Asked by
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress they have made
towards the implementation of the recommendations in the report
by the Independent Advisory Panel on Deaths in Custody “Keep
Talking, Stay Safe”: A Rapid Review of Prisoners’ Experience
under COVID-19, published on 31 May.
The Advocate-General for Scotland () (Con)
My Lords, we welcome this report from the IAP on the experience
of prisoners during Covid-19. The Government are committed to
making safety a priority for all those in custody as well as
staff. We have reviewed the recommendations in the report and are
making good progress against a number of the areas identified,
with many discussed further at a Covid-19 sub-meeting of the
Ministerial Board on Deaths in Custody on 7 July 2020.
(Lab) [V]
My Lords, I am grateful to the Minister for that reply. The IAP
report said that early release was important to protect life. We
were told that 4,000 prisoners would be released; indeed, the MoJ
bought 2,000 tagging kits for those released. But, so far, only
209 prisoners have been released early. What went wrong? So far,
23 prisoners have died from Covid-19 in a prison population of
80,000. Each death is a tragedy; those prisoners were under the
care of the state, and the state had a duty to keep them safe.
However, to keep the numbers to such levels, many prisoners are
confined, essentially in solitary confinement, in their cells for
23 hours a day, with limited access to exercise or basic
rehabilitative activities, exacerbating mental health problems.
There have been 36 self-inflicted deaths so far this year. Can
the Minister tell us what proportion of prisoners are currently
restricted in this way and when he expects that figure to
improve?
My Lords, the end-of-custody temporary release on licence scheme
was there essentially as a safety valve for capacity reasons. As
the noble Lord observed, there have been 209 releases as at 3
July. That is consistent with maintaining appropriate capacity
within the prison population. There have tragically been 23
prisoner deaths since the start of the pandemic, again based on
data available at 3 July, as against a model in March of 2,300
deaths—I emphasise, a model. Nothing has gone wrong with the
release system as such. With regard to the situation within
prisons, we have now seen a majority of prisons move to a less
rigorous regime within the parameters set for prisons; indeed, a
proportion of prisons are now able to admit visitors as well.
(Lab) [V]
My Lords, noting my interests in the register, this report
reminds us of the need for robust and effective alternatives to
custody. This is especially so for people with mental health
problems, whose experience of prison can worsen pre-existing
conditions, including the risk of self-harm. Will the Minister
therefore assure me that the planned investment in community
sentence treatment requirement programmes will continue in the
current 12 test areas, and that national rollout will be
prioritised to ensure universal sentencing options for the courts
and necessary treatment for offenders?
My Lords, we are committed to developing a more robust community
sentencing framework. We recognise the importance of that. With
regard to the health of those within the prison system, we have
been taking steps to ensure that appropriate support is in place.
The Ministry of Justice, working closely with Cruse Bereavement
Care, has established a series of interactive webinars
specifically designed for chaplaincy and welfare teams.
(LD)
[V]
My Lords, in his follow-up report just a few weeks ago, the Chief
Inspector of Prisons said that “large and increasing” numbers of
new prisoners are arriving and that
“the End of Custody Temporary Release Scheme … had failed to
reduce the population meaningfully.”
With overcrowding and capacity still major problems, and with
prisoners locked in cells for 22.5 hours a day, what is the point
of having a release scheme which, according to Her Majesty’s
chief inspector, has failed?
My Lords, the scheme is there to ensure that there is a safety
valve for capacity within our prison system. It has worked in
that respect. The primary issue has to be public protection. We
have to take great care over the early release of those who have
been imprisoned, particularly for offences that might otherwise
inflict further danger on the public. At present, the Government
have fully implemented compartmentalisation in 98% of prisons and
introduced strong measures to protect not only prisoners but
staff. The remaining matters of compartmentalisation simply await
the completion of temporary accommodation.
(Con) [V]
I refer to my interests in the register. While recognising the
point that my noble and learned friend has just made about
security, can he tell us what progress has been made in
implementing the report’s second recommendation—namely to
streamline and expedite the early release scheme to create the
headroom needed to take active steps to protect life? Does he
agree with the report’s suggestion that:
“Given numbers of medically vulnerable people who need to be
shielded”,
we should
“overhaul the process of release on compassionate grounds and
review and halt the misuse of prison custody as a place of
safety”?
My Lords, we are not going to rush into reviews of the kind that
my noble and learned friend refers to at this stage. However, we
are of course anxious to build on improvements within the prison
system, for example by building on some of the recommendations in
the report, such as those concerned with the key worker scheme
and with greater prisoner engagement and peer support.
(CB) [V]
In view of the Government’s general acceptance of the very
sensible recommendations of the independent advisory panel, will
they make a further report on the progress of their
implementation when the House resumes at the beginning of
September?
My Lords, I am perfectly content to take further questions on
this issue as we seek to implement some of the recommendations of
the IAP report. As I indicated, it has already been the subject
of consideration at a joint sub-committee ministerial meeting and
we are taking forward some of the recommendations. I have
mentioned two; the others I would mention are improvement in
family contact, and the introduction of bereavement support and
counselling for prisoners.
(Lab) [V]
I congratulate the independent advisory panel on its report. One
problem at the moment, because of coronavirus, is the fact that
there are very few jury trials or magistrates’ courts trials, the
consequence of which is that more prisoners are spending longer
on remand. Can the Minister describe to the House what steps have
been taken by the Prison Service to facilitate having more, and
quicker, jury trials and magistrates’ courts trials, in
particular by facilitating video links to prisons, courts in
prisons and lawyers being able to take instructions from people
remanded in custody?
My Lords, the Prison Service is not directly facilitating the
issues relating to jury trials, but we are taking steps to
introduce additional courts so that we can, essentially, restart
and develop the criminal justice system.
(LD)
The last full report of the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman
suggested that 70% of people who died of self-inflicted means in
prison had already been identified as having mental health needs,
but that these needs had been flagged to the Prison Service in
only half those cases, while 29% of them had not even had a
community referral for community mental health services. What is
the Government’s target to ensure that 100% of those admitted to
prison with mental health needs are flagged up to the Prison
Service, and that they are able to continue to receive treatment?
My Lords, we have encouraged prison governors to continue to
operate peer support schemes, where possible, and issued guidance
on how and why they should be maintained. We have also continued
our partnership with the Samaritans by providing a further grant
until 2021 to run its Listener scheme, which operates in 111
prisons and provided something like 30,000 hours of emotional
support last year.
(Non-Afl)
[V]
My Lords, I welcome this opportunity to ask for robust and full
implementation of a Lammy recommendation, and I add my voice to
that of my noble friend Lord Harris on the implementation of this
report. I am disheartened to learn that we did not secure the
release of significant numbers of prisoners during the pandemic,
particularly those who are pregnant and women with young
children. The numbers of black and Muslim men suffering at the
hands of our police remain grim and deaths in custody are a scar
on our democratic system. I have spoken about Zahid Mubarek in
this very Chamber; he was killed in 2000 at the hands of a racist
prison inmate and denied human decency when he sought assistance
from prison officers. I could list hundreds of others; I wish
that I could. I honour the women and families still campaigning
for justice. What steps are being taken to enable the justice
system to be fit for purpose and to have trust in upholding a
humane justice system, eradicating the physical and mental
cruelty inflicted disproportionately on black and Muslim men, be
it on the roads with stop and search, through arrest or in police
custody?
My Lords, we have taken considerable steps in the implementation
of the recommendations in the Lammy report.
