Written questions by Goldsborough.

What recent steps her Department has taken to help reduce levels of reoffending in (a) South Norfolk constituency and (b) Norfolk.

All individuals are assessed for their risk of harm and factors that pertain to re-offending as part of recommending the appropriate sentence and interventions. These deliver a combination of individual supervision and group programmes to assist people on probation developing more pro-social behaviours. Alongside this, timely enforcement is critical when conditions are breached, or risk escalates beyond a manageable level in the community. In relation to South Norfolk and Norfolk, the following specific arrangements are in place to help reduce levels of re-offending:Partnerships - There is a strong relationship with Norfolk PCC which has enabled co-commissioning of services, for example, HGV Driver and Forklift Truck Driver Training.Commissioned Rehabilitative Services - There are services directly commissioned by HMPPS providing services for women and ethnic minority people. These services also support people in probation with accommodation, personal wellbeing, finance, benefit and debt. In addition, dependency and recovery workers, co-commissioned with Norfolk County Council are in place for dealing with alcohol and drug misuse.Local Strategic Engagement - HMPPS convenes and chairs pre-release panels for those leaving prison. These are establishing and developing professional relationships between stakeholders by taking a multi-disciplinary approach to release planning and move-on for people at risk of homelessness. The local Probation Service is an active member of the Community Safety Partnership Group that brings together organisations from across Norfolk to tackle crime and disorder, to ensure the county remains a safe place for people to live, work and visit. The members of the NCSP represent local councils, policing and fire services, probation, youth offending, health and housing.Additional services - There is currently an education, training and employment pilot in Norfolk which looks to improve employment outcomes (and sustaining employment) for people on release from custody and for those on community orders. This has seen many positive results with people gaining and maintaining employment. Purfleet Trust are also co-commissioned with West Norfolk Local Authority to provide additional support to provide a bespoke programme of support for all individuals referred into the service to help people sustain accommodation. We have an advanced service using Peer Mentors under our engaging people on probation framework which results in better engagement from our people on probation who may otherwise not engage fully with services, breaking down barriers and leading to desistance. It also helps us as a service to develop and enhance our culture to meet the diverse needs of people on probation.

If her Department will make an assessment of the proportion of inmates on the women’s estate who have immediate access to menstrual products in their cells.

All women in prison have access to menstrual products, which are typically stored in locations that allow women to collect items themselves as needed. They are then able to store them in their cells. In circumstances – such as overnight – where a woman is confined to her cell and does not have access to menstrual products, she can alert a member of staff, who will ensure that appropriate provision is made without delay.

How much staff time, in hours, was lost to sick leave in (a) the open estate, (b) the secure estate and (c) Young Offenders Institutions in each of the last 10 years.

Sickness is measured across the Civil Service in working days lost rather than the number of hours lost.The number of working days lost to sickness is published in the HM Prison and Probation Service workforce quarterly publication which is available here: www.gov.uk/government/collections/hm-prison-probation-service-workforce-statistics.The number of days lost in each prison annually from 1 April 2019 to 30 June 2025 is available in Table 21 of this spreadsheet: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/689f34791fedc616bb133a86/hmpps-workforce-statistics-tables-jun-2025_final.ods.Data from 1 April 2017 to 31 March 2019 is available in Table 21 of this spreadsheet: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/64dcd3e0c8dee4000d7f1db2/hmpps-workforce-statistics-tables-jun-2023_final.ods.The prison categories are available in this spreadsheet: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6889f68876f68cc8414d5b6a/Chapter_10_Tables___Staff_in_post.ods.Data for 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2017 is included in the attached spreadsheet. This also includes the average staff in post and average working days lost for context to enable comparisons over time.

How many assaults on (a) children and (b) staff have occurred in Young Offenders Institutions in each of the last 10 years.

For the period 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2025, the requested information can be found in table 1.2.2 of Safety in the Children and Young People Secure Estate: Update to March 2025 - GOV.UK.As the counting rules for assaults in young offender institutions changed during 2018-19, comparable figures are not available for earlier years.

If her Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of allowing inmates to apply for jobs in prison while on remand.

The Ministry of Justice acknowledges the importance of purposeful activity including employment in custody for convicted prisoners and for those on remand.Under Section 31 of the Prison Rules 1999, un-convicted prisoners are already permitted to take up prison employment voluntarily, though they are not compelled to do so.

How many psychologists have been employed on (a) the secure estate, (b) the open estate and (c) young offenders’ institutions in each of the last 10 financial years.

The requested information is published in Table 15 of the HM Prison & Probation Service Workforce Statistics, which can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/hm-prison-probation-service-workforce-statistics.Psychologists in HM Prison and Probation Service are organised into regional teams. Although each is based at an individual establishment, they work across sites, depending upon demand.A breakdown of establishments by category can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/prisons-and-their-resettlement-providers.

With reference to her Department's press release entitled Criminals to face football, travel, club and pub bans, published on 23 August 2025, what impact her Department estimates these measures will have on (a) rates of first offence and (b) rates of reoffence.

Through the Sentencing Bill we will introduce new powers available to the courts when imposing a community or suspended sentence. This will provide courts with greater flexibility than ever before to tailor punishments to offenders and ensure sentences served in the community are not a “soft option” but represent a genuine punishment by restricting offenders’ freedoms.The four new powers which this Bill includes are:Banning offenders from attending public events (including sports events);Banning offenders from attending drinking establishments (including pubs, clubs and bars);Prohibiting offenders from driving, andRequiring an offender to stay within a geographic location (restriction zones).We believe that these new powers, for example banning criminals from football matches and pubs, will help to deter offending and hammer home that under this Government, crime no longer pays.The Sentencing Bill seeks to increase the robustness of community sentencing. Evidence suggests that community orders and suspended sentences are more effective than short custodial sentences at reducing reoffending in certain circumstances.

How many prosecutions under the Single Justice Procedure have been reopened via the statutory declaration process in each of the last 10 years.

Data on the number of prosecutions under the Single Justice Procedure which have been reopened via the statutory declaration process is not held centrally and could only be collated at disproportionate cost.

If she will list the offences for which the Single Justice Procedure can be used.

We do not have a list of the offences prosecutable under the Single Justice Procedure (SJP). It can be used to deal with any non-imprisonable summary-only offence in cases which are non-contested and where the prosecutor considers it appropriate. In all SJP cases, the defendant has the option to choose for their case to be heard in open court rather than through the SJP process.Our consultation on the Oversight and Regulation of Private Prosecutors, which closed on 8 May 2025, looks at the operation of the SJP generally. We are analysing the responses which will inform future work in this area, including the need for reforms to ensure the SJP operates in a fair and transparent manner.

How many people were prosecuted under the single justice procedure by offence in each month of 2024; and what the plea rates were for offences charged under the single justice procedure in the same period.

The requested information is provided in the attached table.The Government is concerned about the consistency in standards of private prosecutors, including those who use the Single Justice Procedure. This is why we launched a consultation on the oversight and regulation of private prosecutors and safeguards in the Single Justice Procedure. The consultation closed on 08 May and we are considering our response carefully.

How many prisons have offered courses in (a) parenting and (b) relationships in each of the last 10 financial years.

HMPPS does not hold the data on how many prisons have offered courses in parenting and relationships in each of the last 10 financial years. Courses delivered under the Prison Education Framework (PEF) include both accredited and non-accredited courses as commissioned by the Governor, and the data system does not have the ability to filter by these subject categories. Whilst data records indicate that a number of courses have taken place since 2019, this only captures data for England, PEF provision only, and provides limited information on courses which are due to take place in the future

How many unpaid work (a) staff and (b) supervisors have been employed in each of the last 10 financial years.

The number of unpaid work (a) staff and (b) supervisors that have been employed in each of the last 10 financial years can be seen in the below table:Table 1 - Number of unpaid work staff in post on 31 March 2022 to 2024 and 31 December 2024 (Full Time Equivalent)Unpaid Work31-Mar-2231-Mar-2331-Mar-2431-Dec-24Unpaid Work: Non-supervisors237330365374Unpaid Work: Community Payback Supervisors435603623623Unpaid Work: Total staff671933989997 Information for unpaid work staff is not available prior to June 2021 due to due to the Community Rehabilitation Companies not being part of HMPPS.

Whether her Department has made an estimate of the value added by unpaid work projects on the secure estate.

While there is not anything specifically named ‘unpaid work’ in prisons, and we therefore cannot provide information on how much has been spent on it, convicted prisoners are expected to work and there are various jobs across prison workshops, kitchens, laundries and other services like wing cleaning, for which prisoners are paid. Prison industries can be commercial, employer-led spaces or can make products for the internal prison market that we would otherwise have to buy (such as cell furniture, prisoner clothing), saving the taxpayer money. There are also payback punishments in prisons, which act as a means for enabling prisoners to make amends to their prison community for their misbehaviour.

How many offenders have left prison without an identified (a) employment, (b) education and (c) training outcome in each of the last 10 financial years.

The Ministry of Justice does not hold this information.While we do publish employment on release outcomes, this does not extend over the past 10 financial years. Our employment outcomes data report employment status at six weeks following release and six months following release and cover the period back to 2019-20.The data, which include the unemployed and unavailable for work groups, can be found at the following link: Offender Employment Outcome Statistics - GOV.UK.For education, although we do not hold information on the number of prisoners leaving prison without an identified education or training outcome. We have previously published information on prison education and accredited programme attainment dating back to 2019-20. This can be accessed at the following link: Prison Education and Accredited Programme Statistics - GOV.UK.

What proportion of offenders on the secure estate undertook (a) unpaid work, (b) education and (c) vocational training in each of the last 10 financial years.

We set out management information relating to three relevant elements of purposeful activity below. However, this data was only developed as a measure from 2021/2022 so we are unable to provide it for the last 10 years. The percentages include prisoners who complete at least one session per week (part-time activity).The measures don’t apply to privately managed prisons who use different data recording systems. They also exclude from scope those prisoners on remand, those aged over 65, those who were in healthcare or segregation for more than five days in the week, prisoners in more than one prison in the week and/or those only in prison for less than a week. Category2021/222022/232023/24Industries14%19%21%Education13%20%21%Services32%33%34% There is nothing we refer to as ‘unpaid work’ in prison but prisoners work in various roles across the prison both in industry (for example in textiles workshops) and in services (for example working in the kitchens or laundry). ‘Education’ covers both functional skills and vocational training (we do not separate them)

How much money has been spent on unpaid work in the secure estate in each of the last 10 financial years.

While there is not anything specifically named ‘unpaid work’ in prisons, and we therefore cannot provide information on how much has been spent on it, convicted prisoners are expected to work and there are various jobs across prison workshops, kitchens, laundries and other services like wing cleaning, for which prisoners are paid. Prison industries can be commercial, employer-led spaces or can make products for the internal prison market that we would otherwise have to buy (such as cell furniture, prisoner clothing), saving the taxpayer money. There are also payback punishments in prisons, which act as a means for enabling prisoners to make amends to their prison community for their misbehaviour.

What proportion of offenders on the (a) secure estate and (b) young offenders institute estate were unlocked for (i) less than two hours, (ii) more than two hours and (iii) more than eight hours in each of the last 10 financial years.

As we do not hold sufficient data to undertake the necessary calculations, it is not possible to provide the requested information.

How many incidents of assault on unpaid work staff have been reported in each of the last 10 financial years.

Community Rehabilitation Companies previously held responsibility for unpaid work, until being unified back into the National Probation Service on 26 June 2021. HM Prisons and Probation Service does not hold incident reporting information prior to this date. The data below is taken from the accident reporting platform for the financial years 2021-2025. It is important to us that all our staff on the frontline are safe and we will do whatever it takes to protect our hardworking staff. Detailed risk assessments are carried out and probation staff are trained at handling incidents and de-escalation. Anyone who assaults a member of staff could have criminal charges brought against them.Date RangePhysical AssaultNon-Physical Assault1/6/21 – 31/3/22211021/4/22 – 31/3/23223031/4/23 – 31/3/24363181/4/24 – 31/3/25303661/4/25 – 24/4/25022Note: Physical Assaults includes any incident where contact is made. Non-Physical Assaults includes verbal or written abuse and intimidating behaviour.

Whether she has issued guidance for prison governors to ensure offenders receive first-night well-being checks upon arrival onto the secure estate.

All prisons in England and Wales are guided by Prison Service Instruction (PSI) 07/2015 – ‘Early Days in Custody – Reception in, First Night in Custody and Induction to Custody’. This policy sets out the mandatory requirements for prisons in relation to those entering their custody. It ensures that prisoners are kept safe and supported during their first night in prison, with their immediate needs being met. This includes a medical assessment by healthcare and a risk assessment for potential harm to themselves, to and from others. Furthermore, they are provided with food, drink, access to a shower, and a telephone to contact their legal adviser or address urgent family issues. These instructions mandate that prison governors complete assessments to identify and address the immediate risks and needs of prisoners upon arrival into the prison. Such measures underline the importance of ensuring prisoners' safety and well-being during their initial days in custody.

If her Department will make an assessment of the potential impact of the use of force by staff on the secure estate on reoffending rates.

Physical intervention to resolve incidents is only ever to be used as a last resort. Staff receive extensive training in de-escalation techniques and conflict resolution to reduce the need for physical intervention, and regular reviews and analyses of use of force incidents help identify areas for improvement and ensure accountability. In its Use of Force Policy Framework - GOV.UK, His Majesty’s Prison & Probation Service (HMPPS) sets out mandatory instructions and professional standards for staff, ensuring that any use of force is lawful, necessary, and proportionate. The rehabilitation services and interventions that HMPPS provides help to address underlying issues that may lead to conflict, reducing the need for force to be used. They also give prisoners the support and skills they need to find employment, accommodation, and to build and maintain support networks, which we know are significant factors in reducing re-offending.