Robert Jenrick

As I set out to the House on Thursday 23 January, and the Attorney General repeated in the House of Lords on Monday 27 January, the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) has an established and rigorous process for identifying and dealing with conflicts, and potential conflicts, that arise from the Law Officers’ past practice. That process predates the appointment of the Attorney General and sits against the backdrop of every lawyer’s professional obligation to be alert to, and actively manage, any situation that might give rise to a potential or actual conflict.

This rigorous process for identifying and managing conflicts sits alongside the system relating to ministerial interests, overseen by the Prime Minister’s Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards. Both the Director General of the AGO and the Independent Adviser were provided with the Attorney General’s list of conflicts following his appointment.

HMT has been working with the FCDO and the MOD on the agreement who, as the lead departments, are responsible for assessing its value for money under the Managing Public Money framework.

HM Inspectorate of Prisons (HMIP) and HM Inspectorate of Probation for England and Wales are independent inspectorates which provide scrutiny of the conditions for, and treatment of prisoners and offenders. They report their findings for prisons, Young Offender Institutions, and effectiveness of the work of probation, and youth offending services across England and Wales to the Ministry of Justice and His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS).

In response to the report, HMPPS/the Ministry of Justice are required to draft a robust and timely action plan to address the priority and key concerns. Action plans provide specific steps and actions to address the priority and key concerns, which are clear, outcome focussed, measurable, achievable, and relevant with the owner and timescale of each step clearly identified. Action plans are sent to HMIP and published on the GOV.UK website. Progress against the implementation and delivery of the action plans will also be monitored and reported on.

Actions plans are active for both HMP Manchester and HMP Long Lartin in line with this process, which seek to address the concerns of the Inspectorate.

We are working hard to deter, detect and disrupt the use of drones to deliver contraband into prisons. We conduct vulnerability assessments across the prison estate to identify risks, and to develop and implement plans to manage and mitigate them.

We work across Government, to examine options to mitigate the threat of drones to prisons. We are also engaging with international counterparts to support our strategy and share best practice. Owing to security sensitivities, we are not able to discuss in detail the measures used to disrupt drones.

The Lord Chancellor meets the Lady Chief Justice regularly in the course of her duties, as part of her constitutional obligation to engage the judiciary on relevant matters.

Minister Davies-Jones responded to the letter from the Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP on 27 November 2024. The Government remains neutral on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill but, as the public would expect, the Government has a responsibility to make sure any legislation that passes through Parliament is effective and enforceable. The Government will continue to assess the potential impacts of the Bill, which will include publishing an Impact Assessment before MPs consider the Bill at Report Stage.

We are working hard to deter, detect and disrupt the use of illegal drones that deliver contraband, including weapons and drugs, so that prisoners have access to a safe and stable rehabilitative environment. Our approach is multi-faceted and includes physical security countermeasures, joint working with law enforcement agencies, and collaborating across Government and with international partners on this global issue.

Whilst it is not possible to outline in detail the tactics used to disrupt drones given the security implications, HMPPS invests in targeted countermeasures such as improvements to windows, specialist netting and grills to prevent drones from successfully delivering contraband into prisons. HMPPS also conducts assessments across the estate to understand the risk and develop and implement tailored local plans to mitigate the threat.

In January 2024, Restricted Fly Zones were introduced around all closed prisons and young offender institutions to disrupt illegal drone use. These restrictions make all unauthorised drone incursions a crime, and support police and prison collaboration to pursue drone operators. Those using drones to smuggle illicit items which drive violence and criminality in custody may face up to a decade behind bars.