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Fine Defaulters
Ms Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners in England and Wales were serving sentences for fine defaults at the latest available date, given (a) as an absolute number and (b) as a percentage of the prison population, and broken down by gender.
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Mr. Peter Lloyd : Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from A. J. Butler to Ms Joan Ruddock, dated 26 May 1994 : The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Question asking how many prisoners in England and Wales were serving sentences for fine defaults at the latest available date, given (a) as an absolute number and (b) as a percentage of the prison population, and broken down by gender.
On 31 March 1994 there were 585 fine defaulters (557 Males and 28 Females) held in Prison Service establishments in England and Wales. They accounted for 1.2 per cent. of the total prison population (including prisoners held in police cells). Male fine defaulters accounted for 1.2 per cent. of the male prison population ; the equivalent female percentage was 1.6 per cent.
Murder Cases
Mr. Austin-Walker : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will make a statement on the matters referred to him by the hon. Member for Woolwich in respect of the Rolan Adams and Stephen Lawrence murder cases ;
(2) what evidence he has seen to suggest that a police officer was involved in discrediting the evidence of an eye witness to the murder of Stephen Lawrence ;
(3) what was the involvement with key witnesses in the Stephen Lawrence and Rolan Adams murder cases of the police officer whose name has been supplied to him ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : I understand from the Commissioner that he is considering information which has been supplied to him in connection with the matter referred to by the hon. Member.
Deportation
Mrs. Roche : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy to publish reports of investigating officers into complaints about excessive force by the employees of private security firms during deportations ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Charles Wardle : No. It is not normal practice to publish investigating officers' reports.
Prisoners' Compacts
Ms Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in which prisons in England and Wales prisoners' compacts are in operation ; what is the procedure by which the content of the individual compact is decided ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from A. J. Butler to Ms Joan Ruddock, dated 26 May 1994 : The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Question
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asking which prisons in England and Wales prisoners' compacts are in operation ; what is the procedure by which the content of the individual compact is decided ; and if he will make a statement. Listed below are those establishments which, in June 1993, the latest date for which the information is available, were operating prisoners' compacts :Blantyre House
Brinsford
Bristol (Pilot scheme in one wing)
Canterbury (Unconvicted wing and Resettlement wing)
Cardiff (Remand wing)
Deerbolt (Pilot scheme)
Drake Hall
Erlestoke (Education Department)
Haslar
Kirklevington Grange
Leyhill
Lindholme (One wing)
Low Newton
Manchester (Education Department)
Moorland
Swinfen Hall
Thorn Cross
Thorpe Arch
Werrington
Wetherby
Compacts were also being experimented with at the following establishments :
Bullwood Hall
Downview
Frankland
Hull
Latchmere House
Morton Hall
North Sea Camp
Norwich
Rudgate
Swaleside
Usk/Prescoed
Wakefield
Whitemoor
Wolds
The procedure by which the content of the individual compact is decided is a matter for the governor of the establishment concerned, taking account of advice which was issued in December 1993. This set out a model prisoner compact and advice on developing a compact locally.
Prison Suicides
Ms Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) male and (b) female suicides there were in prisons in 1993-94.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from A. J. Butler to Ms Joan Ruddock, dated 26 May 1994 : The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Question about how many (a) male and (b) female suicides there were in prisons in 1993-94.
The information is shown in the table below :
Year |Male |female ---------------------------- 1993 |46 |1 1994 |16 |0
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Prisons (Cognitive Skills Programmes)
Ms Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in which prisons in England and Wales cognitive skills programmes are available to prisoners ; and how many prisoners (a) commenced and (b) completed the programme in each prison in (i) 1992-93 and (ii) 1993-94.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from A. J. Butler to Ms Joan Ruddock, dated 26 May 1994 : The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Question about which prisons in England and Wales provide cognitive skills programmes and the numbers of prisoners commencing and completing the programme in each prison.
The centrally managed cognitive skills programme was introduced in the financial year 1993-94. Pilot programmes were introduced in 11 establishments.
1. Piloting Reasoning and Rehabilitation cognitive skills programme :
HMYOI Aylesbury
HMYOI Brinsford
HMYOI Full Sutton
HMYOI Glen Parva
HMYOI Grendon
HMP Holloway
HMYOI Lancaster Farms
HMP Leyhill
HMYOI Swinfen Hall
2. Piloting In-house cognitive skills programme :
HMYOI Lancaster Farms
HMP Wakefield
HMP Wandsworth
3. Prisoners completing the programme 1993-94 are as follows:
Establishment |Started |Completed
----------------------------------------------------------------
Reasoning and Rehabilitation Cognitive Skills Programme
HMYOI Aylesbury |8 |6
HMYOI Brinsford |22 |11
HMP Full Sutton |17 |<1>7
HMYOI Glen Parva |7 |3
HMYOI Grendon |10 |8
HMP Holloway |17 |13
HMYOI Lancaster Farms |8 |4
HMP Leyhill |8 |6
HMYOI Swinfen Hall |7 |5
In-house Cognitive Skills Programme
HMYOI Lancaster Farms |10 |8
HMP Wakefield |36 |31
HMP Wandsworth |9 |7
|-- |--
Total |159 |109
Prisoners (AIDS)
Mr. Alex Carlile : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 11 May, Official Report, column 161, to what extent doctors in the prison service are expected to take into account the risk of the AIDS virus being spread by the sharing of heroin needles when deciding whether to prescribe methadone.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
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Letter from A. J. Butler to Mr. Alex Carlile, dated 26 May 1994 :The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Question asking the Secretary of State for the Home Department, to what extent doctors in the prison service are expected to take into account the risk of the AIDS virus being spread by the sharing of heroin needles when deciding whether to prescribe methadone.
The decision on whether to prescribe methadone to prisoners is a clinical judgment at which prison medical officers are expected to arrive in the same way as medical practitioners do in the community outside prison. This means that they would take into account all the relevant factors including HIV and AIDS. Prison medical officers have the clinical freedom to prescribe pharmaceutically or otherwise to protect the health of individual prisoners. This has been made clear in all HIV/AIDS training in prisons and was recently reinforced by a letter from the Director of Health Care in the Prison Service in a letter to all prison doctors on the 18 May 1994. A copy of this letter is enclosed.
Following is the letter referred to in Mr. Butler's communication :
Dear Doctor
Transmission of HIV within the prison context--
The first recorded case of HIV transmission within the English Prison Service has been reported and confirmed. The transmission was by sexual contact. Cases of transmission reported from Glenochil Young Offender Centre in Scotland last year were caused by injecting with contaminated needles.
I draw this case to your attention to remind you of the need to continue to give high priority to HIV/AIDS awareness, and to have in place a strategy for the management of HIV/AIDS in your prison. All prisons should have HIV multi-disciplinary teams as outlined in Circular Instruction 30/1991. Following the completion of the 1993 Training Programme prisons should also have trained HIV counsellors and trained HIV care and support officers who are available to develop education programmes and offer advice to staff and prisoners. The multi-disciplinary teams need to consider contingency plans for HIV emergencies including outbreaks of HIV, hepatitis B or other infectious diseases related to HIV. The medical officers, trained counsellors and care and support officers must be able to provide support and advice if such an incident occurs in each prison. Doctors have particular responsibility to communicate relavant medical information promptly to their medical colleagues both inside and outside of the Service. Where transmission of HIV occurring within the prison context is documented, it is important that this information is provided to the health care adviser and the Directorate of Health Care. The names of the infected individuals need not be divulged.
It is important that liaison between the doctor in the prison, the health care adviser and the Directorate is achieved in order that the most appropriate action is taken, and that any relevant questions which may be raised in the media or in Parliament can be dealt with appropriately.
Doctors have a responsibility to ensure that any person known to have HIV infection has access to regular medical monitoring (both clinical and laboratory). This is outlined in the Circular Instruction. Regular medical monitoring must include counselling on safer sexual behaviour and safer drugs use to minimise the risk of spread of HIV infection.
Doctors have the clinical freedom to prescribe pharmaceutically or otherwise to protect the health of individual prisoners. Legal advice is that doctors who so prescribe for their patients with appropriate advice, in the exercise of their clinical judgment, could expect protection in law for doing so.
Any queries about this DDL should be addressed to Dr. Robin Ilbert or Mr. L. Curran.
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Sentences (Cost)
Ms Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the average cost per month of (a) keeping someone in prison and (b) sentencing someone to community-based penalties in (i) 1992-93 and (ii) 1993-94.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : In 1992-93 the average monthly net operating cost per prisoner place was £2,019 and the cost of community sentences between £104 and £108.
In 1993-94 the average monthly cost of community sentences was between £106 and £110. Figures for the monthly net operating cost per prisoner place for 1993-94 are not yet available.
Restraint Use
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the ethnic origin of those (a) prison inmates and (b) persons in police custody on whom restraints were used during 1993.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from A. J. Butler to Mr. Alun Michael, dated 26 May 1994 :
The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Question asking what was the ethnic origin of those (a) prison inmates and (b) persons in police custody on whom restraints were used during 1993. I am afraid that the information is not available centrally.
Pre-sentence Reports
Mrs. Roche : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many representations his Department has received regarding the proposal in the Criminal Justice and Public Order Bill to abolish the requirement for a pre-sentence report before imposing custody or a community sentence ; and how many of those representations were in favour of abolition.
Mr. Maclean : Since this proposal was brought forward in the Criminal Justice and Public Order Bill, the Home Office has received 22 representations, all opposing it.
Prison Sanitation
Mrs. Roche : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prison cells currently have access to sanitation ; and what proportion this is of all prison cells.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from A. J. Butler to Mrs. Barbara Roche, dated 26 May 1994 :
The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Question about the number of prison cells which have access to sanitation.
A significant number of prisoners are held in non cellular accommodation, in units which we describe as cubicular. A small
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