Prison Accommodation (Elderly Inmates)
Dr. Cable:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what provisions he has made for the conversion of prison accommodation to suit an elderly prison population; [66441]
(2) what plans he has to authorise conversion of prisons or prison wings to cater for the needs of elderly inmates. [66434]
Mr. George Howarth:
The Prison Service meets the demands of elderly prisoners in the light of their particular circumstances and the facilities already available at the particular establishment where they are housed. At present, inmates over the age of 50 are held within the general prison population according to their legal status, security requirement and geographical location. This enables inmates to receive regular visits from professional advisers and maintain ties with their families. It also helps the Probation Service in their work to resettle offenders back into the community.
Kingston prison, Portsmouth, has a unit for elderly life sentenced prisoners, which was created in recognition of the increasing number of these prisoners. The Prison Service is keeping the position under consideration.
Prison Service (Recruitment)
Dr. Cable:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received about the Job Simulation Assessment Centre system of recruitment for the Prison Service. [66435]
Mr. George Howarth:
In its recent annual report, the Board of Visitors of Feltham Young Offenders Institution asked the Home Secretary to look closely at the arrangements for the recruitment of prison officers, which they feel exacerbate local staffing problems.
Job simulation assessment centres form part of the new approach to the recruitment of prison officers. They have been developed to provide fairer, more objective and more reliable assessments of candidates than the recruitment process which they replaced.
The Prison Service is aware, however, of the difficulties being experienced at Feltham and elsewhere in recruiting suitable prison officers and other grades of staff. It is therefore carrying out a short review in order to identify ways in which the situation can be improved.
Commercial Lobbyists
Mr. Flynn:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what rules or guidance his Department has to govern the (a) formal and (b) informal interaction between his civil servants and commercial lobbyists. [66211]
21 Jan 1999 : Column: 557
Mr. Straw:
I refer my hon. Friend to the reply my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Pendle (Mr. Prentice) on 27 July 1998, Official Report, column 4.
Immigration and Nationality Directorate
(Correspondence)
Mr. Green:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what target he has set the Immigration and Nationality Directorate for replying to correspondence. [66233]
Mr. Mike O'Brien:
The Immigration and Nationality Directorate (IND) has a target of 15 working days for replying to letters from hon. Members. This includes correspondence addressed to Ministers and addressed to the Secretary of the IND Board, to which IND officials reply. In addition, the Whitehall Service Standards operated across Government under the auspices of the Service First Initiative means IND has a target of 20 working days for replying to correspondence from members of the public which does not specifically relate to individual applications.
21 Jan 1999 : Column: 558
The hon. Member will be aware of recent notice given to Members of Parliament that moving offices and changing procedures in IND will cause delays in responding to correspondence for a few months. This is a temporary disruption, which should enable more efficient delivery against targets in the future.
ENVIRONMENT, TRANSPORT AND THE REGIONS
Local Government Finance
Mr. Sanders:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions if he will list (a) the dates and (b) the Minister in attendance, indicating whether (i) in person or (ii) by video link, for meetings requested by local authorities to discuss the local government grant settlement; and if he will list in each case the date his Department received the request for such a meeting from the local authority. [65432]
Ms Armstrong:
The information requested is as follows:
21 Jan 1999 : Column: 557
| Date | Minister | Local authority or association | Video link/in person | Date request received from the local authority or association
|
|---|
| 16 December | Hilary Armstrong | Lincolnshire | In person | 8 December
|
| 21 December | Hilary Armstrong | Brighton & Hove | In person | 10 December
|
| 21 December | Hilary Armstrong | Broxtowe | In person | 14 December
|
| 21 December | Hilary Armstrong | Gedling | In person | 7 December
|
| 21 December | Hilary Armstrong | Harrow | In person | 8 December
|
| 21 December | Hilary Armstrong | Leicester City | In person | 9 December
|
| 21 December | Hilary Armstrong | North Lincolnshire | In person | 9 December
|
| 21 December | Alan Meale | Rutland | Video link | 15 December
|
| 21 December | Hilary Armstrong | Worcestershire | In person | 8 December
|
| 22 December | Hilary Armstrong | Birmingham | Video link | 17 December
|
| 22 December | Hilary Armstrong | Bradford | In person | 9 December
|
| 22 December | Hilary Armstrong | Brent | In person | 8 December
|
| 22 December | Hilary Armstrong | Cambridgeshire | In person | 9 December
|
| 22 December | Hilary Armstrong | Haringey | In person | 17 December
|
| 22 December | Alan Meale | Havant | In person | 10 December
|
| 22 December | Hilary Armstrong | Havering | In person | 8 December
|
| 22 December | Alan Meale | Herefordshire | In person | 14 December
|
| 22 December | Hilary Armstrong | Tyne & Wear FCD | Video link | 8 December
|
| 22 December | Hilary Armstrong | West Sussex | Video link | 7 December
|
| 22 December | Alan Meale | Wokingham | In person | 8 December
|
| 4 January | Nick Raynsford | Castle Point | In person | 16 December
|
| 4 January | Glenda Jackson | Derbyshire | Video link | 30 December
|
| 4 January | Nick Raynsford | Northamptonshire | In person | 21 December
|
| 4 January | Nick Raynsford | Nottinghamshire | In person | 23 December
|
| 4 January | Glenda Jackson | Oldham | Video link | 23 December
|
| 4 January | Nick Raynsford | Wansbeck | In person | 18 December
|
| 5 January | Alan Meale | Buckinghamshire | In person | 18 December
|
| 5 January | Nick Raynsford | County Councils Network | In person | 17 December
|
| 5 January | Alan Meale | Devon | Video link | 21 December
|
| 5 January | Nick Raynsford | East Riding of Yorkshire | In person | 22 December
|
| 5 January | Alan Meale | Hertfordshire | Video link | 21 December
|
| 5 January | Nick Raynsford | Lancashire | In person | 11 December
|
| 5 January | Glenda Jackson | Mansfield | In person | 16 December
|
| 5 January | Alan Meale | North East Lincolnshire | In person | 21 December
|
| 5 January | Glenda Jackson | Northampton | In person | 24 December
|
| 5 January | Glenda Jackson | Northumberland | In person | 22 December
|
| 5 January | Alan Meale | Nuneaton & Bedworth | In person | 21 December
|
| 5 January | Alan Meale | Plymouth | Video link | 22 December
|
| 5 January | Nick Raynsford | Poole | In person | 22 December
|
| 5 January | Alan Meale | Stroud | Video link | 17 December
|
| 5 January | Alan Meale | Torbay | Video link | 21 December
|
| 5 January | Nick Raynsford | Wandsworth | In person | 24 December
|
| 5 January | Glenda Jackson | Windsor & Maidenhead | In person | 23 December
|
| 6 January | Nick Raynsford | Chesterfield | In person | 24 December
|
| 6 January | Nick Raynsford | Kent | In person | 17 December
|
| 6 January | Nick Raynsford | London FCD | In person | 24 December
|
| 6 January | Nick Raynsford | North Kesteven | In person | 18 December
|
| 6 January | Glenda Jackson | Norwich City | Phone | 21 December
|
| 6 January | Glenda Jackson | Shropshire | In person | 23 December
|
| 6 January | Nick Raynsford | Town and Country Finance Issues Group | In person | 18 December
|
| 6 January | Glenda Jackson | Wigan | Video link | 21 December
|
| 7 January | Alan Meale | Burnley | Video link | 17 December
|
| 7 January | Alan Meale | Coventry | In person | 3 December
|
| 7 January | Nick Raynsford | Cumbria | Video link | 23 December
|
| 7 January | Nick Raynsford | Hackney | In person | 23 December
|
| 7 January | Glenda Jackson | North East Derbyshire | In person | 22 December
|
| 7 January | Nick Raynsford | Reigate & Banstead | In person | 30 December
|
| 7 January | Nick Raynsford | Special Interest Group of Municipal Authorities | In person | 21 December
|
| 7 January | Alan Meale | South Gloucestershire | Video link | 17 December
|
| 7 January | Alan Meale | Suffolk | Video link | 11 December
|
| 7 January | Alan Meale | West Berkshire | In person | 15 December
|
| 7 January | Nick Raynsford | West Midlands FCD | Video link | 21 December
|
| 8 January | Glenda Jackson | Swindon | In person | 5 January
|
| 11 January | Nick Raynsford | Bury | Video link | 5 January
|
| 11 January | Nick Raynsford | Copeland | In person | 23 December
|
| 11 January | Glenda Jackson | Derwentside | In person | 22 December
|
| 11 January | Glenda Jackson | E8 Group | In person | 29 December
|
| 11 January | Nick Raynsford | Harborough | In person | 17 December
|
| 11 January | Glenda Jackson | Kingston upon Thames | Video link | 5 January
|
| 11 January | Hilary Armstrong | Kirklees | In person | 8 December
|
| 11 January | Alan Meale | Milton Keynes | In person | 22 December
|
| 11 January | Nick Raynsford | North Somerset | In person | 17 December
|
| 11 January | Lord Whitty | Stockport | Video link | 5 January
|
| 12 January | Hilary Armstrong | North Yorkshire | In person | 4 December
|
| 12 January | Hilary Armstrong | Oxfordshire | In person | 16 December
|
| 12 January | Nick Raynsford | West Yorkshire FCD | In person | 5 January
|
| 13 January | Hilary Armstrong | Association of London Government (ALG) | In person | n/a(8)
|
| 13 January | Hilary Armstrong | Local Government Association (LGA) | In person | n/a(8)
|
(8) Meetings with the LGA and the ALG followed a precedent set in the previous year and no separate request was required.
21 Jan 1999 : Column: 559
21 Jan 1999 : Column: 559
