Tag: Lord Falconer of Thoroton

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Falconer of Thoroton on 2015-12-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will provide statistics detailing civil legal aid claims and grants by sector broken down by protected characteristics since January 2010.

Lord Faulks

Legal aid is a vital part of our justice system, but we cannot escape the continuing need to reduce the deficit. The Coalition Government reformed legal aid to reduce its cost and ensure the system commands the confidence of the public. As part of our public sector equality duty, the Legal Aid Agency has made it a contractual requirement that providers have an Equality and Diversity policy in place.

The number of civil claims by sector broken down for protected characteristics are shown in the tables below for the period 2010-11 to 2014-15. Figures for grants or applications at this level of detail are not held for the Legal Help and Controlled Legal Representation categories of civil legal aid and so figures for grants have not been provided.

The not for profit sector providers are shown based on the administrative system classification and all other providers are classified as solicitor firms. Where values for the protected characteristics are not held, unknown or the claimant has preferred not to state their answer, they are included within the unknown category.

The MoJ routinely publishes statistics on client characteristics for each area of legal aid on an annual basis on the government website.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Falconer of Thoroton on 2016-04-27.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government when they plan to publish the findings of their review of employment tribunal fees; who conducted that review; what resources were afforded to that review; and when they were made aware of the findings of that review.

Lord Faulks

On 11 June we announced the start of the post-implementation review of the introduction of fees in the Employment Tribunals. The Review is being undertaken within the Ministry of Justice.

The review is ongoing and will be published in due course.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Falconer of Thoroton on 2015-10-27.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the Attorney General was consulted or notified before the decision was made to remove the reference to the need to comply with international law and treaty obligations from the Ministerial Code.

Lord Bridges of Headley

The Ministerial Code is normally updated and reissued after a General Election. The updated Code makes clear that Ministers must abide by the law. The obligations of Ministers under the law including international law remain unchanged.

Information relating to internal discussions and advice is not disclosed.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Falconer of Thoroton on 2015-12-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of the potential impact of the end of the Advice Services Transition Fund in December 2015.

Lord Bridges of Headley

The fund is a Big Lottery Fund programme, to which Government contributed 50% of the budget. As the fund comes to a close, the Big Lottery Fund will be monitoring how organisations have met their agreed outcomes and will be supporting the dissemination of learning amongst the ASTF partnerships and beyond.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Falconer of Thoroton on 2016-05-25.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Faulks on 5 May (HL7790), what assessment they have made of the cause of the rise in the number of applications to the Criminal Cases Review Commission from 2010 to 2015.

Lord Faulks

The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) published annual reports from 2010 to 2015 setting out the reasons for applications to the CCRC. The CCRC casework is subject to fluctuations and the Government works closely with them to understand the reasons for these applications.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Falconer of Thoroton on 2015-11-04.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many hours on average each prisoner spent per week (1) in a cell, and (2) on purposeful activity, in (a) each prison, (b) each category of prison, and (c) the entire prison estate, in each year since 2010.

Lord Faulks

Time unlocked and purposeful activity were two of the National Offender Management Service’s performance indicators for prisons until 2011/2012. These indicators were discontinued from the start of 2012/13. However, the figures requested are provided for 2010/11 and 2011/12 in the tables below.

Tables 1 and 2 cover time spent in cell. Average time in cell is measured per weekday and this information is provided by individual prison establishment, by prison category and across the prison estate. The figures for time in cell are derived from information collected on the average hours per weekday that prisoners are unlocked and using these to estimate hours spent locked in cell. It should be noted that time in cell includes time when prisoners are asleep. Time unlocked includes time where a prisoner is either out of their cell or where the cell door is unlocked allowing them to move freely in and out of the cell.

Tables 3 and 4 show the reported average hours of purposeful activity per prisoner per week at establishment level, for each category of prison and across the prison estate

These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Table 1: Time in Cell by Prison Establishment: Average Hours per Prisoner per Week Day

Establishment Name	2010-11	2011-12
Acklington	15.5	–
Albany	–	–
Altcourse	11.1	12.6
Ashfield	14.0	14.1
Ashwell	14.5	–
Askham Grange	8.0	8.0
Aylesbury	16.8	16.6
Bedford	14.3	14.4
Belmarsh	15.9	24.0
Birmingham	16.2	16.1
Blantyre House	6.0	6.0
Blundeston	14.0	12.4
Brinsford	14.1	24.0
Bristol	15.1	15.7
Brixton	17.4	17.4
Bronzefield	14.1	14.1
Buckley Hall	15.2	15.4
Bullingdon	16.1	15.6
Bullwood Hall	10.3	10.1
Camp Hill	–	–
Canterbury	13.7	13.3
Cardiff	15.9	16.7
Castington	16.6	–
Channings Wood	15.3	15.4
Chelmsford	14.7	14.4
Coldingley	14.4	14.6
Cookham Wood	15.2	14.3
Dartmoor	13.6	13.4
Deerbolt	17.5	17.2
Doncaster	13.4	11.6
Dorchester	18.2	18.5
Dovegate	14.8	14.3
Dover	11.4	11.4
Downview	13.8	14.2
Drake Hall	5.3	6.5
Durham	16.1	16.2
East Sutton Park	7.0	7.0
Eastwood Park	13.1	15.0
Edmunds Hill	10.2	–
Elmley	–	–
Erlestoke	14.3	14.4
Everthorpe	16.7	16.7
Exeter	16.2	15.9
Featherstone	13.1	14.5
Feltham	16.3	17.1
Ford	11.5	11.5
Forest Bank	13.7	13.7
Foston Hall	12.5	14.5
Frankland	15.1	14.9
Full Sutton	15.1	15.0
Garth	15.1	15.3
Gartree	15.2	15.5
Glen Parva	16.4	17.0
Gloucester	15.6	16.1
Grendon	10.3	10.3
Guys Marsh	13.6	13.7
Haslar	12.0	12.0
Haverigg	9.2	9.7
Hewell	13.3	13.0
High Down	16.2	16.5
Highpoint	14.5	13.3
Hindley	13.9	13.7
Hollesley Bay	8.0	8.0
Holloway	15.0	15.0
Holme House	16.1	15.4
Hull	16.0	16.1
Huntercombe	13.5	14.1
Isis	–	17.4
Isle of Wight	14.8	14.5
Kennet	13.8	13.7
Kingston	14.0	14.3
Kirkham	9.2	9.2
Kirklevington	5.0	5.0
Lancaster	14.9	–
Lancaster Farms	16.3	16.4
Latchmere House	0.0	1.9
Leeds	16.2	13.8
Leicester	16.5	16.1
Lewes	15.3	15.0
Leyhill	8.0	8.0
Lincoln	17.0	16.2
Lindholme	15.7	15.9
Littlehey	16.3	15.1
Liverpool	15.7	15.8
Long Lartin	14.7	15.7
Low Newton	13.4	13.5
Lowdham Grange	13.2	12.9
Maidstone	15.2	15.0
Manchester	13.8	13.4
Moorland	12.7	11.8
Morton Hall	10.4	24.0
Mount	13.1	13.0
New Hall	14.8	15.7
North Sea Camp	6.5	6.5
Northallerton	15.7	15.0
Northumberland	–	15.6
Norwich	15.2	15.8
Nottingham	16.2	16.2
Onley	14.8	14.4
Parc	14.6	14.9
Parkhurst	–	–
Pentonville	16.3	16.6
Peterborough	14.7	14.8
Portland	15.1	15.4
Preston	15.7	15.7
Ranby	14.3	14.6
Reading	15.1	14.4
Risley	15.0	15.0
Rochester	14.3	14.0
Rye Hill	14.8	14.3
Send	12.1	12.1
Sheppey Cluster	15.0	15.2
Shepton Mallet	14.6	14.5
Shrewsbury	15.4	15.4
Stafford	16.6	16.4
Standford Hill	–	–
Stocken	16.1	16.5
Stoke Heath	16.2	15.5
Styal	10.5	11.5
Sudbury	5.0	5.0
Swaleside	–	–
Swansea	15.5	15.4
Swinfen Hall	16.2	17.8
Thorn Cross	9.0	10.2
UskPrescoed	11.6	11.4
Verne	9.0	9.1
Wakefield	14.9	14.8
Wandsworth	17.4	16.7
Warren Hill	14.6	15.2
Wayland	12.6	11.7
Wealstun	16.5	15.7
Wellingborough	14.2	15.0
Werrington	14.3	14.8
Wetherby	14.2	14.4
Whatton	14.2	13.6
Whitemoor	15.5	15.2
Winchester	15.0	16.5
Wolds	12.1	12.0
Woodhill	15.0	14.5
Wormwood Scrubs	16.8	16.9
Wymott	15.5	15.5
National Total	14.5	14.5

‘-‘ Data not available

Table 2: Time in Cell by Prison Category: Average Hours per Prisoner per Week Day

Category	2010-11	2011-12
Category B	14.1	13.9
Category C	14.2	14.1
Dispersal	15	15.1
Female closed	12.8	13.6
Female local	13.5	14.1
Female open	7.6	7.6
Male closed young offender	15.8	16.2
Male juvenile	14.3	14.4
Male local	15.5	15.4
Male open	8.1	8.1
Male open young offender	9	10.2
Semi open	6	6.2
Cluster	14.5	14.5
National Total	14.5	14.5

Note: In the above table prisons are categorised according to their predominant function, though some establishments will have more than one function.

Table 3: Average number of hours per prisoner per week in purposeful activity by establishment

Establishment name	2010/11	2011/12
Acklington	20.7	–
Albany	24.2	24.6
Altcourse	35.2	33.7
Ashfield	29.1	26.7
Ashwell	29.1	–
Askham Grange	40.7	40.0
Aylesbury	20.7	21.9
Bedford	19.2	18.5
Belmarsh	18.5	18.4
Birmingham	21.3	21.3
Blantyre House	52.1	52.2
Blundeston	25.5	24.6
Brinsford	28.0	29.9
Bristol	25.2	22.9
Brixton	17.5	17.7
Bronzefield	26.6	26.9
Buckley Hall	27.0	26.5
Bullingdon	22.6	20.9
Bullwood Hall	24.5	24.0
Bure	21.2	24.6
Camp Hill	22.4	23.7
Canterbury	19.7	21.6
Cardiff	22.6	20.0
Castington	22.3	–
Channings Wood	24.0	23.7
Chelmsford	25.8	26.5
Coldingley	25.6	25.7
Cookham Wood	23.6	26.8
Dartmoor	24.1	23.1
Deerbolt	21.2	22.8
Doncaster	23.4	22.1
Dorchester	17.7	17.2
Dovegate	31.8	33.3
Dover	–	–
Downview	31.4	28.5
Drake Hall	34.4	36.0
Durham	16.9	18.2
East Sutton Park	45.0	45.3
Eastwood Park	21.5	22.4
Edmunds Hill	24.8	–
Elmley	17.1	17.5
Erlestoke	24.6	24.8
Everthorpe	22.5	22.7
Exeter	17.9	18.9
Featherstone	26.4	25.7
Feltham	22.2	20.3
Ford	41.6	41.8
Forest Bank	25.7	25.3
Foston Hall	30.9	29.7
Frankland	19.7	20.8
Full Sutton	20.5	21.1
Garth	25.9	26.2
Gartree	26.4	28.7
Glen Parva	20.7	20.8
Gloucester	20.7	19.5
Grendon	31.9	33.7
Guys Marsh	24.7	23.8
Haslar	–	–
Hatfield	–	–
Haverigg	27.6	25.3
Hewell	25.6	25.2
High Down	19.2	18.6
Highpoint	25.1	0.0
Hindley	30.9	33.4
Hollesley Bay	43.1	43.3
Holloway	23.1	21.8
Holme House	18.9	22.0
Hull	19.8	19.6
Huntercombe	27.0	28.4
Kennet	25.6	25.7
Kingston	29.2	27.3
Kirkham	47.1	49.3
Kirklevington	53.0	51.5
Lancaster	26.7	–
Lancaster Farms	26.9	27.0
Latchmere House	56.5	56.5
Leeds	18.6	18.9
Leicester	18.8	18.9
Lewes	23.0	20.3
Leyhill	39.5	40.0
Lincoln	19.3	18.9
Lindholme	21.4	21.5
Littlehey	20.6	22.5
Liverpool	20.2	20.8
Long Lartin	20.0	21.4
Low Newton	23.8	23.7
Lowdham Grange	27.3	27.9
Maidstone	25.1	25.9
Manchester	23.8	24.7
Moorland	29.0	31.1
Morton Hall	30.9	0.0
Mount	24.4	24.8
New Hall	27.2	25.0
North Sea Camp	45.9	43.1
Northallerton	23.7	23.5
Northumberland	–	20.0
Norwich	24.8	23.9
Nottingham	26.3	27.0
Onley	25.4	26.0
Parc	26.8	26.8
Parkhurst	21.3	22.9
Pentonville	18.1	18.4
Peterborough	–	–
Portland	27.6	–
Preston	20.7	20.6
Ranby	23.9	24.0
Reading	22.4	22.5
Risley	27.1	27.2
Rochester	22.0	22.3
Rye Hill	27.9	28.7
Send	30.6	31.2
Shepton Mallet	23.2	24.0
Shrewsbury	25.8	27.1
Stafford	26.2	26.6
Standford Hill	36.7	40.1
Stocken	25.7	24.8
Stoke Heath	25.6	28.1
Styal	24.7	23.1
Sudbury	43.6	45.8
Swaleside	24.3	26.6
Swansea	21.6	20.4
Swinfen Hall	26.3	23.8
Thameside	–	–
Thorn Cross	45.3	47.0
UskPrescoed	35.0	33.7
Verne	26.7	25.9
Wakefield	20.5	21.2
Wandsworth	17.2	17.6
Warren Hill	29.5	28.5
Wayland	25.2	25.8
Wealstun	20.4	21.7
Wellingborough	26.8	25.4
Werrington	30.8	27.6
Wetherby	29.7	27.5
Whatton	26.0	25.2
Whitemoor	24.1	25.5
Winchester	19.1	18.0
Wolds	24.4	24.1
Woodhill	21.2	20.0
Wormwood Scrubs	17.2	16.8
Wymott	25.7	26.2
National Total	24.7	24.9

‘-‘ Data not available

Table 4: Average number of hours per prisoner per week in purposeful activity by prison category

Category	2010/11	2011/12
Category B	27.1	30.1
Category C	24.8	25.2
Dispersal	20.7	21.7
Female closed	30.9	29.5
Female local	24.7	23.8
Female open	42.5	42.3
Male closed young offender	24.2	24.0
Male juvenile	28.9	27.5
Male local	21.4	21.4
Male open	42.5	44.2
Male open young offender	45.3	47.0
Semi open	43.9	45.6
Cluster	25.6	24.7
National Total	24.7	24.9

Note: In the above table prisons are categorised according to their predominant function, though some establishments will have more than one function.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Falconer of Thoroton on 2015-12-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the quantities and types of drugs found in each prison, and the additional sentences given to those caught.

Lord Faulks

We take a zero tolerance approach to drugs in prison.

Strict measures are in place to tackle visitors who smuggle or attempt to smuggle drugs into prison. This includes arrest and prosecution where there is sufficient evidence. Likewise, any prisoner found in possession of drugs will face disciplinary action, which could include a further prosecution and sentence.

In addition, as of 10 November 2015, we have introduced new laws so that those who smuggle packages, including new psychoactive substances, over prison walls will face up to two years in custody.

NOMS collects data on drug finds on a central database. Historically, this data has not included retrievable information on the quantity of the drug find. In October 2015, changes were made to reporting forms to improve data collection to include quantity. The tables below provide figures for (a) the quantities and (b) the types of drugs found in prisons in England and Wales over a two month period between October and November 2015.

It is not always possible to attribute a drug find to an individual prisoner. In those cases where a drug find has been attributed to a particular prisoner, NOMS does not collate centrally information on any additional sentences handed down and to do so would involve disproportionate cost.

Notes to Tables:

1. All figures in this answer have been drawn from live administrative data systems which may be amended at any time. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system. The data are not subject to audit.
2. It is important to note that many seizures are similar in appearance and require chemical testing to determine precise type. Drugs marked as “unknown” in table 2 have not been tested.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Falconer of Thoroton on 2015-11-04.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government with which countries the UK is currently negotiating prisoner transfer agreements.

Lord Faulks

Revealing negotiations regarding prisoner transfer agreements can be counterproductive given their sensitivity. My Ministerial colleagues and I are actively engaging with a number of countries and remain determined to secure compulsory agreements wherever possible. Currently the UK has over 100 prisoner transfer agreements with other countries and territories.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Falconer of Thoroton on 2015-12-08.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government (1) how many, and (2) what percentage of, prison governors have worked at two or more prisons in the last five years.

Lord Faulks

Of the governors of public sector prisons in post at 30 September 2015, a total of 90 (85%) had worked at two or more prisons in the previous five years.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Lord Falconer of Thoroton on 2015-11-30.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government which department has overall responsibility for deradicalisation programmes in prisons.

Lord Faulks

Deradicalisation work in prisons forms part of the Government’s Prevent strategy, which is the responsibility of the Home Office. The delivery of this work in England and Wales is the responsibility of the Ministry of Justice, through the National Offender Management Service. In Scotland, responsibility for delivery lies with the Scottish Government, through the Scottish Prison Service.