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1304490

registered interest
date	22/03/2021
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	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to prioritise the use of videophones by prisoners with children while family visits are not possible due to the COVID-19 pandemic; and what plans they have for similar prioritisation for prisoners held at long-distance from their families when the restrictions in place to address the COVID-19 pandemic have ended.
tabling member printed	Lord Hylton
uin	HL14442
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 07/04/2021 answer text <p>We are committed to continuing to offer secure video calling after the current Covid-19 restrictions have ended, and are considering future options in line with the recommendations of Lord Farmer’s reviews for maintaining family ties. We will continue to be guided by public health advice, and we will work with our stakeholders to inform our longer-term planning.</p><p> </p><p>Secure video calls are now running in all public and private prisons and Young Offender Institutions across England and Wales. This was introduced alongside other measures to support family engagement, such as additional mobile phone handsets and extra phone credit while social visits have been suspended. Social visits in the Youth Custody Service estate have continued and on compassionate grounds in the adult estate.</p> answering member printed Lord Wolfson of Tredegar question first answered 07/04/2021 12:44:38 answering member 4901 label Biography information for Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
tabling member	2018 label Biography information for Lord Hylton

1304226

registered interest
date	18/03/2021
answering body	Home Office
answering dept id	1
answering dept short name	Home Office
answering dept sort name	Home Office
hansard heading	Asylum: Military Bases
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the number of residents at Napier Barracks and Penally training camp has reduced since 12 March; how many residents have tested positive for COVID-19; and when they expect to provide adequate accommodation for all residents.
tabling member printed	Lord Hylton
uin	HL14386
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/04/2021 answer text <p>The number of residents at Napier has reduced since 12 March 2021.</p><p>Due to the closure of Penally Training Camp, the accommodation providers Clearsprings Ready Homes (CRH) have moved all remaining asylum seekers as of the 21 March.</p><p>197 people accommodated at Napier tested positive for coronavirus earlier this year. There have been no recorded cases at Penally.</p><p>All asylum seekers who would otherwise be destitute are provided with safe, suitable, fit for purpose and correctly equipped accommodation.</p> answering member printed Baroness Williams of Trafford question first answered 01/04/2021 12:59:53 answering member 4311 label Biography information for Baroness Williams of Trafford
tabling member	2018 label Biography information for Lord Hylton

1302302

registered interest
date	12/03/2021
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	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what criteria need to be satisfied to allow family visits of prisoners to resume; what date they plan to resume family visits of prisoners; and what plans they have to provide more video-capable telephones in prisons.
tabling member printed	Lord Hylton
uin	HL14188
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/03/2021 answer text <p>Social visits in adult prisons have been suspended during the period of national lockdown, but will resume once it is safe to do so.</p><p>Decisions will be based on public health advice, assessments of local outbreaks and ability to safely facilitate visits, and so dates may vary between different sites. No sites will resume visits before the end of March when the ‘stay at home’ order is expected to be lifted under the government roadmap on easing restrictions.</p><p>Visits to children in the youth custody estate and compassionate visits to adult establishments have continued throughout national lockdown.</p><p>Secure video calls have now been introduced at all prisons across England and Wales, though there are no plans to provide video-capable telephones at this time. Currently 66% of prison cells have in-cell telephony. Additionally, within open prisons, mobile phones have been permitted as a transitional measure for family contact. Further considerations for their use are being made in line with regime recovery and availability of secure video calls across all open prisons.</p> answering member printed Lord Wolfson of Tredegar question first answered 26/03/2021 14:21:37 answering member 4901 label Biography information for Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
tabling member	2018 label Biography information for Lord Hylton

1302303

registered interest
date	12/03/2021
answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept id	208
answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
hansard heading	Mediterranean Sea: Migrants and Refugees
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 call by the UN Refugee Agency and the International Organisation for Migration on 20 August 2020 to strengthen the search and rescue capacity of refugees and migrants in the Mediterranean to prevent further loss of life.
tabling member printed	Lord Hylton
uin	HL14189
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 26/03/2021 answer text <p>Search and Rescue in the Mediterranean continues to have an important role in saving lives at sea. The UK Government remains concerned about the continued high number of migrants crossing the Mediterranean and the number of fatalities.</p><p>Since October 2015, the UK has allocated over £175 million of humanitarian assistance in response to the Mediterranean migration crisis. Any assistance assigned to Libyan search and rescue entities should be made conditional on no one being arbitrarily detained, ill-treated or subjected to human rights violations post-disembarkation.</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 26/03/2021 14:21:51 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
tabling member	2018 label Biography information for Lord Hylton

1302304

registered interest
date	12/03/2021
answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept id	208
answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
hansard heading	Bulgaria: Migrants
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Bulgaria about reports of (1) police assaults, and (2) valuables being confiscated, from Afghan and Pakistani migrants near the border with Turkey.
tabling member printed	Lord Hylton
uin	HL14190
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/03/2021 answer text <p>The UK Government is aware of recent reports of a small number of alleged cases of mistreatment of migrants upon arrival in Bulgaria. The number of irregular migrants transiting Bulgaria has reduced in recent months and, although these cases have not been raised specifically, our Embassy in Sofia regularly engages with the government of Bulgaria and international partners on the need to address irregular migration and the challenges it presents.</p><p>While the UK fully supports the right of States to control their borders, we also expect States to fulfil their international obligations and protect and promote the human rights of migrants, including by investigating reports of alleged mistreatment and by putting appropriate procedures in place to ensure that migrants are treated fairly and appropriately, in line with international standards.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 25/03/2021 17:02:54 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
tabling member	2018 label Biography information for Lord Hylton

1302050

registered interest
date	11/03/2021
answering body	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept id	208
answering dept short name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
answering dept sort name	Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
hansard heading	Middle East: Peace Negotiations
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the re-opening of the Rafah Border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, what discussions they have had with the governments of (1) Egypt, (2) Jordan, (3) France, and (4) Germany, about action to support the Middle East Peace Process.
tabling member printed	Lord Hylton
uin	HL14141
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 25/03/2021 answer text <p>We welcome the decision by Egypt to open the Rafah crossing. The UK will continue to urge the parties to prioritise progress towards reaching a durable solution for Gaza and to take the necessary practical steps to ensure Gaza's reconstruction and economic recovery.</p><p>The UK is committed to making progress towards a two state solution. We believe that negotiations will only succeed when they are conducted between Israelis and Palestinians, supported by the international community. The UK has regular discussions with the Governments of Egypt, Jordan, France and Germany on the Middle East Peace Process, including at Ministerial level. UK officials in Cairo, Amman, Paris and Berlin have discussed the Middle East Peace Process with their respective host governments in March 2021.</p> answering member printed Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon question first answered 25/03/2021 17:55:29 answering member 4210 label Biography information for Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon
tabling member	2018 label Biography information for Lord Hylton

1301577

registered interest
date	10/03/2021
answering body	Department for Education
answering dept id	60
answering dept short name	Education
answering dept sort name	Education
hansard heading	Pupils: Food
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 state schools providing (1) breakfast clubs, (2) food banks, and (3) food and other parcels, to the families of pupils; and what plans they have to support schools to continue this provision in the long-term.
tabling member printed	Lord Hylton
uin	HL14090
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 24/03/2021 answer text <p>The government remains committed to ensuring the most disadvantaged children continue to be supported.</p><p>The department is investing up to £38 million in the National School Breakfast Programme. Overall, this money will set up or improve breakfast clubs in up to 2,450 schools in disadvantaged areas, making them sustainable in the long run. The focus of these clubs has been to target the most disadvantaged areas of the country – including the Department for Education’s Opportunity Areas – to help make sure every child gets the best start in life. We will shortly be providing more information on the future of breakfast club provision, as our current contract is due to expire in July.</p><p>During the periods of school attendance restrictions, schools have been asked to continue to provide support for eligible free school meal pupils learning at home. Schools have been able to choose the approach that works best for them, whether providing a lunch parcel, a locally arranged voucher or accessing the national voucher scheme. So far families have redeemed more than £90 million in supermarket vouchers during this school term.</p><p>The government has taken unprecedented measures during the COVID-19 outbreak to protect the most vulnerable and put in place a strong package of financial support to support families and children. The COVID Winter Support Package was announced in November 2020. This included: the Department for Work and Pensions’ £170 million COVID Winter Grant Scheme, which has now been extended until the end of the Easter holidays (16 April 2021); the £220 million national expansion of the department’s Holiday Activities and Food Programme in 2021; and a further £16 million for FareShare to distribute to food charities.</p><p> </p> answering member printed Baroness Berridge question first answered 24/03/2021 17:29:57 answering member 4218 label Biography information for Baroness Berridge
tabling member	2018 label Biography information for Lord Hylton

1301013

registered interest
date	09/03/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisons: Standards
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that best practices and lessons learned are (1) shared, (2) adopted, and (3) maintained, among prisons.
tabling member printed	Lord Hylton
uin	HL14042
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/03/2021 answer text <p>Throughout the pandemic HMPPS has been identifying and sharing lessons learned. We have been listening to different perspectives and have paid attention to the challenges for staff and prisoners. We have considered the many examples of positive practice and have focussed our efforts to do the best for both staff and prisoners in very difficult circumstances. Learning lessons is an ongoing process and we continue to gather and share a range of information, including feedback from scrutiny bodies, staff, those in our care and the voluntary sector.</p><p> </p><p>We are feeding what we have learned into prison safety and wellbeing initiatives, regime redesign, planning and ongoing mitigations for prisoners. Prisons are also using lessons learned from the Covid-19 pandemic to prioritise resources to focus on safety and wellbeing, adapt provision, reinforce fair and decent behaviours and to show visible leadership. We are building on learning with a programme of events in the Spring which will be an opportunity for operational staff to share and reflect on learning from Covid to inform practice and both recovery and future reforms.</p><p> </p><p>More routinely, bespoke service improvement and work developed in response to common issues uses best practice and lessons learned. This takes place through line management activity, between peers, and through central support such as the Prison Performance Support Programme.</p><p> </p><p>HMPPS Scrutiny Intelligence unit routinely reviews all external scrutiny and internal assurance reports to draw out good practice and themes which are communicated to prisons and more widely across HMPPS. They also identify where lessons could be learned or implemented more effectively. Good practice and the areas requiring improvement are also reported each month to the Prison Performance Committee to ensure best practices and lessons learned are maintained among prisons.</p> answering member printed Lord Wolfson of Tredegar question first answered 23/03/2021 17:17:05 answering member 4901 label Biography information for Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
tabling member	2018 label Biography information for Lord Hylton

1301014

registered interest
date	09/03/2021
answering body	Department of Health and Social Care
answering dept id	17
answering dept short name	Health and Social Care
answering dept sort name	Health and Social Care
hansard heading	Coronavirus: Vaccination
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to prioritise prison staff for receipt of a COVID-19 vaccination.
tabling member printed	Lord Hylton
uin	HL14043
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 19/03/2021 answer text <p>For phase two of the COVID-19 vaccination programme, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation’s (JCVI) interim advice sets out that the most effective way to minimise hospitalisations and deaths is to continue to prioritise people by age, as it is assessed to be the strongest factor linked to mortality, morbidity and hospitalisation.</p><p> </p><p>Prison staff will not therefore be prioritised in phase two of the COVID-19 vaccine programme. However, in order to minimise vaccine wastage in delivery of the programme, the JCVI has advised that where vaccines remain unused following an offer of vaccination to those in detained settings, such vaccine it could reasonably be offered to prison officers.</p> answering member printed Lord Bethell question first answered 19/03/2021 11:39:33 answering member 4708 label Biography information for Lord Bethell
tabling member	2018 label Biography information for Lord Hylton

1301015

registered interest
date	09/03/2021
answering body	Ministry of Justice
answering dept id	54
answering dept short name	Justice
answering dept sort name	Justice
hansard heading	Prisoners on Remand
house id	2
legislature	25277 pref label House of Lords
question text	To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to reduce the average length of time that prisoners spend on remand awaiting trial.
tabling member printed	Lord Hylton
uin	HL14044
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 23/03/2021 answer text <p>Judges are prioritising the most urgent cases. We were one of the first among other comparable jurisdictions globally to resume jury trials, and Crown Courts currently list thousands of cases each week.</p><p> </p><p>Our systems show that where a defendant is in custody and had a first hearing in February 2021, most cases are listed for trial in the Crown Court prior to September 2021.</p><p> </p><p>In September 2020, Her Majesty’s Prison Probation Service (HMPPS) began a trial of a dedicated and proactive Bail Information Service (BIS) in several courts and prisons in the North West of England and Wales. This service provides the courts with timely information relating to the defendant and availability of alternative provisions, such as suitable accommodation, to help to reduce unnecessary remands and increase the appropriate use of bail and bail conditions. In tandem with this trial, HMPPS are rolling-out a Covid-19 response BIS in all public sector remand prisons. A key aim of both initiatives is to inform the design, resourcing and delivery of a future dedicated and proactive national BIS.</p> answering member printed Lord Wolfson of Tredegar question first answered 23/03/2021 17:23:39 answering member 4901 label Biography information for Lord Wolfson of Tredegar
tabling member	2018 label Biography information for Lord Hylton