Tag: prisons

Bishop of Gloucester calls for greater support for children with parents in prison

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?

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Bishop of Gloucester asks about prison telephone services

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.

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Bishop of Gloucester speaks on the criminal justice system during debate on “Love Matters” report of the Families & Households Commission

The Bishop of Gloucester spoke in the Archbishop of Canterbury’s debate on families on 8th December 2023, focusing on the criminal justice system and its effects on families:

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: My Lords, I will try to do even better than 10 minutes. I am grateful to my most reverend friend the Archbishop of Canterbury for putting forward this Motion. I should like to focus my remarks on families and children in relation to the criminal justice system, and particularly imprisonment, and I declare an interest as Anglican Bishop for Prisons in England and Wales.

Jesus Christ once placed a child front and centre as he taught his listeners. I want to use that image simply to pose the idea that we would navigate things differently, we would see different sorts of manifestos committed to the long-term and make better policies if the child were always the central focus and starting point for all our policy-making. It seems that so much of government policy is focused on short-term fixing for the now or a few years’ time. What would it look like if policy and legislation were shaped in response to the child born today into a network of relationships, and then their life as an adult in 20 or 30 years’ time?

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King’s Speech Debate: Bishop of Gloucester speaks on prisons and the justice system

The Bishop of Gloucester gave a speech on building community infrastructure during the Kings Speech debate on 9th November 2023, with a focus on prisons and the justice system:

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: My Lords, it is a privilege to speak in this debate and I thank the Minister for his thorough introduction.

In the Old Testament there is a beautiful vison of the prophet Isaiah of the perfect future with God:

“Never again will there be an infant who lives but a few days … No longer will people build houses for others and not live in them … People will not labour in vain, nor will they bear children doomed to misfortune”.

Whether or not you are a person of faith, I believe most of us would say yes to those words in the gracious Speech about the Government seeking, in all respects, to make long-term decisions in the interests of future generations. But how will that be realised? We need interconnectedness across disparate Bills and government departments, and a commitment to the well-being of individuals, always set within the big picture of people belonging together as interdependent human beings—hence that word “community” and its importance in the gracious Speech being picked up in the themes of today’s debate.

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Bishop of Sheffield highlights work done by faith communities and charities to support newly released prisoners

The Bishop of Sheffield asked a question a question on support for faith communities’ projects to help newly released prisoners, following a government statement on prison capacity on 17th October 2023:

The Lord Bishop of Sheffield: My Lords, nine days ago it was my privilege to lead Sunday worship at HMP Doncaster, where I was reminded by the chaplain that many faith communities and charities do excellent work supporting newly released prisoners as they resettle into their communities, with a demonstrably positive impact on reoffending rates. What more can be done to support such projects?

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Bishop of Bristol asks about impact of parental imprisonment on children

On 18th July 2023, the Bishop of Bristol asked a question on the effects of custodial sentences on dependent children of prisoners and the results of a pilot scheme taking this into account in magistrates courts:

The Lord Bishop of Bristol: My Lords, following the response given to my right reverend friend the Bishop of Gloucester on 15 December 2021 about pre-sentence reports, can the Minister say what impact the pilot in 15 magistrates’ courts has had on the take-up, taking into account the devastating impact of parental imprisonment, when sentencing a primary carer?

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Bishop of Gloucester asks about caring responsibilities and history of local authority care for prisoners

The Bishop of Gloucester received the following written answer on 17th July 2023:

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester asked His Majesty’s Government:

  • following the introduction of the Basic Custody Screening Tool, how many (1) men, and (2) women, currently in custody have been assessed as having primary caring responsibilities; and how many children are affected by their imprisonment.
  • how many women in prison have been identified as having previously been in local authority care in each of the last five years.
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Bishop of Gloucester asks about number of female prisoners in secure hospitals

The Bishop of Gloucester received the following written answer on 17th July 2023:

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester asked His Majesty’s Government how many women in prison were transferred to a secure hospital under provisions in the Mental Health Act 1983 in each of the last five years.

Lord Bellamy (Con): Please see below table showing the number of female prisoners who were transferred to a mental health hospital under Part 3 of the Mental Health Act 1983 1 in each of the last five years. This is in the context of a female prison population which stood at 3,253 as of June 2022:

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Bishop of Gloucester asks about family relationships of female prisoners and implementation of the Farmer Review

The Bishop of Gloucester received the following written answer on 12th July 2023:

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester asked  His Majesty’s Government how many of the 33 recommendations contained in The Farmer Review for Women, published in June 2019, have been implemented.

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Bishop of St Albans raises serious issues regarding imprisonment for public protection and calls for urgent reform

On 25th May 2023, the Bishop of St Albans spoke in a debate on the government’s Imprisonment for Public Protection Action Plan, pointing out a high rate of suicide among prisoners serving IPP sentences and urging reform of the system:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: My Lords, I too thank the noble Lord, Lord Moylan, for his tenacity and for keeping this terrible situation before us. I rise with a certain reluctance because I do not have the expertise that many other noble Lords in this debate have, though like all bishops I have a right to visit the prisons in my diocese, which I do, and I am regularly in touch with people working in the legal and penal systems. My colleague the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Gloucester, the lead bishop on prisons, has raised this matter on numerous occasions and sadly cannot be here today.

It is now seven months since the House of Commons Justice Select Committee issued its report on IPP sentences. There were some alarming conclusions in it, such as noting:

“The indefinite nature of the sentence has contributed to feelings of hopelessness and despair”,

leading to some suicides within the IPP population. There are reports that perhaps as many as 81 people have taken their own life when serving an IPP sentence. If we could identify in any other area of life that 81 lives had been taken, we would be calling for inquiries and wanting answers. Many of us are concerned to hear of further, more recent suicides.

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