Lord Wolfson of Tredegar: As an independent arm’s length body, it would be inappropriate for the Government to comment on the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC)’s handling of an individual case. However, the CCRC Casework Policy on Priority of Cases, available on its website, assigns cases which have been under review for more than two years as ‘higher priority’. Budget allocations for 2021/22 for...
Lord Wolfson of Tredegar: My Lords, as the UK Government have made clear throughout all stages of the Bill, we are committed to working closely with the devolved Administrations on this legislation to ensure that the important changes made by the Bill will make the UK as safe as possible from the threats posed by terrorism. While terrorism and national security are reserved matters, some of the provisions of this...
Lord Wolfson of Tredegar: I would like to take a brief opportunity to thank noble Lords. We have limited time, but I want to give some thanks for their interest and contributions thus far to the progress of the Bill. I am grateful to noble Lords across the House who have contributed eloquently to the debates on Second Reading, in Committee and on Report. Some strong and differing opinions have been expressed on...
Lord Wolfson of Tredegar: My Lords, I am very grateful for the words expressed by all the speakers. First, I in particular thank the noble and learned Lord, Lord Falconer of Thoroton. He is right that I am something of a neophyte when it comes to the work of this House, so thanks from him, with his extensive experience, is especially well received. He was also correct to draw attention and pay tribute to the other two...
Lord Wolfson of Tredegar: The national policy on the searching of prisoners, staff and visitors (PSI 07/2016 – Searching of the Person) is currently under review and it is intended to publish a revised version later this year. The updated policy will include direction on transgender staff conducting searches. This will encompass staff with or without a Gender Recognition Certificate. In reviewing the policy, Her...
Lord Wolfson of Tredegar: The report by the Safe Homes for Women Leaving Prison initiative incorrectly suggests that six in ten female prisoners are released homeless. This is based on a sample of just 116 women from a single prison in 2019. Official statistics published in July 2020 show that 6,185 women were released from custody in the year to March 2020, with 50.8% of them going into secure, long-term...
Lord Wolfson of Tredegar: My Lords, we are determined to reduce the level of self-harm in the women’s estate. We have established a women’s estate self-harm task force to address this. Alongside interventions to mitigate the impact of Covid-19, such as increased video calls with loved ones, the task force is co-ordinating longer-term work—including the introduction of key workers, expanding therapeutic services...
Lord Wolfson of Tredegar: My Lords, my noble friend raises an important point. We are working to improve the availability of social work in prisons. She will be aware, of course, that at the moment all prisons are hampered by the Covid-19 pandemic in what they can provide. However, for example, we have been able to reintroduce chaplaincy into prisons at a very significant level, and the relevant authorities are trying...
Lord Wolfson of Tredegar: The noble Lord asked two questions. On the first point, during the Covid pandemic, prison estates have tried to put in regimes which are as generous as possible given the surrounding circumstances. He will be aware, like everybody in this House, that those circumstances have changed rapidly from time to time, so the figures are not available because the data cannot accurately capture that...
Lord Wolfson of Tredegar: My Lords, nutrition is obviously an important part of the picture, and perhaps it is a wider point than the noble Lord identifies. People come into prison having suffered from poor nutrition, which reminds us that a lot of them are self-harming before they come into prison. Self-harm is not just something which happens in prison; it is a problem brought into prison from outside as well.
Lord Wolfson of Tredegar: My Lords, the short answer to my noble friend’s first question is yes. The reason is that women generally commit less serious offences than men; therefore they get shorter custodial sentences. Short custodial sentences are a problem because they can have significant negative impacts, in terms of family, losing accommodation and losing employment, while not really giving prison governors and...
Lord Wolfson of Tredegar: My Lords, we should not proceed on the basis that self-harm is something which starts in prison. On the contrary, a number of women—perhaps many women—have been using self-harm to cope for many years. That is exacerbated, no doubt, in the prison environment. We have to remember when we talk about the incidence of self-harm in prison that this is characterised by a small number of women...
Lord Wolfson of Tredegar: My Lords, whether somebody is a mother ought to be a factor in any pre-sentencing report. However, with great respect to the right reverend Prelate, we cannot have a rule that, merely and solely because someone is a mother, they can never be sent to prison. We are trying to ensure that mothers can maintain contact with their family, and in particular their children. As I said earlier, during...
Lord Wolfson of Tredegar: My Lords, my noble and learned friend raises an important point. As I said, one of the factors in self-harm is, no doubt, being separated from one’s children. One would therefore want to know how many women in prison are mothers, and indeed how many children they have. Perhaps I can undertake to look into the particular point which my noble and learned friend has raised and write to him on it.
Lord Wolfson of Tredegar: My Lords, on the noble Lord’s first question, we remain committed to the strategy set out in the Female Offender Strategy: that is, fewer women offending and reoffending, with a greater proportion of women managed in the community successfully, and therefore fewer women in custody and better conditions for those in custody. Through the community sentence treatment requirement programme,...
Lord Wolfson of Tredegar: My Lords, when we debated the amendment tabled in Committee by the noble Lord, Lord Kennedy of Southwark, which intended to prohibit GPs from charging domestic abuse victims for legal aid evidence letters, I made clear my intention to try to reach a satisfactory conclusion on this matter. I was also clear that the Government wholeheartedly agree that vulnerable patients should not be charged...
Lord Wolfson of Tredegar: My Lords, I begin by taking up the comment of the noble and learned Lord, Lord Morris of Aberavon, who said that this is a loophole that needed to be filled. I respectfully agree, and that is why the Government have tabled the amendments that have the effect that I set out earlier. It was gratifying to hear the congratulations to the noble Lord, Lord Kennedy of Southwark, from my noble friend...
Lord Wolfson of Tredegar: The Prison Service Instruction PSI48/2010 Searching of the Person was replaced in 2016 by PSI07/2016 Searching of the Person. This policy, which has been in place since 1992, allows for male officers to conduct rub down searches on the same sex only and female officers to conduct rub down searches on both sexes. Full searches must only be conducted by a person of the same sex. The...
Lord Wolfson of Tredegar: In accordance with the Gender Recognition Act 2004, transgender people may apply for a Gender Recognition Certificate. Prisoners and staff members in receipt of a GRC have the legal right to be treated as their acquired gender in every respect. The national policy on the searching of prisoners, staff and visitors (PSI 07/2016 – Searching of the Person) is currently under review and it is...
Lord Wolfson of Tredegar: My Lords, following the publication of the IOPC’s investigation report, in October 2019 the Home Secretary asked the director-general to set out his plan for improving public confidence in the IOPC. The Home Secretary has been clear that she believes that there are outstanding questions and will discuss these with Sir Richard Henriques. We also welcome the Home Affairs Committee’s current...