PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
(27 November 2024)

The department knows growing up with a parent or primary carer in prison can have a devastating impact on a child’s life chances. The government has a key mission to break down the barriers to opportunity for every child, which is why the department has committed to identifying children of prisoners and ensuring they get the support they need to thrive.

The department acknowledges the complexities of this issue and the wide range of family circumstances there may be. We must consider the implications the imprisonment of a child’s primary carer has on the child, regardless of whether they have legal responsibility for the child and/or are a blood relative. This is why the Better Outcomes through Linked Data (BOLD) programme report, published by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) in July this year, used multiple data sources to capture the breadth of parental relationships.

The MoJ is leading on the work to better identify children with a parent or primary carer in prison. At present, alongside the department, the MoJ is working to determine how to effectively identify these children so they are provided with the support they need to thrive. Parental imprisonment is a sensitive issue, and we are working with a range of stakeholders to ensure this is handled in the most child-centred, trauma-informed and age-appropriate way. Exact details of how this will work in practice are to be confirmed.

The department will make sure it considers how best to support all children affected by this issue as part of its wider reforms to children’s social care. We are clear that the support these children receive should be based on their individual needs, not solely the characteristic of having a parent or primary carer in prison.