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1035028

registered interest
date	04/01/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons: Fire Prevention
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish the dates on which each prison establishment last undertook full night-time fire contingencies exercises.
tabling member constituency	North Tyneside
tabling member printed	Mary Glindon
uin	205271
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/01/2019 answer text <p>The dates on which public sector prisons in England and Wales last undertook night-time fire contingency exercises; whether a formal report from Fire and Rescue Services was provided; and whether additional staff were requested as a result of such exercises, is provided in the attached table. Arrangements are being made to ensure that prisons listed as not yet completing for the period to undertake a fire contingency exercise.</p><p>Prison Fire Safety leads engage regularly with Fire and Rescue Services to ensure contingency plans are fit for purpose, and any issues or concerns are highlighted as part of this ongoing engagement. Additionally, Fire and Rescue Service Senior Fire Officers are required to highlight significant problems or concerns to the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) Operations Committee. The NFCC have confirmed that no reports on the outcomes of night-time fire contingency testing have been received.</p><p>Privately Managed Prisons (PMPs) are also obliged to follow Prison Service Instruction 11/2015, Fire Safety in Prison Establishments. This requires Directors of PMP’s to regularly test the fire contingency plans for both day and night state; contingency plans for fire must be tested at least annually.</p><p>Operators of PMPs hold data for their own contract sites. Each PMP has a full-time on-site Controller employed by HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS). The Controller has regular review meetings with the contractor against a range of performance indicators. Any concerns in relation to these performance indicators or any other concerns relating to the delivery of the contract are discussed at these meetings. Where action is needed, progress is monitored by the Controller and escalated within HMPPS. Where appropriate action can be taken in accordance with the contract. This may include a requirement for urgent improvement and/or financial deductions.</p> answering member constituency Penrith and The Border answering member printed Rory Stewart question first answered 16/01/2019 19:20:31 question first ministerially corrected 23/01/2019 12:21:01 answering member 4137 label Biography information for Rory Stewart attachment 1 file name PQ205271,272,273 - Night time fire contingency testing.xlsx title Table for 205271, 205272, 205273 previous answer version 95757 answering member constituency Penrith and The Border answering member printed Rory Stewart answering member 4137 label Biography information for Rory Stewart
tabling member	4126 label Biography information for Mary Glindon

1035317

registered interest
date	04/01/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons: Unmanned Air Vehicles
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate his Department has made of the proportion of the contraband in prisons that enters prisons via drone.
tabling member constituency	Leeds East
tabling member printed	Richard Burgon
uin	205339
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/01/2019 answer text <p>It is inherently difficult to estimate the proportion of contraband that enters prisons through different routes, including drones, as we can only base this on what is found; often this is in cells or wings where the method of conveyance is unclear.</p><p> </p><p>We are taking decisive steps to tackle the use of drones as a supply route for organised criminals to bring illicit items such as drugs and mobile phones into prisons. Prisons that experience high numbers of drone incursions are receiving a wide range of support, including prison-specific vulnerability assessments and joint policing operations to arrest drone operators. We are also putting physical counter-measures, including netting and window grilles.</p> answering member constituency Penrith and The Border answering member printed Rory Stewart question first answered 14/01/2019 16:24:37 answering member 4137 label Biography information for Rory Stewart
tabling member	4493 label Biography information for Richard Burgon

1035327

registered interest
date	04/01/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons: Discipline
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many acts of concerted indiscipline have there been in prison in each year since 2010.
tabling member constituency	Leeds East
tabling member printed	Richard Burgon
uin	205344
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/01/2019 answer text <p>Figures are held by the department from 2014 onwards and are included below.</p><p> </p><p>Concerted Indiscipline is defined as an incident involving two or more prisoners acting against the requirements or the regime of the establishment.</p><p> </p><p>Not every Concerted Indiscipline relates to a violent incident as these figures include both passive acts of protest such as “sit down protests” as well as active incidents such as violent disorder.</p><p> </p><p>2014 – 164</p><p>2015 – 196</p><p>2016 – 210</p><p>2017 – 233</p><p>2018 – 140</p><p> </p><p>We do not tolerate violence or disruptive behaviour in our prisons. This is why we’ve recruited 4,300 additional officers and are spending an extra £70m on safety, security and the fabric of the prison estate. Drugs are a major factor in fuelling violence in prisons, and this investment will help fund a range of new security measures to stop them getting in, including airport style security, improved searching techniques and phone-blocking technology. We are also committed to ensuring our prison officers have the tools they need to do the job safely by rolling out body worn cameras, ‘police-style’ handcuffs and restraints, and PAVA incapacitant spray. Fundamentally, however, the key to safe prisons is the relationships between prisoners and prison officers, which is why we are investing in training and support for officers to further develop a consistent, disciplined and humane approach to behaviour management.</p><p> </p><p> </p> answering member constituency Penrith and The Border answering member printed Rory Stewart question first answered 14/01/2019 16:36:42 answering member 4137 label Biography information for Rory Stewart
tabling member	4493 label Biography information for Richard Burgon

1035332

registered interest
date	04/01/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons: Drugs
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many mandatory drug tests have taken place in prison in each month in the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Leeds East
tabling member printed	Richard Burgon
uin	205349
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/01/2019 answer text <p>The information requested is provided in the attached table.</p><p> </p><p>In September 2016 we became the first prison service in the world to introduce innovative mandatory drug tests for psychoactive substances, a significant step in tackling the supply and use of them. We have recently formed a Drugs Taskforce working with law enforcement and health partners across government to reduce the prevalence of drugs in our prisons. The Drugs Taskforce has three overarching objectives; restricting supply, reducing demand and building recovery. The Taskforce is developing a national Drug Strategy and Operational Guidance, which will provide all prisons with strategic direction and examples of best practice to support them in tackling drugs.</p> answering member constituency Penrith and The Border answering member printed Rory Stewart question first answered 14/01/2019 16:23:56 answering member 4137 label Biography information for Rory Stewart attachment 1 file name Copy of PQ205349 - Mandatory Drug Tests in prisons.xlsx title Table
tabling member	4493 label Biography information for Richard Burgon

1035338

registered interest
date	04/01/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisoners: Personal Property
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the total value is of compensation claimed for loss or damage to prisoners' property held by the prison service in each of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Leeds East
tabling member printed	Richard Burgon
uin	205354
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/01/2019 answer text <p>The total compensation payments made to prisoners for loss or damage to their property in respect of successful claims in the last five financial years are shown in the table below. The information held is in respect of public sector prisons in England and Wales and does not include private (contracted out) prisons.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Financial Years</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Total value of successful payment claims</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2013-2014</p></td><td><p>£152,914</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2014-2015</p></td><td><p>£313,347</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2015-2016</p></td><td><p>£190,191</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2016-2017</p></td><td><p>£199,086</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>2017-2018</p></td><td><p>£220,053</p></td></tr><tr><td><p><em>To note within the table:</em></p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><p>1. The figures have been drawn from our central recording system and although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected on occasions, may be subject to the inaccuracies in any large-scale recording system.</p></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2"><p>2. Some of the value of payments made will include an element of legal costs and the figures are subject to rounding.</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p>We successfully defend two thirds of all litigation claims brought against us by prisoners. A programme of work is under way to prevent the causes of claims to allow us to better protect taxpayers’ money.</p> answering member constituency Penrith and The Border answering member printed Rory Stewart question first answered 14/01/2019 14:32:58 answering member 4137 label Biography information for Rory Stewart
tabling member	4493 label Biography information for Richard Burgon

1035025

registered interest
date	04/01/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prison Officers: Cameras
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 effect on health and safety conditions at HMP Grendon of the decision by HMPPS not to require at least two staff per work area to be issued with body-worn video cameras; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	North Tyneside
tabling member printed	Mary Glindon
uin	205268
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 21/01/2019 answer text <p>HMP Grendon is dedicated to providing all prisoners accredited therapy in one of five democratic therapeutic communities. HMP Grendon has a low level of violence and assaults. Theuse of Body Worn Video Cameras was considered carefully and there was belief that this may have a negative impact on therapeutic work that takes place.</p><p> </p><p>Body worn video cameras were introduced alongside a range of other measures to improve safety. The cameras are intended to support staff interpersonal skills and provide evidential information if an incident occurs. They are not mandatory, it is for each Governor to make an assessment of how they are deployed.</p><p> </p><p>Whilst PSI 14/2017 does not specify how many cameras should be on each residential unit, an instruction was given from HMPPS Headquarters requesting that two staff in each residential units during the hours of unlock wearing BWVC. It is for each prison to consider and determine how they satisfy this instruction whilst taking into account information such as levels of violence and how effectively safety is being managed. In the case of HMP Grendon it is dedicated to providing accredited interventions in therapeutic communities, and promoting rehabilitation and safety. The assessment on level of camera requirement is therefore based on this.</p> answering member constituency Penrith and The Border answering member printed Rory Stewart question first answered 21/01/2019 18:12:27 answering member 4137 label Biography information for Rory Stewart
tabling member	4126 label Biography information for Mary Glindon

1035026

registered interest
date	04/01/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons: Contracts
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on how many occasions internal bids have been evaluated as providing the best quality and value for money compared to private-sector bids for the operation of prisons since 1999.
tabling member constituency	North Tyneside
tabling member printed	Mary Glindon
uin	205269
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/01/2019 answer text <p>The Ministry of Justice does not hold information prior to 2009 about internal bids relating to the operation of prisons as previous competitions were the responsibility of the Home Office and undertaken by them.</p><p>Since 2009, there has been one instance where the Public Sector has been awarded a contract (in the form of a Service Level Agreement) and that was for HMP Buckley Hall in 2011.</p> answering member constituency Penrith and The Border answering member printed Rory Stewart question first answered 14/01/2019 15:57:19 answering member 4137 label Biography information for Rory Stewart
tabling member	4126 label Biography information for Mary Glindon

1035027

registered interest
date	04/01/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons: Contracts
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 21 November 2018 to Question 194129 on Prisons: Contracts, what steps he is taking to ensure transparency in the assessment of (a) quality and (b) value for money of potential operators’ bids compared to the public-sector benchmark.
tabling member constituency	North Tyneside
tabling member printed	Mary Glindon
uin	205270
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 14/01/2019 answer text <p>The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has recently launched a competition to establish a framework of prison operators, from which the operators of the new prisons at Wellingborough and Glen Parva will be selected.</p><p>The competition will use a ‘public sector benchmark’, against which the quality and cost of potential operators’ bids will be assessed. The public sector benchmark was developed in consultation with subject matter experts across HMPPS and directly informed the delivery requirements including cost and quality thresholds that form part of the draft contractual documentation for the competition. Where bids received do not meet these thresholds, there will be no contract award and the public sector will act as the provider.</p><p>The MoJ will, in accordance with the Public Contract Regulations and relevant Government policies, take into consideration the past record and performance of companies involved in the tender process before considering any bids. We will make sure that the tender process ensures that the companies bidding for any of the contracts to operate new prisons have the capability, credibility, legitimacy and capacity to run the contracts effectively. The evaluation methodology included in the framework competition documentation has been designed to establish the most robust bids based on published quality, value and affordability criteria, and compared to a public sector comparator for each call off contract. Following the conclusion of the tender process any contract awarded will be published.</p> answering member constituency Penrith and The Border answering member printed Rory Stewart question first answered 14/01/2019 14:29:45 answering member 4137 label Biography information for Rory Stewart
tabling member	4126 label Biography information for Mary Glindon

1035029

registered interest
date	04/01/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons: Fire Prevention
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what reports he has received from senior fire officers on the adequacy of testing of night-time fire contingencies at prisons as a result of their visits to those institutions.
tabling member constituency	North Tyneside
tabling member printed	Mary Glindon
uin	205272
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/01/2019 answer text <p>The dates on which public sector prisons in England and Wales last undertook night-time fire contingency exercises; whether a formal report from Fire and Rescue Services was provided; and whether additional staff were requested as a result of such exercises, is provided in the attached table. Arrangements are being made to ensure that prisons listed as not yet completing for the period to undertake a fire contingency exercise.</p><p>Prison Fire Safety leads engage regularly with Fire and Rescue Services to ensure contingency plans are fit for purpose, and any issues or concerns are highlighted as part of this ongoing engagement. Additionally, Fire and Rescue Service Senior Fire Officers are required to highlight significant problems or concerns to the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) Operations Committee. The NFCC have confirmed that no reports on the outcomes of night-time fire contingency testing have been received.</p><p>Privately Managed Prisons (PMPs) are also obliged to follow Prison Service Instruction 11/2015, Fire Safety in Prison Establishments. This requires Directors of PMP’s to regularly test the fire contingency plans for both day and night state; contingency plans for fire must be tested at least annually.</p><p>Operators of PMPs hold data for their own contract sites. Each PMP has a full-time on-site Controller employed by HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS). The Controller has regular review meetings with the contractor against a range of performance indicators. Any concerns in relation to these performance indicators or any other concerns relating to the delivery of the contract are discussed at these meetings. Where action is needed, progress is monitored by the Controller and escalated within HMPPS. Where appropriate action can be taken in accordance with the contract. This may include a requirement for urgent improvement and/or financial deductions.</p> answering member constituency Penrith and The Border answering member printed Rory Stewart grouped question UIN 205271 205273 question first answered 16/01/2019 19:20:31 answering member 4137 label Biography information for Rory Stewart
tabling member	4126 label Biography information for Mary Glindon

1035030

registered interest
date	04/01/2019
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons: Fire Prevention
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether prison governors have requested additional staffing as a result of testing of night-time fire contingency processes at their prison.
tabling member constituency	North Tyneside
tabling member printed	Mary Glindon
uin	205273
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 16/01/2019 answer text <p>The dates on which public sector prisons in England and Wales last undertook night-time fire contingency exercises; whether a formal report from Fire and Rescue Services was provided; and whether additional staff were requested as a result of such exercises, is provided in the attached table. Arrangements are being made to ensure that prisons listed as not yet completing for the period to undertake a fire contingency exercise.</p><p>Prison Fire Safety leads engage regularly with Fire and Rescue Services to ensure contingency plans are fit for purpose, and any issues or concerns are highlighted as part of this ongoing engagement. Additionally, Fire and Rescue Service Senior Fire Officers are required to highlight significant problems or concerns to the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) Operations Committee. The NFCC have confirmed that no reports on the outcomes of night-time fire contingency testing have been received.</p><p>Privately Managed Prisons (PMPs) are also obliged to follow Prison Service Instruction 11/2015, Fire Safety in Prison Establishments. This requires Directors of PMP’s to regularly test the fire contingency plans for both day and night state; contingency plans for fire must be tested at least annually.</p><p>Operators of PMPs hold data for their own contract sites. Each PMP has a full-time on-site Controller employed by HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS). The Controller has regular review meetings with the contractor against a range of performance indicators. Any concerns in relation to these performance indicators or any other concerns relating to the delivery of the contract are discussed at these meetings. Where action is needed, progress is monitored by the Controller and escalated within HMPPS. Where appropriate action can be taken in accordance with the contract. This may include a requirement for urgent improvement and/or financial deductions.</p> answering member constituency Penrith and The Border answering member printed Rory Stewart grouped question UIN 205271 205272 question first answered 16/01/2019 19:20:31 answering member 4137 label Biography information for Rory Stewart
tabling member	4126 label Biography information for Mary Glindon