Bishop of Gloucester asks about applications for mother-and-baby units in prisons

The Bishop of Gloucester received the following written answer on 30th January 2024:

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester asked His Majesty’s Government how many applications were received for a Mother and Baby Unit place in prison in the past five years; and of those, how many were (1) accepted, or (2) refused, broken down by reason for refusal.

Lord Bellamy (Con, Ministry of Justice): Total figures for applications received, approved and refused are provided in the table below.

As decisions are made on a case-by-case basis and the reasons can be complex, reasons for refusal are not currently collated, and could not be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.

2018-192019-202020-212021-222022-23
Number of applications received for admission to Mother and Baby Units19795628580
Number of applications approved by a board4646264440
Number of applications refused by a board1515171615

Note;

1 For a variety of reasons, some applications do not proceed to an admissions board. For example, the application may be withdrawn; or the applicant’s circumstances may change so that a place is no longer require.

Hansard