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Women Prisoners
Mr. Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the provision of places at open prisons for women. [75713]
Mr. George Howarth: The table lists the three female open establishments. These prisons currently provide 519 certified normal accommodation (CNA) places for 481 sentenced adults and young offenders. There are no current plans to change the number of places provided.
| Establishment | Certified normal accommodation places | Number of prisoners |
|---|---|---|
| HMP Askham Grange | 130 | 128 |
| HMP and YOI Drake Hall | 295 | 266 |
| HMP and YOI East Sutton Park | 94 | 87 |
| Total | 519 | 481 |
Mr. Beith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the average annual increase in the number of (a) women prisoners and (b) places at open prisons for women in each of the last five years and in total. [75780]
Mr. George Howarth:
Information on the average female prison population is given in table 1. This information, up to 1997, is published in "Prison statistics
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England and Wales" (Table 1.2 of the 1997 edition), a copy of which is in the library. Information on the certified normal accommodation (CNA) for female open prisons is given in table 2.
| Year | Average female prison population | Difference | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 1,811 | -- | |
| 1995 | 1,979 | +168 | |
| 1996 | 2,262 | +283 | |
| 1997 | 2,675 | +413 | |
| 1998(3) | 3,105 | +430 | |
| Total change between 1994-98 +1,294 | |||
(3) Provisional figures.
| Year | Female open prisons | Female open young offender institutions | Total | Difference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 422 | 53 | 475 | -- | |
| 1995 | 444 | 53 | 497 | +22 | |
| 1996 | 453 | 53 | 506 | +9 | |
| 1997 | 452 | 53 | 505 | -1 | |
| 1998(4) | 459 | 53 | 512 | +7 | |
| Total change between 1994-98 +37 | |||||
(4) Provisional figures
Life Prisoners
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners serving life sentences have escaped from open prisons in each of the last 10 years; and how many were convicted for an offence committed while escaping. [75551]
Mr. George Howarth: Central records cover the period from 1 March 1991. The number of reported absconds by life sentence prisoners from within open prisons since that date is as follows:
| Date | Number |
|---|---|
| 1 March 1991-29 February 1992 | 7 |
| 1 March 1992-28 February 1993 | 12 |
| 1 March 1993-28 February 1994 | 13 |
| 1 March 1994-28 February 1995 | 10 |
| 1 March 1995-29 February 1996 | 18 |
| 1 March 1996-29 February 1997 | 9 |
| 1 March 1997-28 February 1998 | 9 |
| 1 March 1998-28 February 1999 | 12 |
As there is no central record of either those absconds which occurred prior to 1 March 1991, or offences committed by prisoners whilst at large, the further details requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners serving life sentences are currently placed at open prisons. [75552]
Mr. George Howarth:
On 31 January 1999, there were 380 life sentence prisoners in open prisons in England and Wales.
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Mr. Hancock:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on his policy concerning the placement of life sentence prisoners in open prisons. [75558]
Mr. George Howarth:
A period in open conditions is regarded as essential for most life sentence prisoners before they are considered for release on life licence. This period allows for the testing of areas of concern in conditions which are closer to those in the community than are found in closed prisons. Decisions to transfer life sentence prisoners to open conditions are taken by Ministers on consideration of recommendations made by the Parole Board.
The Secretary of State's directions to the Parole Board in relation to mandatory life sentence prisoners require the Board, before making a recommendation for transfer to open conditions, to balance the risks against the benefits of such a move, taking into account:
In each case the Board is also directed to consider whether:
The same considerations apply in principle to recommendations for the transfer to open conditions of those subject to discretionary and other life sentences.
Mr. McCabe:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he will take to ensure that workplace drug screening programmes are applied equally to employees at all levels within the organisation. [75647]
Mr. Straw:
The Home Office does not operate any drug screening programmes of its employees within the workplace.
Mr. McCabe:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the criteria for determining compensation claims under Option C for people required to hand in firearms and ancillary equipment; and how the criteria were established. [75619]
Mr. Boateng:
Claims under all options of the firearms compensation schemes are determined by the eligibility requirements set out in the Firearms (Amendment) Acts 1997 and in the compensation schemes. To qualify for compensation, a surrendered handgun or small calibre pistol must be a prohibited weapon as defined in the Acts, and ancillary equipment must be of a type specified in the compensation schemes. The categories of ancillary
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equipment covered by the schemes were drawn up in consultation with a number of shooting representative bodies.
Mr. Woolas:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations he has received from the Derker and Stoneleigh Residents Association in Oldham. [75517]
Mr. Boateng:
The Derker and Stoneleigh Residents Association wrote to my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary on 17 February 1999 and will receive a reply very shortly. I am not aware of any other representations.
Mr. Cousins:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many refugees have been allocated to the North East Region by the Refugee Arrivals Project; where they have settled; and what is the unit cost per week in each location. [76127]
Mr. Mike O'Brien:
The Refugee Arrivals Project provides an advice service to asylum seekers arriving at Gatwick or Heathrow who declare their application for asylum at their port of entry. Such asylum seekers may be entitled to income support and housing benefit. Because of current difficulties experienced by single asylum seekers in obtaining suitable accommodation in the London area, the Refugee Arrivals Project has advised some to seek support in other parts of the country. At present, about 350 asylum seekers have gone to the North East Region while their asylum claim is being considered.
Mr. Burns:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action will be taken following the report by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Prisons on HM Prison Chelmsford to rectify problems identified in that report; and if he will make a statement. [76080]
Mr. George Howarth:
Work has already begun to address the issues raised in the report including installation of a new cell call bell system and the building of a new reception area.
a. whether the lifer has made sufficient progress towards tackling offending behaviour to minimise the risk and gravity of re-offending and whether the benefits suggest that a transfer to open conditions is worthwhile at that stage; and
b. whether the lifer is trustworthy enough not to abscond or to commit further offences (either inside or outside the prison).
a. the extent to which the risk that the lifer will abscond or commit further offences while in an open prison is minimal;
b. the lifer has shown by his performance in closed conditions that he has made positive efforts to address his attitudes and behavioural problems and the extent to which significant progress has been made in doing so; and
c. the lifer is likely to derive benefit from being able to continue to address areas of concern in an open prison and to be tested in a more realistic environment.
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