The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jo Stevens on 2016-01-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many members of staff of Medway Secure Training College have (a) been suspended, (b) received an official warning and (c) been dismissed since 30 December 2015.
Andrew Selous
Since 30th December 2015, ten members of staff have been suspended, five have received an official warning and five have been dismissed.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jo Stevens on 2016-02-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to eradicate new psychoactive substances across the prison estate; and if he will make a statement.
Andrew Selous
We take a zero tolerance approach to drugs in prison and there are already a range of robust measures in place to detect drugs, including the use of search dogs and intelligence-led searches. More than 300 dogs have received specialist training to detect NPS. We recently introduced tough new laws which will see those who smuggle packages over prison walls, including new psychoactive substances, face up to two years in prison. Those who involve themselves in the distribution of drugs in our prisons should know that they will face prosecution and extra time behind bars.
We have begun a pilot to test for the use of psychoactive substances, and in April 2016, we plan to introduce widespread mandatory drug testing of prisoners for psychoactive substances. Those who are found to have used psychoactive substances will face sanctions under prison rules, including by having days added to their time in custody.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jo Stevens on 2016-04-20.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, on how many occasions a judicial officer has not imposed a victims surcharge or any other fine following a request to do so in each of the last three years.
Mike Penning
Courts are required to impose the victim surcharge on all offenders convicted of any offence, however those who receive an absolute discharge or a Hospital Order under the Mental Health Act 1983 are exempt from the surcharge.
In respect of fines, the sentence imposed in a particular case is based on the details of the offence and the offender, within the maximum penalties set out in statute and with due consideration to sentencing guidelines. The court is obliged to follow any sentencing guidelines unless it is contrary to the interests of justice to do so. If a court imposes a sentence outside the range indicated in the guidelines, it must state its reasons for doing so.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jo Stevens on 2016-10-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many drones have been intercepted operating over prisons in England and Wales (a) in 2015 and (b) from January 2016 to date.
Mr Sam Gyimah
There were 33 incidents relating to drones reported by prisons in 2015. This includes finds, interceptions and sightings of drones in and around prisons in England and Wales. The Ministry of Justice intends to routinely publish information on prison drone incidents in the future and 2016 data will be provided in due course as part of the publication schedule.
We remain vigilant to all incidents involving drones and take the threat they pose to prison security very seriously. A range of methods to counter the threat posed by drones are being trialled and evaluated for their effectiveness across the prison estate. We have already introduced new legislation to further strengthen our powers, making it illegal to land a drone in prison or to use a drone to drop in contraband. Anyone found using a drone in an attempt to get contraband into prisons can be punished with a sentence of up to two years imprisonment. We take a zero tolerance approach to smuggling of contraband into prisons and work closely with the police and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to ensure those caught are prosecuted.
Note: All figures have been drawn from live administrative data systems. 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 Jo Stevens on 2015-10-29.
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how much his Department spent on (a) IT systems and (b) cyber-security in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12, (iii) 2012-13, (iv) 2013-14, (v) 2014-15 and (vi) 2015-16 to date.
Justin Tomlinson
The available information is set out below:
(a) IT costs which can be found in the published DWP Annual Report and Accounts, are summarised as follows:
|
£ (to nearest 1,000) |
2010-11 |
2011-12 |
2012-13 |
2013-14 |
2014-15 |
2015-16 to September |
|
Total IT |
960,572,000 |
926,912,000 |
1,111,308,000 |
802,134,000 |
732,352,000 |
327,006,000* |
*Please note that the figure for 2015/16 to September has not yet been audited for accounts.
(b) DWP has tracked all core aspects of expenditure on cyber security, apart from in specific IT systems, since April 2015. The current estimate up to September 15/16 is £5.6m, with further significant investment planned for the second half of the year.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jo Stevens on 2016-01-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) young offenders and (b) staff the Youth Justice Board recorded as injured in each young offender institute in each of the last eight years; how many such injuries to (i) young offenders and (ii) staff were recorded as serious injuries; and if he will make a statement.
Mike Penning
The number of (a) young offenders and (b) staff the Youth Justice Board recorded as injured in each young offender institute in each of the last eight years is set out in the attached table.
The table includes information on injuries, including severe injuries, relating to Restrictive Physical Intervention (RPI), self-harm and assaults. The number of staff and visitors severely injured as a result of an assault is not included as obtaining these figures would incur disproportionate costs.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jo Stevens on 2016-02-10.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 2 February 2016 to Question 23824, whether any staff in young offender institutions are (a) qualified speech and language therapists, (b) registered with the Mental Health and Care Professions Council and (c) qualified social workers.
Andrew Selous
The information requested is not held centrally, and could only be provided at disproportionate costs.
The Youth Justice Board is responsible for the commissioning and oversight of the secure youth estate. The Youth Justice Board funds dedicated social workers at each under-18 Young Offender Institution (YOI). All young people undergo a health and education assessment upon arrival into custody, whilst all staff undergo training in child and adolescent development and safeguarding.
Under-18 YOI providers should ensure that they meet the needs of all detained persons including those with Special Education and Needs (SEN) requirements, and that all staff are suitably qualified to support young people and make referrals to other specialist support where this is appropriate.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jo Stevens on 2016-04-19.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 18 April 2016 to Question 33485, in what capacity those polygraph examinations have been conducted; and for what reasons polygraph examinations have been so used to examine sex offender behaviour.
Andrew Selous
The legal basis for the polygraph scheme is in the Offender Management Act 2007. Sections 28 to 30 enable a polygraph licence condition to be added to the release licence of certain sex offenders. In January 2014, following a successful pilot, the condition was introduced nationally.
Polygraph testing has proven to be a valuable additional tool for National Probation Service offender managers in the management of certain sex offenders in the community. It increases the chance that those sexual offenders will make critically significant disclosures relevant to their management, supervision, or risk assessment. Furthermore, it has increased the likelihood of preventative actions being taken by offender managers to protect the public from harm, such as warnings and recall to custody.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Jo Stevens on 2016-10-07.
To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many people in (a) Cardiff Central constituency and (b) Cardiff County local authority area have had a tax credit claim stopped by Concentrix; and how many such claims were subsequently reinstated by HM Revenue and Customs.
Jane Ellison
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) does not hold data broken down specifically by constituency areas.
HMRC is currently focussed on resolving the outstanding cases but will be preparing regional analysis, which will be available in due course.
The speech made by Jo Stevens on 26 September 2022.
Chair, Conference, thank you.
It’s wonderful to be back in Liverpool. A great city with a great heart and on a clear day, great views of Wales too.
It’s a real honour to address conference, as Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for Wales.
Firstly, I want to thank our Welsh Labour staff who always go above and beyond for our Party.
And our wonderful Shadow Wales team in Parliament – Gerald Jones, Jessica Morden and, in the House of Lords, Debbie Wilcox.
But I particularly want to thank all of our Welsh Labour MPs.
There are 22 of us, all working hard every single day for people in Wales, as part of our strong, united and determined team of Welsh Labour representatives across our Councils, Senedd and Parliament.
From Mark Tami in the North to Tonia Antoniazzi in the Southwest – every single one of our Welsh Labour MPs makes a difference for the people we represent.
And talking about making a difference, who better to exemplify that than our brilliant Deputy Leader of Welsh Labour, Carolyn Harris.
A campaigning machine.
Through her children’s funeral fund campaign Carolyn achieved something remarkable for bereaved families in the worst possible circumstances of their lives.
Not just in Wales, but in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland too. And she didn’t stop there.
Now, both women and men, for the first time in my life, are talking at home, in workplaces and across the media about the menopause.
About its impact on women and the need to improve healthcare, medical training and employment practices.
Carolyn has helped to change women’s lives because of this.
Carolyn – from all of us – thank you. We are very lucky to have you.
Conference – this year marks 100 years of Labour winning the majority of seats in Wales in every single general election.
It is a remarkable achievement and reflects Wales’s central role in the history of our Party and across our Labour and Trade Union movement.
We also celebrate 23 years of devolution in Wales.
Devolution delivered by a Labour government to the people of Wales who have put their trust in us at every Senedd election since and know that we are on their side.
But we never take a single vote for granted. We have to earn every vote.
None of those election successes could have been achieved without your help and support.
To everyone across our Labour and Trade Union movement who has given their time and effort campaigning all year round to help win elections – and persuaded others to do the same – thank you. You are brilliant. And I know you will continue being brilliant.
Whether it’s in a general election, Senedd or our hugely successful Council elections earlier this year – following which the Tories don’t run a single Council in Wales – people in Wales see that Labour is working for them.
We listen, we share values and aspirations, we earn trust, and we deliver for Wales as a team.
And in the most difficult of times – during the pandemic and now during the Conservative cost of living crisis – people across the UK can look to Wales to see the difference that a Labour government makes.
No reckless Tory borrowing billions instead of taxing the £170bn excess profits of the oil and gas producers, or scrapping the cap on investment bankers’ bonuses – our Labour government in Wales is using every lever it has, to put money back in the pockets of people who need it most.
• Extending free school meals and providing free breakfasts
• A real living wage for social care workers
• Help with council tax bills
• Giving students the best deal anywhere in the UK
• Extending our childcare offer to parents in training and education
Labour is building our stronger, fairer, greener Wales.
And there’ll be no Tory fracking in Wales, Conference.
Wales will play its part in powering the UK economy with renewable energy creating the stronger, fairer, greener Britain that Rachel Reeves spoke so brilliantly about this morning.
But our job, Conference, our job, is to make sure that we get Keir into 10 Downing Street leading a UK Labour government working hand in hand with our Welsh Labour government.
So Conference, it gives me such pleasure to welcome my friend and Cardiff neighbour – our brilliant Welsh Labour leader and First Minister of Wales, Mark Drakeford.