Tag: prisons

Bishop of Lincoln asks about supportive care for long-term prisoners upon release

The Bishop of Lincoln asked a question on provision of supportive care for those released after a long time in the prison system, during a discussion on indeterminate prison sentences on 29th April 2024:

The Lord Bishop of Lincoln: My Lords, recently in Lincoln prison I met a man who has been continuously in the prison system for the last 48 years—since I sat my A-levels. He is not mentally ill in any obvious way. He told me that he keeps sane by keeping God between himself and the other prisoners—that was the gist of what he said anyway—but that he is so socialised by being in prison for so long that he has almost forgotten what he was in there for. He asked that if he were to be released could there be specialist units in nursing homes where there would be the proper care for someone who has not known freedom in his entire adult life?

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Victims and Prisoners Bill: Bishop of Gloucester moves amendment to facilitate data collection on families and prisons

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. 

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Victims and Prisoners Bill: Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich expresses concern over human rights protections

During a debate on the Victims and Prisoners Bill on 12th March 2024, the Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich, on behalf of the Bishop of Manchester, spoke in support of removing clauses 49-52 from the bill on the basis that they would potentially weaken human rights protections in the UK through disapplication of certain rights to prisoners:

The Lord Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich: My Lords, my right reverend friend the Bishop of Manchester regrets that he cannot be here today to speak to the amendments to which he has put his name.

The basis of our opposition to Clauses 49 to 51, to echo points made by the noble Lord, Lord German, and the noble Baroness, Lady Lister, is that human rights need to be applied universally, even when disapplication might seem expedient. We know that, when people are marginalised, it is then that human rights protections are most necessary and, as such, the disapplication of rights to prisoners, who rely on independent courts and the justice system to guarantee basic minimum standards of fairness and respect, is particularly egregious. The Law Society has warned that these clauses

“significantly weaken the system of human rights protections in the UK”.

My right reverend friend and I add our voices to these concerns.

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Victims and Prisoners Bill: Bishop of Leicester supports aftercare provision for IPP prisoners

On 12th March 2024, the House of Lords debated the Victims and Prisoners Bill. The Bishop of Leicester spoke in support of amendments 165 & 166 to the bill, which would ensure provision of aftercare for those subject to IPP (Imprisonment for Public Protection) sentences:

The Lord Bishop of Leicester: My Lords, I support this group of amendments and it is a pleasure to follow noble Lords and benefit from their considerable wisdom—I am in awe of the learning and wisdom on display this evening. I do not want to repeat a lot of what has been said, so I will keep my speech very short.

I have one or two reflections on Amendments 165 and 166, to which my right reverend friend the Bishop of Gloucester has added her name. She is a regular visitor to prisons across the country and supports the network of chaplains in our prisons who have direct evidence in relation to the mental health of prisoners.

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Bishop of Gloucester asks about release of prisoners on temporary licence

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?

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Bishop of Gloucester asks about rate of reoffending among those released from prison

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.

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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.

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Bishop of Gloucester asks about availability of video-calls 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.

Hansard

Bishop of Manchester asks about strategies for care leavers in the prison and probation service

The Bishop of Manchester received the following written answer on 25th January 2024:

The Lord Bishop of Manchester asked His Majesty’s Government whether they will provide a timetable for updating the HM Prisons and Probation Service Strategy for Care-Experienced People; and whether this will include a specific focus on race.

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Bishop of Gloucester asks about mother and baby units in prisons

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.

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