Prisons
This page highlights some of the current parliamentary material available on prisons. This includes select committee reports, briefing papers on current legislation and other subjects produced by the parliamentary research services, and the latest Early Day Motions put down by MPs.
Standard Notes
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 29.07.2013 | Prison population statistics |
| This note provides a detailed summary of the prison population in England and Wales with a more limited analysis of the situation in Scotland. | |
| 19.07.2013 | Prison population: Social Indicators page |
| Prison population: Social Indicators page. | |
| 04.07.2013 | Prisoners' voting rights - in brief |
| On 6 October 2005 the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in the Hirst case, found that the UK's current ban on all serving prisoners from voting contravenes Article 3 of Protocol No 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The issue of prisoner voting has become linked with the overall question of compliance with the judgements of the European Court of Human Rights. This note briefly draws together Library material on the issue and summarises Standard Note 1764, Prisoners' voting rights, which provides a narrative of events following the judgment. | |
| 04.07.2013 | Prisoners' voting rights |
| Prisoners serving a custodial sentence do not have the right to vote. Prisoners on remand are able to vote under the provisions of the Representation of the People Act 2000. This Standard Note provides a narrative of events following the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights on 6 October 2005, the Hirst case, that the UK's current ban on all serving prisoners from voting contravenes Article 3 of Protocol No 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights. | |
| 14.06.2013 | Introducing 'Payment by Results' in Offender Rehabilitation and other reforms |
| The Ministry of Justice plans to allow organisations from the voluntary and private sectors to provide rehabilitation services in the community for low and medium risk offenders. New providers would be paid according to the reductions in re-offending they achieve. It is also legislating through the Offender Rehabilitation Bill to introduce and extend statutory supervision periods for short-sentence offenders. The Ministry of Justice says these and other proposals set out in the Government's Transforming Rehabilitation strategy document (published 9 May 2013) will help to reduce reoffending while continuing to protect the public. |
Research Papers
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 23.11.2012 | Reducing reoffending: the "what works" debate |
| This paper examines the evidence for the effectiveness of prison and programmes in the community aimed at reducing reoffending and some of the claims and counter-claims for whether 'prison works'. | |
| 04.07.2011 | Legal aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill Bill No 205 of 2010-12 |
| This Research Paper has been prepared for the second reading of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill. The Bill covers a diverse range of issues, including legal aid; litigation funding and costs; sentencing; bail, remand and release on licence; prisoners' pay and employment; out of court disposals and knives. | |
| 22.12.2009 | Crime and Security Bill. Bill 3 2009-10. |
| The Bill would amend the law governing the taking, retention and destruction of fingerprints and DNA data from persons arrested for, charged with or convicted of criminal offences. It would reduce the requirements on the police to record information following a stop and search. It would introduce new 'go' orders for suspected perpetrators of domestic violence, which could mean excluding them from their homes in order to protect the victim. The Bill would also, in effect, extend new injunctions for gang-related violence to 14-18 year olds, and require courts to issue a Parenting Order where a child under 16 had breached an Anti-social Behaviour Order. It would require wheel clamping companies to be licensed, and create a new offence of possessing an authorised mobile phone in a prison. It also creates a new offence of preventing a person under 18 from gaining unauthorised access to air weapons. | |
| 09.08.2007 | The Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill Bill 130 of 2006-07 |
| 26.02.2007 | The Offender Management Bill Committee Stage Report |
Select Committee Reports
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 17.05.2011 | Appointment of the Prisons and Probation Ombudsman for England and Wales. |
| Justice Select Committee report [Commons] | |
| 08.02.2011 | Voting by convicted prisoners: summary of evidence. |
| Political and Constitutional Reform Select Committee report [Commons] | |
| 16.03.2010 | Cutting crime: the case for justice reinvestment. |
| Government response. Ministry of Justice report [Commons] | |
| 16.03.2010 | The appointment of the Chief Inspector of Prisons. |
| Justice Select Committee report [Commons] | |
| 23.02.2010 | Welsh prisoners in the prison estate: follow up. |
| Welsh Affairs Select Committee report [Commons] |
Early Day Motions
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 10.01.2012 | PRISON OFFICERS' ASSOCIATION AND TRADE UNION RIGHTS |
| That this House supports full trade union rights for the Prison Officers' Association (POA); notes that the International Labour Organisation criticised the previous administration ... | |
| 18.10.2011 | PRISONER EXCHANGE AND PALESTINIAN CHILD PRISONERS |
| That this House welcomes the prisoner exchange which has led to the release of the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit and 477 Palestinian prisoners with a further 550 to be released in the ... | |
| 14.07.2011 | LANCASTER FARMS PRISON OFFICERS |
| That this House notes the good work of the prison officers at Lancaster Farms Young Offender Institute, many of whom are constituents of the hon. Member for Morecambe and Lunesdale; ... | |
| 28.06.2011 | PRIVATE FINANCE INITIATIVE AND PRISON PRIVATISATION |
| That this House welcomes the publication of the report The Private Finance Initiative and the Hidden Cost of Prison Privatisation by the Prison Officers Association (POA); notes that ... | |
| 18.05.2011 | SPEECH AND LANGUAGE ASSESSMENTS FOR PRISON INMATES |
| That this House recognises the importance of the identification and treatment of speech and language difficulties amongst prison inmates in the bid to reduce prisoner re-offending; ... |
Lords Library Notes
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 16.05.2013 | Offender Rehabilitation Bill [HL] (HL Bill 2 of 2013-14) |
| The Offender Rehabilitation Bill would provide increased support and supervision upon release for those serving prison sentences of up to two years, and would make changes to the arrangements for community orders and suspended sentence orders. This Library Note provides background reading in advance of the Bill's second reading in the House of Lords. | |
| 17.01.2008 | Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill (HL Bill 16, 2007-08). LLN 2008/001 |
| Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill. House of Lords Library Note 2008/001 |
