argyrotsipi/train-dataset huggingface dataset:
Prisons: Education — House of Commons, 2016-06-14
Topic: Education
Andrew Edmund Armstrong Selous (Conservative, Centre-right): We want prisons to be places of rigorous education and high ambition. Dame Sally Coates’s review "Unlocking potential" was published last month, and we have accepted all its recommendations in principle. We will be giving control of education budgets to prison governors, so that they can choose their education providers and hold them to account for the service that they give
Prisons: Education — House of Commons, 2016-06-14
Topic: Law and Crime
Wendy Morton (Conservative, Centre-right): I am grateful to the Minister for his answer. Does he agree that since 99% of criminals will eventually be released from prison, we can only cut crime and improve public safety if we better rehabilitate offenders in prison?
Prisons: Education — House of Commons, 2016-06-14
Topic: Law and Crime
Andrew Edmund Armstrong Selous (Conservative, Centre-right): My hon. Friend is absolutely right. We want an unremitting emphasis on rehabilitation. Reoffending has been too high for too long. That is why we are investing £1.3 billion over the next five years to transform the prison estate and give prisoners the help they need to turn their lives around.
Prisons: Education — House of Commons, 2016-06-14
Topic: Labor
Lucy Claire Leigh (Frazer) (Conservative, Centre-right): The Coates review that the Minister referred to says that the employment prospects for those on short-term sentences are three times worse for women than for men, with only one in 10 women finding a job on release. What plans does he have to improve the prospects of employment for women?
Prisons: Education — House of Commons, 2016-06-14
Topic: Law and Crime
Pauline Elizabeth Latham (Conservative, Centre-right): Does my hon. Friend agree that it is often those who have struggled or dropped out of school and ended up in the criminal justice system whom we must ensure have the skills they need while in our care and afterwards?
Prisons: Education — House of Commons, 2016-06-14
Topic: Education
Andrew Edmund Armstrong Selous (Conservative, Centre-right): Giving control of the education budget to the governors of HMP Garth and HMP Wymott and holding them to account for the outcomes, as well as the introduction of personal learning plans in a consistent digital format that follows the prisoner around the estate, will absolutely drive improvement.
Prisons: Education — House of Commons, 2016-06-14
Topic: Law and Crime
Andrew Edmund Armstrong Selous (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Lady is right to draw attention to the incredible work that our prison officers do day in, day out. I can tell her that since 1 January 2015 we have appointed 2,830 additional prison officers—a net increase of 530—and that the vacancy rate is now 2.5%, whereas at the start of last year it was 5.2%. We will carry on recruiting at this rate.
Prisons: Education — House of Commons, 2016-06-14
Topic: Law and Crime
Andrew Edmund Armstrong Selous (Conservative, Centre-right): We have fewer and fewer restricted regimes across the estate, but the whole thrust of what the Secretary of State and I are trying to do is increase the time out of cell and put education at the heart of the prison regime. I want prisoners to learn not only when they go to the education classrooms, but during their association periods and in their cells, so that we have a whole prison learning experience.
Prisons: Education — House of Commons, 2016-06-14
Topic: Law and Crime
Andrew Edmund Armstrong Selous (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the hon. Gentleman for his characteristically gracious and thoughtful point. He might have heard me say a moment ago that we were bringing in a personal learning plan—the initials PLP will mean something to Labour Members. It will be introduced in a consistent digital format that will follow prisoners as they move around the prison estate.
Prisons: Education — House of Commons, 2016-06-14
Topic: Education
Andrew Edmund Armstrong Selous (Conservative, Centre-right): Yes, absolutely. That is one of a number of recommendations of the review by Dame Sally Coates. We are looking actively at how we can implement her inspirational vision, which did so much to transform the teaching profession.
Prisons: Education — House of Commons, 2016-06-14
Topic: Law and Crime
Andrew Edmund Armstrong Selous (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank the hon. Lady for her question. I know that she takes an ongoing and serious interest in these issues. The Secretary of State tells me that he has already written to the new Northern Ireland Justice Minister and issued an invitation to her. We will learn from and co-operate as fully as possible with the prison service in Northern Ireland.
EU Membership: Human Rights — House of Commons, 2016-06-14
Topic: Labor
Questions: What assessment he has made of the potential effect on the protection of human rights of UK citizens of the UK leaving the EU.
Dominic Rennie Raab (Conservative, Centre-right): It is thunder and lightning but it does not provide much clarity on the issue; the bottom line is that the hon. Gentleman has little faith in Labour fearsomely defending workers’ rights. Whichever side someone is on in this House or in this debate, they should want to uphold the right of this House to make those finely balanced decisions on employment regulation and make sure that they are tailored to the precise needs of this country, not those of bureaucrats and other vested interests in Brussels.
EU Prisoner Transfer Directive — House of Commons, 2016-06-14
Topic: Law and Crime
Questions: How many non-UK EU nationals (a) the UK has ever returned to prison in their own EU country under the EU prisoner transfer directive and (b) are in a UK prison.
Andrew Edmund Armstrong Selous (Conservative, Centre-right): One hundred and two prisoners have so far been transferred from England and Wales under the EU prisoner transfer agreement. There were 4,111 EU nationals detained in prisons in England and Wales on 31 March 2016, with 2,967 serving an immediate custodial sentence. The transfer of prisoners from Scotland and Northern Ireland is a matter for the devolved authorities.
EU Prisoner Transfer Directive — House of Commons, 2016-06-14
Topic: Law and Crime
Questions: How many non-UK EU nationals (a) the UK has ever returned to prison in their own EU country under the EU prisoner transfer directive and (b) are in a UK prison.
Andrew Edmund Armstrong Selous (Conservative, Centre-right): The main mechanism by which we get foreign national offenders out of our jails, which we are very keen to do, is the early removal system, which transfers out about 1,800 a year. The European prisoner transfer agreement is therefore in addition to the early release scheme, but it may be helpful to my hon. Friend if I give him the figures. The transfer agreement was implemented only in 2013, and we got 19 out in 2014, 38 out in 2015 and 29 out in 2016, to date, with a roughly similar number awaiting transfer.
EU Prisoner Transfer Directive — House of Commons, 2016-06-14
Topic: International Affairs
Questions: How many non-UK EU nationals (a) the UK has ever returned to prison in their own EU country under the EU prisoner transfer directive and (b) are in a UK prison.
Andrew Edmund Armstrong Selous (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Lady is right in that if this country leaves the European Union, we will lose the compulsory prisoner transfer agreement that we currently have, and that will cause issues when it comes to trying to return the current EU prisoners in our prisons.
Prison Reform — House of Commons, 2016-06-14
Topic: Law and Crime
Michael Andrew Gove (Conservative, Centre-right): In the debate on the Queen’s Speech, the Government announced the creation of six early adopter reform prisons. The governors of those prisons will have unprecedented freedom to run their prisons and find better ways to rehabilitate offenders.
Prison Reform — House of Commons, 2016-06-14
Topic: Law and Crime
Michael Andrew Gove (Conservative, Centre-right): One thing we can do particularly effectively is ensure that prisons, whether reform prisons or others, have close and effective working relationships with the community rehabilitation companies that were instituted by my predecessor and are doing so much to ensure that all prisoners, whatever the length of their sentence, receive support on release.
Prison Reform — House of Commons, 2016-06-14
Topic: Law and Crime
Michael Andrew Gove (Conservative, Centre-right): It is important that we give the governors of these prisons as much freedom as possible. It is also important that they are able now to explore some of the additional freedoms operationally without the need for legislation. In the autumn, we hope to publish a White Paper and the legislation alongside it.
Prison Reform — House of Commons, 2016-06-14
Topic: Law and Crime
Questions: Will my right hon. Friend confirm that the additional funding allocated to reduce violence in prisons will be given to governors to make sure that it is spent on schemes that will have a real impact?
Michael Andrew Gove (Conservative, Centre-right): It absolutely will. The effective team managing the National Offender Management Service under the superb public servant Michael Spurr has found an additional £10 million to help mitigate the effects of prisoner violence and to reduce violence overall. That money will go direct to the front line.
Prison Reform — House of Commons, 2016-06-14
Topic: Law and Crime
Questions: Will my right hon. Friend confirm that the additional funding allocated to reduce violence in prisons will be given to governors to make sure that it is spent on schemes that will have a real impact?
Michael Andrew Gove (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Lady makes a vital point. We are looking at how female offenders are treated overall. One thing we need to do—I know that this is not a view universally held by all my hon. Friends on the Back Benches—is to think hard about how we can reduce the female population in prison, and treat women who are in custody more sensitively.
Prison Reform — House of Commons, 2016-06-14
Topic: Law and Crime
Questions: Will my right hon. Friend confirm that the additional funding allocated to reduce violence in prisons will be given to governors to make sure that it is spent on schemes that will have a real impact?
Robert James MacGillivray Neill (Conservative, Centre-right): Does my right hon. Friend agree that reform prisons are an important part of a broader package of reform of penal and criminal justice policy, so that we not only make better use of the time of those who are in prison, but make sure that we reduce the total number of people going to prison by finding an effective and genuinely successful means of dealing with offending in the community?
Prison Reform — House of Commons, 2016-06-14
Topic: Law and Crime
Questions: Will my right hon. Friend confirm that the additional funding allocated to reduce violence in prisons will be given to governors to make sure that it is spent on schemes that will have a real impact?
Michael Andrew Gove (Conservative, Centre-right): The Chairman of the Select Committee on Justice is absolutely right. In the same way that the creation of NHS foundation trusts was not the only aspect of reform of the national health service, and the creation of academy schools was not the only aspect of reform of the education system, the creation of reform prisons is not a change in isolation. It is part of a broader change to the criminal justice system, and my hon. Friend is absolutely right that part of that is diverting people from custody when appropriate.
Prison Reform — House of Commons, 2016-06-14
Topic: Law and Crime
Questions: Will my right hon. Friend confirm that the additional funding allocated to reduce violence in prisons will be given to governors to make sure that it is spent on schemes that will have a real impact?
Cheryl Elise Kendall Gillan (Conservative, Centre-right): When developing reform prisons, will the Secretary of State take into account the experience of Feltham young offenders unit, which has become the first autism-accredited prison in the country? I led a cross-party visit by the all-party parliamentary group on autism to the prison yesterday, and saw how that was helping to reduce violence and assisting rehabilitation. Will the Secretary of State give me an assurance that each reform prison will work towards accreditation for autism and will eventually be able to achieve that accreditation before it begins to operate?
Officials: Guidelines — House of Commons, 2016-06-14
Topic: Government Operations
Questions: What assessment he has made of the effectiveness of his Department’s guidelines for officials of his Department who have moved to work in the private sector.
Michael Penning (Conservative, Centre-right): The Ministry of Justice and other Government Departments have clear rules and governance in place around the standards of conduct for current and former civil servants. All permanent civil servants are covered by the Cabinet Office guidelines on business appointment rules.
Officials: Guidelines — House of Commons, 2016-06-14
Topic: Government Operations
Questions: What assessment he has made of the effectiveness of his Department’s guidelines for officials of his Department who have moved to work in the private sector.
Michael Penning (Conservative, Centre-right): There was an investigation after those reports in the press, but no impropriety was found. I am more than happy for the hon. Gentleman to meet my officials in the Department. If I can publish the review, I will—I understand that it was an internal inquiry—and if I cannot do so, I will explain why. If not, meetings will take place.
Glen Parva — House of Commons, 2016-06-14
Topic: Law and Crime
Alberto Castrenze Costa (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend for that answer. Will he tell me what the staff ratios are for young adults in Glen Parva, and what they are expected to be once adult prisoners come to the prison? If the answer is not readily available, will he give it to me in a letter by the end of next week?
Prisoner Release: Employment — House of Commons, 2016-06-14
Topic: Law and Crime
Andrew Edmund Armstrong Selous (Conservative, Centre-right): One part of my job that most inspires me is meeting businesses and trade bodies to talk about the benefits of employing offenders on release. Following the Prime Minister’s announcement of changes to recruitment practices for the civil service, I am keen to encourage other employers to "ban the box" when recruiting too. This fits alongside our work to implement the recommendations of the Coates review and our announcement of six reform prisons.
Prisoner Release: Employment — House of Commons, 2016-06-14
Topic: Labor
Andrew Edmund Armstrong Selous (Conservative, Centre-right): Yes, I am very pleased to be able to do exactly that. For that excellent centre to succeed, we need far more employers to step up to the plate and make a commitment to training and hiring ex-offenders.
Prisoner Release: Employment — House of Commons, 2016-06-14
Topic: Labor
Questions: Is the Minister aware that there have been some excellent examples of major companies taking on prisoners and training them while they are still in prison? I think in particular of British Gas, which had a wonderful programme in Reading jail. Are there partnerships that we are currently encouraging?
Andrew Edmund Armstrong Selous (Conservative, Centre-right): Yes. I can tell the hon. Gentleman, who I know takes a serious interest in these issues, that there is a lot to be encouraged about. I am going around the country talking to employers, often taking them into prisons. I am particularly keen on the academy model, where employers come into prisons and train prisoners there. The prisoners then go out on day release to gain work experience in that business, and as they leave the prison gate they do so with a contract of employment and can go into work. That helps to secure their accommodation and to get their lives back on an even keel.
Prisoner Release: Employment — House of Commons, 2016-06-14
Topic: Law and Crime
Questions: Is the Minister aware that there have been some excellent examples of major companies taking on prisoners and training them while they are still in prison? I think in particular of British Gas, which had a wonderful programme in Reading jail. Are there partnerships that we are currently encouraging?; One problem faced by ex-offenders is not having a secure home to go to once they are released from prison, and as a result they cannot get a job. What further steps can my hon. Friend take to ensure that people leaving prison are leaving for a secure home and can then seek proper employment?
Andrew Edmund Armstrong Selous (Conservative, Centre-right): Like the hon. Lady, I am a huge fan of schemes such as the Bad Boys bakery, which I have visited in Brixton. I can still remember the smell of the delicious lemon cake wafting out of the bakery when I visited it. More seriously, when we see the purpose and engagement of prisoners when they are given a real opportunity to do work in prison that offers the prospect of a job on release, they do engage, and we need to see a lot more of that.
Lewes Prison — House of Commons, 2016-06-14
Topic: Law and Crime
Andrew Edmund Armstrong Selous (Conservative, Centre-right): Improving safety is a top priority and the governor at Her Majesty’s Prison Lewes has put plans in place to address safety issues, including the provision of additional training for staff to better support vulnerable prisoners. Nationally, a violence reduction taskforce has been created to support and challenge establishments with a high rate of violence. An additional £10 million has been allocated to those prisons facing the greatest safety challenges.
Lewes Prison — House of Commons, 2016-06-14
Topic: Law and Crime
Maria Colette Caulfield (Conservative, Centre-right): I am sure the Minister has seen the recent independent report which highlights significant security issues not just for inmates, but for prison officers. Will he give his assurance that he will look at the findings in that report and at its recommendations?
Lewes Prison — House of Commons, 2016-06-14
Topic: Law and Crime
Andrew Edmund Armstrong Selous (Conservative, Centre-right): Yes, I can absolutely give my hon. Friend that assurance, and I believe that she is visiting the prison shortly. We will learn from every report. There is currently a police, coroner, and prisons and probation ombudsman report on a recent incident at HMP Lewes. We will learn from that, and we will continue to make improvements in this important area.
Lewes Prison — House of Commons, 2016-06-14
Topic: Law and Crime
Andrew Edmund Armstrong Selous (Conservative, Centre-right): I am grateful to the hon. Lady for raising this issue. The Secretary of State has said very clearly that reducing violence in our prisons is our top operational priority, and he has recently allocated an additional £10 million to this. She will know that a lot of the violence is caused by terrible new psychoactive substances such as Spice and Black Mamba coming into prisons. We have now made them illegal, thanks to the work of my right hon. Friend the Minister for Policing, Fire, Criminal Justice and Victims on the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016, and that is a help. We will shortly be rolling out world-leading testing, which will also make a difference. I draw a very clear link between the drugs and the violence.
Employment Tribunal Fees — House of Commons, 2016-06-14
Topic: Labor
Dominic Rennie Raab (Conservative, Centre-right): The assessment will look at the impact on protected characteristics, including the ones the hon. Lady mentioned. It is only fair and reasonable that those using tribunals make some contribution to the cost where they are able to. It is not right that the whole bill for employment tribunals, which is about £71 million per year, should be picked up by taxpayers, so we are looking to strike the right balance. There is, of course, a system of fee remissions to protect vulnerable workers, and we have taken steps to raise awareness of that scheme. We have also taken steps to encourage voluntary conciliation, which is a good way of settling disputes away from the tense, stressful and costly environment of a courtroom.
Employment Tribunal Fees — House of Commons, 2016-06-14
Topic: Law and Crime
Dominic Rennie Raab (Conservative, Centre-right): The hon. Lady makes some powerful points. We are going to publish the assessment shortly. It is also right to point out, though, that we are seeking to divert people away from costly and often acrimonious tribunal hearings. Fees are a part of that, as is pushing in the direction of conciliation. Although conciliation is not compulsory, I am sure she will be reassured to know that parties agree to participate in it in 75% of cases, and satisfaction levels are very high.
Employment Tribunal Fees — House of Commons, 2016-06-14
Topic: Labor
Jonathan Simon Djanogly (Conservative, Centre-right): Does the Minister agree that employment tribunal fees have played an important part in reducing the threat of litigation that hangs over businesses, particularly small businesses? Does he agree that they have also played an important part in the resurgence of our economy and job creation?
Bill of Rights — House of Commons, 2016-06-14
Topic: Government Operations
Dominic Rennie Raab (Conservative, Centre-right): As I have already said, we are looking to report on the review in due course. It will assess how effective the introduction of the fees has been in achieving all the different objectives we laid out.
Personal Injury Law — House of Commons, 2016-06-14
Topic: Transportation
David Mowat (Conservative, Centre-right): In the UK, 80% of road traffic accidents generate a whiplash claim; in France, 3% of road traffic accidents generate a whiplash claim. In the UK, whiplash claims are increasing as accidents decrease; in France, it is the other way round. Insurance premiums in the UK are 50% higher, meaning that many young people cannot afford insurance. Will the Government act to get this sorted out?
Stalking — House of Commons, 2016-06-14
Topic: Law and Crime
Richard Michael John Ogilvie Graham (Conservative, Centre-right): The Minister has read the report by my hon. Friend the Member for Cheltenham (Alex Chalk) and me on the case for extending the maximum sentences for stalking. He will also have heard Lily Allen say last week of her stalker, "You can put him behind bars but he’ll be out soon and waiting there for his victim." What can be done to assess the case for extending the maximum sentence for a few very dangerous stalkers who severely damage the lives of their victims?
Stalking — House of Commons, 2016-06-14
Topic: Law and Crime
Dominic Rennie Raab (Conservative, Centre-right): I thank my hon. Friend, who makes his point in a particularly lyrical way. He knows that we are looking at a range of issues around sentencing. It is important that those are considered in the round to make sure that we better protect the public and improve reoffending levels. I read the excellent report produced by my hon. Friends on sentences for stalking, and we are giving it very serious consideration.
Topical Questions — House of Commons, 2016-06-14
Topic: Law and Crime
Michael Andrew Gove (Conservative, Centre-right): A number of distinguished figures were recognised in Her Majesty’s birthday honours list at the weekend, but one of them I took particular pleasure in seeing recognised—Mr Elroy Palmer, who works for the St Giles Trust. He is an ex-offender who now devotes his time to helping young people to avoid crime and make constructive use of their lives. Last year, Elroy spoke at the Conservative party conference, where he received a standing ovation. His testimony, his experience and his example show what can be achieved if an individual in custody decides to change their life. His life has changed immeasurably for the better, and he has changed the lives of others immeasurably for the better as well.