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Prisons

Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 9 June 2000, Official Report, column 394W, on prisons, if he will give details of the RESPOND programme including the training required and the amount of training undertaken to date; if he will give details of the targets set for training in this area; and if he will make a statement. [126558]

Mr. Boateng: The RESPOND programme is designed to promote racial equality for staff and prisoners, it consists of five main strategies:






To confront racial harassment and discrimination the RESPOND programme highlights the need for mandatory racial harassment training for all staff. I referred in the reply I gave the hon. Gentleman on 9 June 2000, Official Report, column 394W, to the current position against the target set for completion of this training.

To ensure fairness in recruitment, appraisal, promotion and selection the RESPOND programme highlights the need to review training for assessors and promotion board members. Assessors are provided with training at Job Simulation and Assessment Centres at every assessment event. This affords a unique opportunity to update any training they may have previously received. Training is mandatory for staff acting as promotion board members. Training for promotion board members has been reviewed. A new training course entitled Recruitment, Promotion and Selection Interviewing is being piloted. Delivery of the course and its content will be continually evaluated.

To ensure equal opportunities for minority ethnic prisoners, the RESPOND programme highlights the need to review the race relations training provided to Prison Officers including that contained in their basic training. The provision of local race relations training to all staff working in prisons is mandatory. As far as practicable, this training should be repeated every three years. In the period between the 1996-97 and 1998-99 financial years, there was a steady increase in the delivery of this training

19 Jun 2000 : Column: 94W

with 3,594, 4,157 and 5,617 staff trained in each year. A new local race relations training pack was launched earlier this year which will further encourage the delivery of this training. The Prison Service Order 2800 Race Relations was strengthened in February 2000 to require the Governing Governor or Deputy Governor to chair the Race Relations Management Team. To enable this, a training course is being provided in partnership with the National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders. These courses will be completed in July 2000. A consultation phase has begun as part of a review of the basic training provided to Prison Officers with a view to introducing a new course. In the 1999-2000 financial year, 1,122 new Prison Officers undertook basic training. It is anticipated that during the 2000-01 financial year 1,400 new Prison Officers will require basic training.

Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the date each report by Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons was (a) received by the Home Office and (b) published, in each of the last two years; and if he will list those reports which are currently with his Department, but are yet to be published and the date they were received. [126557]

Mr. Boateng: The information is given in the table.

Reports submitted to Home Secretary from 13 June 1998 to
13 June 2000

EstablishmentReceived Published
Establishment Reports
Gloucester(23)12 May 199817 June 1998
Wellingborough(23)12 May 199818 June 1998
Winchester(23)22 April 199824 June 1998
Shrewsbury(23)21 April 19981 July 1998
The Mount(23)12 May 199810 July 1998
The Verne(23)2 June 199829 July 1998
Long Lartin(23)5 June 199817 August 1998
Bedford(23)7 July 19989 September 1998
Werrington3 July 199823 September 1998
Stafford16 July 199824 November 1998
Everthorpe30 July 199813 October 1998
Belmarsh31 July 19988 October 1998
Eastwood Park11 August 199829 September 1998
Highpoint12 August 199829 September 1998
Woodhill12 August 19982 October 1998
North Sea Camp29 September 19988 January 1999
Birmingham16 October 199813 January 1999
Albany15 December 199812 March 1999
Blakenhurst10 December 199816 February 1999
Chelmsford18 December 19989 March 1999
Aylesbury11 August 199828 October 1998
Haslar11 September 199811 December 1998
Nottingham13 August 19982 December 1998
Sudbury17 August 199816 October 1998
Norwich28 September 199816 December 1998
Thorn Cross16 October 199812 January 1999
Kirkham7 December 19985 March 1999
Askham Grange16 December 19982 March 1999
Feltham17 December 19988 February 2000
The Wolds9 December 199816 April 1999
Doncaster8 January 199930 March 1999
Leicester30 January 199918 March 1999
Brockhill3 February 199928 April 1999
Elmley14 January 199919 March 1999
The Weare25 January 199921 April 1999
Styal3 February 199914 May 1999
Risley3 February 199914 May 1999
Hindley3 February 199929 April 1999
Lincoln24 February 199922 April 1999
Liverpool19 March 199917 June 1999
Wymott12 April 199922 July 1999
New Hall15 April 199916 July 1999
Highdown10 May 199913 July 1999
Huntercombe12 May 199916 July 1999
Wormwood Scrubs24 May 199928 June 1999
Reading18 June 19998 October 1999
Exeter29 June 199912 August 1999
Bristol7 June 199920 July 1999
Bullwood Hall16 August 199927 October 1999
Preston16 August 199915 October 1999
Parc30 July 199914 October 1999
Swansea14 September 199921 December 1999
Foston Hall29 September 199915 February 2000
Wandsworth13 October 199917 December 1999
Hatfield14 September 19992 December 1999
Wayland23 September 19992 November 1999
Hollesley BC29 September 19998 December 1999
Rochester27 October 199921 January 2000
Onley27 October 19994 February 2000
Guys Marsh15 October 200014 January 2000
Feltham25 November 20008 February 2000
Dorchester15 November 200028 January 2000
Pentonville6 January 20005 April 2000
Portland11 January 200021 March 2000
Altcourse24 January 200019 April 2000
Werrington6 January 20001 March 2000
Ashwell21 January 20005 April 2000
Lowdham Grange24 January 200027 April 2000
Glen Parva9 February 200010 May 2000
Belmarsh4 February 20004 May 2000
Littlehey4 February 200011 April 2000
Brockhill31 January 200015 March 2000
Buckley Hall9 February 2000--
CSCs9 February 200022 March 2000
Shepton Mallet22 March 20009 May 2000
Blantyre House21 March 2000--
Wormwood Scrubs14 April 2000--
Eastwood Park19 April 2000--
Lindholme27 April 2000--
Lewes23 May 2000--
Low Newton25 May 2000--
Featherstone6 June 2000--
Usk7 June 2000--
Channings Wood8 June 2000--
Other Reports
Lifer Thematic--6 April 1999
Annual Report 1997-9823 February 199914 April 1999
Suicide Thematic 6 April 199919 May 1999
Annual Report 1998-997 April 200013 June 2000

(23) Submitted prior to 13 June 1998 but published after that date


19 Jun 2000 : Column: 95W

Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer to the right hon. Member for Maidstone and The Weald (Miss Widdecombe) on 8 May 2000, Official Report, column 302-05W, on the number of prisoners in work, (a) if he will break down the work undertaken by the 162 prisoners at HMP Coldingley engaged in other occupations and the 215 prisoners engaged in prison maintenance work, (b) if there are further prisoners engaged in work at HMP Kirklevington and HMP Mount and (c) what the reasons are for the figure of 223 prisoners engaged in wing cleaning work at HMP Usk; and if he will make a statement. [126543]

Mr. Boateng: The breakdown of prisoner occupation for Coldingley is set out in the table. Other occupations include offending behaviour programmes, induction and community service.

19 Jun 2000 : Column: 96W

Kirklevington is a resettlement prison and in addition to the numbers of prisoners employed as shown in my reply to the right hon. Member for Maidstone and the Weald (Miss Widdecombe), on 8 May 2000, Official Report, columns 302-05W the remainder either attend college courses or are employed by companies outside the establishment.

At The Mount more up-to-date information shows an additional 40 prisoners employed in the categories shown in my reply to the right hon. Member for Maidstone and the Weald (Miss Widdecombe), on 8 May 2000, Official Report, columns 302-05W. The remainder are occupied on offending behaviour programmes, basic and key skills education and physical education courses.

The figures given for Usk in my reply to the right hon. Member for Maidstone and the Weald (Miss Widdecombe), on 8 May 2000, Official Report, columns 302-05W cover both Usk and Prescoed. There were 20 prisoners engaged on wing cleaning. The remaining 203 were engaged on craft work, education and offending behaviour programmes and should have been shown under "other occupations".

Number
Other occupations142
Orderlies15
Prison maintenance5
Total162
Non-Prison Enterprise Services workshops7
Prison Enterprise Services workshops168
Kitchen17
Wing cleaners23
Total215

Mr. Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer to the right hon. Member for Maidstone and The Weald (Miss Widdecombe), on 8 May 2000, Official Report, column 305-07W, on prison workshops, for what reasons HMPs Kirklevington, Usk, Wayland and Weare were not included; and if he will make a statement. [126541]

Mr. Boateng: Kirklevington, Usk and Weare prisons were not included in the answer because there are no industrial workshops at these establishments.

The average length of the working week for Wayland prison is 16 hours.

Mr. Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the prisons, by prison category, which have received additional funding for special projects under funding made available through the Comprehensive Spending Review; if he will give details of the projects; and if he will make a statement. [126553]

Mr. Boateng: Details of prisons, by prison category which have received additional funding through the comprehensive spending review have been placed in the Library.

19 Jun 2000 : Column: 97W

The tables that have been placed in the Library show allocation of funding through the Comprehensive Spending Review for 1999-2000 and 2000-01 respectively.

Allocations for 1999-2000 are split into categories as follows:








The information in the tables is set out by prison by current prison category. The prisons are grouped by area and separately for 1999-2000 and for 2000-01 reflecting changes in Prison Service areas.


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