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Written Answers to Questions

Thursday 22 June 1989

HOME DEPARTMENT

Kurdish Refugees

Mr. Frank Field : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will place a copy of his reply to Charter 87 on the Government's treatment of Kurd refugees in the Library.

Mr. Renton : I hope to be able to reply shortly to Charter 87's letter of 8 June and will place a copy of that reply in the Library.

Punishment in the Community

Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will list all those organisations and individuals who responded to the Green Paper "Punishment, Custody in the Community", Cm. 424 and indicate which of them were in favour and which against (a) direct payment of compensation awards to victims of crime via court funds, (b) mediation by the probation service, (c) alterations of the minimum 40 hours for community service, (d) increasing the maximum period for attending a day centre, (e) greater use of tracking, (f) giving courts powers to require offenders to stay at home, (g) negative restrictions in probation orders, (h) judicial supervision of the proposed supervision and restriction order, (i) increasing the age limit for the juvenile court to 18 years, (j) giving magistrates or GPs the power to determine in which courts 16 to 20-year- olds should be heard, and (k) the setting up of a new organisation to take responsibilities for the arrangement of punishment in the community ;

(2) if he will make copies of the responses of the organisations and individuals who have responded to the Green Paper "Punishment, Custody in the Community", Cm. 424 available to researchers and other interested bodies.

Mr. John Patten : The main organisations that responded to the Green Paper "Punishment, Custody and the Community" were set out in reply to a question from the hon. Member for St. Helens, South (Mr. Bermingham) on 2 May. It is for those who responded to decide whether to make their comments available more widely.

Remand System

Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will list all those organisations and individuals who responded to the Green Paper, "Private Sector Involvement in the Remand System" Cm. 434 and indicating which of them were in favour and which against (a) privately managed secure bail hostels (b) the privatisation of remand prisons and (c) the privatisation of escort services ;


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(2) if he will make copies of the organisations and individuals who have responded to the Green Paper, "Private Sector Involvement in the Remand System" Cm. 434 available to researchers and other interested bodies.

Mr. Douglas Hogg : Eighty five organisations and individuals submitted comments on the Green Paper. These are listed as follows. Copies of the responses (except that from one organisation which commented in confidence) were placed in the Library when my right hon. Friend made his statement of 1 March at columns 277-78. A wide range of views was expressed on many aspects of the issues raised in the Green Paper, and it would be misleading to attempt to summarise the responses in the form requested. The responses are available for inspection on application to the Remands Unit, Home Office, Room 723, Thames house south, Millbank SW1P 4QJ.

Organisations and individuals who responded to the Green paper "Private Sector Involvement in the Remand System" (Cm. 434) 1. Mr. J. Hunter, Governor, Her Majesty's Prison Highpoint 2. Mr. A. Samuels, Barrister

3. Sir Leon Radzinowicz (letter to The Times )

4. Mr. E. Knapman, Assistant Chief Probation Officer, Northamptonshire Probation Service

5. Correctional Medical Systems Inc. (USA)

6. Mr. P. E. Ford, Grade VI, Her Majesty's Remand Centre Feltham 7. Mr. D. Waplington, Head of New Entrant Prison Officer Training, Prison Service College, Wakefield

8. Mr. A. Booth, Grade VII, Her Majesty's Prison Gloucester 9. The Detention Corporation Limited

10. The Magistrates' Association

11. Mr. P. Turnbull and Mr. P. Quinn, Her Majesty's Remand Centre Risley

12. Northumbria Probation Service

13. Central Council of Magistrates' Courts Committees

14. Justices' Clerks' Society

15. Mrs. M. McCarey

16. Trades Union Congress

17. National Schizophrenia Fellowship

18. International Hospitals Group Limited

19. Conservative Group of Councillors on Lewisham Council 20. Dr. Keith Soothill, Member of Board of Visitors, Her Majesty's Prison Preston

21. Association of Chief Police Officers

22. Police Superintendents' Association

23. National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders

24. West Yorkshire Probation Committee

25. Bedfordshire Probation Committee

26. Securicor Limited

27. National Union of Civil and Public Servants (Lord Chancellor's Department Group)

28. Berkshire Probation Service

29. Institute of Psychiatry

30. Mrs. B. Bingham, Education Officer, HMP Latchmere House 31. Professor Anthony Bottoms

32. Association of County Councils

33. Tarmac Construction

34. Standing Conference of Clerks to Magistrates' Courts Committees

35. Home Office Trade Union Side

36. Board of Visitors Co-ordinating Committee

37. The Education Department, Her Majesty's prison Holloway 38. Dr. David Wilson, Her Majesty's prison Grendon

39. National Association of Probation Officers

40. Association of Chief Officers of Probation

41. Howard League for Penal Reform

42. Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Probation

43. Mr. John Greenway MP : Selsdon Group Paper

44. Prison Reform Trust


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45. The Mothers' Union

46. Prison Governors' Association

47. Mr. C. Lloyd, Member of Board of Visitors, Her Majesty's prison Sudbury

48. Mr. T. C. Newell, Governor--Her Majesty's prison and Remand centre Winchester

49. Police Federation

50. Lord Chancellor's Department Trade Union Side

51. United Kingdom Detention Services

52. The Law Society

53. London Diocesan Board for Social Responsibility

54. Metropolitan Police

55. Prison Officers' Association

56. Prison Service Chaplaincy

57. Contract Prisons PLC

And the Boards of Visitors at the following establishments : 58. HMYCC Aylesbury

59. HMP Bedford

60. HMP Birmingham

61. HMP Brixton

62. HMP Cookham Wood

63. HMYOI Dover

64. HMP Erlestoke

65. HMP and YCC Exeter

66. HMYCC and RC Feltham

67. HMP and YCC Grendon/HMP Spring Hill

68. HMYCC Hatfield

69. HMP Haverigg Camp

70. HMP Hindley

71. HMP Holloway

72. HMP Hull

73. HMP Latchmere House

74. HMP Lewes

75. HMP Leyhill

76. HMRC Low Newton

77. HMP Nottingham

78. HMP Preston

79. HMP Reading

80. HMRC Risley

81. HMP Sudbury

82. HMP Swaleside


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83. HMP The Verne

84. HMYOI Whatton

85. HMP and RC Winchester

Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he proposes to take to ensure that 15 and 16-year-olds cease to be remanded in custody to prison department establishments.

Mr. Douglas Hogg : We are considering the present arrangements for juvenile remands in the light of responses to last year's consultation paper on the unruliness certification procedure and other representations.

Hull Prison

Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to improve facilities in B wing of Hull prison ; and what resources are being provided for this task.

Mr. Douglas Hogg : A programme of work is in hand to improve conditions in B wing at Her Majesty's prison, Hull. To date, the bathing areas have been upgraded and the wing has been redecorated throughout. In addition, a library has been provided and existing classrooms extended ; these are now used for association purposes in the evening. Fire precautions have also been improved, and polycarbonate windows are now being installed. The work to date has cost approximately £130,000.

Prisons

Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) occupied places in open prisons, (b) unoccupied places in open prisons and (c) prisoners categorised as category D but held in closed prisons, there are in each prison department region.

Mr. Douglas Hogg : The information requested is as follows :


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                       Population of open                          Number of unoccupied                        Number of category D                       

                       prisons<1>                                  places in open                              prisoners in closed                        

                                             prisons<1>                                                        prisons<2><3>                              

Prison service region |Male                 |Female               |Male                 |Female                                                           

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Midland               |849                  |-                    |33                   |-                    |390                                        

North                 |958                  |315                  |52                   |35                   |550                                        

South East            |955                  |75                   |96                   |0                    |600                                        

South West            |591                  |-                    |3                    |-                    |370                                        

                      |-------              |-------              |-------              |-------              |-------                                    

Total                 |3,353                |390                  |184                  |35                   |1,910                                      

<1>On 9 June 1989. Open young offender institutions are not included.                                                                                     

<2>On 31 March 1989, the most recent date for which information is available. The figures are known to contain some inaccuracies.                         

<3>Males only. Females are not categorised in the same way as males.                                                                                      

Mr. Sheerman : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was (a) the average daily prison population and (b) the number of places in open prisons each year from 1966 to 1988.

Mr. Douglas Hogg : The information requested is published annually in the report of the work of the prison service (appendix 4 of the latest issue, for 1987-88, Cm. 516).

Television (Scotland)

Mrs. Ray Michie : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much money has been raised through the ITV levy from Scottish companies for S4C in each of the years since S4C was established.


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Mr. Renton : S4C is not funded from levy income. All ITV companies pay a fourth channel subscription to the Independent Broadcasting Authority, which is used to fund both Channel 4 and S4C. The IBA determines the proportion of this subscription to go to S4C, which may be up to 20 per cent.

Fourth channel subscription payments by Scottish ITV companies in the years since S4C was established were as follows :


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