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Election Register Sales
Mr. Byers: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to stop the sale of election registers to commercial organisations; and under what authority such sales are presently authorised. [38259]
Mr. Sackville: None. Under regulation 18(2) of the Representation of the People Regulations 1990, the electoral registration officer appointed by each London borough or district council is required to sell the register upon publication to anyone who has ordered copies before 1 November in the previous year.
Prison (Visiting Entitlement)
Mr. George Howarth: To ask the of State for the Home Department if he will list (i) the latest available figures, (ii) the figures for 1992, (iii) those for 1988 and (iv) those for 1987 for the average percentage of prisoners who exceed minimum visiting entitlements for each category C prison. [38750]
Miss Widdecombe: Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for reply to be given.
Letter from A. J. Pearson to Mr. George Howarth, dated 22 July 1996:
22 Jul 1996 : Column: 57
The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Question about the average percentage of prisoners who exceed the minimum visiting entitlement for each category C prison.
The information is not collected in the form requested. The Prison Service had however a key performance indicator (KPI) which measured the proportion of prisoners held in establishments which gave all prisoners the opportunity to exceed the minimum visiting entitlement, subject to qualifying for this under the earned incentives scheme.
Last year the Prison Service succeeded in meeting this target in every establishment, for the second year running. In view of this achievement, Ministers agreed that this KPI should be dropped and replaced by other more challenging ones.
Performance on this KPI since the beginning of agency status is shown in the attached table.
Performance of population with opportunity to exceed the minimum visiting entitlement
1992-93 84
1993-94 99
1994-95 100
1995-96 100
Parliamentary Questions
Mr. Alex Carlile: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many parliamentary questions to his Department have been referred for answer to non-departmental public bodies for which he has responsibility, in each the last six parliamentary Sessions, and so far in the 1995-96 Session; and if he will make a statement. [38699]
Mr. Howard: No parliamentary questions have been referred for answer to non-departmental public bodies for which I have responsibility in each of the last six parliamentary Sessions or so far in the 1995-96 Session.
High-intensity Training Programme
Mr. Michael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) when preparations for the high-intensity training programme at Her Majesty's young offenders institution Thorn Cross will be completed; and what target has been set for (a) the selection and (b) the reception of the first group of offenders; [38045]
- (2) if it is his policy (a) that the high-intensity training programme, as well as being physically demanding, will focus on the education and social requirements of the inmates and (b) for intensive support to be provided to offenders on release from the high-intensity training programme; [38046]
(3) if he will outline the procedures by which the high-intensity training programme will aim to reduce recidivism; and how the success or failure will be monitored (a) in general and (b) in individual cases; [38047]
(4) what were the results of research carried out by members of the Prison Service senior management programme on boot camps in America; and how the schemes for the high-intensity training programme at Her Majesty's young offenders institution Thorn Cross will differ from schemes run in the USA. [38049]
Miss Widdecombe: The high-intensity training programme at Thorn Cross young offender institution receives its first intake of young offenders today.
As well as being physically and mentally demanding, the programme aims to address the educational and social needs of the inmates. The level of supervision after release will be higher than that experienced by inmates who serve their sentence in a normal young offender institution.
High-intensity training aims to reduce recidivism by combining:
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a control group of similar young offenders who experience conventional young offender institution regimes.
Members of the 1993 Prison Service senior management programme, a training course for newly promoted senior staff, visited an American boot camp and other establishments as part of their training. An article by three of them was published in the May 1995 issue of the "Prison Service Journal", a copy of which has been placed in the Library. It represents the views of the writers and was not commissioned as a piece of research by or for the Prison Service or the Home Office.
American boot camps vary considerably in terms of their regimes and performance. High-intensity training is not a copy of an American boot camp but combines positive elements to be found in prison regimes both in America and in the United Kingdom.
Mr. Michael:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has for the Army to be involved in running high-intensity regimes for civilian offenders (a) at the military corrective training centre, Colchester, and (b) elsewhere. [38048]
Miss Widdecombe:
I announced our plans for a new young offender institution at Colchester in answer to a question from the hon. Member for Welwyn and Hatfield (Mr. Evans) on 17 April Official Report, column 511. There are currently no plans for similar initiatives involving the Army.
Mr. Byers:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment if she will amend the Education (National Curriculum) (Assessment Arrangements for the Core Subjects) Order 1995 to require external marking agencies to provide pupil level data to local education authorities when requested to do so. [38258]
Mr. Paice:
It would not be possible to amend the Education (National Curriculum) (Assessment Arrangements for the Core Subjects) Orders in this way. The powers under which the orders are made would not extend to such an amendment.
Mr. Redmond:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what was the average pupil-teacher ratio of (a) schools providing education under the assisted places scheme and (b) of comparable state schools. [38431]
Mrs. Gillan:
Separate information for schools participating in the assisted places scheme is not readily available, nor is it possible to identify a set of maintained schools comparable in all relevant aspects with those within the scheme. Pupil-teacher ratios for different types
22 Jul 1996 : Column: 59
of schools were published in statistical press notice 205/96 on 25 June. A copy of the press notice is available in the Library.
Mr. Blunkett:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what is the percentage of pupils (a) taking and (b) entitled to free school meals in (i) grant-maintained and (ii) local education authority-maintained schools. [38023]
Mrs. Gillan:
The information requested is shown in the table:
Changes in the attitudes and behaviour of young offenders during their time at Thorn Cross will be assessed and re-convictions after release will be monitored. The results will be compared with those from
a demanding and disciplined approach;
effective activities designed to bring about positive behavioural change;
education and skills training;
help into employment and good after release support.
| Primary | Secondary | All(20) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| LEA-maintained schools | 22 | 20 | 22 |
| Grant-maintained schools | 16 | 13 | 13 |
(19) Number of day pupils who were known to be eligible for free school meals expressed as a proportion of the number of day pupils on roll.
(20) Includes maintained special schools.
Schools (Commercial Advertising)
Mr. Dafis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment (1) if she will consult by letter the School Curriculum and Assessment Authority concerning the proposed sale of space on school noticeboards and walls for commercial advertising; and if she will publish its reply; [37756]
- (2) what assessment she has made of the effect of the use of space on school noticeboards and walls for commercial advertising on the promotion of moral education in schools; [37757]
(3) what is her policy in respect of schools selling space on walls and noticeboards for commercial advertising; and what procedures are available to people who wish to make complaints about specific instances of such advertising.[37758]
Mr. Paice: The extent to which an individual school enters into such an arrangement is a matter for the head teacher and governors of the school concerned. Anyone who wants to complain should address themselves to the head teacher and governors.
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