Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Prisons: Wakefield

Tuesday 12 September 2023 · 2 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 2 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Simon Lightwood asked about the performance ratings of prisons in the Wakefield constituency.
  • The Minister acknowledged the importance of the inspectorate of prisons reports in holding the Prison Service accountable.
  • Simon Lightwood raised concerns about unaddressed issues at HMP Wakefield, including poor infrastructure and insufficient healthcare staff.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Simon Lightwood Labour (Co-op) Wakefield and Rothwell
Justice & Courts
Context

The most recent annual prison performance ratings for 2022-23 were published in July, with HMP New Hall rated a 2 and HMP Wakefield rated a 4.

Question

Whether he has made a recent assessment of the performance of prisons in Wakefield constituency. The question arises from the publication of annual prison performance ratings where HMP New Hall was rated a 2 and HMP Wakefield was rated a 4.

Answer from Damian Hinds

The hon. Gentleman is right to talk about the inspectorate of prisons reports, which are a very important part of our system and help to hold the Prison Service and us to account. In the case of Wakefield, as he mentions, it was judged a 3, which is reasonably good, for safety, for respect and for rehabilitation and release planning.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific steps or timeline to address unaddressed concerns about infrastructure, healthcare staff, mental health interventions, and activity places in HMP Wakefield.

How: The Hon. Gentleman Is Right To Talk About The Inspectorate Of Prisons Reports, We Need To Continue To Make Progress

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Q2 Simon Lightwood Labour (Co-op) Wakefield and Rothwell
Justice & Courts NHS Mental Health
Context

His Majesty's Inspectorate of Prisons inspected HMP Wakefield last year, raising several concerns including poor infrastructure, insufficient healthcare staff, a lack of mental health interventions, and too few activity places. These issues had not been adequately addressed since the previous inspection.

Question

The hon Majesty's Inspectorate of Prisons inspected HMP Wakefield last year and had several concerns, including many that remained unaddressed since its previous visit. Those concerns included infrastructure that is in such a poor condition that it needs investment, insufficient healthcare staff, a lack of mental health interventions and too few activity places.

Answer from Damian Hinds

The hon. Gentleman is right to talk about the inspectorate of prisons reports, which are a very important part of our system and help to hold the Prison Service and us to account. In the case of Wakefield, as he mentions, it was judged a 3, which is reasonably good, for safety, for respect and for rehabilitation and release planning.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific steps or timeline to address concerns about infrastructure investment, healthcare staff, mental health interventions, and activity places in HMP Wakefield.

How: We Need To Continue To Make Progress, The Hon. Gentleman Is Right To Talk About The Inspectorate Of Prisons Reports

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