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Departmental Staff
Mr. Grocott: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff are employed by his Department; and what proportion of them are employed in each of the standard regions.
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Mr. Howard: The information requested is as follows:
Staff in Post by Region
|Total (Including |Total (Excluding
Mandate Region |Industrial staff)|Percentage |Industrial staff)|Percentage
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
East Anglia |3,163 |6.18 |2,897 |6.00
East Midlands |3,278 |6.40 |2,982 |6.18
North West |5,670 |11.10 |5,388 |11.16
Northern |2,814 |5.49 |2,636 |5.46
Northern Ireland |96 |0.19 |96 |0.20
Scotland |298 |0.58 |298 |.62
South East |22,973 |44.85 |22,174 |45.93
South West |3,394 |6.63 |3,025 |6.27
Wales |1,114 |2.17 |1,039 |2.15
West Midlands |3,072 |7.23 |3,362 |6.96
Yorkshire and Humberside |4,718 |9.21 |4,379 |9.07
|------- |------- |------- |-------
Grand Total |51,220 |100.00 |48,276 |100.00
Salford Prison
Ms Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what is the timetable for the site purchase, planning, building and opening of the proposed new prison in Salford;
(2) whether the proposed new prison at Salford will be planned, built and run by private sector companies.
(3) how many prisoners will be held at the proposed new prison at Salford, announced on 18 October.
(4) whether the proposed new prison in Salford, announced on 18 October, will be one of the six new prisons announced by the Home Secretary in October 1993.
Mr. Michael Forsyth: Responsibility for these matters 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 Derek Lewis to Ms Joan Ruddock, dated 24 October 1994:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Questions about the announcement on 18 October by the Prison Service of plans to build a new category B prison in Greater Manchester.
Discussions are taking place about the purchase of the site and about the planning implications, but a formal planning notice has not yet been submitted to the relevant planning authority, Salford City Council. Subject to the outcome of these discussions, it is envisaged that tenders could be invited for the prison's construction by the summer of 1995, which would enable the prison to open before the end of the financial year 1998 99.
Our initial assessment is that the site is large enough to accommodate up to 800 prisoners, but the level of occupancy will be one of the issues for discussion with the planning authority. This will be one of the six prisons announced by the Home Secretary on 2 September 1993, for which the design, construction, management and finance will be contracted out to the private sector.
Criminal Justice
Mr. David Porter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy to introduce a system similar to the three-strikes-and-out rule in criminal justice in the United States of America; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maclean: It has always been our policy that, except in the special case of murder, it should be for the courts to decide the appropriate sentence in individual cases within the maximum sentence set by Parliament.
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We will of course, however, watch developments in penal policy in the United States with interest, and take careful note of any lessons that emerge.Crown Courts
Mr. David Porter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy to allow police authorities to charge against Crown court budgets for the use of police officer time in attending Crown courts; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maclean: No. The Government have no plans to introduce such charges.
Mr. David Porter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to make more efficient use of police time in attending Crown courts; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Maclean: The police research study group report "Court Attendance by Police Officers" identified a number of good practices which could lead to the more efficient use of officer time at court. These will be taken forward through the pre-trial issues steering group whose members include representatives from the Home Office, police, Crown Prosecution Service and the Lord Chancellor's Department.
Pre-Trial Hearings
Mr. David Porter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on progress towards making disclosures by the defence match disclosures by the prosecution in all pre- trial hearings.
Mr. Maclean: I am not at present in a position to add to what was said on this matter earlier this year in the interim Government response to the report of the Royal Commission on criminal justice. The Government are inclined to think that it will be necessary to introduce a new statutory regime to govern both prosecution and defence disclosure, but I cannot yet announce whether or when proposals for legislation will be introduced.
Prisoners (Telephone Calls)
Ms Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the current arrangements for prisoners of category B security status or lower, with regard to private telephone calls.
Mr. Michael Forsyth: Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the director general of the Prison
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Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given. Letter from Derek Lewis to Ms Joan Ruddock, dated 24 October 1994:The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the current arrangements for private telephone calls by prisoners of category B status or lower.
Following the installation of cardphones in all establishments, prisoners may make private telephone calls in accordance with guidance to Governors set out in Circular Instruction 21/92. A copy of this is in the House of Commons Library. All calls are paid for by prisoners through the purchase of phonecards.
Only in exceptional compassionate circumstances where it is not appropriate to use a cardphone, or where there is an urgent need to contact a legal or consular representative, are prisoners allowed to use official telephones. For foreign nationals only, the Prison Service Operating Standards provide they may be permitted a short call of no more than five minutes duration once a month to their home country using an official telephone, if they have not received a visit from either family or friends in the preceding month.
Under the guidelines in Circular Instruction 50/88 on the use of official telephones, a copy of which is in the House of Commons Library, prisoners are normally expected to pay for calls made on an official telephone. This is except where the amount involved does not justify the effort of collection, or where the Governor is satisfied that the inmate has insufficient funds to meet the cost of the call.
Prison Job Clubs
Ms Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what (a) number and (b) percentage of released prisoners have found jobs as a result of the work of prison job clubs at the latest available date;
(2) what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of prison job clubs, as compared with job clubs outside prisons.
Mr. Michael Forsyth: Responsibility for these matters 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 Derek Lewis to Ms Joan Ruddock, dated 24 October 1994:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Questions on the number and percentage of released prisoners who have found jobs as a result of the work of prison job clubs, and on what assessment has been made of the effectiveness of prison job clubs, as compared with those outside prisons.
Information on the number and percentage of released prisoners who have found jobs as a result of the work of prison job clubs is not collected centrally at present and there are currently no plans to do so. Figures have, however, been obtained from the Employment Service in respect of the job clubs at Holloway and Pentonville Prisons covering the months of April to August this year. They show that, of the 27 prisoners who used the Holloway job club 12 (45 per cent.) found jobs. At Pentonville 46 prisoners used the job club and 30 (66 per cent.) found jobs. These figures compare with a rate of approximately 45 per cent. for job clubs in the community.
The Prison Service has made no comparative assessment of the effectiveness of prison job clubs. However, following their establishment in 1991 with assistance from the Employment Service of job clubs in the two London prisons mentioned earlier, the Employment Service carried out its own evaluation. This concluded that prison job clubs can provide effective help in getting jobs for people nearing release from prison. On that basis the Prison Service has, together with the Employment Service and other organisations, continued to develop further jobsearch assistance for prisoners. Increasing the number of establishments operating prison job clubs to at least eleven by next April is one of a number of initiatives aimed at this. This is in keeping with the commitment in the Prison Service's "Statement of Purpose, Visions, Goals and Values" to help prisoners prepare for their release into the community.
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Hostels
Ms Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will publish the composited report on national conditions in hostels which was undertaken by the central building services unit.
Mr. Nicholas Baker: Each hostel in the survey has received its own report and assessment, and a report of general findings will be sent to probation and voluntary managing committees by the end of the year.
Ms Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what criteria were used by his Department in drawing up the A, B and C lists of hostels derived from the hostel conditions survey; (2) if he will publish the A, B and C lists of hostels which have been derived from the hostel conditions survey.
Mr. Nicholas Baker: The main criteria for the three lists were the amount of space per resident, the proportion of single rooms, running costs and the likely costs of repairs and refurbishment to bring the hostel to an acceptable standard.The three lists are as follows:
List A Hostels assessed as unsuitable for economic refurbishment to a standard which would extend their minimum life as approved hostels to 50 years: Name |Location ----------------------------------------------------- Highfield House |Accrington Carpenter House |Birmingham Cecil Road |Boscombe Walmer Villas |Bradford Hoole House |Elswick North Road |Kew Cardigan House |Leeds Howden House |Leeds Charnwood Lodge |Leicester Channing House |Liverpool Westbourne House North |London E7 Shenley Road |<1>London SE5 Bedford Hill |<1>London SW12 St Mungo's |London SW11 Southbank |Middlesborough Bridgewood House |Northampton Stone House |Northants Milton Keynes |Great Holm Lawson House |Plymouth Emroch House |Port Talbot The Grange |Purbrook Elizabeth Fry |Reading Lichfield Road |Stafford St Albans |Watford Wellesley House |Windsor Blackburn Hostel |Blackburn <1>Operates as one hostel
The following hostels were on list A but have now been closed: Name |Location ---------------------------------------------- Stoke Green |Coventry Fir Tree Grange |Durham Windyridge |Essex Dover Bail Hostel |Kent Hollywood Manor |Kent St. Vincents |London SE4 West Park |London SE9 Dudley Centre |Newton Abbot Centre 45 |Sheffield Bewsey Street |Warrington Marshall House |Wolverhampton
List B Hostels below standard but capable of economic refurbishment as approved hostels. Name |Location --------------------------------------------------------------- Ashley House |Bristol Meneghy House |Cambourne Bowling Green |Carlisle Elm Bank |Cleckheaton Burdett Lodge |Derby Astral House |Hucknell The Cottage |Ipswich Kenilworth Road |Leamington Spa Ripon House |Leeds St. Johns Hostel |Leeds Howard House |Leicester Wordsworth House |Lincoln Southwood Hostel |Liverpool Adelaide House |Liverpool Seafield Lodge |London NW2 Corfton Road |London W5 St. Edmunds |London W16 Tulse Hill |London SW2 Napier Road |Luton Wenger House |Newcastle under Lyme John Boag House |Norwich Southwell House |Nottingham Trent House |Nottingham Peterborough |Peterborough St. Leonards |Reading Aldridge |West Midlands Braley House |Worcester Plas-y-Wern |Wrexham
List C Hostels assessed as broadly satisfactory Name |Location --------------------------------------------------------------- Felmores |Basildon Beckenham Road |Beckenham Crowley House |Birmingham Elliott House |Birmingham Welford House |Birmingham Bridge House |Bristol Brigstocke Road |Bristol St. Josephs |Eccles Dickson House |Fareham Queens Road |Hull Lightfoot House |Ipswich Fleming House |Maidstone Manor Lodge |Old Windsor Maudsley House |Oxford Katherine Price Hughes |London N5 Camden House |London NW1 Kelly House |London SW1 Withington Road |Manchester Ozanam House |Newcastle upon Tyne St. Christophers House |Newcastle upon Tyne Norfolk Park |Sheffield Weston Hostel |Weymouth Wellington Road |Wolverhampton Ellison House |Inner London
Ms Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what additional resources will be given to the police to deal with the enforcement of summonses and warrants issued for the non-compliance of community orders and hostel rules.
Mr. Maclean: No specific additional resources will be provided for this work. General police funding covers all operational activities and it is for chief officers to prioritise tasks, taking account of the resources available.
Ms Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if hostel occupancy figures are determined by beds committed or beds occupied overnight.
Mr. Nicholas Baker: Hostel occupancy is measured by beds occupied as a proportion of total approved places.
Ms Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how the hostels on the A list, drawn up from the hostel conditions survey, will be disposed of.
Mr. Nicholas Baker: The Home Office is discussing the future of List A hostels with the probation committees and voluntary management committees concerned. Although the buildings concerned may not have a long term future, they may be able to operate satisfactorily for some time.
Ms Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the occupancy rate for the hostels at (a) Cecil road, Boscombe, (b) Walmer villas, Bradford, (c) Cardigan house, Leeds, (d) Howden house, Leeds, (e) Canning house, Liverpool, (f) Westbourne house, London E7, (g) Shenley road, London SE5, (h) Bedford hill, London SW12, (i) The Stone house, Northamptonshire, (j) Lawson house, Plymouth, (k) the Grange, Purbrook, (l) Elizabeth Fry, Reading and (m) Wellesley house, Windsor, at the latest date for which figures are available.
Mr. Nicholas Baker: The occupancy rate of these hostels for the month of August 1994 is set out. Shenley road, London SE5 and Bedford hill, London SW12, whilst being two separate properties, constitute a single hostel known as Bedford/Shenley probation/bail hostel.
|Per cent.
------------------------------------------------
Cecil Road, Boscombe |84
Walmer Villas, Bradford |81
Cardigan House, Leeds |91
Howden House, Leeds |84
Canning House, Liverpool |61
Westbourne House, London E7 |72
Bedford/Shenley, London SE5 |62
Stone House, Northampton |85
Lawson House, Plymouth |81
The Grange, Purbrook |80
Elizabeth Fry, Reading |69
Wellesley House, Windsor |48
Ms Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the total number of places available in bail hostels; and what will be the number in 12 months' time.
Mr. Nicholas Baker: There are at present 2,474 places available. Following the 1993 public expenditure survey, provision was planned for an increase to 2,560 by 31 March next year and 2,680 by 31 March 1996: these plans are subject to review in the current survey.
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Ms Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what additional resources will be made available to hostels on the B list, drawn up from the hostel conditions survey, to assist them with refurbishment.
Mr. Nicholas Baker: The Home Office plans to finance the refurbishment of these hostels as resources permit. A capital grant budget is maintained for the refurbishment or redevelopment of approved hostels premises or sites: provision in the current financial year is £4 million.
Ms Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of persons accepted for hostel places are actually remanded into custody.
Mr. Nicholas Baker: Figures on this are not held centrally.
Ms Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what advice and assistance will be given to hostel managers to increase successful completion rates for hostel residents from 48 to 70 per cent. in 1995.
Mr. Nicholas Baker: The framework within which hostels operate is given by the "National Standards for the Supervision of Offenders within the Community". A revised draft is currently subject to consultation. There are plans to issue a hostels handbook giving additional more detailed guidance for all hostel staff in the new year.
Ms Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will remove the discretion of hostel managers to report minor breaches of hostel rules to the police and the courts in the final version of the national standards.
Mr. Nicholas Baker: Draft revised national standards are currently the subject of consultation, and my right hon. and learned Friend will wish to consider any representations before deciding the wording of the final version.
Asylum
Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will place in the Library a copy of the rules of procedure adopted for the Executive committee of the Dublin convention, relating to the state responsible for determining an asylum application.
Mr. Nicholas Baker: The committee provided for in article 18 of the Dublin convention is required to determine its own rules of procedure. Draft rules are in preparation but they cannot be finally decided until the committee comes into existence on entry into force of the convention. I shall place a copy of the rules in the Library then.
Prison and Court Escort Service
Ms Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will announce the award of contracts for the prison and court escort services in (a) East Anglia, (b) Merseyside, (c) north Wales and (d) the north of England; and what is the proposed timetable for their implementation.
Mr. Michael Forsyth: 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 Derek Lewis to Ms Joan Ruddock, dated 24 October 1994:The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the announcing of the award of contracts for the prison and court escort services in various areas.
Tenders for the court escort and custody service in East Anglia (Area 4), the North West and North Wales (Area 6), and the North of England (Area 8) were received on 19 September and are being considered. The Prisons Board should make its decision on contract award by the end of the year.
All three areas will be phased in. It is currently planned that Area 4 will commence contracted operation in July 1995 and will be fully operational by January 1996; Area 6 will start in August 1995 and be fully operational by February 1996; and Area 8 will commence in September 1995 and be fully operational by March 1996.
Bail
Ms Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will be publishing the research into bail procedures which was submitted earlier in the year.
Mr. Maclean: The recommendations for best practice in the bail process arising from a report on research which was carried out last year are currently being studied. Once decisions have been taken on those recommendations we expect the report to be published.
Woolf Report
Ms Ruddock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made to date on each of the recommendations of the Woolf report; and what are the timetables for future implementation.
Mr. Michael Forsyth: 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 Derek Lewis to Ms Joan Ruddock, dated 24 October 1994:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the progress made on the recommendations of the Woolf Report and the timetable for future implementation.
As you know, the major recommendations in the Woolf Report have been a key priority for the Prison Service. A summary of the progress made is set out below.
Improve security
Prison Security Act now in force
Refurbishment to higher standards (long term programme) Lakes/Hadfield proposals; most of the accepted recommendations have now been implemented.
Incidents in private sector prisons now managed from Incident Management Suite
Programme for installing X-ray machines completed in all prisons holding Category A prisoners
New guidance issued on escorting prisoners
New standard intelligence--handling system in place in all prison security departments
Guidance on best practice in tackling bullying issued August 1993; research project is underway
Visitor recognition schemes being trialed to improve security on visits
Cognitive skills programmes already running prisons and being piloted in 21 more
Regime monitoring system extended from April 1992
Admissions guide on reception and induction arrangements issued November 1992
Sentence planning implemented for prisoners sentenced to four years or more after October 1992, and all sentenced Category A prisoners
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Sentence planning extended at the end of 1993 to prisoners sentenced to four years or more before October 1992, and to those newly sentenced to one to four yearsA full review of sentence planning--its objectives and supporting systems-- is underway
Work commenced on improving arrangements for management of research
New guidance for juveniles issued October 1992
Provide Code of Standards
Prison Service Operating Standards published April 1994 Improve relationships with prisoners
Prisoners information pack issued
Changes in BOV role introduced on schedule
Prisons Ombudsman appointed April 1994
Improving standards of diets and food distribution in establishments
Improved guidance on recording racial incidents issued; major research project underway into how incidents are recorded and dealt with
Prisoner compacts introduced
Greater openness over parole and early release decisions
Provide access to sanitation
£9 million to be spent on simple sanitation schemes in 1994 95 More than 92 per cent. of prison places now have access to night sanitation
By the end of 1994, 95 per cent. of prison places will have access to night sanitation. It is planned that the remainder will be completed within the 1996 deadline proposed by Lord Justice Woolf End overcrowding
Thirteen new prisons opened since 1991 providing 7,743 places Two new prison starts planned for 1995 96 to provide further 1, 200 places by 1997 98
Buckley Hall to re-open in 1994 95 providing 90 places, rising to 350 places in early 1995 96
Over 2,000 new houseblock places to be built at existing prisons by 1996 97; most have now started on site
Four further prisons also planned, sites and timescale yet to be decided
Trebling eliminated
Divide large wings into smaller units wherever possible Requirement considered as part of all major wing refurbishment schemes.
Develop community prisons
Family ties and pre-release initiatives to complement community prisons approach, including increase in frequency and flexibility of duration of visits; further extension of financially assisted visits scheme introduced in 1994; provision of cardphones now extended to all prisons; review of home leave scheme under way
In September 1993 Prisons Board decided on steps to be taken in the short term for moving towards a community prison system Community cluster arrangements introduced in the Kent area during 1993; similar arrangements to be introduced for East Anglia in September 1994; and feasibility study in hand for North East Reasons for building community prisons in urban areas vindicated in 1994 at public enquiry into proposals for new prison in Merseyside
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