Written questions by Goldsborough.

How many planned education courses in young offenders institutes have been cancelled in each of the last five financial years; and what information she holds on the reasons for those cancellations.

The information is not available in the form requested.It is not the practice to cancel courses, but they may be restricted on a day-to-day basis owing to staff unavailability. As part of the annual review of the curriculum, governors and their teams may decide to replace one course with another, based on the children’s needs.

How many staff were employed in the provision of education in young offenders institutions in each of the last ten financial years.

The information is not available in the form requested. As it does not employ the people concerned, the Ministry of Justice does not hold the data requested.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that senior leaders in Young Offender Institutes respond rapidly to an Ofsted requires improvement grade.

To improve the quality of education, learning services are designed to be flexible and adaptable. They are reviewed annually, following completion of a needs analysis that evaluates the success, progress, and achievement of each course, assessing the interests of children, their prior attainment, and their changing needs. The Youth Custody Services use all the mechanisms available under the contract to drive progress.The Children and Young People’s Strategy that is being developed will provide greater detail about our long-term vision for the future of the youth estate, with education and wellbeing at its centre.

What the attendance rate in education was at Young Offender Institute (a) Feltham, (b) Parc, (c) Werrington and (d) Wetherby in each of the last 10 financial years.

It is not possible to provide the information requested without incurring disproportionate cost.

How many children have been kept apart from one another on the way to and from classes in young offenders institutions in each of the last 10 financial years.

“Keep apart” alerts are recorded on individual young people’s records and are monitored to ensure that they are safely managed when moving between different activities and areas of their respective sites. The Youth Custody Service does not, however, collate information at the level of detail requested.

What steps her Department is taking to improve young offenders institutions' grades for overall effectiveness under the education inspection framework.

The Government has inherited a criminal justice system in crisis. This has placed an unacceptable strain on the Children and Young People Estate. We are determined to tackle the challenges – giving staff the support they need to reduce violence, increase access to education and help these children to turn their lives around.Following the Education Thematic Review recently published by Ofsted and H M Inspectorate of Prisons, education delivery in young offender institutions, as well as wider performance, is under review.The Youth Custody Service (YCS) is committed to promoting the development of each child in its care by delivering a range of learning and enrichment activities that are individualised, responsive to children’s needs, and aligned with trauma-informed care. This is an integrated whole-systems approach involving various professionals. Education providers are working alongside subject-matter experts (Heads of Education, Skills and Work) and Governors to develop broad and balanced curriculums that facilitate the holistic development of all children in the YCS’s care. This includes access to vocational training and creative learning.The Children and Young People’s Strategy that is being developed will provide greater detail about our long-term vision for the future of the youth estate, with education and wellbeing at its centre.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that teachers in young offenders institutes receive adequate (a) training and (b) support to help them address potentially challenging behaviour by offenders in those institutes.

All teachers in Young Offender Institutions (YOIs) have access to training and continuing professional development led by education providers, based on individual need. Teachers in YOI education departments utilise the behaviour management strategies set by establishments, and those set specifically by the education providers. Establishments have worked together to train staff in behaviour management strategies, to enable all functions to work holistically.We recognise that rates of turnover and attrition have an impact on levels of experience among staff working with young people in YOIs, and we are seeking to address this. The Youth Custody Service (YCS) has recruited a dedicated national Head of Learning and Enrichment and Heads of Education, Skills and Work locally. These are all directly employed people with education leadership experience, whose role involves driving up quality standards. The YCS has worked with Ofsted to provide workshops to Governors, Deputy Governors, YCS central senior leaders and Heads of Education Skills and Work, to support them in leading improvements in the delivery of a rich curriculum.

If she will issue guidance to staff in young offenders institutes to ensure that the allocation of courses is based on the educational needs of young offenders.

The Government has inherited a criminal justice system in crisis. This has placed an unacceptable strain on the Children and Young People Estate. We are determined to tackle the challenges – giving staff the support they need to reduce violence, increase access to education and help these children to turn their lives around.Following the Education Thematic Review recently published by Ofsted and H M Inspectorate of Prisons, education delivery in young offender institutions, as well as wider performance, is under review.The Youth Custody Service (YCS) is committed to promoting the development of each child in its care by delivering a range of learning and enrichment activities that are individualised, responsive to children’s needs, and aligned with trauma-informed care. This is an integrated whole-systems approach involving various professionals. Education providers are working alongside subject-matter experts (Heads of Education, Skills and Work) and Governors to develop broad and balanced curriculums that facilitate the holistic development of all children in the YCS’s care. This includes access to vocational training and creative learning.The Children and Young People’s Strategy that is being developed will provide greater detail about our long-term vision for the future of the youth estate, with education and wellbeing at its centre.

What the employee turnover rate in (a) young offenders institutions and (b) Category (i) A, (ii) B, (iii) C and (iv) D estates was in each of the last 10 financial years.

Data relating to the leaving rates in prisons, broken down by the financial years and prison categories requested, has been provided in table 1 (below). Table 1: Underlying leaving rate of permanent staff, by prison category - financial years 2014/15 to 2023/24Financial YearCategory ACategory BCategory CCategory DYCS2014/156.0%8.8%8.4%7.8%11.1%2015/164.9%9.6%8.5%7.8%10.6%2016/176.1%10.5%9.6%7.0%11.0%2017/186.3%11.1%9.7%7.6%10.5%2018/197.5%12.0%11.5%6.7%9.4%2019/207.9%13.2%12.1%7.7%11.4%2020/217.7%9.9%9.7%7.6%7.8%2021/2210.4%15.7%15.0%10.2%12.2%2022/2311.9%15.5%14.2%10.5%17.0%2023/249.6%13.4%12.7%10.3%17.3%Notes1. Movements due to machinery of Government changes or due to staff transferring to or from the private sector as a result of changes in the management of establishments are not included in these tables.2. Permanent staff are those with a permanent contract of employment with HMPPS.3. The leavers figures relate to those who have left HMPPS but do not include voluntary early departure or redundancy.4. Prisons assigned to the category they were on 31 March 2024 or the category they were when they closed. Does not include prisons in the Women’s Estate.5. Coverage is public sector prisons in England and Wales.

Whether her Department plans to take steps to increase the number of hours that children in young offender institutions have access to education.

The Government has inherited a criminal justice system in crisis. This has placed an unacceptable strain on the Children and Young People Estate. We are determined to tackle the challenges – giving staff the support they need to reduce violence, increase access to education and help these children to turn their lives around.Following the Education Thematic Review recently published by Ofsted and H M Inspectorate of Prisons, education delivery in young offender institutions, as well as wider performance, is under review.The Youth Custody Service (YCS) is committed to promoting the development of each child in its care by delivering a range of learning and enrichment activities that are individualised, responsive to children’s needs, and aligned with trauma-informed care. This is an integrated whole-systems approach involving various professionals. Education providers are working alongside subject-matter experts (Heads of Education, Skills and Work) and Governors to develop broad and balanced curriculums that facilitate the holistic development of all children in the YCS’s care. This includes access to vocational training and creative learning.The Children and Young People’s Strategy that is being developed will provide greater detail about our long-term vision for the future of the youth estate, with education and wellbeing at its centre.

What steps her Department is taking to reduce the turnover of main governors in Young Offender Institutes.

The turnover of Governing Governors in Young Offender Institutions in the youth estate has stabilised over the last two years. The average time in post is similar to that in the adult estate. Support arrangements, such as Guided Reflective Practice for Senior leaders, are in place to improve retention of senior Governors working in the challenging environment. The recruitment of Governors has improved, with the most recent campaign receiving a large number of suitable applications.

Whether her Department has had discussions with the Magistrates Association on reports of the use of targets for the number of Single Justice Procedures completed.

Magistrates are free to take as long as they need when making decisions on any criminal case, including those dealt with under the Single Justice Procedure (SJP). There is no set target for the number of cases decided in an SJP session and courts have been reminded of this.We have not discussed this matter with the Magistrates’ Association.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure that people engaging in the Single Justice Procedure are aware of the HM Courts and Tribunal Service guidance which states that courts should not issue targets for the number of Single Justice cases that must be completed.

Courts have been reminded that no targets have been set for the number of cases to be completed in a session.Listing is a judicial responsibility and function. Local Judicial Business Groups decide how much work is assigned to court hearings, including Single Justice Procedure (SJP) sessions. If a magistrate does not complete the cases allocated to a SJP session, the cases can be picked up in a subsequent session.The Government has listened to the concerns raised on SJP and as a first step has asked HM Courts and Tribunals to redesign the SJP Notice. We will also be calling in SJP prosecutors to discuss ways in which we could ensure public interest is considered by them in advance of making prosecutions. The SJP is vital for the efficient running of the magistrates court. However, it must operate fairly and effectively. We will not tolerate poor practice, and we will not hesitate to fundamentally reform the system if that is required.

What steps she is taking to address the increase in the remand population across the prison estate.

We are committed to working with partners across the criminal justice system to effectively manage the growth in the prison remand population, which currently sits at a record high.On 17 October 2024, we announced plans to allow magistrates’ courts to hand down custodial sentences of up to 12 months for a single triable either way offence – doubling their current powers.The change will help us bear down on the remand population by ensuring those on remand are tried and sentenced quicker.This change will help us to better manage the pressure on reception jails and maximise the space across the prison estate, created by SDS40. The Statutory Instrument to increase magistrates’ courts sentencing powers was laid on 28 October 2024 and these changes will come into force on 18 November 2024.

How many Single Justice Procedure prosecution notices went undelivered in 2023.

Single Justice Procedure Notices are served by the individual prosecutors and not the magistrates’ court. We therefore do not hold the data in relation to the number of notices that went undelivered in 2023.

Whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of delivering Single Justice Procedure prosecution notices by (a) signed and (b) tracked post to ensure receipt.

The Single Justice Procedure (SJP) Notice is a prosecutor notice which is issued and served by the prosecutor.The rules governing service of SJP Notices is covered by Rule 4 of the Criminal Procedure Rules - The Criminal Procedure Rules 2020 (legislation.gov.uk).There is no requirement for an SJP Notice to be sent by either signed for or tracked post and to do so would be a decision for the prosecutor.If a defendant does not know about the case until after it has finished, they can make a statutory declaration to that effect, which will start the proceedings again from the beginning.This Government is determined to ensure the SJP operates fairly and transparently. We are currently reviewing potential changes to the Procedure and will consider legislative reform if necessary.

What steps her Department is taking to ensure defendants under the Single Justice Procedure are aware they have the option to elect for a court hearing.

This Government is determined to ensure the Single Justice Procedure (SJP) operates fairly and transparently. We are currently reviewing potential changes to the Procedure and will consider legislative reform if necessary. As it stands, there are multiple points in the SJP process where a defendant is notified of their right to elect for a court hearing. When a prosecutor presses charges under the SJP they issue the defendant with a SJP Notice. The information leaflet which accompanies the SJP Notice states that the defendant will need to decide whether or not they want to go to court and explains the process should they elect for a court hearing. The SJP Notice also provides the following link - Single justice procedure notices - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk), which is publicly available and where it states clearly ‘You can choose if you want to go to court or not’. The plea form, which defendants responding to an SJP Notice are asked to fill out, also states that, if pleading guilty, the defendant must choose whether they want to go to court and there is a tick box with the options ‘Yes – I want to come to court’ or ‘No – I do not want to come to court’.

Which (a) people, (b) companies and (c) other organisations pursued prosecutions under the single justice procedure in 2023.

The attached table shows the number of people prosecuted under the Single Justice Procedure in 2023 by Prosecutor type.

How many people were prosecuted under the single justice procedure by offence in each month of 2023; and what the plea rates were for offences charged under the single justice procedure in the same period.

The attached table shows the number of people prosecuted under the Single Justice Procedure by offence in each month of 2023 and the plea rates for offences charged in the same period.

How many people were serving life sentences for second listed offences in prisons in England and Wales on 30 June 2024.

Information that would enable us to answer this question robustly is not collated centrally and to obtain it would involve a manual interrogation of courts and prison records which would result in a disproportionate cost to the Department.