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1133587

	registered interest
	date	20/06/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Courts
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what redress a victim or witness has if special measures are requested in court but are not subsequently provided.
	tabling member constituency	Dwyfor Meirionnydd
	tabling member printed	Liz Saville Roberts
	uin	267261
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/06/2019 answer text <p>There are many statutory protections that support vulnerable victims and witnesses in the criminal courts, for example banning cross examination of rape complainants by the defendant. In addition, a number of special measures can be applied for by the CPS to further support a victim or witness who is intimidated or vulnerable, for example the provision of protective screens.</p><p> </p><p>Such applications are considered by the trial judge. Should circumstances change during the trial it is possible for a late (or second) application to be made. Where applications are refused, it may be possible to appeal at the Court of Appeal or, in certain exceptional circumstances, to seek a judicial review.</p> answering member constituency South Swindon answering member printed Robert Buckland question first answered 28/06/2019 13:17:27 answering member 4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland
	tabling member	4521 label Biography information for Liz Saville Roberts

1133596

	registered interest
	date	20/06/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Community Rehabilitation Companies
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the timetable is for the (a) termination of the 21 contracts for Community Rehabilitation Companies and (b) return of the management of offenders to the National Probation Service.
	tabling member constituency	Dwyfor Meirionnydd
	tabling member printed	Liz Saville Roberts
	uin	267269
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/06/2019 answer text <p>In May 2019, we announced significant changes to the future structure of probation services in England and Wales. To allow us sufficient time for a smooth transition to the new model, we have put in place arrangements that will allow us to extend CRC contracts up until spring 2021.</p><p> </p><p>We aim to complete the integration of CRC offender management functions into the NPS in England in line with the termination of CRC contracts. In Wales, where our plans are more developed and where probation areas are already coterminous, we aim to complete the integration of offender management under the NPS in December 2019.</p> answering member constituency South Swindon answering member printed Robert Buckland question first answered 27/06/2019 17:04:40 answering member 4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland
	tabling member	4521 label Biography information for Liz Saville Roberts

1133597

	registered interest
	date	20/06/2019
	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 assessment he has made of the (a) prevalence and (b) level of risk of illegal mobile phone use in prisons in England and Wales.
	tabling member constituency	Dwyfor Meirionnydd
	tabling member printed	Liz Saville Roberts
	uin	267270
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/06/2019 answer text <p>The illegal use of mobile phones in prisons is one of the most significant threats facing our prisons. Illicit mobile phones undermine good order and control in prisons, and perpetuates ongoing criminality. They are used by prisoners for a range of criminal purposes, including drug supply, witness intimidation, extreme violence, involvement in organised crime and successful escapes. In the 12 months to March 2018 there were 15,036 mobile phones found in prisons, along with 9,345 SIM cards. This is an increase of 9% and 30% respectively compared with the previous 12-month period.</p><p> </p><p>Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) has implemented a threefold approach to tackling the threat posed by mobile phones in prisons:</p><p> </p><ul><li>To minimise the number of phones entering prisons, we are strengthening our gate and perimeter security. This includes drafting specialist search teams into prisons across the country and extending the use of X-ray body scanners more widely across the prison estate to detect when prisoners are internally concealing contraband.</li><li>To strengthen our efforts to find phones that do enter prisons, we recently announced the installation of new phone detection technology in a number of prisons that will allow prison officers to pinpoint mobile phone signals down to precise cells. Through the Prisons (Interference with Wireless Telegraphy) Act 2018, we have additionally expanded blocking powers to allow us to work with mobile network providers to disrupt the use of illicit phones in prisons.</li><li>We have also made significant improvements to our ability to forensically analyse seized phones and go after the criminal groups that supply them. For example, we have delivered new kits at 30 prisons to allow officers to download data quickly from illicit phones seized from prisoners.</li></ul> answering member constituency South Swindon answering member printed Robert Buckland question first answered 27/06/2019 17:07:01 answering member 4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland
	tabling member	4521 label Biography information for Liz Saville Roberts

1133598

	registered interest
	date	20/06/2019
	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, what assessment he has made of the (a) prevalence, (b) type of drug, (c) method of importation and (b) health risks to (i) prisoners and (ii) staff of the presence of illegal drugs in prisons in England and Wales.
	tabling member constituency	Dwyfor Meirionnydd
	tabling member printed	Liz Saville Roberts
	uin	267271
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/06/2019 answer text <p>HMPPS measures the prevalence of drug use in prisons through random mandatory drug testing of prisoners. These test for a wide range of drugs including psychoactive substances as defined in the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016. In 2017/18, 20.4% of samples tested positive for drugs.</p><p> </p><p>Psychoactive Substances (PS), as defined in the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016, are the most prevalent drug type in prison. Psychoactive substances were present in 60% of all positive samples in 2017/18, overtaking cannabis (28%), opiates (11%) and buprenorphine (10%). HMPPS is continuing to develop its drug testing frameworks to respond to the changing patterns of misuse in prisons.</p><p> </p><p>Drugs can enter prison through a number of routes including being thrown over the wall or flown over by drone, via mail, visits, forced recalls (offenders who intentionally breach their licence in order to be recalled), and corrupt staff. The extent to which individual routes are used varies over time and across the estate and is influenced by a range of static and dynamic factors. HMPPS monitors these routes by gathering intelligence and working with law enforcement partners.</p><p> </p><p>HMPPS is working with unions, independent scientists and clinicians to assess the impact of secondary exposure to psychoactive substances on staff and prisoners. A program of staff post-exposure biological testing is being expanded and will explore prisoner and staff experiences of secondary exposure to assess the risk.</p><p> </p><p>To respond to the risk from drugs in prisons, we are strengthening our gate and perimeter security, drafting specialist search teams into prisons across the country and investing in physical and technical security counter measures. Alongside this, HMPPS has developed a new, national Prison Drugs Strategy, published in April 2019. The strategy outlines how HMPPS is working to restrict the supply of drugs, reduce demand through rehabilitative activities, and support prisoners to build recovery from substance misuse.</p> answering member constituency South Swindon answering member printed Robert Buckland question first answered 28/06/2019 13:29:33 answering member 4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland
	tabling member	4521 label Biography information for Liz Saville Roberts

1133601

	registered interest
	date	20/06/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Homicide
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of homicides were committed by people on (a) parole and (b) a life licence in England and Wales in each of the last three years.
	tabling member constituency	Dwyfor Meirionnydd
	tabling member printed	Liz Saville Roberts
	uin	267272
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/06/2019 answer text <p>Under the Probation Serious Further Offence (SFO) Review Procedures, the National Probation Service (NPS) or Community Rehabilitation Company (CRC) must undertake a review where an offender under statutory supervision in the community is charged with a qualifying offence – a “notification”. Not every notification results in a conviction for an SFO.</p><p> </p><p>SFOs are rare. Less than 0.1% of offenders under statutory supervision are convicted of murder, and less than 0.5% convicted of any SFO. Nonetheless, every single SFO is taken extremely seriously, and in all cases a review is carried out to identify any lessons for the better management of future cases.</p><p> </p><p>We have interpreted ‘parole’ to mean offenders subject to indeterminate sentences of imprisonment for public protection (IPP) released by the Parole Board.</p><p> </p><p>Table 1 below sets out the number of offenders convicted of murder, who at the time they committed the offence were being supervised on a) an indeterminate sentence of imprisonment for public protection and b) life licence in England and Wales between 2016 and 2018.</p><p> </p><p>Table 2</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p><strong>2016</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2017</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2018</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>a) Offenders supervised on an IPP sentence</p></td><td><p>1</p></td><td><p>2</p></td><td><p>3</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>b) Offenders supervised on life licence</p></td><td><p>2</p></td><td><p>6</p></td><td><p>1</p></td></tr></tbody></table><ol><li>The data provided are provisional figures subject to change when any outstanding cases are concluded at court.</li><li>There were no other serious further offences of homicide such as manslaughter or infanticide.</li><li>The data also includes cases where the offender committed suicide or died prior to any trial, where a Court has ruled that they were responsible.</li><li>Data is not included on any determinate sentence prisoner either released automatically or released by the parole board early from an extended determinate sentence or following recall.</li><li>Data Sources and Quality .We have drawn these figures from administrative IT systems which, as with some large-scale recording systems, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing</li></ol><p> </p><p>We are not able to present the number of murders committed by offenders subject to probation supervision as a proportion of all murders and homicides, as there are differences in the way the respective data sets are produced. Published Homicide Index data are based on the year when the offence was recorded as a crime, not when the offence took place or when the case was heard in court. SFO data are first recorded when the notification, usually triggered by the court appearance, is received by the SFO Team in Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service. However, in some cases it will be the following year(s) when the offender is convicted of the SFO</p> answering member constituency South Swindon answering member printed Robert Buckland question first answered 28/06/2019 13:33:58 answering member 4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland
	tabling member	4521 label Biography information for Liz Saville Roberts

1133602

	registered interest
	date	20/06/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Prisons: Security
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has made an assessment of the effectiveness of x-ray body scanners in prisons in England and Wales .
	tabling member constituency	Dwyfor Meirionnydd
	tabling member printed	Liz Saville Roberts
	uin	267273
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/06/2019 answer text <p>We are taking urgent and decisive action to stop contraband from entering our prisons. These illicit items pose a significant threat to safety and security.</p><p> </p><p>X-ray body scanners have already been installed at Altcourse, Belmarsh, Doncaster, Forest Bank, Holme House, Leeds, Northumberland and Peterborough.</p><p> </p><p>We believe X-ray scanning technology provides an effective method of confirming whether a prisoner is attempting to smuggle contraband via internal concealment.</p> answering member constituency South Swindon answering member printed Robert Buckland grouped question UIN 267274 question first answered 27/06/2019 17:10:09 answering member 4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland
	tabling member	4521 label Biography information for Liz Saville Roberts

1133603

	registered interest
	date	20/06/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Prisons: Security
	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 1 May 2019 to Question 246554 on Prisons: Security, what the timeframe is for the installation of x-ray body scanners in the eight selected prisons.
	tabling member constituency	Dwyfor Meirionnydd
	tabling member printed	Liz Saville Roberts
	uin	267274
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 27/06/2019 answer text <p>We are taking urgent and decisive action to stop contraband from entering our prisons. These illicit items pose a significant threat to safety and security.</p><p> </p><p>X-ray body scanners have already been installed at Altcourse, Belmarsh, Doncaster, Forest Bank, Holme House, Leeds, Northumberland and Peterborough.</p><p> </p><p>We believe X-ray scanning technology provides an effective method of confirming whether a prisoner is attempting to smuggle contraband via internal concealment.</p> answering member constituency South Swindon answering member printed Robert Buckland grouped question UIN 267273 question first answered 27/06/2019 17:10:09 answering member 4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland
	tabling member	4521 label Biography information for Liz Saville Roberts

1133604

	registered interest
	date	20/06/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Offenders: Electronic Tagging
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people with a community order were made subject to an electronic monitoring condition; and on how many occasions was that condition breached in each of the last five years.
	tabling member constituency	Dwyfor Meirionnydd
	tabling member printed	Liz Saville Roberts
	uin	267275
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 05/07/2019 answer text <p>Electronic Monitoring (EM) is a vital tool in protecting the public and robustly monitoring offenders in the community. It supports probation staff and the police in managing offenders and defendants safely in the community, delivering the orders of the court and helping them tackle the problems which lead to offending.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>The table below shows the total number of people in each year subject to EM as a requirement of a Community Order.<sup>(1)</sup> Data is only available from June 2016 onwards.</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>2016/17</p></td><td><p>2017/18</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Number of people in England and Wales with Community Orders with EM equipment installed<sup>(2)</sup></p></td><td><p>18,081</p></td><td><p>16,098</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>Data on compliance is only available for completed Community Orders. The table below shows how many Community Orders with EM were completed in each year, and in how many of these a tagged subject failed to comply with their EM requirement at least once. Please note that these figures concern the monitoring of curfew requirements only, not GPS location monitoring requirements.</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p>2016/17</p></td><td><p>2017/18</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Total completed Community Orders with EM equipment installed<sup>(2)(3)</sup></p></td><td><p>15,547</p></td><td><p>15,987</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Compliance</p></td><td><p>6,065</p></td><td><p>6,645</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Non-compliance</p></td><td><p>9,482</p></td><td><p>9,342</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p> </p><p>(1) The figures provided in these tables do not include data from the GPS pilot, which commenced in October 2016 and completed in March 2018. A total of 17 tags were issued to individuals as part of a Community Order during the Pilot. An independent qualitative process evaluation of the GPS location monitoring pilot was published in February 2019: ‘Process evaluation of the Global Positioning System (GPS) Electronic Monitoring Pilot - Qualitative findings’: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/process-evaluation-of-the-global-positioning-system-gps-electronic-monitoring-pilot" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/process-evaluation-of-the-global-positioning-system-gps-electronic-monitoring-pilot</a>. A quantitative process evaluation of the GPS Pilot containing analysis of Management Information gathered over the course of the pilot is currently undergoing quality assurance and being finalised. This will include information on compliance.</p><table><tbody><tr><td><p>(2) Derived from caseload files with equipment on (3) Derived from number of completions of Community Orders with equipment on (4) A person may have more than one completion. Figures after March 2018 will be published in the HMPPS Digest in July 2019.</p></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p><p>If a subject on tag does not comply with an Electronic Monitoring condition or requirement, for example by being absent during curfew hours or tampering with a tag, an instantaneous alert is generated that is sent to Electronic Monitoring Services (EMS). The appropriate authorities decide, based on the evidence, whether the non-compliance event constitutes a breach and if so what action should be taken. The nature of breaches vary, and not all non-compliance events are classed as formal breaches requiring further action – for example, if the subject was at hospital or in custody at the time, and therefore unable to return to their curfew location in time for their curfew. While the majority of non-compliance events will generate an alert than can lead to a breach there are a range of other circumstances that can lead to breach action being taken</p> answering member constituency South Swindon answering member printed Robert Buckland question first answered 05/07/2019 13:53:27 answering member 4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland
	tabling member	4521 label Biography information for Liz Saville Roberts

1133605

	registered interest
	date	20/06/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Prisoners' Release: Curfews
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of people released from prison on a home detention curfew were subsequently returned to prison as a result of a breach of that condition in each of the last five years.
	tabling member constituency	Dwyfor Meirionnydd
	tabling member printed	Liz Saville Roberts
	uin	267276
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/06/2019 answer text <p>Prisoners sentenced to a standard determinate custodial sentence must be released automatically at the halfway point of their sentence. Those sentenced to at least 12 weeks but less than four years may be released on Home Detention Curfew (HDC) up to 135 days before the halfway point, depending on sentence length. HDC is a robust scheme which allows suitable, risk assessed, prisoners to work towards rehabilitation in the community, while remaining subject to strict monitoring and other conditions. If they breach these, they can be returned to custody. HDC allows reintegration back into the community in a controlled and supervised way, which research suggests may help to reduce the risk of further offending.</p><p> </p><p>Offenders released on HDC are subject to electronically monitored curfew conditions in addition to the general conditions of supervision required for offenders released on license but not on HDC. Most HDC recalls are for curfew-related breaches, for example missing the curfew, tampering with the equipment or technical inability to monitor, such as where the offender loses their accommodation. The rest relate to breaches of the general supervision conditions, such as failing to keep in touch with the offender manager or being charged with a further offence.</p><p>We have not published to that level of detail since 2014. Of the 842 recalls that year, 650 were EM Curfew related.</p><p> </p><p>The table below shows the number of people released on HDC, recalled to prison whilst on HDC, and the proportion of those released who were so recalled in each of the last five years.</p><p> </p><table><tbody><tr><td colspan="7"><p><strong>Releases and Recall on HDC, England and Wales 2014-18</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p> </p></td><td><p><strong>2014</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2015<sup>(1)</sup></strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2016</strong></p></td><td colspan="2"><p><strong>2017</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>2018</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Number released on HDC</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>8,614</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>8,319</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>9,041</strong></p></td><td colspan="2"><p><strong>9,312</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>14,769</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Number of HDC recalls</strong><strong><sup>(2)</sup></strong></p></td><td><p><strong>842</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>569 <sup>(3)</sup></strong></p></td><td><p><strong>542</strong></p></td><td colspan="2"><p><strong>698</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>*</strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p><strong>Percentage Recalled</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>10%</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>7%</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>6%</strong></p></td><td colspan="2"><p><strong>7%</strong></p></td><td><p> </p></td></tr><tr><td colspan="7"><p>(1) Figures for year 2015 and earlier were produced using an older methodology. (2) Includes all recalls during the HDC period</p></td></tr><tr><td colspan="7"><p>(3) From 2015 we began to record the number of releases in that year ending in recall, including where the recall takes place the following year - so that the release and recall can be linked. Until 2014 we simply recorded the number of recalls in the year regardless of year of release.</p></td></tr><tr><td colspan="5"><p>* Unavailable 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></td></tr></tbody></table><p> </p> answering member constituency South Swindon answering member printed Robert Buckland question first answered 28/06/2019 13:38:42 answering member 4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland
	tabling member	4521 label Biography information for Liz Saville Roberts

1133606

	registered interest
	date	20/06/2019
	answering body	Ministry of Justice
	answering dept id	54
	answering dept short name	Justice
	answering dept sort name	Justice
	hansard heading	Prisoners' Release
	house id	1
	legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
	question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many people were released from prisons in England and Wales (a) before and (b) after their official release date in each of the last five years.
	tabling member constituency	Dwyfor Meirionnydd
	tabling member printed	Liz Saville Roberts
	uin	267277
	answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 28/06/2019 answer text <p>The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. Figures on all releases in error, where prisoners are wrongly discharged from an establishment or court when they should have remained in custody with no deliberate prisoner involvement in the error, are published as part of the HM Prison and Probation Service Annual Digest. The latest publication can be found here: <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/annual-hm-prison-and-probation-service-digest-2017-to-2018" target="_blank">https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/annual-hm-prison-and-probation-service-digest-2017-to-2018</a></p> answering member constituency South Swindon answering member printed Robert Buckland question first answered 28/06/2019 13:23:01 answering member 4106 label Biography information for Sir Robert Buckland
	tabling member	4521 label Biography information for Liz Saville Roberts