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Prison Accommodation

Mr. Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the number of prisoners sharing three to a cell designed for one in each month this year. [9104]

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 18 December 1996:



Mr. Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the number of prisoners sharing two to a cell designed for one in each month this year. [9102]

18 Dec 1996 : Column: 746

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 18 December 1996:



MonthsNumber of prisoners sharing two to a cell designed for one
January 19968,448
February 19969,256
March 19968,626
April 19968,324
May 19968,430
June 19969,202
July 19969,236
August 19968,726
September 19968,938
October 199610,120


18 Dec 1996 : Column: 747

Shooting Clubs

Mr. William Ross: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) when he plans to publish guidance concerning the criteria which shooting clubs must meet to obtain licences under the Firearms (Amendment) Bill; [8907]

Miss Widdecombe: The requirements for the licensed pistol clubs envisaged by the Bill are being drafted. I will seek the views of the Firearms Consultative Committee and the British Shooting Sports Council on them, and will place the draft in the Library. My Department will publish the new requirements when they have been finalised and will also ensure that all existing shooting clubs that are approved under section 15 of the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1988 are informed of them.

A shooting club that wishes to have a licence under clause 16 of the Bill will be able to apply for that at any time after the Bill has come into force. The time it will take for clubs to obtain any necessary building consents will depend on individual circumstances.

Prison Assaults

Mr. George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the average assault rate in each prison during the first six months of the current financial year. [9109]

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 18 December 1996:

The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the average assault rate in each prison during the first six months of the current financial year.


EstablishmentAssault rate
Percentage
Acklington3
Albany1
Aldington3
Ashwell5
Askham Grange2
Aylesbury28
Bedford6
Belmarsh23
Birmingham8
Blakenhurst11
Blantyre House0
Blundeston9
Brinsford23
Bristol9
Brixton12
Brockhill0
Buckley Hall4
Bullingdon13
Bullwood Hall49
Camp Hill2
Canterbury4
Cardiff10
Castington23
Channings Wood2
Chelmsford9
Coldingley2
Cookham Wood23
Dartmoor6
Deerbolt19
Doncaster21
Dorchester11
Dover24
Downview1
Drake Hall1
Durham6
East Sutton Park0
Eastwood Park39
Elmley10
Erlestoke4
Everthorpe1
Exeter9
Featherstone5
Feltham42
Ford0
Frankland11
Full Sutton8
Garth6
Gartree2
Glen Parva27
Gloucester30
Grendon1
Guy's Marsh6
Haslar1
Hatfield5
Haverigg0
Hewell Grange0
Highdown9
Highpoint5
Hindley26
Hollesley Bay13
Holloway25
Holme House6
Hull24
Huntercombe15
Kingston0
Kirkham1
Kirklevington0
Lancaster3
Lancaster Farms20
Latchmere House0
Leeds10
Leicester14
Lewes15
Leyhill0
Lincoln6
Lindholme1
Littlehey5
Liverpool5
Long Lartin9
Low Newton28
Maidstone0
Manchester8
Moorland17
Morton Hall1
Mount3
New Hall25
North Sea Camp0
Northallerton15
Norwich14
Nottingham6
Onley19
Parkhurst9
Pentonville10
Portland10
Preston9
Ranby2
Reading24
Risley6
Rochester11
Send1
Shepton Mallet5
Shrewsbury1
Stafford8
Standford Hill1
Stocken3
Stoke Heath19
Styal7
Sudbury1
Swaleside5
Swansea10
Swinfen Hall19
Thorn Cross20
Usk0
Verne1
Wakefield3
Wandsworth6
Wayland0
Wealstun (Closed)2
Wellingborough3
Werrington88
Wetherby13
Whatton1
Whitemoor18
Winchester6
Wolds14
Woodhill9
Wormwood Scrubs9
Wymott1

18 Dec 1996 : Column: 749

Contracting Out

Mr. Alan Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his policy for depositing in the Library documents concerning the contracting out of services; how many documents have been deposited in the Library since 1992 in the categories (a) invitation to tender, (b) draft contracts and (c) binding contracts signed by both parties; how many draft contracts contain performance targets for the contractor; and in how many cases a draft contract has been altered as a result of representations from hon. Members following deposition in the Library. [8915]

Mr. Howard: It is not general policy to deposit documents concerning the contracting out of services in the Library, but invitations to tender and contracts for both design, construction, management and finance schemes and the operation of prisons are placed in the Library, subject to the removal of pricing and other commercially sensitive details.

Since 1992, four invitations to tender, relating to Her Majesty's prisons Wolds, Blakenhurst, Buckley Hall and Doncaster, and six contracts, relating to Her Majesty's

18 Dec 1996 : Column: 750

prisons Wolds, Blakenhurst, Buckley Hall, Doncaster, Bridgend and Fazakerley, have been deposited in the Library.

All Home Office contracts specify the level of service required and, in appropriate cases, performance targets.

No draft contracts have been deposited, or altered as a result of representation from hon. Members.

Prisoner Transfers

Mr. McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the implementation of the recommendations of the interdepartmental working group chaired by Lord Ferrers in respect of the transfer of prisoners from prisons in Great Britain to similar institutions in Northern Ireland. [9688]

Miss Widdecombe: In his statement of 23 November 1992, the then Minister of State indicated that the Government had accepted in full the recommendations of the interdepartmental working group, and set out the arrangements which would apply to the transfer of prisoners between jurisdictions. These have worked satisfactorily and have been upheld in judicial review hearings. There is regular contact between officials in Great Britain and Northern Ireland about the implementation of the transfer arrangements, about which Ministers are kept fully informed. My right hon. and learned Friend has reviewed the current legal provisions relating to transfers and has made provision in the Crime (Sentences) Bill, currently before Parliament, for changes to these, as recommended by the interdepartmental working group.


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