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HOME DEPARTMENT
Probationary Prison Officers
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the percentage of probationary prison officers in each young offender institution in England. [49874]
Ms Quin:
A probationary prison officer is a newly appointed prison officer who is in the process of completing an initial 12 month probationary period, during which time he or she is required to achieve a satisfactory level of performance, conduct and attendance, prior to the appointment being confirmed. The information requested about probationary prison officers is given in the table for those Young Offender Institutions (YOIs) which are separate establishments. Where a YOI is co-located with an adult establishment, it is not possible to extrapolate this information.
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| Young offender institution | Number on probation |
|---|---|
| Aylesbury | 26 |
| Brinsford | 8 |
| Castington | -- |
| Deerbolt | -- |
| Dover | -- |
| Feltham | 44 |
| Glen Parva | 23 |
| Hatfield | -- |
| Hindley | -- |
| Lancaster Farms | 4 |
| Low Newton | -- |
| Northallerton | -- |
| Onley | 5 |
| Portland | -- |
| Reading | 4 |
| Stoke Heath | 27 |
| Swinfen Hall | 19 |
| Thorn Cross | 2 |
| Werrington | 4 |
| Wetherby | -- |
| Total | 166 |
17 Jul 1998 : Column: 341
New Prisons
Mr. Fearn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what factors led him to reject the proposals for building a prison in Winwick, near Warrington. [50245]
Ms Quin: The decision not to acquire the site of Winwick Hospital for the construction of a new prison was reached on financial grounds. This decision does not remove the urgent need for additional prison places to serve the North West.
Mr. Fearn:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what factors led him to approve proposals to build a prison on a site at Ashworth Hospital, Maghull, Merseyside. [50317]
Ms Quin:
There is an urgent need for additional prison places to serve Merseyside. The Ashworth Hospital south site is ideally located to meet this need. The site meets the Prison Service's criteria in respect of affordability, size, topography, communication links and availability of mains services, and on planning grounds is considered an appropriate site for development.
Mr. Beith:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the percentage of the Prison Service estate which will be privately managed by the year 2002; and if he will make a statement. [50592]
Ms Quin:
By March 2002, the certified normal accommodation of the prison estate is forecast to be 67,700. Of these places, it is expected that 6,600 will be privately managed. Therefore the percentage of the Prison Service estate forecast to be privately managed by 2002 is 9.7 per cent.
Alternatively, another way of measuring the percentage of the estate expected to be privately managed is to look at numbers of prisons rather than sum of places. Current plans are for 143 prisons to be operating in March 2002. Of these, it is expected that 11 will be privately managed. The percentage of the Prison Service estate expected to be privately managed in 2002 using this forecast is 7.7 per cent.
Mr. Beith:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the basis on which financial penalties imposed on contractors of privately managed prisons are calculated; and if he will make a statement. [50587]
Ms Quin:
There are three financial remedies available to the Prison Service as a result of a contractor's non-performance under a contract for a Design, Construct, Manage and Finance (DCMF) prison. Fees may be withheld under the following circumstances:
For management only prisons (Blakenhurst, Buckley Hall, Doncaster and Wolds), reductions in payment may result from a performance measure procedure similar to
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the DCMF penalty points system, and as a result of deficiencies that fall outside the performance measures procedures.
Mr. Beith:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the capital cost of each of the privately built prisons. [50586]
Ms Quin:
The project costs for each of the privately built prisons are: Parc, £75m; Altcourse, £88m; Lowdham Grange, £32m; Pucklechurch, £36m; and Agecroft, £55m. The project costs include capital expenditure before the prison's opening and consist mainly of construction costs.
Mr. Beith:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if the calculations of the relative costs of privately and publicly managed prisons take into account the cost of (a) capital repayments and (b) interest charges on such payments to the relevant private sector company. [50585]
Ms Quin:
Yes. The capital repayments by the contractor for Design, Construct, Manage and Finance prisons and the interest accruing were included in the costs of these prisons when compared with their closest public sector comparators. There are no comparable costs in non Private Finance Initiative procurement since payment is not amortised over a contract period.
Mr. Beith:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the quality and level of service being delivered at HMP Altcourse following the recent Prison Service audit; when audits are planned to be undertaken into HMP Parc and HMP Lowdham Grange; and if he will make a statement. [50595]
Ms Quin:
The audit of Altcourse prison, which took place in April 1998, detected some deficiencies in contract compliance but the performance of the prison overall has been satisfactory. A contract compliance audit of Parc prison took place during the week beginning 29 June and an operational audit in the week beginning 6 July. An audit of Lowdham Grange prison is planned for August 1998.
Mr. Beith:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what arrangements exist between the National Health Service and the Prison Service for mutual access to relevant medical records of prisoners during and after custody; and if he will make a statement. [50589]
Ms Quin:
Prison healthcare staff are not required, as a matter of routine, to obtain the previous non-Prison Service medical records of all prisoners received into custody. Where it is considered necessary, and the patient prisoner agrees, staff will request medical reports or the individual health records from the National Health Service (NHS). In cases where there is a need for treatment to continue following release, medical information is transferred from the prison doctor to the prisoner's General Practitioner or other NHS doctor as required.
A new health care standard on "continuity of health care" is being developed by the Prison Service in collaboration with a number of agencies including the
17 Jul 1998 : Column: 343
NHS. This is aimed at facilitating the exchange of information and will provide additional advice and guidance to staff.
Mr. Beith:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners were being kept in separate regimes for their protection, at their own request on the last date for which figures are available; and what were the equivalent figures in each of the last three years. [50594]
Ms Quin:
Prisoners may be held on Prison Rule 43 and Young Offender Institution Rule 46 for their own protection, or may be held in vulnerable prisoner units separate from other prisoners without being placed on either Rule. Figures for the end of May 1998, the most recent available information, and for the same date in the three previous years are shown in the table.
i) if certain criteria for "available places" are not met. The criteria include levels of security, control of prisoners and physical requirements such as lighting and heating;
ii) a "penalty points" system, where non-compliance with performance measures specified in the contract leads to an award of pre-determined penalty points; and
iii) if the contractor holds more than a specified number of prisoners two to a cell.
| Year | Prisoners on rule 43 and YOI rule 46 for their own protection | Prisoners in vulnerable prisoner units |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 1,130 | (25)-- |
| 1996 | 1,190 | 3,750 |
| 1997 | 850 | 4,010 |
| 1998 | 1,210 | 3,740 |
(25) Not available
Note:
Figures are provisional
Prisoners (Continous Assessment)
Mr. Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners are currently under continuous assessment by the Prison Service; what arrangements are in place to ensure that prisoners are not released directly from long periods of continuous assessment into the community; and if he will make a statement. [50430]
Ms Quin: There are 20 prisoners on the continuous assessment scheme (CAS). There is a possibility that prisoners may be released directly into the community: however, wherever possible, prisoners are returned to normal prison conditions prior to release.
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