Written questions by Goldsborough.

If her Department will make an assessment of the potential impact of the use of force by staff on the secure estate on reoffending rates.

Physical intervention to resolve incidents is only ever to be used as a last resort. Staff receive extensive training in de-escalation techniques and conflict resolution to reduce the need for physical intervention, and regular reviews and analyses of use of force incidents help identify areas for improvement and ensure accountability. In its Use of Force Policy Framework - GOV.UK, His Majesty’s Prison & Probation Service (HMPPS) sets out mandatory instructions and professional standards for staff, ensuring that any use of force is lawful, necessary, and proportionate. The rehabilitation services and interventions that HMPPS provides help to address underlying issues that may lead to conflict, reducing the need for force to be used. They also give prisoners the support and skills they need to find employment, accommodation, and to build and maintain support networks, which we know are significant factors in reducing re-offending.

Whether she has issued guidance for prison governors to ensure offenders receive first-night well-being checks upon arrival onto the secure estate.

All prisons in England and Wales are guided by Prison Service Instruction (PSI) 07/2015 – ‘Early Days in Custody – Reception in, First Night in Custody and Induction to Custody’. This policy sets out the mandatory requirements for prisons in relation to those entering their custody. It ensures that prisoners are kept safe and supported during their first night in prison, with their immediate needs being met. This includes a medical assessment by healthcare and a risk assessment for potential harm to themselves, to and from others. Furthermore, they are provided with food, drink, access to a shower, and a telephone to contact their legal adviser or address urgent family issues. These instructions mandate that prison governors complete assessments to identify and address the immediate risks and needs of prisoners upon arrival into the prison. Such measures underline the importance of ensuring prisoners' safety and well-being during their initial days in custody.

How many incidents of assault on unpaid work staff have been reported in each of the last 10 financial years.

Community Rehabilitation Companies previously held responsibility for unpaid work, until being unified back into the National Probation Service on 26 June 2021. HM Prisons and Probation Service does not hold incident reporting information prior to this date. The data below is taken from the accident reporting platform for the financial years 2021-2025. It is important to us that all our staff on the frontline are safe and we will do whatever it takes to protect our hardworking staff. Detailed risk assessments are carried out and probation staff are trained at handling incidents and de-escalation. Anyone who assaults a member of staff could have criminal charges brought against them.Date RangePhysical AssaultNon-Physical Assault1/6/21 – 31/3/22211021/4/22 – 31/3/23223031/4/23 – 31/3/24363181/4/24 – 31/3/25303661/4/25 – 24/4/25022Note: Physical Assaults includes any incident where contact is made. Non-Physical Assaults includes verbal or written abuse and intimidating behaviour.

How many offenders have left prison without an identified (a) employment, (b) education and (c) training outcome in each of the last 10 financial years.

The Ministry of Justice does not hold this information.While we do publish employment on release outcomes, this does not extend over the past 10 financial years. Our employment outcomes data report employment status at six weeks following release and six months following release and cover the period back to 2019-20.The data, which include the unemployed and unavailable for work groups, can be found at the following link: Offender Employment Outcome Statistics - GOV.UK.For education, although we do not hold information on the number of prisoners leaving prison without an identified education or training outcome. We have previously published information on prison education and accredited programme attainment dating back to 2019-20. This can be accessed at the following link: Prison Education and Accredited Programme Statistics - GOV.UK.

What proportion of offenders on the (a) secure estate and (b) young offenders institute estate were unlocked for (i) less than two hours, (ii) more than two hours and (iii) more than eight hours in each of the last 10 financial years.

As we do not hold sufficient data to undertake the necessary calculations, it is not possible to provide the requested information.

How many unpaid work (a) staff and (b) supervisors have been employed in each of the last 10 financial years.

The number of unpaid work (a) staff and (b) supervisors that have been employed in each of the last 10 financial years can be seen in the below table:Table 1 - Number of unpaid work staff in post on 31 March 2022 to 2024 and 31 December 2024 (Full Time Equivalent)Unpaid Work31-Mar-2231-Mar-2331-Mar-2431-Dec-24Unpaid Work: Non-supervisors237330365374Unpaid Work: Community Payback Supervisors435603623623Unpaid Work: Total staff671933989997 Information for unpaid work staff is not available prior to June 2021 due to due to the Community Rehabilitation Companies not being part of HMPPS.

How many prisons have offered courses in (a) parenting and (b) relationships in each of the last 10 financial years.

HMPPS does not hold the data on how many prisons have offered courses in parenting and relationships in each of the last 10 financial years. Courses delivered under the Prison Education Framework (PEF) include both accredited and non-accredited courses as commissioned by the Governor, and the data system does not have the ability to filter by these subject categories. Whilst data records indicate that a number of courses have taken place since 2019, this only captures data for England, PEF provision only, and provides limited information on courses which are due to take place in the future

What steps her Department is taking to help reduce incidence of self harm on the secure estate.

We recognise that rates of self-harm across the estate are high, and we are taking action to address this.We provide individualised support through our case management process for people assessed as at risk of self-harm. This approach places a strong emphasis on identifying individual risks, triggers and protective factors and having effective care plans in place to record, address and mitigate risks.All new staff receive suicide and self-harm prevention and mental health awareness training, to increase skills in supporting at-risk prisoners.We fund Samaritans to train prisoners to provide emotional support to other prisoners in crisis (the Listener Scheme).

What steps her Department is taking to reduce delays in prisoners accessing emergency hospital care.

Prison governors are responsible for ensuring that their establishments respond promptly and appropriately to medical emergencies, and that prison staff are aware of their own responsibilities and of the local procedures in place to support a streamlined response.Responses to medical emergencies in prisons are undertaken and monitored locally by both prison staff and healthcare staff. Prison staff will secure the attendance of medical staff. During the day, or where a prison has 24-hour healthcare, commissioned healthcare staff will assess what intervention is needed and determine whether hospital treatment is required. Prison staff will arrange for an ambulance to attend, if needed, and escort it to the nearest, safest point of access to the patient, ensuring arrival and departure times of ambulances are recorded locally.Any incidents, including the time taken to respond, are discussed between prison and healthcare staff, either as part of a full debrief (in the case of the most serious incidents) or as part of the regular daily reflection on the events of the previous day.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure prisoners on the secure estate have access to a careers mentor.

From April 2025, new Careers, Information, Advice and Guidance (CIAG) contracts will launch which will set consistent high standards for providers. Providers will be working on a national specification, and this will be mandated in all prisons. The CIAG Service will be supported by a new digital Learning & Work Progress Service that will capture prisoner goals throughout the life of their sentence. This means that prisoners will have access to CIAG that is relevant to their needs.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure prisoners on the secure estate undertake the minimum time for physical exercise.

We recognise the importance of prisoners having access to purposeful activity, including education. We know that this significantly reduces the likelihood of re-offending – by up to nine percentage points.After the previous Government ran the prison estate at over 99% capacity for years, our prison system is on the brink of collapse. It is very difficult to run an effective regime that rehabilitates prisoners and cuts reoffending, when prisons are so full. This Government is beginning to address the capacity crisis we inherited, to ensure that our prisons create better citizens, not better criminals.HM Prison & Probation Service (HMPPS) has introduced the National Regime Model, which creates a national infrastructure for planning, reviewing, and measuring purposeful activity. Every prison must now deliver a minimum of 60 minutes each day in the open air, and 120 minutes out of cell. Prisons are also required to set out how they are improving their regime offer year-on-year.All prisons are required to provide physical education (PE). HMPPS promotes participation in PE which it defines as activities supervised and organised as part of an establishment’s agreed PE programme. Prison Service Instruction (PSI) 58/2011 Physical Education for Prisoners specifies the requirement for prisons to offer a range of sport and gym-based activity for a minimum of two and half hours a week.

What steps her Department is taking to reduce the amount of time prisoners spend in their cells.

We recognise the importance of prisoners having access to purposeful activity, including education. We know that this significantly reduces the likelihood of re-offending – by up to nine percentage points.After the previous Government ran the prison estate at over 99% capacity for years, our prison system is on the brink of collapse. It is very difficult to run an effective regime that rehabilitates prisoners and cuts reoffending, when prisons are so full. This Government is beginning to address the capacity crisis we inherited, to ensure that our prisons create better citizens, not better criminals.HM Prison & Probation Service (HMPPS) has introduced the National Regime Model, which creates a national infrastructure for planning, reviewing, and measuring purposeful activity. Every prison must now deliver a minimum of 60 minutes each day in the open air, and 120 minutes out of cell. Prisons are also required to set out how they are improving their regime offer year-on-year.All prisons are required to provide physical education (PE). HMPPS promotes participation in PE which it defines as activities supervised and organised as part of an establishment’s agreed PE programme. Prison Service Instruction (PSI) 58/2011 Physical Education for Prisoners specifies the requirement for prisons to offer a range of sport and gym-based activity for a minimum of two and half hours a week.

What steps her Department is taking to reduce overcrowding on the secure estate.

This Government inherited a criminal justice system in crisis, with prisons running at over 99% capacity and on the brink of total collapse. If our prisons overflowed, police would have been unable to make arrests and we would have faced the total breakdown of law and order. We had to take emergency measures in order avoid disaster. Our priority now is to ensure there is enough capacity in the prison estate in the short and longer term.Our 10-year Prison Capacity strategy published on 11 December sets out plans to deliver 14,000 prison places and maintain the places in our estate to ensure we have sufficient accommodation and explore the acquisition of land should we need to build more prison places.We have also launched an Independent Sentencing Review, chaired by former Lord Chancellor, David Gauke. The Review’s aim is to ensure we are never again left in a position where we have more prisoners than places available.The Lord Chancellor also announced a series of measures in October 2024 to manage the pressures on the prison estate until longer term reforms come into effect. This includes reforming our recall practices and an extension of the maximum period offenders can spend on Home Detention Curfew from 6 – 12 months.

What proportion of single justice procedure convictions were for which recordable offences in the most recent year for which data is available.

There were no defendants dealt with for any recordable offences under single justice procedure in the 12 months between September 2023 and September 2024, which is the most recent year for which data is available. Therefore, we can assume there were no convictions for recordable offences under SJP in this period.

How many of the people serving life sentences for second listed offences in prisons in England and Wales on the 31 October 2024 (a) were serving a recall and (b) have never been released.

Information that would enable us to answer these questions robustly is not collated centrally, and to obtain it would involve a manual interrogation of courts and prison records which would result in a disproportionate cost to the Department.

How many and what proportion of the people serving life sentences for second listed offences in prisons in England and Wales on 31 October 2024 were sentenced (a) on or prior to 9 November 2000, (b) between 9 Nov

Information that would enable us to answer these questions robustly is not collated centrally, and to obtain it would involve a manual interrogation of courts and prison records which would result in a disproportionate cost to the Department.

How many people were serving life sentences for second listed offences in prisons in England and Wales on 31 October 2024.

Information that would enable us to answer these questions robustly is not collated centrally, and to obtain it would involve a manual interrogation of courts and prison records which would result in a disproportionate cost to the Department.

What proportion of sentences handed out in open magistrates' courts were fines in each of the last five financial years.

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on the number of prosecutions at criminal courts in England and Wales between 2010 and June 2024 in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: C...

What proportion of all sentences under the Single Justice Procedure were fines in each of the last five financial years.

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on the number of prosecutions at criminal courts in England and Wales between 2010 and June 2024 in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: C...

What proportion of magistrates' court sentences were fines in each of the last five financial years.

The Ministry of Justice publishes data on the number of prosecutions at criminal courts in England and Wales between 2010 and June 2024 in the Outcomes by Offences data tool, that can be downloaded from the Criminal Justice Statistics landing page here: C...