| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Prisons
Jackie Ballard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many new prisons are planned to open in the next five years; what each will cost; how many places will be provided; and who will manage them; [106117]
- (2) how many new prisons have been (a) constructed and (b) commissioned since 1990; at what cost; and who manages each prison. [106118]
Mr. Boateng: The information requested is set out in the tables.
- New prisons constructed and commissioned since 1990
| Prison | Opening date | Cost of construction (8) | Operator |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belmarsh | 1991 | 159 | Prison Service |
| Moorland | 1991 | 54 | Prison Service |
| Whitemoor | 1991 | 57 | Prison Service |
| Brinsford | 1991 | 45 | Prison Service |
| Elmley | 1992 | 83 | Prison Service |
| Bullingdon | 1992 | 64 | Prison Service |
| Wolds | 1992 | 37 | Group 4 |
| Holme House | 1992 | 66 | Prison Service |
| Woodhill | 1992 | 118 | Prison Service |
| Highdown | 1992 | 91 | Prison Service |
| Lancaster Farms | 1993 | 73 | Prison Service |
| Blakenhurst | 1993 | 91 | (9)U.K.D.S. |
| Doncaster | 1994 | 92 | (10)P.P.S. |
| Buckley Hall | 1994 | 20 | Group 4 |
| The Weare | 1997 | 13 | Prison Service |
(8) The Construction Costs are actual costs at the time of construction, ie they have not been adjusted to present day values
(9) United Kingdom Detention Services
(10) Premier Prison Services
(11) The "Cost at NPV" is the total cost of designing, constructing, financing and managing the prison over the 25 year life of the contract, expressed in Net Present Value (NPV) terms
27 Jan 2000 : Column: 234W
Prisoners (Self-harm)
Jackie Ballard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many incidents of self-harm were recorded by people held in (a) court cells and (b) on prison escort, in each of the last five years. [106113]
Mr. Boateng: Information systems used by the Prison Service do not allow a differentiation between incidents of self-harm committed by people in court cells and on prison escort. The information available on self-harm incidents of people while on prison escort undertaken by private sector companies acting under contract to the Prison Service is the total number reported to the incident management support unit (IMSU) in Prison Service headquarters. These figures are given in the table.
Care should be taken when interpreting the data because, although the majority of incidents of self-harm occur while in court, some incidents do take place in cellular vehicles. In addition, it should be noted that responsibility for the escorting of prisoners to and from court was progressively contracted out in England and Wales between April 1993 and August 1997. Consequently, the figures for 1995-96 and 1996-97 are low because incidents involving prisoners under escort by prison staff would have been recorded against the establishment involved, while those relating to prisoners in police custody would have been collected locally.
27 Jan 2000 : Column: 235W
| Year | Total |
|---|---|
| 1995-96 | 16 |
| 1996-97 | 57 |
| 1997-98 | 145 |
| 1998-99 | 156 |
| 1999-2000(12) | 184 |
(12) As at 19 January 1999
Notes:
1. These data are derived from information provided by escort contract monitors to the Incident Management Support Unit (IMSU) in Prison Service Headquarters.
2. Incidents do not necessarily equate to numbers of prisoners as an individual prisoner may self-harm on more than one occasion.
3. Statistics on self-harm are collated on a financial year basis.
Prison Mother and Baby Units
Jackie Ballard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the weekly cost of accommodating an inmate in each of the mother and baby units in the United Kingdom. [106143]
Mr. Boateng: At present no separate budget is allocated to the mother and baby units. The cost of running the unit is met from the individual establishment's central budget. Mother and baby units (MBUs), do not have a standard cost as the physical accommodation offered is different in each one. Additionally, the regimes offered differ from prison to prison depending on its security category and its function within the female estate. The information requested is given in the table.
| Prisoner places | Open/closed | Weekly cost per prisoner place on MBUs (£) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Askham Grange | 20 | Open | 731 |
| Holloway | 13 | Closed | 751 |
| New Hall | 9 | Closed | 742 |
| Styal | 20 | Closed | 628 |
Prison Suicides
Jackie Ballard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many suicides of prisoners have occurred (a) in prisons and (b) while on escort from prisons; and if he will indicate the company responsible for the escort at the time in each of the last five years. [106114]
Mr. Boateng: The information requested is given in the table.
| Year | Total number of self-inflicted deaths | Number of self-inflicted deaths while on escort from prisons | Contractor |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 59 | 0 | -- |
| 1996 | 64 | 1 | Group 4 Court Services |
| 1997 | 68 | 2 | Securicor Custodial Services Premier Prison Services |
| 1998 | 82 | 0 | -- |
| 1999 | 91 | 5 | Group 4 Court Services (x3) Securicor Custodial Services (x2) |
| 2000(13) | 3 | 0 | -- |
(13) As at 19 January 1999
27 Jan 2000 : Column: 236W
Prison Places
Jackie Ballard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many places have been made available in each new prison opened since 1990. [106139]
Mr. Boateng: Since 1990, 20 new prisons have opened. These are listed in the table along with the calendar year of opening and the number of prisoner places available on 17 December 1999, the latest date for which official figures are available. The figure for Forest Bank, which opened last week, is provisional.
| Prison | Year opened | Prisoner places |
|---|---|---|
| Belmarsh | 1991 | 869 |
| Moorland | 1991 | 779 |
| Whitemoor | 1991 | 408 |
| Brinsford | 1991 | 509 |
| Elmley | 1992 | 950 |
| Bullingdon | 1992 | 891 |
| Wolds | 1992 | 405 |
| Holme House | 1992 | 971 |
| Woodhill | 1992 | 781 |
| High Down | 1992 | 714 |
| Lancaster Farms | 1993 | 536 |
| Blakenhurst | 1993 | 850 |
| Doncaster | 1994 | 1,111 |
| Buckley Hall | 1994 | 390 |
| Weare | 1997 | 400 |
| Parc | 1997 | 920 |
| Altcourse | 1997 | 860 |
| Lowdham Grange | 1998 | 524 |
| Ashfield | 1999 | 400 |
| Forest Bank | 2000 | 800 |
EU Mutual Assistance Convention
Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on his policy on Article 18 of the Draft Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters, between the member states of the European Union, with special reference to the legal status of UK amendments and declarations. [106395]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
On 2 December 1999 the Justice and Home Affairs Council agreed a legally-binding Declaration on the scope of Article 18 of the draft Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters between the member states of the European Union. This makes clear that, in the United Kingdom, Article 18 will apply to interception warrants issued by the Secretary of State to the Police Service and Her Majesty's Customs and Excise for the purpose of the detection of serious crime. The Declaration also applies Article 18 to interception warrants issued to the Security Service for this purpose (in accordance with its remit under the Security Service Act 1996).
27 Jan 2000 : Column: 237W
Mr. Bercow:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what number of intercepts his Department estimates will be requested annually, by member states, under the Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters; and if he will break down that estimate by category of criminal activity. [106397]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
It is not possible to provide a meaningful estimate of the number or category of requests since this will be determined by the requirements of other member states once the draft Convention is agreed and ratified. However, any request for mutual legal assistance to intercept the communications of a person in the United Kingdom will need to meet the criteria for issuing a warrant for the purpose of the prevention or detection of serious crime under the United Kingdom's legislation on interception of communications.
Serious crime is defined in the Interception of Communications Act 1985 as conduct which, if it took place in the United Kingdom, would constitute one or more offences if, and only if:
Mr. Charles Clarke:
I am depositing the paper produced by representatives of the European Commission in the Library.
it involves the use of violence, results in substantial financial gain or is conduct by a large number of persons in pursuit of a common purpose; or
the offence or one of the offences is an offence for which a person who has attained the age of twenty-one and has no previous convictions could reasonably be expected to be sentenced to imprisonment for a term of three years or more.
Mr. Bercow:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will deposit the Commission paper on Article 17 of the Draft Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters, which was examined by the Article 36 Committee on 9 and 10 November 1999, in the Library; and if he will make a statement on the (a) role and (b) composition of the Committee. [106396]
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |