| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Doncaster Prison
Mr. Redmond: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what is the current complement by grade of (a) part-time and (b) full-time staff employed by Premier Prison Services at Her Majesty's prison Doncaster; and what changes to staffing levels there have been in the last 12 months; [2712]
- (2) how many serious assaults there have been on staff in her Majesty's prison Doncaster since 1 June; and what has been the total number of assaults on staff at the prison since it was opened; [2716]
(3) how many and what types of incidents have been reported to the Prison Service in relation to Her Majesty's prison Doncaster since (a) 1 June and (b) its opening; [2714]
(4) what is the current ratio of non-health staff to prisoners at (a) Her Majesty's prison Doncaster and (b) other similar grade prisons; [2713]
(5) how many prisoners at Her Majesty's prison Doncaster have been subject to closed visits since it was opened; and what is the current number; [2717]
13 Nov 1996 : Column: 236
(6) what percentage of temporary release decisions have resulted in temporary release failures at Her Majesty's prison Doncaster (a) since 1 June and (b) since Her Majesty's prison Doncaster was opened; and for each period what was the average failure rate among similar grade prisons; [2711]
(7) how many serious assaults there have been on prisoners in Her Majesty's Prison Doncaster since it was opened. [2715]
Miss Widdecombe: 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 Richard Tilt to Mr. Martin Redmond, dated 13 November 1996:
(4) The number of prisoners involved in each incident and whether any charges resulting from an incident were proven is not recorded.
13 Nov 1996 : Column: 237
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Questions about HMP Doncaster.
The number and type of incidents during the periods covered by your questions recorded centrally for the purpose of analysing trends within prisons are shown on the attached table.
Charges of assaults proven following a disciplinary adjudication were as follows:
Date Assaults on prisoners Assaults on staff/others 1 June 1996 to 31 October 1996 53 20
Opening (20 June 1994) to 31 October 1996 280 219
The percentage of temporary release failures at Doncaster and all other local prisons and remand centres were as follows:
20 June 1994 to 31 October 1996 1 June 1996 to 31 October 1996 Doncaster 10.52 None
Other local prisons and remand centres 0.48 0.09
Records have not been kept of the number of prisoners subject to closed visits since the prison opened. Currently 51 prisoners are receiving closed visits.
On 5 November 1996 the ratio of staff (excluding healthcare staff) to prisoners at Doncaster was 1:2:16 and the ratio of similar staff to prisoners in other category B local prisons was 1:2:77.
Information about the overall number of staff in each grade is commercially confidential, but the Prison Service agreed to fund 5 additional prisoner custody officers to introduce at its request a dedicated search team in line with mandatory requirements at other prisons. 12 additional programme and clerical staff have also been recruited to reflect an increase in the capacity of the prison to 900 prisoners.
The complement of full-time staff on 1 November 1996 was 458 compared to 449 on 1 November 1995. The equivalent numbers of part-time staff are, respectively, 17 and 14.
Incident(4) type 1 June 1996- 31 October 1996 20 June 1994- 31 October 1996 Assault 52 332
Attempted escape -- 1
Barricade -- 1
Concerted indiscipline -- 18
Death of inmate -- 2
Dirty protest -- 1
Drugs 93 668
Escape -- 1
Fire 1 21
Food refusal 1 8
Key/lock compromise -- 1
Miscellaneous 3 33
Recapture/Surrender -- 11
Self harm 7 110
Suicide -- 5
Tool loss -- 5
Temporary release failure -- 2
Total 157 1,220
Prison Service Performance Indicators
Mr. George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what plans he has to increase the number of key performance indicators for the Prison Service which assess standards of custody and control; [2936]
- (2) what plans he has to introduce key performance indicators for the Prison Service which assess (i) headquarters staffing levels, (ii) productivity, (iii) efficiency, (iv) standards of staff development and commitment and (v) rates of recidivism; [2937]
(3) what plans he has to increase the number of key performance indicators for the Prison Service which assess (i) standards of physical security and (ii) levels of prisoner discipline; [2938]
(4) what plans he has to introduce key performance indicators for the Prison Service which assess (a) levels of drug use, (b) availability of rehabilitation services and (c) rates of self-inflicted deaths. [2939]
Miss Widdecombe: 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 Richard Tilt to Mr. George Howarth, dated 13 November 1996:
13 Nov 1996 : Column: 238
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Questions about the introduction of new key performance indicators (KPIs) for the Prison Service.
Under the terms of the Framework Document, the KPIs for the Prison Service have to be agreed with Ministers. They are kept regularly under review to ensure that they reflect current key priorities for the Service. Our Corporate Plan 1996-99 explained that Ministers had agreed a number of changes to our KPIs for this year. The Service has achieved in full the KPIs on access to sanitation, and the number of prisoners with the opportunity to exceed minimum visiting entitlement, and these have therefore been discontinued. Three new KPIs were introduced: on the rate of positive testing for drug misuse, the number of prisoners completing programmes accredited as effective in reducing re-offending, and the amount of staff training. Targets for each of these were set for the current year.
Some of the areas you refer to are already covered by existing KPIs, at least in part: for example prisoner discipline is reflected in the KPI on rates of assault, standards of custody are reflected in the KPI on the escape rate, the levels of drug use are reflected in the KPI on positive testing for drug misuse, efficiency is reflected in the KPI on cost per place and staff development in the KPI on the amount of staff training.
Mr. Howarth:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what were the results achieved by the Prison Service on each of its key performance indicators for the first six months of 1996-97; and what assessment he has made of those results against (a) the published full year targets for 1996-97 and (b) the equivalent phased internal targets for the first six months. [2935]
Clearly, there is a great deal of public interest in information about the Prison Service. I believe it important to keep KPIs to a manageable number, if we are to focus staff effort and other resources to achieve better results, particularly at a time when the Service is under great pressure. The Home Secretary announced, on 20 May 1996, that some management information not currently featured in KPIs would routinely be reported in our Corporate Plan. The current Corporate Plan includes, for example, information about self-inflicted deaths, staff turnover rates and Headquarters overheads.
Miss Widdecombe: 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 Richard Tilt to Mr. George Howarth, dated 13 November 1996:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the results achieved by the Prison Service on each of its key performance indicators (KPIs) for the first six months of 1996-97.
13 Nov 1996 : Column: 239
Miss Widdecombe:
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.
Prison Service KPI performance and targets for 1996-97 and performance from April to September 1996 are shown below (we do not set monthly targets within the annual target because performance on some KPIs is subject to considerable seasonal fluctuation). However, where necessary I indicate below the level of performance required over the rest of the year in order to achieve the target.
KPI 1: Escapes from prisons and from escorts:
To ensure no Category A prisoners escape and to ensure that the number of escapes from prisons and from escorts, expressed as a proportion of the prison population, is at least 10% lower than in 1995-6.
Category A prisoners Rate (Per cent.) 1996-1997 target 0 0.21 or lower
April-September 1996 performance 0 0.23
KPI 2: Assaults
To ensure that the number of assaults on staff, prisoners and others, expressed as a proportion of the average population, is lower than in 1995-6.
1996-1997 target: lower than 10.6%
April-September 1996 performance: 9.4%
KPI 3: Random drug testing
To ensure that the rate of positive testing for drugs (the number of random drug tests that prove positive expressed as a percentage of the total number of random tests carried out) is lower in the fourth quarter of 1996-7 than in the first quarter of that year.
April-June 1996 performance: 23.9%
April-September 1996 performance: 23.8%
January-March 1997 target: lower than 23.9%
KPI 4: Overcrowding
To ensure that no prisoners are held three to a cell designed for one.
April-September 1996 performance: No prisoners
We would need to ensure that 140 prisoners a month complete accredited offending behaviour programmes, of which 86 a month should complete the Sex Offender Treatment Programme, in order to meet the target.
KPI 5: Purposeful activity
To ensure that prisoners spend on average at least 26.5 hours per week engaged in purposeful activity.
April-September 1996 performance: 25.4 hours per prisoner per week (this figure is subject to further validation).
We would need to achieve an average of 27.6 hours of purposeful activity per prisoner per week for the rest of the year in order to meet the target.
KPI 6: Time out of cell
To ensure that, by 31 March 1997, at least 60% of prisoners are held in establishments which unlock all prisoners on the standard or enhanced regime for at least 10 hours per weekday.
September 1996 performance: 67%
KPI 7: Completions of accredited offending behaviour programmes
To ensure that at least 1,300 prisoners complete programmes accredited as being effective in reducing re-offending, of whom 650 should complete the Sex Offender Treatment Programme.
Overall completions Sex Offender Treatment Programme completions April-September 1996 performance 402 136
April-September 1996 target 650 325
April 1996-March 1997 target 1,300 650
Mr. Howarth:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to revise the way in which statistics are collected for the purpose of measuring the key performance indicators which refer to the Prison Service. [2940]
KPI 8: Cost per place
To ensure that the average cost of a prison place does not exceed £24,388.
It is not possible to show a meaningful mid-year figure because spending is not evenly distributed across the year and because the number of places is increasing over the year as new accommodation comes on line. We are however forecasting expenditure outturn within the cash limit, as revised to take account of additional funding agreed in year.
KPI 9: Average training days per staff member
To ensure that on average, staff spend at least six days in training.
April-September 1996 performance: 2.31 days per staff member
We would need to provide an average of 0.65 days training per staff member per month for the rest of the year in order to meet the target.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |