A Labour MP has called for a register to be kept of children whose parents are in prison, so they can be given extra help.
Kerry McCarthy, Labour MP for Bristol East, spoke out during a Commons debate on January 23 concerning children who are absent from school. She said: “One reason why children might drop out of the school system and … go under the radar is because they have had a parent sentenced to imprisonment.
“The charity Children Heard and Seen tells us that we know exactly how many Labradors are in this country, but have no idea how many children are affected by parental imprisonment. We know it is a six-figure sum.” She suggested that “we could use a register to try to get some data so that those children get the help they need, whether that is mental or physical support”.
Whilst no official count is kept of the number of children with a parent in prison, the Government has estimated that 200,000 children in England and Wales are affected each year by having one of their parents in prison. Studies have suggested that the children of prisoners suffer multiple disadvantages, and that two-thirds of prisoners’ sons go on to offend themselves.
Last year, then-Prisons Minister Damian Hinds, asked in Parliament how many children had a parent in prison, replied: “The Ministry of Justice’s most comprehensive prison population data suggests over the course of a year, approximately 200,000 children may be affected by a parent being in or going to prison.” He also pointed out that the 2021 Prisons Strategy White Paper includes a pledge to improve the quality of the data collected on children impacted by parental imprisonment, and to improve the support provided.
Hinds said at the time that changes had been made to the screening questionnaire which people are asked when they arrive in prison, to allow for the collection of data about how many primary carers are in custody and how many children under the age of 18 are affected by their imprisonment. He added: “We will explore data sharing to improve our understanding of the number of children with parents in prison and how parental incarceration impacts children’s outcomes, including education, employment and future offending.”
For years, charities and academics have cited an estimate of 200,000 children when discussing the issue of parental imprisonment. However, research published in 2019 by Crest Advisory – which claimed to be more accurate, including taking account of an up-to-date age profile of the prison population – estimated the number of children affected by parental imprisonment at 312,000. Of these, Crest said, 17,000 had their mother in prison, and 295,000 their father.
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