Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Justice

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws on 2015-10-05.

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how many people aged (1) 21 and over, and (2) under 21, are currently in prison for a terrorist offence; of those, (a) how many have been released on licence since January 2014, and (b) how many have undergone a programme of resettlement or deradicalisation; and what information they have on the effectiveness of resettlement or deradicalisation programmes.

Lord Faulks

As of Friday 23 October, there were 94 prisoners convicted of or on remand for offences under Terrorism Act legislation in prisons in England and Wales. Of these, 85 are 21 and over, and 9 are under 21. Of these 94 prisoners, 2 have been released and subsequently recalled to prison since January 2014.

Of the 94, 46 prisoners have undertaken the Extremism Risk Guidelines assessment. These assessments only occur when a prisoner has been convicted and settled in to prison. The Secretary of State has asked the department to review its approach to dealing with Islamist extremism in prisons and probation. This will be supported by external expertise and will sit alongside the cross government work currently underway on developing de-radicalisation programmes.