The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2014-06-24.
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many DNA profiles of current prisoners have not been added to the DNA database.
Karen Bradley
The information requested is not held.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2014-06-26.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average cost per (a) prison place and (b) prisoner in each category of prison was in the latest period for which figures are available.
Jeremy Wright
The Department routinely publishes average costs per prisoner and prison place, based on actual net resource expenditure for each private and public sector prison and in summary form for the whole of the prison estate in England and Wales on an annual basis after the end of each financial year. This includes a breakdown of these costs by prison category and individual prison within each category, and separately by prisoner gender.
The most recently published figures are for financial year 2012-13 which give an average annual Overall cost per place of £36,808 and average annual Overall cost per prisoner of £34,766. An average annual cost per male prisoner of £34,306 and £44,746 per female prisoner, based on Overall resource costs, is also published.
The information for financial year 2012-13 is available in the Cost per Place and Prisoner and Supplementary Information files on the Department’s website at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/prison-and-probation-trusts-performance-statistics-201213
Figures for 2013-14 will be published alongside the Management Information Addendums to the NOMS Annual Report and Accounts in October 2014.
Continuing to reduce prison unit costs is one of the key targets for the Department. Between 2009/10 and 2012/13 prison unit costs (based on Overall prison costs) have reduced in real terms by 16% per place and 13% per prisoner.
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-01-15.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of those convicted of a knife crime offence were sentenced to prison for (a) up to six months, (b) up to and (c) over 12 months in the last 12 months.
Mike Penning
Knives on our streets are a social scourge. Unlawful possession of a knife or offensive weapon is already a serious criminal offence (which carries a maximum 4 year custodial sentence). We are building on that to send a clear and unequivocal message that those who use a knife or offensive weapon to threaten another person are behaving in a wholly unacceptable manner and can expect an automatic custodial sentence.
This Government introduced the offences of threatening with a knife or offensive weapon in public or in a school. And last year, the Government made changes to the Simple Cautions Guidance issued to police to restrict the use of cautions for certain offences, including knife possession, in all but exceptional circumstances. The Ministry of Justice is also legislating on these changes within the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill, to make it absolutely clear that cautions should no longer be used for serious offences such as those involving a knife or offensive weapon.
Within the sentencing framework, it is for judges and magistrates to decide the appropriate sentence in individual cases taking account of the harm the offence caused and the culpability of the offender. Under the Coroners and Justice Act 2009, there is an obligation on courts, when sentencing for offences, to follow the guidelines issued by the Sentencing Council, unless it would be contrary to the interests of justice to do so.
The Ministry of Justice does not hold information disaggregating crimes committed using a knife, as opposed to violent offences committed via other means. However, detailed figures relating to knife and offensive weapon possession are published on a quarterly basis, the latest version of which is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/knife-possession-sentencing-quarterly-brief-july-to-september-2014
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2015-09-16.
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what contact his Department had with Action on Smoking and Health on the Tobacco Control Strategy 2011 before publication of that strategy.
Jane Ellison
Health Lives, Healthy People: A Tobacco Control Plan for England, states that the plan was developed in collaboration with local government representatives, public health advocacy groups, academics, clinicians, professional bodies and retailers.This included Action on Smoking and Health.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2014-03-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what data his Department collects on the number of (a) men and (b) women in prison who had alcohol-related issues prior to conviction.
Jeremy Wright
Prisoners are assessed on entry to prison for addiction problems and there is a package of support available to them. The MoJ’s Transforming Rehabilitation programme will provide individual support to all released prisoners. This will include identifying risks and needs for individual ex-prisoners, and providing services to address them.
The Ministry of Justice does not collect these data centrally on a regular basis. However, a survey of 1,435 adult prisoners sentenced to between one month and four years in 2005 and 2006 (Surveying Prisoner Crime Reduction – SPCR) provides self-reported estimates for each question.
The full reports can be accessed on the gov.uk website: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/surveying-prisoner-crime-reduction-spcr
“
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2014-04-01.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 26 March 2014, Official Report, column 284W, on Muslim prisoners, how many and what proportion of Muslim prisoners included in the figures listed for 2013 have converted to that religion since they arrived in prison; and if he will make a statement.
Jeremy Wright
Information on the number of prisoners who convert to each religion (including Islam) whilst in prison is not held centrally. The data held centrally relates to prisoners’ current declared religion, not any previously declared religion.
In order to provide data relating to offender conversions to Islam in prison, it would be necessary to manually examine the individual prison records of over 11,700 Muslims in prison as at 31 December 2013 – this could only be done at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2014-03-31.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many prisoners who are in open prisons are serving (a) a life sentence and (b) an indeterminate sentence for public protection.
Jeremy Wright
Depending on the length of tariff and the risk they pose, indeterminate sentenced prisoners (ISPs – both those serving life and Imprisonment for Public Protection sentences) move through their sentence via a series of progressive transfers into lower security establishments in the closed estate and then usually into open conditions. The purpose of any placement in open conditions is for such prisoners’ risks to be tested in less stringent conditions in order to inform the Parole Board’s consideration as to whether it is safe to release them into the community. It is also is an important part of the offender’s rehabilitation. The decision to transfer ISPs to open conditions is a categorisation decision which is a matter for the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State may take this decision after seeking advice from the Parole Board or executively where the prisoners may demonstrate exceptional progress.
However, there is nothing automatic about progress from open conditions to eventual release. Rather, the period in open prison will serve as an important time to test the prisoner and will help inform the Parole Board’s decision whether the offenders risk is such that it may be safely managed in the community.
For many prisoners, in particular those such as ISPs who have spent a considerable amount of time in custody; these are essential components for successful reintegration in the community and therefore an important factor in protecting the public. To release these prisoners directly from a closed prison without the resettlement benefits of the open estate would undoubtedly lead to higher levels of post-release re-offending.
The main purpose of open conditions is to test prisoners in conditions more similar to those that they will face in the community. It also enables them to develop their plans for eventual release. Time spent in open prisons affords prisoners the opportunity to find work, re-establish family ties, reintegrate into the community and ensure housing needs are met. Open prisons are the most effective means of ensuring that prisoners are subject to testing, with appropriate risk assessment to ensure the protection of the public, before they are released into the community. Once tariff has expired, an ISP’s continued detention is justified only so long as it is necessary for the protection of the public.
Public protection is the priority and the Board will take into account a range of factors when assessing whether an offender’s risk is reduced sufficiently, in order that they can be managed in open conditions or on licence in the community. These might include the completion of offence related courses, a sustained period of good custodial behaviour, access to appropriate and stable accommodation, access to education, training and employment, and support from professionals as well as family and friends. The Parole Board would not recommend a prisoner’s transfer to open conditions unless they considered it safe to do so. Prisoners located in open prison conditions have been rigorously risk assessed and categorised as being of a low enough risk to the public to warrant their placement in an open prison.
The requested information is provided in the table attached.
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.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2014-05-07.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, in what proportion of cases costs have been awarded to an employer following an unsuccessful claim being brought against them at each stage of the proceedings at an employment tribunal in each of the last five years.
Mr Shailesh Vara
The Ministry of Justice publishes Official Statistics, annually, on costs awards made in employment tribunal claims. It also reports on the numbers of cases disposed of by employment tribunals. Data on costs awards are at table E12, and data on disposals of complaints are available at table E2 which shows distribution of disposed complaints by type and by jurisdiction in the latest release, available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tribunal-statistics-quarterly-july-to-september-2013.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2014-05-06.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what average period of time is spent on bail by an offender whose case is dealt with in a (a) magistrates’ court and (b) Crown court where the offender (i) pleads guilty at the outset, (ii) changes their plea to guilty during the course of the proceedings and (iii) pleads not guilty.
Mr Shailesh Vara
Information on bail and remand collected centrally by the Ministry of Justice and held on the Court Proceedings Database does not include any information on the length of time defendants were held on bail or remand. This information could only be ascertained by reference to individual court files which could only be achieved at disproportionate cost.
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2014-03-11.
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what data his Department collects on the number of men and women in prison who have previously been in local authority care.
Jeremy Wright
Prisoners are assessed on entry to prison for addiction problems and there is a package of support available to them. The MoJ’s Transforming Rehabilitation programme will provide individual support to all released prisoners. This will include identifying risks and needs for individual ex-prisoners, and providing services to address them.
The Ministry of Justice does not collect these data centrally on a regular basis. However, a survey of 1,435 adult prisoners sentenced to between one month and four years in 2005 and 2006 (Surveying Prisoner Crime Reduction – SPCR) provides self-reported estimates for each question.
The full reports can be accessed on the gov.uk website: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/surveying-prisoner-crime-reduction-spcr
“