released into the community once they have completed their tariff only at the discretion of the Independent Parole Board. Once released, they are managed under licence by the Probation Service. The IPP licence period differs from licences for other indeterminate sentences in that, after 10 years from first release by the Parole Board, offenders can apply to the Board to have the licence terminated. The minimum 10-year period is not paused or reset if an offender is recalled to prison or serves a subsequent sentence for further offences.</p> answering member printed Lord Wolfson of Tredegar question first answered 07/07/2021 15:03:21 answering member 4901 label Biography information for Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
tabling member	2510 label Biography information for Baroness Whitaker

1338894

registered interest
date	22/06/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Family Courts: Domestic Abuse and Offences against Children
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 ensure that victims of (a) domestic abuse and (b) child sexual exploitation are supported by the family court system.
tabling member constituency	Rother Valley
tabling member printed	Alexander Stafford
uin	20576
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/06/2021 answer text <p>Addressing domestic abuse and improving support and outcomes for victims is a top priority for the government. In 2021-22, the Ministry of Justice will provide just under £151m for cross-jurisdictional victim and witness support services.</p><p>The Domestic Abuse Act prohibits cross-examination of victims by perpetrators and provides for automatic eligibility for special measures for victims of domestic abuse in the family courts. The Act also clarifies that barring orders are available to parents and children where further proceedings would risk causing harm, including where proceedings could be a form of continuing domestic abuse.</p><p>In addition to measures included in the Domestic Abuse Act, we are working with partners across the family justice system to deliver on other commitments set out in response to the June 2020 Final Report of the Expert Panel on Risk of Harm in the family courts. We are committed to system-wide reform to transform how survivors of domestic abuse are treated in the family courts and will be trialling Integrated Domestic Abuse Courts later this year to introduce a more investigative, and less adversarial approach to proceedings.</p><p>On child sexual exploitation in the family court, Cafcass practitioners use a specially designed child sexual exploitation screening tool. Where concerns are identified, Cafcass liaises with other agencies (including referral to Children’s Services or the allocated social worker where the child is already known) to ensure that there is multiagency information sharing and support.</p><p>Listening to the child’s experiences and acting quickly to link the child with all relevant support services, is a vital aspect of responding to the needs of these young people.</p> answering member constituency North West Hampshire answering member printed Kit Malthouse question first answered 30/06/2021 16:47:48 answering member 4495 label Biography information for Kit Malthouse
tabling member	4866 label Biography information for Alexander Stafford

1338906

registered interest
date	22/06/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Oakhill Secure Training Centre
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the report of a monitoring visit to Oakhill secure training centre, published by Ofsted and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons on 22 June 2021, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of reports that the use of smaller bubble groups have increased tensions and conflicts between children.
tabling member constituency	West Ham
tabling member printed	Ms Lyn Brown
uin	20345
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/06/2021 answer text <p>The Youth Custody Service (YCS) remains committed to improving safety for children in custody. We are continuing to invest in staff, education, psychology services and mental health support, underpinned by the SECURE STAIRS framework of integrated care which provides the foundations for how the YCS works with children. Additionally, we are also carrying out work to ensure that lessons learned from the COVID-19 period are taken into account going forwards. The YCS commissioned a programme of research, in collaboration with academics, to evaluate lessons from pandemic and the results will further inform recovery planning.</p><p> </p><p>Early indications from YCS learning show that the vast majority of children reported feeling safe during the early period of the restrictions, with some reporting feeling safer than previous periods of time spent in custody. Furthermore, we have also observed through early research that there were positive reports of relationships among the children and between children and staff. One of the key responses to the pandemic was to operate within smaller groups, and it is therefore considered plausible that these smaller group interactions positively contributed to both feelings of safety and relationships within sites.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk question first answered 30/06/2021 16:25:30 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
tabling member	1583 label Biography information for Ms Lyn Brown

1338907

registered interest
date	22/06/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Oakhill Secure Training Centre: Crimes of Violence
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the report of a monitoring visit to Oakhill secure training centre, published by Ofsted and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons on 22 June 2021, what assessment he has made of the causes of the very high level of violence against staff in March 2021.
tabling member constituency	West Ham
tabling member printed	Ms Lyn Brown
uin	20346
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/06/2021 answer text <p>There are a number of factors that led to children at Oakhill STC feeling frustrated, resulting in a higher level of violence against staff in March 2021. Oakhill STC experienced a COVID-19 outbreak from 4 January to 8 March, meaning several children and staff had to isolate. This led to a significantly reduced timetable for children and limited mixing. Even after the outbreak had concluded, the STC still faced ongoing Covid-related staffing pressures, meaning the regime for children was inconsistent and some schemes could not be implemented fully.</p><p>The centre has taken several steps in order to learn lessons from the incidents that took place.</p><p>The Oakhill STC leadership team collated the learning they identified from the two incidents, with frontline staff briefed in small groups on the findings. Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) also provided incident management training to staff at Oakhill STC.</p><p>HMPPS Monitors, reviewed the performance at Oakhill in April, partly in response to the concerns around stability at the time. Among other points considered in this review were the effectiveness of the STC’s Behaviour Management Strategy, which incentivises and promotes positive behaviour, minimises behaviour that can cause harm, and tackles unacceptable behaviour. These lessons from this report have formed an action plan at Oakhill STC.</p><p>Additionally, the Youth Custody Service arranged for a HMPPS senior manager to visit the site this month to review governance around use of force at the centre. Recommendations from that visit will be taken forward to improve safety for both staff and children.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk grouped question UIN 20347 question first answered 30/06/2021 16:29:30 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
tabling member	1583 label Biography information for Ms Lyn Brown

1338908

registered interest
date	22/06/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Oakhill Secure Training Centre: Crimes of Violence
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the report of a monitoring visit to Oakhill secure training centre, published by Ofsted and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons on 22 June 2021, what lessons Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service has identified from the two serious incidents of violence against HMP Oakhill staff noted in the report.
tabling member constituency	West Ham
tabling member printed	Ms Lyn Brown
uin	20347
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/06/2021 answer text <p>There are a number of factors that led to children at Oakhill STC feeling frustrated, resulting in a higher level of violence against staff in March 2021. Oakhill STC experienced a COVID-19 outbreak from 4 January to 8 March, meaning several children and staff had to isolate. This led to a significantly reduced timetable for children and limited mixing. Even after the outbreak had concluded, the STC still faced ongoing Covid-related staffing pressures, meaning the regime for children was inconsistent and some schemes could not be implemented fully.</p><p>The centre has taken several steps in order to learn lessons from the incidents that took place.</p><p>The Oakhill STC leadership team collated the learning they identified from the two incidents, with frontline staff briefed in small groups on the findings. Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) also provided incident management training to staff at Oakhill STC.</p><p>HMPPS Monitors, reviewed the performance at Oakhill in April, partly in response to the concerns around stability at the time. Among other points considered in this review were the effectiveness of the STC’s Behaviour Management Strategy, which incentivises and promotes positive behaviour, minimises behaviour that can cause harm, and tackles unacceptable behaviour. These lessons from this report have formed an action plan at Oakhill STC.</p><p>Additionally, the Youth Custody Service arranged for a HMPPS senior manager to visit the site this month to review governance around use of force at the centre. Recommendations from that visit will be taken forward to improve safety for both staff and children.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk grouped question UIN 20346 question first answered 30/06/2021 16:29:30 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
tabling member	1583 label Biography information for Ms Lyn Brown

1338909

registered interest
date	22/06/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Youth Custody: Labour Turnover
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the report of a monitoring visit to Oakhill secure training centre, published by Ofsted and Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Prisons on 22 June 2021, what steps he is taking to ensure the retention of long-serving and experienced frontline staff in the Youth Custody Service.
tabling member constituency	West Ham
tabling member printed	Ms Lyn Brown
uin	20348
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 30/06/2021 answer text <p>The YCS have planned a workshop with the Secure Training Centres (STCs) to be held in late June 2021 to focus on potential solutions to recruitment and retention issues in the sector.</p><p> </p><p>Additionally, we have made available a youth justice qualification to staff at STCs as well as public sites. The enrolment costs of the qualification are paid for by the YCS and staff can complete the qualification to enhance their skills in their current role or build their future career within youth custody. We believe that this will help support staff and provide them with the skills and confidence needed to deal with children in custody.</p><p> </p><p>The contractor at Oakhill, G4S also implemented a range of changes to their offer to staff in recent years, including reviewing working patterns and terms and conditions. Whilst levels of staffing in relation to private sites sit with contractors, we continue to monitor the position and work closely with G4S to ensure issues around staffing and retention are addressed.</p> answering member constituency Cheltenham answering member printed Alex Chalk grouped question UIN 20349 20350 20351 question first answered 30/06/2021 16:31:00 answering member 4481 label Biography information for Alex Chalk
tabling member	1583 label Biography information for Ms Lyn Brown