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Mr. Alex Carlile: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which prisons have been adapted to enable visitors to have access with (a) a wheelchair and (b) physical disabilities not requiring a wheelchair; what adaptations have been made to the prisons; and if he will make a statement. [9125]
Miss Widdecombe [holding answer 17 December 1996]: 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. Alex Carlile, dated 18 December 1996:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent question about which prisons have been adapted to enable visitors to have access with wheelchairs and other physical disabilities.
18 Dec 1996 : Column: 713
18 Dec 1996 : Column: 714
Mr. Alex Carlile:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what is the current Prison Service policy with regard to prisoners identified as having learning disabilities and dyslexia; and if he will make a statement; [9127]
Miss Widdecombe
[holding answer 17 December 1996]: 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. Alex Carlile, dated 18 December 1996:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your two recent Questions about prisoners with learning disabilities and dyslexia.
Mr. Alex Carlile:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what assessment he has made of the number of young people who were victims of crime in each of the last 17 years and of that number relative to the number of adult victims for each category of crime; and if he will make a statement; [9100]
18 Dec 1996 : Column: 715
Mr. Maclean
[holding answer 17 December 1996]: Information on the age of victims of crime recorded by the police is not routinely collected by the Home Office. However, information from an ad hoc survey on violent crime shows the rates of recorded offences per 100,000 population by age and sex of victims for each of the violent crime offence categories. This information is published in table 2 of the Home Office statistical findings 1/96 "Victims of Violent Crime Recorded by the Police, 1990-94". A copy of this publication is available in the Library.
No estimate has been made of the percentage of young people who have been victims of overall violent crime. However, information from the youth life styles survey carried out by the Home Office in 1993, based on a sample of around 1,700 young people aged between 14 and 25, found that 17 per cent. of young people in this age group reported being a victim of a "violent act" in the previous 12 months. The term "violent act" is not the same as "violent crime". The youth life styles survey defined a "violent act" as being where the victim was
Sexual offences are not included.
Mr. Spearing:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the cost to public funds of (a) arrested but unconvicted persons by the Metropolitan police in relation to court proceedings, (b) costs incurred by (i) the Metropolitan police and (ii) the Home Office for secure transport of those convicted and (c) the total costs of transport for the years (1) 1994-95 and (2) 1995-96, indicating the number of specialist vehicles and persons used by the providers in each year. [8808]
Miss Widdecombe
[holding answer 16 December 1996]: The cost to public funds of arrested but unconvicted persons by the Metropolitan police in relation to court proceedings is not available in the form requested.
Facilities for disabled visitors have generally been provided as a result of local minor work and we do not therefore have comprehensive central records of modifications made to buildings for this purpose. A survey carried out in 1995, however, revealed that the attached list of establishments have facilities for disabled visitors.
Examples of the type of facilities provided include ramps, lifts, wide doors and specially adapted toilets. The establishments listed may have all or any of these.
Our standard briefing guides for new buildings provide for access ramps, lifts, toilets, and for circulation routes to be made suitable for the passage of wheelchairs. Wherever practical these guides are also taken into account when existing facilities are refurbished.
Acklington
Albany
Aldington
Ashwell
Askham Grange
Aylesbury
Bedford
Belmarsh
Birmingham
Blakenhurst
Blundeston
Bristol
Brixton
Brockhill
Bullingdon
Camp Hill
Canterbury
Cardiff
Channings Wood
Coldingley
Dartmoor
Deerbolt
Doncaster
Dorchester
Dover
Downview
Durham
East Sutton Park
Eastwood Park
Elmley
Erlestoke
Everthorpe
Featherstone
Feltham
Ford
Frankland
Full Sutton
Garth
Gloucester
Guys Marsh
Haslar
Haverigg
Hewell Grange
High Down
Highpoint
Hollesley Bay
Holloway
Hull
Huntercombe
Kingston
Kirkham
Kirklevington
Lancaster Farms
Latchmere House
Leeds
Lewes
Leyhill
Lindholme
Littlehey
Low Newton
Maidstone
Manchester
Moorland
Morton Hall
The Mount
New Hall
North Sea Camp
Norwich
Onley
Pentonville
Portland
Preston
Ranby
Reading
Send
Shepton Mallet
Shrewsbury
Stafford
Standford Hill
Stocken
Styal
Sudbury
Swaleside
Swansea
Thorn Cross
Usk and Prescoed
Whitemoor
Wakefield
Wandsworth
Wayland
Wealstun
Wellingborough
Werrington
Wetherby
Whatton
Whitemoor
Winchester
Woodhill
Wormwood Scrubs.
(2) how many prisoners have been identified as having (a) a learning disability and (b) dyslexia on the latest date for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [9126]
The policy of the Prisons Board towards prisoners who have any learning disabilities, including dyslexia, is that those who need to improve basic literacy and are prepared to attend education classes will be given every opportunity to do so. Contractors providing education to prisons are required to offer a basic skills screening test in numeracy and literacy to all prisoners. Basic literacy is included in the Prison Service's core education curriculum. A number of prisons are also trying to find better ways of giving basic skills training as part of vocational training and in the course of daily work in prison workshops. This work is being supported by the Basic Skills Agency, with whom the Prison Service works closely. The Unit has contracted Amersham and Wycombe College to provide a national support project to this end.
The number of prisoners identified by the Basic Skills Screening test as having a learning disability is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
(2) what estimate he has made of the percentage of young people who have been victims of violent crime; and if he will make a statement. [9095]
"deliberately hit or kicked or had force used against them".
1994-95 | 1995-96 | |
---|---|---|
Total cost to the Metropolitan police | £3.9 million | £1.4 million |
Recovery from the Home Office | £1.5 million | £0.8 million |
Net cost to Metropolitan police | £2.4 million | £0.6 million |
Cost to the Metropolitan police of vehicles (included in costs above) | £505 thousand | £127 thousand |
Costs to Home Office of vehicles (included in costs above) | £426 thousand | £235 thousand |
Number of vehicles | 52 | 30 |
Number of staff | 77 | 26 |
The costs do not include the costs of special escort duties provided by the Metropolitan police or the Home Office in the conveyance of prisoners between Crown court and prison.
18 Dec 1996 : Column: 716
In the years 1994-95 and 1995-96 the responsibility for the escort of prisoners in London, other than those in the highest security category, to and from court was in the process of being transferred from the police and the Prison Service to Securicor Custodial Services. This exercise was only completed in July 1995.
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