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Mentally Ill Prisoners
Mr. Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people classified or registered with prison doctors as suffering from mental illness are at present in Her Majesty's prisons. [15287]
Miss Widdecombe: Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the temporary Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Richard Tilt to Mr. John Battle, dated 20 February 1996:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the number of people at present in prison who are mentally ill.
This information is not available in the form requested. Certain information is collected centrally about prisoners with mental disorders, a term which includes, in addition to prisoners with mental illnesses, those suffering from mental impairment, severe mental impairment and psychopathic disorder.
On 20 January, the most recent date for which such information is available, 163 prisoners were recorded as awaiting removal or transfer to a psychiatric hospital under provisions of the Mental Health Act 1983; 853 prisoners were recorded as being sufficiently mentally disordered to be occupying beds in prison health care centres; and 1,380 prisoners were recorded as requiring some form of mental health care but not transfer to hospital or in-patient treatment in a prison health care centre.
Female Fine Defaulters
Mr. Bayley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many women have been sentenced to prison for non-payment of (a) a fine (b) a debt to a statutory body or (c) a debt to a public utility in each of the last 10 years. [15329]
Miss Widdecombe: Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the temporary Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Richard Tilt to Mr. Hugh Bayley, dated 20 February 1996:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question asking, how many women have been sentenced to prison for non payment of (a) a fine, (b) a debt to a statutory body or (c) a debt to a public utility in each of the last 10 years.
The available information on the number of female fine defaulters and non-criminal prisoners received into Prison Service establishments in England and Wales from 1985--94 is published in "Prison statistics, England and Wales 1994", Cm 3087, Tables 6.3 and 7.3, a copy of which is available in the Library of the House.
Provisional information for 1995 shows that 1,401 female fine defaulters were received into Prison Service establishments in England and Wales. There were 85 receptions of females for non-criminal non payment offences, all for non payment of community charge, council tax or rates.
Information relating to debt to a statutory body (apart from persons committed to custody for non payment of community charge, council tax or rates) and to a public utility is not separately identified and is included with "Other debts" in 1995; there were no female receptions under this category.
Holloway Prison
Mr. Cohen:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action was taken following the reports of insect infestation at the mother and baby unit, Holloway prison, last year. [15207]
20 Feb 1996 : Column: 92
Miss Widdecombe:
Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the temporary Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Richard Tilt to Mr. Harry Cohen, dated 20 February, 1996:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about what action was taken following reports of insect infestation in the mother and baby unit at Holloway prison last year.
Immediate action was taken by calling in pest control contractors who sprayed the identified areas with a safe residual pesticide.
Nurses
Mr. Cummings: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nursing staff were employed in Hartlepool, Sunderland and Durham hospitals in each of the last five years. [13216]
Mr. Malone: Comparable figures for the number of nursing staff employed in Hartlepool, Sunderland and Durham hospitals in each of the last five years are not centrally available.
The latest nursing and midwifery figures available from the Department of Health are for 1994 and relate to the national health service trusts in these three towns which all attained trust status in April 1994. Between 1991 and 1993 the nursing and midwifery staff figures were collected for each of the directly managed units--DMUs--which, after some reconfiguration, went on to form the trusts established in April 1994. For 1990, the information is available only at district health authority level; individual DMUs are not separately identifiable.
The number of nursing and midwifery staff is collected by the Department of Health's non-medical work force census. The census results are published at national level in a statistical bulletin, copies of which are available in the Library. Regional tables for the 1994 census will also be placed in the Library shortly. Results are not normally published below regional level but are available on request for 1994 at health authority, trust or DMU level. Only limited detailed figures are available for earlier years.
References:
Mr. Gordon Prentice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nurses and midwives there were (a) in 1979 and (b) in 1994. [13683]
Mr. Horam:
The information is not centrally available. I refer the hon. Member to the United Kingdom Central Council for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting annual statistical reports, copies of which are available in the Library.
20 Feb 1996 : Column: 93
Ms Harman:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health what was the total amount in each of the last five years spent on external consultancies by (a) the Department of Health, (b) regional health authorities, (c) district health authorities and (d) NHS management executives. [14808]
Mr. Horam:
Running cost expenditure on external consultancy by the Department of Health, its agencies and the national health service executive--formerly the NHS management executive--in each of the last five years is as shown.
Mr. Cohen:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what were the findings of the study carried out by Zergo Consulting for the NHS information management group into the feasibility of encrypting data on the NHS-wide network; and what plans he has to publish the report; [14939]
(3) what was the cost of the study carried out by Zergo Consulting for the NHS information management group into the feasibility of encrypting data on the NHS-wide network. [14940]
Mr. Horam:
The terms of reference of the study carried out by Zergo Consulting for the national health service information management group into the feasibility of encrypting data on the NHS-wide network were as follows:
20 Feb 1996 : Column: 94
DH Statistical Bulletin Non-medical Workforce Census: 95/18
DH Statistical Bulletin Non-medical Workforce Census: 1994/11
DH Statistical Bulletin Non-medical Workforce Census: 13/93
DH Statistical Bulletin Non-medical Workforce Census: 1/93
1990-91: £18,398,000 1 1991-92: £24,258,000 1
1992-93: £18,399,000 2
1993-94: £15,933,037 3
1994-95: £18,479,405 4
Information about expenditure on external consultancy by regional and district health authorities is not available centrally.
Notes:
1 Expenditure by the NHS Executive in the years 1990-91 and 1991-92 cannot be disaggregated.
2 Includes expenditure of £6,675,821 by the NHS Executive.
3 Includes expenditure of £4,975,579 by the NHS Executive.
4 Includes expenditure of £4,339,752 by the NHS Executive.
(2) what were the terms of reference for the study carried out by Zergo Consulting for the NHS information management group in to the feasibility of encrypting data on the NHS-wide network; [14938]
The NHS executive seeks advice on the purposes for which these services can be used, the contexts and the extent to which they might be used in each context; the probable costs and benefits which would accrue in each context, and to which parties they would accrue; the most suitable standards and types of product to be used; the additional costs and implications of providing these services on a national NHS basis in such a fashion that they are available for use when those communicating NHS information think it appropriate.
In order to ensure that the network architecture is appropriate to future needs a study is required which explores the practical issues of using the following security services: Digital Signatures to provide strong authentication and integrity checking; Trusted Third Party facilities for certifying encryption keys; encryption for confidentiality.
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