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Privately Operated Prisons
Mr. George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what would be the cost of replacing all the locks in each of the privately operated prisons; [18718]
- (2) if he will make a statement on the security grounds on which the Prison Service may withhold payment to privately operated prisons on the basis of unsatisfactory performance. [18719]
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.
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Letter from A. J. Pearson to Mr. George Howarth, dated 11 March 1997:
Mr. Mackinlay:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a breakdown of the estimated costs of compensation arising from the Firearms (Amendment) Act 1997. [18736]
Miss Widdecombe:
The estimated breakdown of expenditure arising from the compensation and ex gratia payment schemes provided by the legislation is as follows:
In addition, it is estimated that up to £5 million will be required in relation to administrative costs, for example storing guns and handling compensation claims.
Mr. George Howarth:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what additional security measures were introduced at Her Majesty's prison, Blakenhurst following the publication of a photograph of a bunch of keys in The Birmingham Post in 1994. [18715]
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 Hugh Taylor to Mr. George Howarth, dated 11 March 1997:
Mr. Madden:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what date a request by Patrick Lynch, detained at Her Majesty's prison Parkhurst, to be repatriated to the Republic of Ireland, was referred to the Republic; what response he has received; and if he will make a statement. [19016]
Miss Widdecombe:
The request submitted by Mr. Lynch for repatriation to the Republic of Ireland was referred to the Irish authorities on 20 January 1997. The
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Irish authorities acknowledged receipt of the documentation by letter dated 28 January 1997. No further communications have been received in this case.
Mr. Mullin:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the inquiries into leaks of confidential information from NCIS which took place in each of the last three years, indicating for each by whom the inquiry was conducted and the outcome. [19066]
Mr. Maclean:
There have been two inquiries into leaks of confidential information from the NCIS in the last three years.
The first inquiry was in September 1995 and followed the publication in the media of confidential information from a strategic assessment of the impact of Russian organised crime in the United Kingdom. The inquiry was conducted by the Metropolitan police at the request of the Director General of NCIS. The information in question had been circulated to other relevant law enforcement agencies in the normal way and it was not possible to identify who was responsible for the leak.
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The second inquiry commenced, at the request of the Director General of NCIS, in December 1995 and was conducted by John Stevens, at that time the Chief Constable of Northumbria. The inquiry was prompted by a case in which telephone intercept material was supplied unlawfully to defence counsel. It also examined the administrative process for handling intercept material and future safeguards. The inquiry found no evidence of corrupt practice at NCIS and all the intercept material has been accounted for. The Director General has welcomed the inquiry's review of procedures for handling intercept material and all of its recommendations are being taken forward.
Mr. Sheerman:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many children were convicted in the United Kingdom as common prostitutes in each of the last 10 years. [19062]
Mr. Maclean:
The available information for England and Wales is given in table A.
My right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has contributed figures shown at table B.
Information on convictions in Scotland are the responsibility for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland.
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The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Questions about security at privately operated prisons.
We have a commercial contract for the supply of locks for all prisons, including the existing privately operated prisons. The cost of relocking establishments will vary according to the size of the prison and the class of locks. Typical costs will be in the range of between £40,000 and £64,000.
Payments may be withheld from contractors at privately operated prisons for failure to deliver contracted performance; this may include failure to meet required security standards.
Large calibre handguns: up to £50 million;
Ancillary equipment for large calibre handguns: about up to £80 million;
Small calibre handguns: up to £12 million; and
Expanding ammunition: de minimis.
The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Question about what additional security measures were introduced at Blakenhurst prison following the publication of a photograph of a bunch of keys in the Birmingham Post in 1994.
Following such an incident (in 1993 not 1994) locks in parts of the prison were replaced.
| Year | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Total under 18 | 18+ | All ages |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 5 | 31 | 223 | 259 | 8,900 | 9,159 |
| 1986 | 1 | -- | -- | -- | 2 | 2 | 24 | 268 | 297 | 8,794 | 9,091 |
| 1987 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 1 | 24 | 313 | 338 | 7,833 | 8,171 |
| 1988 | -- | -- | -- | 1 | -- | 7 | 22 | 420 | 450 | 8,379 | 8,829 |
| 1989 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 5 | 24 | 361 | 390 | 9,742 | 10,132 |
| 1990 | -- | -- | -- | -- | 1 | 2 | 22 | 346 | 371 | 9,649 | 10,020 |
| 1991 | -- | -- | 3 | -- | -- | 5 | 35 | 278 | 321 | 9,238 | 9,559 |
| 1992 | -- | -- | 1 | -- | -- | 7 | 25 | 215 | 248 | 8,530 | 8,778 |
| 1993 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 7 | 25 | 73 | 105 | 7,243 | 7,348 |
| 1994 | -- | -- | -- | 1 | 3 | 13 | 35 | 89 | 141 | 6,433 | 6,574 |
| 1995 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 4 | 25 | 72 | 101 | 5,411 | 5,512 |
(1) Common prostitute loitering or soliciting for the purpose of prostitution.
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| Year | Total under 18 | 18+ | All ages |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | -- | 50 | 50 |
| 1988 | -- | 53 | 53 |
| 1989 | -- | 52 | 52 |
| 1990 | 3 | 57 | 60 |
| 1991 | -- | 43 | 43 |
| 1992 | -- | 39 | 39 |
| 1993 | -- | 16 | 16 |
| 1994 | -- | 6 | 6 |
| 1995 | -- | 2 | 2 |
| 1996 | -- | -- | -- |
(2) Prostitutes--soliciting.
Mr. Sheerman:
To the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to ensure that criminal
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proceedings are taken against those who abuse children and young people as suppliers or purchasers of child prostitutes.[19091]
Mr. Maclean:
The institution of criminal proceedings is a matter for the police and the prosecuting authorities. The Government regard the abuse of children in prostitution as a serious matter and are satisfied that all working in this field share that concern.
The Government are currently reviewing the penalties available for all sex offences, including those relating to the organisation of prostitution, to ensure that these are adequate to reflect the gravity of the behaviour concerned.
Mr. John Marshall:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many asylum applications were made in (a) January 1996, (b) February 1996, (c) January 1997 and (d) February 1997. [19095]
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Mr. Kirkhope:
A total of 2,275 applications for asylum in the United Kingdom were lodged in January 1997; data for February are not yet available. The equivalent figures for January and February 1996 were 3,310 and 2,850 respectively.
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