13 Mar 1997 : Column: 273
Written Answers to Questions
Thursday 13 March 1997
HOME DEPARTMENT
Roisin McAliskey
Mr. Deva: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the conditions in which the Prison Service is holding Roisin McAliskey. [20510]
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 Alan Walker to Mr. Nirj Deva, dated 13 March 1997:
13 Mar 1997 : Column: 274
Mr. Rendel:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement about the future use of Tote profits. [18533]
Mr. Kirkhope:
The Tote's role is to provide pool betting on horseracing and to raise money for racing. Maintaining its contribution to racing is central to Government policy; it is for the Tote to decide how to distribute the money.
Sir Ivan Lawrence:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what procedures and guidelines exist for the random or routine searching at prisons with a significant drugs presence of (a) prison officers, (b) other prison staff and (c) other persons visiting in an official capacity. [19761]
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 A. J. Pearson to Sir Ivan Lawrence, dated 13 March 1997:
Mr. Dalyell:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 27 February, Official Report, columns 288-89, if he will review the use of video-recorded closed circuit television in the legal visit facilities at special secure units. [19909]
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 A. J. Pearson to Mr. Tam Dalyell, dated 13 March 1997:
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Mr. Madden:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many reported incidents of staff assaults were recorded at Her Majesty's prison, Ranby from 1 January 1996 to date; and if he will make a statement. [19924]
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 A. J. Pearson to Mr. Max Madden, dated 13 March 1997:
The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Question about the number of reported incidents of staff assaults recorded at Ranby prison from 1 January 1996 to date.
Mr. David Atkinson:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will introduce proposals for the registration and regulation of wheel clamping; and if he will make a statement. [20081]
Mr. Maclean:
My right hon. and learned Friend has no present plans for legislation in this area. We are considering whether further legal measures are needed to regulate wheel clamping.
Mr. Sheerman:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what steps he is taking to ascertain the whereabouts of Rosemary Iredale, a convicted child abuser recently released from prison but since disappeared; [19160]
Miss Widdecombe
[holding answers 10 March 1997]: I will write to the hon. Member.
Mr. Madden:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assistance is given to remand prisoners, detained in prisons in England and Wales, to register to vote and to apply for a postal vote; and if he will ensure that all such prisoners are advised of their right to vote and assisted in securing their vote. [19740]
Miss Widdecombe
[holding answer 11 March 1997]: 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 A. J. Pearson to Mr. Max Madden, dated 13 March 1997:
The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Question about the voting rights of remand prisoners.
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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 Question about the conditions in which Roisin McAliskey is being held at Holloway prison.
Following a routine review of her security status Roisin McAliskey remains a Category A prisoner but has been downgraded from high risk to standard risk within that category. As a result some of the security arrangements which have been in operation have been relaxed.
The number of strip searches to which Roisin McAliskey had been subject has already been reduced and she is no longer being strip searched before and after every open visit within the prison. She is now only being strip searched on the same basis as all other prisoners at Holloway. This means before leaving the prison for court appearances and on return to the prison; as part of a cell search and drug testing procedures; on a random basis; or if there were reasonable suspicion she had secreted something about her prison.
Further relaxations as a consequence of the security review will take effect from now on. She will be able to attend chapel, to use the gym and the swimming pool, and to attend ante-natal classes with other prisoners. The number of overnight security checks will be reduced so that the light in her cell can be extinguished for most of the night.
Separately from the review of her security status, Roisin McAliskey applied on 14 February to be located on the Mother and Baby Unit at Holloway with her baby after it is born. Her application was considered, following the normal processes which apply to all expectant mothers, by the Admissions Board at Holloway, who considered the views of independent experts in the development needs of babies, as well as logistical issues.
The Assessment Board has now advised the Governor that Roisin McAliskey's application should be approved, the Governor has recommended approval and I have accepted this recommendation. She has been told that she may keep her baby with her after the birth. She will, as do all other mothers, have to sign a compact agreeing to be of reasonable behaviour and to co-operate with the ethos and regime of the Unit. Babies in the Unit normally remain with their mothers until the age of nine months.
Both the reduction in security classification and the decision to allow Roisin McAliskey to keep her baby have followed the standard procedures and processes that would apply to any other prisoner.
The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Question about the searching of staff and official visitors.
Guidelines for searching staff and visitors to prisons are contained in the Prison Service Manual on Security, copies of which are held in the Library of the House. These require the governor, in consultation with the area manager, to draw up a local searching strategy, including provisions for searching staff and visitors, to meet the particular security needs of the prison and to combat particular risks such as the illicit passage of drugs into the prison.
In addition, following recommendations by Sir John Woodcock, visitors and staff seeking to enter dispersal prisons (including Belmarsh) are searched on each occasion of entering the prison. This will be extended to the five local prisons at which we plan to hold category A prisoners in future, once building work has been completed to allow the necessary space and equipment to be installed at the gate.
The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Question about video recorded CCTV in the legal visits facility in Special Secure Units.
There are no plans to review this arrangement.
Six assaults on staff have been recorded at Ranby prison since 1 January 1996. This figure represents less than two assaults per 100 population.
(2) what steps he is taking to ascertain the whereabouts of Terry Valrona, a convicted child abuser recently released from prison but since disappeared. [19159]
Those in Prison Service custody eligible to vote in Parliamentary, local Government and European elections are: unconvicted prisoners; convicted but unsentenced prisoners; prisoners imprisoned for contempt of court; and those serving a term of imprisonment in default of payment of a sum of money adjudged to be paid on conviction. Eligible prisoners must have been registered as electors at their home address even though they may have been in prison on the qualifying date. Decisions on the eligibility of prisoners to be included in the electoral register are for the Electoral Registration Officer who decides if the person was normally resident at a particular address prior to their imprisonment.
Establishments are required to notify eligible prisoners of their eligibility to vote and to inform them of the deadlines that are set for applications for a postal or proxy vote. They are also required to ensure that ballot papers sent to prisoners reach them unopened, that staff witness prisoners' declarations of identity, and that completed votes are posted back uncensored.
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