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  • Christina Rees – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Christina Rees – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christina Rees on 2015-12-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners were in open prisons (a) in the most recent period for which figures are available and (b) in each of the last five years.

    Andrew Selous

    Progression to open prisons is never automatic, and prisoners must generally be within two years of release before they can be considered for allocation. Public protection is paramount, only those prisoners who are assessed as low risk of escape/abscond and low risk of causing harm to the public are transferred to an open prison.

    The following table shows the number of male and female prisoners held in open prisons as at the last Friday in June in each of the last five years and as at the last Friday in November 2015, which is the most recent period for which figures are available.

    The data below does not include the number of male and female prisoners held in category D units in otherwise closed prisons.

    Number of male and female prisoners held in dedicated open prisons from June 2011 to November 2015.

    Date

    Population

    June 2011

    4,808

    June 2012

    4,953

    June 2013

    4,981

    June 2014

    5,087

    June 2015

    5,020

    November 2015

    5,137

  • Christina Rees – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Christina Rees – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christina Rees on 2015-12-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many new criminal offences have been (a) created and (b) proposed since May 2015; and if he will make an assessment of the (i) effect on and (b)cost to the prison estate of the creation of those offences.

    Mike Penning

    The information requested is not available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

    My department has issued guidance on the making of new criminal offences, which is located here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/481126/creating-new-criminal-offences.pdf

  • Karl Turner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Karl Turner – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Karl Turner on 2015-12-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average waiting time is on prison visit booking lines (a) in each prison and (b) overall.

    Andrew Selous

    This information is not held centrally.

  • Barry Sheerman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Barry Sheerman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Barry Sheerman on 2015-12-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of whether the current sentencing framework for mothers with children takes sufficient account of the needs of those children.

    Caroline Dinenage

    Sentencing guidelines are issued by the independent Sentencing Council. They are available on the Sentencing Council website. They confirm that the gender of the offender is irrelevant for sentencing purposes in accordance with Equalities duties. They also confirm that where the offender is the sole or primary carer for dependent relatives, this should be taken into account for sentencing purposes as a mitigating factor.

  • Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Andy Slaughter – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2015-12-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison workshops have (a) opened, (b) closed and (c) changed function in each of the last seven years.

    Andrew Selous

    The information requested is not held centrally.

    All prisons provide opportunities for offenders to work and learn new skills which can help them find a job on release and support their rehabilitation. We already work continuously with employers nationally and locally – including with other Government Departments – to create new opportunities in line with our code of practice.

    We want prisons to be places of hard work, rigorous education and high ambition. That is why we will put the tools to drive change in the hands of those at the frontline who know best.

  • Wayne David – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Wayne David – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Wayne David on 2015-12-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many visits have been made by one or more children to a parent in custody in each of the last five years.

    Andrew Selous

    This information is not held centrally.

  • Wayne David – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Wayne David – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Wayne David on 2015-12-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate his Department has made of the number of children in England and Wales who have a parent in custody.

    Andrew Selous

    The information requested is not held centrally.

  • Wayne David – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    Wayne David – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Wayne David on 2015-12-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many prisoners are taking part in drug and alcohol treatment programmes (a) in total and (b) in each prison in England and Wales.

    Jane Ellison

    Public Health England provides local information for performance monitoring in the restricted access section of the National Drug Treatment Monitoring System website, but does not publish national data centrally.

  • Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    Chi Onwurah – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by Chi Onwurah on 2015-12-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to raise awareness amongst solicitors of the risks of their clients being targeted in scams by people purporting to operate in the name of their solicitor requesting transfer of funds; and what estimate he has made of the number of such scams that took place in the last three years.

    Mr Shailesh Vara

    The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), as an independent regulator, is well aware of the risks identified by the honourable member. It regularly issues scam alerts and in July this year published a paper outlining key risks. This paper will be updated again next spring. The SRA has advised that in 2014 it issued 183 scam alerts.

  • David Anderson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    David Anderson – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Home Office

    The below Parliamentary question was asked by David Anderson on 2015-12-10.

    To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many immigration detainees were held in each prison establishment in each of the last 12 months.

    James Brokenshire

    The information requested is not routinely collected and could be provided only by examining individual case records, which would result in disproportionate cost.