Tag: Christina Rees

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

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christina Rees on 2016-05-18.

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Justice on the potential effect on Wales of plans to repeal the Human Rights Act 1998.

Guto Bebb

Wales Office Ministers have regular discussions with colleagues in the Ministry of Justice on a range of issues including our plans to reform the UK Human Rights framework.

Revising the Human Rights Act can only be done by the UK Parliament and we will consult fully before bringing forward proposals.

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

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christina Rees on 2016-06-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans his Department has for training the judiciary on the implementation of problem-solving courts.

Caroline Dinenage

The Working Group has now submitted its findings, which support the case for problem-solving courts.

Training of the judiciary is a matter for the judiciary and the judicial college. We will be working with both, taking learning from approaches nationally and internationally, as we progress our work on problem-solving courts.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christina Rees on 2015-11-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, for what reasons the matters within his Department’s responsibility in Schedule 1 of the draft Wales Bill have been designated as reserved.

Joseph Johnson

The reservations listed in Schedule 1 to the draft Wales Bill reflects the Government’s view of where the Welsh devolution boundary lies following the devolution of further powers to the Assembly provided for in the draft Bill.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the budget is for prison libraries in (a) total and (b) each prison in 2015; and what the cost was in each of the last five years.

Andrew Selous

All prisons in England and Wales have a library. NOMS has been responsible for funding prison library services in England from April 2011.

The total NOMS allocated budget for prison libraries in 2015/16 in England was £7,592,414

The attached table shows both the provider and allocated library budget for each prison in England since 2010. NOMS is not responsible for funding library services in prisons in Wales as this is a devolved function of the Welsh Government so data is not included. Privately managed prison contracts put in place since 2011 have identified levels of funding for libraries and so are included in the table. The table does not include library provision at privately managed prisons whose contracts were awarded before 2011 as this was part of the overall included contract price and so it is not possible to extract a specific cost element to this part of the contract. This equates to 10 prisons.

On 8 September 2015 the Secretary of State announced a review of the quality of education in prisons, chaired by Dame Sally Coates, which will report later in the year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christina Rees on 2016-06-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many courts will be involved in the problem-solving courts pilot programme; and how much funding has been allocated to those pilots.

Caroline Dinenage

The Working Group has now submitted its findings, which support the case for problem-solving courts.

Training of the judiciary is a matter for the judiciary and the judicial college. We will be working with both, taking learning from approaches nationally and internationally, as we progress our work on problem-solving courts.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christina Rees on 2015-11-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many times he has (a) met and (b) corresponded with a minister of the Welsh Government on the draft Wales Bill in the last 12 months.

Joseph Johnson

The Wales Office is the lead Government department on the draft Wales Bill, and is the primary point of contact with the Welsh Government on matters related to the draft Bill.

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, which prisons have libraries; and which organisations (a) run and (b) fund each such library.

Andrew Selous

All prisons in England and Wales have a library. NOMS has been responsible for funding prison library services in England from April 2011.

The total NOMS allocated budget for prison libraries in 2015/16 in England was £7,592,414

The attached table shows both the provider and allocated library budget for each prison in England since 2010. NOMS is not responsible for funding library services in prisons in Wales as this is a devolved function of the Welsh Government so data is not included. Privately managed prison contracts put in place since 2011 have identified levels of funding for libraries and so are included in the table. The table does not include library provision at privately managed prisons whose contracts were awarded before 2011 as this was part of the overall included contract price and so it is not possible to extract a specific cost element to this part of the contract. This equates to 10 prisons.

On 8 September 2015 the Secretary of State announced a review of the quality of education in prisons, chaired by Dame Sally Coates, which will report later in the year.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Christina Rees on 2016-06-20.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, when he expects the Problem-Solving Courts Working Group to (a) conclude and (b) report back on its work.

Caroline Dinenage

The Working Group has now submitted its findings, which support the case for problem-solving courts.

Training of the judiciary is a matter for the judiciary and the judicial college. We will be working with both, taking learning from approaches nationally and internationally, as we progress our work on problem-solving courts.