Question
Victims should not have to make their lives smaller, looking over their shoulder because offenders are free to roam; it is the offender whose freedoms should be limited. Will the Minister be more ambitious in using restriction zones, which keep an offender within a defined area, rather than simply banning them from particular areas, as with exclusion zones? If victims are to feel safe, tags must be fitted as they walk out of the prison gate, not weeks later. Will that be in place in January, as intended?
Answer
My hon. Friend is absolutely right, and I thank her for her assiduous work on all these subjects. As she says, we are rightly rolling out world-leading restriction zones, ensuring that it is offenders who are restricted, where that is appropriate. Indeed, we have the exclusion zones as well, where they are appropriate, and obviously these decisions are made by probation practitioners. She rightly highlights the work we are doing to accelerate the roll-out of tagging at prisons to ensure the safety and security of the system and so that tags are installed at the prison gate as soon as possible.
Verdict: AMBER (47/100)
The reply directly answers the first part of the question, describing how restriction zones are already used where appropriate, how exclusion zones are used too, and that probation practitioners make these decisions. It only partly answers the second part: it confirms tags will be fitted as prisoners leave, but says this will happen 'as soon as possible' and never addresses the January target the question asked about. Because the timing is left vague and the January date is unaddressed, the asker would likely need to follow up for a firm date.
How we got there
| Question item | Coverage | Specificity | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Will the Government be more ambitious in using restriction zones, which keep an offender within a defined area, rather than relying on exclusion zones that ban offenders from particular areas? | Addressed | Direct | The reply states that restriction zones are already being rolled out 'where that is appropriate', that exclusion zones are used where appropriate too, and that probation practitioners make these decisions, which together give the government's position on the restriction-versus-exclusion balance. It does not explicitly say it will be 'more ambitious', but the question is answered by describing the current policy and who decides. |
| Will tags be fitted to offenders as they leave prison, rather than weeks later, and will this be in place in January as intended? | Partially Addressed | Hedged | The reply commits to installing tags at the prison gate, which addresses the 'fitted as they leave prison' part, but it gives only 'as soon as possible' rather than a timeline and never mentions the January target the question asks about. The 'in place in January as intended' element is therefore left unanswered. |