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Prison Accommodation
29. Mr. Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made in supplying extra accommodation in Her Majesty's prisons.[19810]
Miss Widdecombe: The Prison Service is taking a number of steps to cope with the rising prison population, including opening new prisons, building new houseblocks and speeding up the refurbishment of existing accommodation. This will result in an additional 6,000 places over the next 18 months, increasing to 8,500 new places by March 2000.
Mr. George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the currently vacant cellular accommodation in prison establishments which is (a) pending refurbishment, (b) currently being refurbished and (c) deemed unfit for rehabilitation.[20692]
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.
| Number | |
|---|---|
| Accommodation out of use pending refurbishment | |
| Wakefield | 202 |
| Accommodation out of use currently being refurbished | |
| Bristol | 8 |
| Brixton | 237 |
| Camp Hill | 86 |
| Dartmoor | 28 |
| Everthorpe | 5 |
| Ford | 35 |
| Full Sutton | 220 |
| Glen Parva | 132 |
| Hull | 6 |
| Kingston | 56 |
| Leeds | 252 |
| Lewes | 132 |
| Liverpool | 111 |
| Long Lartin | 74 |
| Maidstone | 1 |
| Nottinghan | 22 |
| Parkhurst | 133 |
| Pentonville | 156 |
| Preston | 156 |
| Stoke Heath | 60 |
| Styal | 18 |
| Wandsworth | 415 |
| Wormwood Scrubs | 50 |
Prison Staff
30. Mr. Hinchliffe:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he has taken to monitor the adequacy of prison staffing levels. [19811]
20 Mar 1997 : Column: 837
Miss Widdecombe:
The adequacy of prison staffing levels is monitored regularly by Prison Service operational line managers.
Mr. George Howarth:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will list the circumstances under which payments, other than the usual monthly contractual payments, are made to privately operated prisons; [18716]
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 20 March 1997:
Mr. George Howarth:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the cost of replacing the locks at HM prison Blakenhurst; and what factors prompted their replacement. [21000]
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 20 March 1997:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the replacement of locks at Blakenhurst prison.
20 Mar 1997 : Column: 838
Mr. Garnier:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has for the addicts index.[21046]
Mr. Sackville:
We propose to bring the addicts index to a close on 31 March. A statutory instrument will shortly be laid before Parliament to revoke the existing provisions which require doctors to notify the Chief Medical Officer at the Home Office of details of patients they believe to be addicted to certain narcotic drugs. This year's notification statistics, due to be published in July, will therefore be the last in the series.
Reliance for information on the nature of drug misuse will henceforward rest mainly on the Department of Health's regional drug misuse databases and the Scottish drug misuse database. The DMDs are a superior source of information in a number of significant respects:
The value of the statistical product of the DMDs is already proven and the system, which has been operating since 1992, is well established. The closure of the addicts index will assist in concentrating efforts on further strategic development of the DMDs; work is already being taken forward in this area. Doctors and others concerned in the treatment and support of drug addicts will also continue to be encouraged to report contacts to the DMDs.
It is recognised that doctors need to manage addict patients with particular care; this includes guarding against attempts to obtain dual prescriptions. There are guidelines on clinical management of drug misusers, published by the Department of Health, to assist doctors treating such patients. The guidance emphasises the need for a proper clinical assessment of drug dependence, including special measures such as urine analysis.
The Department of Health have in hand a revision of the guidelines which will further assist in the management of these patients.
Problems associated with diversion on to the illicit market will continue to be dealt with by the drugs inspectorate which will closely monitor prescribing of controlled drugs to drug addicts.
Doctors who use the index will shortly be individually informed of the closure. The relevant professional and interested bodies will also be notified.
Mr. Peter Bottomley:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what assessment he has made of
20 Mar 1997 : Column: 839
whether the new procedures for examining and checking category A inmates and their family visitors will allow him to grant more open visits; [20369]
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. Peter Bottomley, dated 20 March 1997:
20 Mar 1997 : Column: 840
20 Mar 1997 : Column: 839(2) If he will list the payments which the Prison Service (a) has made and (b) plans to make to each privately operated prisons, other than the usual monthly contractual payments and the reasons for these payments. [18717]
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Questions about extra-contractual payments to the operators of privately managed prisons.
Excluding the regular monthly payments required by contract (which vary from prison to prison), additional sums paid in the last year have included:
discharge grants
some probation costs
improvements to remedy latent defects in the fabric of the prisons (where prison buildings were provided by the Prison Service)
capital costs introduced throughout the Prison Service (such as electrical work in cells and to accommodate overcrowding)
changes in the service requirements, such as extra court escort commitments
additional operational requirements, such as mutual aid between prisons
These payments are negotiated on a commercial-in-confidence basis.
These costs, where relevant, have been taken fully into account in the two studies comparing the costs of contracted out prisons with directly managed prisons (by Coopers and Lybrand for 1994-95 and the Home Office Economic Unit for 1995-96). It is not possible to predict when such payments may be necessary in future.
The decision was taken to re-lock the prison on the basis of intelligence received that the security of the prison may have been compromised. The full cost of the relocking is the subject of negotiations between the Prison Service and the contractor.
they cover all drugs misused, not just the narcotics;
they cover non-medical as well as doctor sources;
the anonymity is attractive both to misusers and those treating them;
the voluntary nature of the system promotes compliance.
(2) when his Department received recommendations on modifying the requirements for closed visits for families of category A inmates in prison; and what assessment he has made of the advantages of implementing the recommendations. [20368]
A policy of mandatory closed visits for all exceptional risk category A prisoners held in special secure units (SSUs) was introduced in June 1995. No new procedures for the searching of prisoners and their visitors have been introduced since that time.
In 1996, the Prison Service asked Sir Donald Acheson to examine what effect the regime in the SSUs at Belmarsh, Full Sutton and Whitemoor might have on the health of prisoners. The report was presented in June 1996 and included the recommendation that prisoners should have access to open visits with members of their immediate family. A copy of the report was recently placed in the Library.
Sir Donald Acheson's recommendation was considered in the light of the need to maintain the highest levels of security in SSUs and took into account humanitarian concerns. The recommendation was qualified by the assertion that it should be possible for the Prison Service to devise a system of open visits which prevented the passage of unauthorised items. The Prison Service concluded that closed visits are the only guaranteed means of preventing the passage of such items and therefore has not accepted the recommendation.
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