On 16th April 2024, the House of Lords debated Commons reasons and amendments to the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill. Votes were held on further amendments to the bill, in which Bishops took part:
On 25th March 2024,the Bishop of Gloucester gave a speech and moved the following amendment during a debate on the Victims and Prisoners Bill:
172: After Clause 56, insert the following new Clause—
“Data collection in relation to children of prisoners: The Secretary of State must collect and publish annual data identifying—(a) how many prisoners are the primary carers of a child,(b) how many children have a primary carer who is a prisoner, and(c) the ages of those children.”
The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: My Lords, the noble Lord, Lord Farmer, tabled this amendment, to which I am very pleased to add my name in support and to move it today in this final stage of Committee on the Bill. In his absence, I take this opportunity to pay tribute to the noble Lord for his commitment to the families of prisoners. This is also an issue which I know my right reverend friend the Archbishop of Canterbury cares deeply about, as well.
This amendment was selected for Report stage in the other place but not discussed. Introduced by Harriet Harman, it is an important progress chaser to the Government’s response to the 2019 report from the Joint Committee on Human Rights, which she then chaired. This proposed new clause would require the Secretary of State to collect and publish annual data, identifying how many prisoners are primary carers of a child or children, how many children have a primary carer in prison, and the ages of those children. Its inclusion would be highly appropriate for this Bill, which focuses on both victims and prisoners.
When a parent is committed to custody, their child should not also receive a sentence; they should not be punished or overlooked as a result of their parent’s crime.
Continue reading “Victims and Prisoners Bill: Bishop of Gloucester moves amendment to facilitate data collection on families and prisons”The Bishop of Gloucester asked a question on steps being taken to increase release of prisoners on temporary licence to encourage rehabilitation and help with finding work, during a discussion on employment of people with criminal convictions on 26th February 2024:
The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: My Lords, from these Benches I add our own sadness at the death of Lord Cormack. His contributions to this House and to the Church will be sorely missed.
As has been said, there has been a serious decline in rehabilitation and release planning services in recent years. Prisoners need to be engaged with purposeful work; there needs to be planning ahead of their release—including release on temporary licence—to secure employment, if we are to prevent reoffending. What steps are the Government taking to increase release on temporary licence?
Continue reading “Bishop of Gloucester asks about release of prisoners on temporary licence”
The Bishop of Gloucester received the following written answers on 30th January 2024:
The Lord Bishop of Gloucester asked His Majesty’s Government how many, and what proportion of, people reoffended within one year of release from prison by accommodation status at (1) release, and (2) three months post-release, in each of the last three years.
Continue reading “Bishop of Gloucester asks about rate of reoffending among those released from prison”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.
Continue reading “Bishop of Gloucester asks about applications for mother-and-baby units in prisons”The Bishop of Gloucester received the following written answer on 29th January 2024:
The Lord Bishop of Gloucester asked His Majesty’s Government (1) how many, and (2) what proportion, of prisons in England and Wales currently provide secure video calls for prisoners.
Lord Bellamy (Con, Ministry of Justice): All prisons (100%) across England and Wales have the capability to offer secure video calls with approved family members and friends, responding to demand from prisoners.
The Bishop of Gloucester received the following written answer on 25th January 2024:
The Lord Bishop of Gloucester asked His Majesty’s Government how many mothers and babies residing in a prison Mother and Baby Unit were separated upon the child reaching 18 months of age in each of the last three years.
Lord Bellamy (Con, Ministry of Justice): Over the last three years, 110 applications to Mother and Baby Units (MBUs) have been approved. In the year to March 2023, 51 women and 44 babies were received into MBUs; compared with 39 women and 40 babies in the previous reporting year. Not all mother and babies that move onto a Mother & Baby Unit will be separated due to the child reaching 18 months old. As it would be necessary to review, individually, the records of each of the women accommodated on MBUs over the last three years to determine this, the information requested could not be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.
Continue reading “Bishop of Gloucester asks about mother and baby units in prisons”
On 24th January 2024, the Bishop of Gloucester spoke in support of amendments 7 and 11 to the Victims & Prisoners Bill, which would provide provision for support given to children of victims of modern slavery:
The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: My Lords, my right reverend friend the Bishop of Bristol, as has been said, regrets that she cannot be in the Chamber today but along with her, I support Amendments 7 and 11. The children of victims of modern slavery are currently underserved by support services, despite that lasting and intergenerational trauma which witnessing the crime of modern slavery can cause. We have already heard about the organisation Hestia. In 2021, it estimated that as many as 5,000 vulnerable children could be identified within the NRM as children of victims of modern slavery. I want to add that there is an urgent need to extend victims’ rights to this group, and I am glad to see these amendments.
The Bishop of Gloucester asked a question on the need for statutory mechanisms to identify and support children with a parent in prison, during a discussion on persistent absenteeism in schools on 24th January 2024:
The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: My Lords, when a parent goes into prison, no one is notified if they have a child. The charity Children Heard and Seen, which works with children who have a parent in prison, has shown that, with its support, those children’s attendance has significantly improved. Will the Government put in place a statutory mechanism to identify and support children with a parent in prison, as this would significantly reduce school absenteeism for those families?
Continue reading “Bishop of Gloucester calls for greater support for children with parents in prison”The Bishop of Gloucester received the following written answers on 24th January 2024:
The Lord Bishop of Gloucester asked His Majesty’s Government what proportion of cells in (1) the female prison estate, and (2) the male prison estate, have in-cell telephony; and what proportion of cells in each prison have that facility.
Lord Bellamy (Con): There are a total of 10 Women’s Public Sector Prisons (8 closed and 2 open) in England which are run by His Majesty’s Prison & Probation Service.
Continue reading “Bishop of Gloucester asks about prison telephone services”
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