Tag: Andy Slaughter

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-02-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) drugs of each type and (b) other items were confiscated from visitors to each prison in each year since 2010.

Andrew Selous

We have a range of security measures and searching techniques to prevent smuggling into prisons and to detect items of contraband including drugs. We have legislated to make smuggling New Psychoactive Substances (NPS) into prison illegal, use specially trained dogs to detect illicit drugs and will evaluate the use of Body Scanners to reveal drugs concealed within the body.

We refer all visitors to prisons found in possession of drugs to the police. We also use closed visits, where the prisoner and visitor are prevented from physical contact, to deal with visitors and prisoners who smuggle or are suspected of conveying drugs through visits.

The table below shows the number and type of drugs confiscated from visitors in each prison for the period 01 October 2015 to 31 December 2015. Prior to 01 October 2015 the Incident Reporting System (IRS) did not specifically record who possessed the drugs found.

Number of incidents where drugs were found in visitor’s possession, October to December 2015, by establishment and drug type

Establishment	Drug type	Number of incidents12
Aylesbury	Cannabis	3
Birmingham	NPS: Black Mamba	1
Brinsford	Cannabis	1
	Unknown	1
Bristol	Other	1
Bullingdon	NPS: Spice	1
Cardiff	Amphetamines	1
	Buprenorphine/Subutex	1
	Heroin	1
	NPS: Spice	1
	Other	1
	Unknown	1
Channings Wood	Heroin	1
Chelmsford	Cannabis	2
	NPS: Spice	2
Coldingley	Unknown	1
Doncaster	Amphetamines	1
	NPS: Other	1
	Other	2
	Unknown	3
Dovegate	Other	1
	Unknown	1
Elmley	Cocaine	1
Featherstone	Unknown	1
Feltham	NPS: Other	1
	NPS: Spice	1
Forest Bank	NPS: Black Mamba	1
	Unknown	1
Guys Marsh	Unknown	1
Haverigg	Unknown	3
High Down	Unknown	1
Highpoint	NPS: Other	1
	NPS: Spice	2
Hewell	Cannabis	3
	NPS: Other	1
	NPS: Spice	2
	Other	1
	Steroids	1
Holme House	NPS: Spice	1
Humber	Amphetamines	1
Lancaster Farms	Unknown	1
Leeds	Amphetamines	1
	Cocaine	1
	NPS: Other	1
Lindholme	Cannabis	1
	NPS: Spice	1
	Unknown	1
Lowdham Grange	Cannabis Plant	1
Manchester	Cannabis	1
	NPS: Spice	1
Moorland	NPS: Spice	3
	Other	1
	Unknown	1
Morton Hall	NPS: Spice	1
New Hall	Unknown	1
Northumberland	Unknown	2
Norwich	Heroin	1
Oakwood	Heroin	1
	Other	1
	Unknown	1
Onley	NPS: Spice	1
	Steroids	1
	Unknown	1
Parc	Unknown	1
Peterborough Male	Other	1
Peterborough Female	Crack	1
	Heroin	1
Ranby	NPS: Other	1
Risley	Cannabis	1
	NPS: Spice	2
	Unknown	2
Rochester	Cannabis	1
	Crack	1
	Unknown	2
Stoke Heath	NPS: Other	1
The Mount	Cannabis	1
	Heroin	1
	NPS: Other	1
	NPS: Spice	2
Verne	NPS: Other	1
Wayland	NPS: Spice	2
Wymott	NPS: Other	1

(1) Number of incidents where each drug type were found.

(2) Where establishment is not listed, no confiscations were reported in the period

Data Sources and Quality
These figures have been drawn from the NOMS Incident Reporting System. Care is taken when processing and analysing the returns but the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-02-04.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many police officers have been convicted of an assault committed while on duty in each year since 2010.

Andrew Selous

The information requested can only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-02-19.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much the Government spent on The Queen on the application of Rights of Women v The Lord Chancellor and Anr. Appeal of Claimant from the order of Mrs Justice Lang, dated 22 January 2015, filed 12 February 2015.

Caroline Dinenage

Since 22 January 2015 we have spent approximately £12,500 (excluding VAT) on legal fees in this case. We are pleased the court confirmed the Lord Chancellor did have the power to set domestic violence evidence requirements. We will now carefully consider the two findings made about the period of time for which evidence applies and concerns about victims of financial abuse.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-02-23.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many concerted indiscipline incidents of each type have occurred in each prison establishment in each month since May 2005.

Andrew Selous

Violence in prisons has increased in recent years. The nature of offenders currently in custody and the widespread availability of new psychoactive substances have both contributed to making prisons less safe. There is no single, simple solution to the problems we face but we are making progress.

We have launched a two year Violence Reduction project to help us to gain a better understanding of the causes and characteristics of violence. We are also trialling the use of body worn cameras in prisons, training sniffer dogs to detect new psychoactive substances and have made it an offence to smuggle new psychoactive substances into prison. However, ultimately the only way to reduce violence in our prisons is to give governors and those who work in prisons the tools necessary to more effectively reform and rehabilitate offenders.

Many Concerted indiscipline incidents vary widely in nature and duration and many of these incidents are relatively minor and of short duration and cause little disruption to the prison regime.

Note: The figures included in the table attached, have been drawn from the NOMS Incident Reporting System. Care is taken when processing and analysing the returns but the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system. Although the figures are shown to the last case the figures may not be accurate to that level.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-02-29.

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he made before his announcement in the Autumn Statement 2015 of the potential effect on revenues to the public purse of changes to personal injury law and procedure; and if he will make a statement.

Mr David Gauke

It is too early to say what the impact will be since this is still work in progress. The Government will consult on the detail of the new reforms in due course. The consultation will be accompanied by an impact assessment.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-03-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps the Government plans to take to review the provision of legal aid to domestic abuse victims as a result of the Court of Appeal judgement of 18 February 2016 quashing restrictions on obtaining such aid in family court cases.

Mr Shailesh Vara

We are pleased the court confirmed that the Lord Chancellor did have the power to set domestic violence evidence requirements. We are now carefully considering the judgment as we decide how best to respond to the court’s concerns.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-03-22.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will conduct a new review of the case for recommending a pardon for Dic Penderyn.

Dominic Raab

By convention, the Secretary of State for Justice only recommends the exercise of the Royal Prerogative of Mercy to grant a free pardon where evidence has come to light which demonstrates conclusively that the convicted individual was innocent and where all of the relevant appeal mechanisms have been exhausted.

As far as I am aware, no approach has been made either to the Court of Appeal or to the Criminal Cases Review Commission to appeal or review the conviction of Dic Penderyn. In light of that, it would not be appropriate for the Secretary of State for Justice to consider whether to recommend to Her Majesty The Queen that she exercise the Royal Prerogative of Mercy.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-04-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether during his meeting with Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Naif bin Abdulaziz in Riyadh on 28 March 2016 he (a) discussed human rights in that country (b) made representations about Ali a Nimr, Dawood al Mahroon and Abdullah al Zaher.

Michael Fallon

During my visit I had discussions with senior Saudi leadership on a range of defence and security issues, including the importance of International Humanitarian Law. The government of Saudi Arabia is well aware of our views on human rights and our opposition to the death penalty. Our expectation remains that these three individuals will not be executed.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-04-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether any further courts and tribunal offices are planned for closure in addition to those announced in the Government’s response to the consultation on the court and tribunal estate, published in February 2016.

Mr Shailesh Vara

HMCTS keeps its operational estate under review to make sure that it aligns with the delivery of reformed court and tribunal services. Any proposals for further closures, should they be required, will be subject to public consultation.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Andy Slaughter on 2016-05-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prison officers for what reasons have taken long-term sick leave in each of the last five years.

Andrew Selous

Long-term sick leave is defined within the Civil service as periods of absence of more than 28 calendar days. The number of Band 3-5 prison officers to have taken at least one period of long-term sick leave in each of the last five years for which information is available is shown in the table below.

Table: Number of Band 3-5 Officers who had an incidence of sick leave of 28 or more days, by type of sickness, 2010/11 to 2014/15

Type of Sickness	2010-11	2011-12	2012-13	2013-14	2014-15
Blood and Blood-Forming Organs	~	~	~	10	10
Circulatory System	120	130	120	120	110
Digestive System	150	140	140	110	90
Ear and Mastoid Process	20	10	20	10	10
Endocrine, Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases	10	20	20	20	~
Eye and Adnexa	20	20	20	10	20
Genitourinary System	60	60	50	70	60
Infective and Parasitic Diseases	50	40	50	40	50
Injury and Poisoning	300	310	300	380	380
Mental and Behavioural Disorders	840	850	850	960	920
Musculoskeletal System	920	800	730	610	550
Neoplasms	40	40	40	40	40
Nervous System and Sense Organs	60	70	70	60	50
Pregnancy Complications	50	40	40	30	30
Respiratory System	50	50	60	40	40
Skin and Subcutaneous Tissue	20	20	30	20	10
Symptoms Ill-Defined	670	750	790	790	680
Not Recorded	80	80	90	80	160
Grand Total	3490	3430	3410	3390	3200

Where an officer has more than one period of long-term absence within a year for the same reason, they are counted once. Where multiple absences were for different reasons they are counted more than once.

All figures are rounded to the nearest 10, with numbers ending in 5 rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias. As with all HR databases, extracts are taken at a fixed point in time, to ensure consistency of reporting. However the database itself is dynamic, and where updates to the database are made late, subsequent to the taking of the extract, these updates will not be reflected in figures produced by the extract. For this reason, HR data are unlikely to be precisely accurate, and to present unrounded figures would be to overstate the accuracy of the figures. Rounding to 10 accurately depicts the level of certainty that is held with these figures.

Totals are formed from unrounded parts prior to rounding. For this reason, rounded totals may not equal the sum of their rounded parts.

~ denotes suppressed values of 5 or fewer. Low numbers are suppressed, in conjunction with the rounding policy to prevent disclosure in accordance with the Data Protection Act, 1998.