All projects under the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) will continue to receive funding for the lifetime of their projects, even if the UK leaves the EU without a deal.

The Prison Service’s (operational duties) Long Service and Good Conduct Medal is awarded to operational staff in UK Prison Services on completion of 20 years continuous service. The medals are awarded by HM The Queen and aligns operational public sector prison staff with other comparable other front line public services such as the police, fire and ambulance services, and the Armed Forces.

HMPPS has previously approached the Cabinet Office in relation to making this medal available to staff in private sector prisons. The Cabinet Office confirmed that there are a series of protocols concerning the issue of medals of this type, one of which is that they can only be awarded to staff working in public sector prisons (civil servants) and not those prisons run by private sector companies.

As education is devolved, the UK Government does not hold figures on the current levels of funding for study abroad programmes in Wales.

The UK Government values international exchange and collaboration in education and training as part of our vision for a global Britain. That is why we support a number of outward mobility and exchange programmes which broaden access to international opportunities – schemes such as Fulbright scholarships and Generation UK China. We can expect our world-leading HE providers to continue their strong track record of partnering with overseas institutions post-2020.

We recognise the importance of care leavers being well prepared to deal with the challenges of living independently at a young age, which includes having good budgeting skills. Care leavers have to be more independent and resilient than young people who live with their parents. My officials will contact the Share Foundation to discuss their request in more detail.

The number of operational prison staff in public sectors prisons who were awarded Prison Services (operational duties) Long Service & Good Conduct medals in each of the last 5 years is shown in the table below.

Includes operational prison staff from Band 2 to Band 11

Prison Services (operational duties) Long Service & Good Conduct Medals are manufactured by the Royal Mint at a cost of £27 (+VAT) per medal.

These medals recognise the loyalty, commitment and unique role of operational prison staff in the United Kingdom prison services.

We remain seriously concerned by the situation in Hong Kong and recent violent clashes between protesters and the police. It is essential that protests are conducted peacefully and within the law, and that the response of the authorities is proportionate. On 9 August, the Foreign Secretary spoke at length to the Hong Kong Chief Executive, Carrie Lam, about the police response to recent protests, and the UK Consul-General in Hong Kong is in regular contact with the authorities, including on this issue. We have made clear our view that there must be a robust, credible and independent investigation into events in Hong Kong. An inquiry is an important step in healing divisions and rebuilding trust that will support the process of dialogue and resolution.

We have seen great improvements in press regulation with the formation of IPSO and Impress, which have the power to hold publications to account, including ordering prominent corrections. Both regulators are independent of government and enforce Codes of Practice, which include provisions on privacy and intrusion. They both operate free complaints handling systems and low cost arbitration schemes.

Ofcom, as the independent broadcast regulator, sets rules for broadcasters to meet in its Broadcasting Code. This includes rules ensuring that broadcasters avoid any unwarranted infringement of privacy in the making of programmes.

Comparator groups of prisons for 2018/19 can be found within Annex D of the annual prison performance ratings, published on gov.uk: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/820601/annual-prison-performance-ratings-2018-19-guide.pdf

Further information for all establishments including population, operational capacity, and accommodation details, can also be found on gov.uk at the following links:

https://www.justice.gov.uk/contacts/prison-finder

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/prison-population-figures-2019

This question has been interpreted as the number of self-harm incidents and the number of individuals who self-harm. The data shows the number of self-harm incidents and individuals in HMPs Cardiff and Parc in each of the three financial years (the PQ didn’t specify a time period, so have used the latest three years).

Our most recent Safety in Custody statistics show that levels of self-harm in Welsh prisons are comparable with the national picture. These figures are published online every quarter, and are broken down by individual prisons to measure trends in specific area, as well as across the whole of England and Wales. There is a piece of work underway in Wales to identify the drivers of self-harm, regionally and at establishment level. Similar work is being done at a national level looking across all prisons.

Too many people self-harm in prisons and we are taking action to stop it. We are investing £100 million in security measures to tackle the drugs, weapons and mobile phones that fuel violence and self-harm behind bars – this is on top of the £70 million we have already spent improving safety and conditions. We have recruited more than 4,300 new prison officers and introduced the keyworker model - so every inmate can have a dedicated officer for support.

We’ve also given the Samaritans £1.5 million over three years, trained more than 24,000 staff in mental health awareness, and improved support for anyone at risk of suicide or self-harm.

I am grateful to the hon. Lady—Madam President—for those words of advice, and indeed for that constructive suggestion. I am more than happy to consider any way we can encourage more people to join and, crucially—this is the other side of the coin—remain in the armed forces.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

It has not proved possible to respond to the hon. Member in the time available before Prorogation.

The definitions of concerted indiscipline and assaults are:

Concerted indiscipline: the number of incidents in which two or more prisoners act together in defiance of a lawful instruction or against the requirements of the regime of the establishment. The act of indiscipline can be active or passive (i.e. involving aggression and violence or not) and the protagonists do not necessarily need to be acting in a common cause.

Assaults: refer to unwanted physical contact between two or more individuals, excluding lawful use of force by staff (but including where staff are assaulted during use of force) or anything of a purely verbal or threatening nature.

Assaults in prison custody cover a wide range of violent incidents including fights between prisoners.

Serious assaults are those which involve one or more of the following: a sexual assault, results in detention in outside hospital as an in-patient, requires medical treatment for concussion or internal injuries. It also includes incurring any of the following injuries: a fracture, scald or burn, stabbing, crushing, extensive or multiple bruising, black eye, broken nose, lost or broken tooth, cuts requiring suturing, bites, temporary or permanent blindness.

We do not tolerate violence or disruptive behaviour in our prisons. We’ve recruited 4,366 additional officers and are spending an extra £100m, introducing tough airport-style security, x-ray scanners and phone-blocking technology. We are also committed to ensuring our prison officers have the tools they need to do the job safely with body worn cameras, ‘police-style’ handcuffs and restraints, and PAVA incapacitant spray.

The below table indicates non white (includes prisoners with ‘not stated’ and ‘not recorded’ ethnicities) prisoners in HMPs Cardiff and Parc with an associated court outside of Wales (includes prisoners with ‘Court not recorded’).

I pay tribute to the hon. Lady, who has been a tireless campaigner in this area, building on her personal and professional experience. I have met with her on several occasions, including as part of this work. We want to get things right. We understand the importance of the issue, and we are doing internal research with clinicians and external research with claimants and stakeholders. We are also looking at international research, which will include what the Scottish Government are doing, and we will be concentrating on the process to ensure that it is improved. This is an important area.

I understand how important it is to support those nearing the end of their life, and I am taking the evaluation forward as a priority. We have made progress on all areas of the work announced by the previous Secretary of State on 11 July. As a next step, we will be holding a workshop event on 29 October to gather key stakeholder views.

Following the illegal entry of an individual onto the premises of the Bahrain Embassy on 26 July, I spoke to Dr Sheikh Abduallah, Bahraini Undersecretary for International Affairs on 27 July, to reiterate that the British Government takes the safety and security of foreign diplomats and the status of Embassies and High Commissions in the UK extremely seriously.

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All EU Member States are bound by Article 1 of Protocol 1 to the European Convention on Human Rights, which obliges them to respect property rights. This includes those who own property, own shares in a property and those who own a property and let it to tenants. UK national’s right to sell their existing property in the EU will remain unchanged and the property tax they pay on their properties will not be affected by the UK leaving the EU.

Some Member States have laws which govern property and land purchasing that differentiate between their own citizens, EU citizens and Third Country Nationals when purchasing property. Individuals considering purchasing a property in an EU Member State should check with local authorities to confirm how these laws apply to them.

The British Government is engaging actively with the Government of Zambia on the drought affecting large parts of Zambia to ensure assistance is provided to the many Zambians facing food insecurity.

On 29^th August, the Department for International Development’s (DFID) visiting Director for West and Southern Africa met with the Zambian Minister of Finance and raised the allocation of resources for the drought response. The Head of Office for DFID Zambia and the British High Commissioner also met with the Vice President last month and encouraged Zambia to request international emergency assistance to scale up the response. DFID is in close contact with Zambia’s Disaster Management Response Unit, the United Nations, and international Non-Governmental Organisations on the ground. The UK is planning to provide support to respond through Emergency Cash Transfers and treatment of acute malnutrition in the worst affected areas.