| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
Home Detention Curfew
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners eligible for Home Detention Curfew are in prison; and if he will list the reasons for this. [48657]
Beverley Hughes [holding answer 17 April 2002]: During March 2002 the number of prisoners eligible for consideration under the Home Detention Curfew scheme (HDC) was 5,033, of whom 1,433 were released under the scheme. Therefore, 3,600 remained in custody. There are a number of reasons why those prisoners were not released on curfew:
- 1. about one fifth of prisoners 'opt out' of the scheme and choose not to be considered for HDC for personal reasons;
- 2. on examination of prisoners' files it may have been found that they were statutorily excluded from HDC because they were prisoners who have been previously returned to prison under section 40/116 of the Criminal Justice Act/Powers of Criminal Courts (sentencing) Act 2000;
- 3. they may not have had suitable accommodation arranged on their release. This includes accommodation where it is not possible to install the monitoring equipment due to insurmountable technical difficulties;
24 Apr 2002 : Column 331W
- 4. a small number of prisoners serving very short sentences may not have been released due to the lack of time to process their case; and
- 5. the prisoner may not have passed the risk assessment for release on HDC carried out by prison and probation staff.
Prison Service Colleges
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many recruited prison officers have been trained by the Prison Service colleges during the last 12 months. [51143]
Beverley Hughes: In total, 598 prison officers started the prison officer entry-level training course during 2001–02. This figure includes the 363 new entrants to the Prison Service during 2001–02, some new entrants recruited before 1 April 2001, and some existing staff, mainly from the operational support grade, who were regraded as officers.
Prison Officers
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action is being taken to provide housing accommodation for prison officers working at London prisons. [50879]
Beverley Hughes: The Prison Service is working with Bush Housing Association Limited to identify what resources can be used to help staff in areas with high housing costs. It is also considering ways in which it can work with other public services to achieve this.
In January 2002 the Prison Service increased the rates of local pay allowance for staff working in London and the home counties. Staff at inner London prisons now receive £3,500 and those at Belmarsh and Latchmere House prisons receive £2,300.
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many trained prison officers have resigned from the prison service in each of the last three years. [50880]
Beverley Hughes: The information is contained in the table. Only staff who were in post for more than 12 months have been included. The figures include all prison officer grades—officers, senior officers and principal officers.
| Prison officer grade resignations | |
|---|---|
| 1999–2000 | 183 |
| 2000–01 | 295 |
| 2001–02 | 506 |
Prison Service
Mr. Stinchcombe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many (a) governing governors and (b) governor grades of prison establishments in England and Wales are from an ethnic minority group; [50632]
24 Apr 2002 : Column 332W
Beverley Hughes: As at 31 March 2002 in publicly managed prison establishments, one governing governor and 21 out of 920 senior operational managers, formerly known as governor grades, were recorded as being from minority ethnic groups. 58 staff have declined to state their ethnicity and data are unavailable on a further three. In privately managed prison establishments no directors, and two out of 85 senior operational staff, were recorded as being from minority ethnic groups.
Race Equality Employment Target is one of the Prison Service's key performance indicators and targets for 2001–02. The target proportion of staff from a minority ethnic group to be achieved in publicly managed prison establishments by April 2002 is 4.1 per cent. The service is updating its personnel records with the introduction of the 2001 census of new ethnicity classifications. Provisional figures at the end of March 2002 suggest that the proportion of staff from a minority ethnic group is 4.9 per cent. In privately managed prison establishments the proportion of staff from a minority ethnic group is 2.8 per cent.
Life Prisoners
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many life prisoners have served their sentences but are yet to be released. [48648]
Beverley Hughes [holding answer 17 April 2002]: Life sentence prisoners are required to serve a minimum period in custody to satisfy the requirements of retribution and deterrence; this is known as the tariff. After the tariff period has been served a life sentence prisoner may be considered for release on life licence but release will only be allowed if the prisoner is judged no longer to be a risk to the public. Prisoners released on life licence are liable to be recalled for the rest of their lives.
On 31 March 2002, a total of 5,060 life sentence prisoners were held in custody. Of these, approximately 1,500 had reached or exceeded their tariff expiry date.
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many lifers who maintain their innocence are denied access to education facilities. [48656]
Beverley Hughes [holding answer 17 April 2002]: I would not expect any prisoner serving a life sentence to be denied access to education facilities or the opportunity to develop their skills and knowledge because they maintain their innocence.
If my hon. Friend has a particular case which he would like to write to me about, I will ensure that it is followed up.
Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what statistics are kept on the number of life prisoners yet to be released who are claiming they are innocent of the crime for which they have been imprisoned; [48649]
- (2) how many life prisoners who (a) maintain their innocence and (b) who admit their guilt have been granted parole on their first hearing in each year since 1995; [48653]
(3) what the average number of prison moves has been for (a) a lifer and (b) a lifer who maintains his innocence in the last five years. [48655]
24 Apr 2002 : Column 333W
Beverley Hughes [holding answer 17 April 2002]: This information is not held centrally and could be collected only at disproportionate cost. New guidance for prison and probation staff on how to handle the cases of life sentence prisoners who deny their guilt was recently issued in a revised version of Chapter 7 of the "Lifer Manual (Prison Service Order 4700)". I have arranged for a copy of this to be placed in the Library.
TREASURY
Fraud (Oil)
Mrs. Lawrence: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish a summary of responses to the consultations, and a regulatory impact assessment, in relation to the measures announced in the Budget to tackle oil fraud. [52555]
Mr. Boateng: The Government have today published a paper summarising responses to the consultations and setting out the regulatory impact assessment in relation to these measures. Copies will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses, alongside copies of responses to the consultations.
Green Fuel Challenge
Mr. Don Foster: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the second round of bids for the Green Fuel Challenge announced in the Budget will be launched; and if he will make a statement. [52395]
Mr. Boateng: I am today launching the second round of the Green Fuel Challenge pilot project exercise, inviting bids for pilots involving practical alternative transport fuels. I have arranged for the detailed criteria and guidance to be placed in the Library of the House.
Customs and Excise
Nick Harvey: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average number of stop checks made, per day, by Her Majesty's Customs officers, to search for illegal imports at (a) Heathrow, (b) Gatwick, (c) Stansted and (d) Luton airports was in each of the past five years; and if he will make a statement. [51772]
Mr. Boateng: It is not Custom's Law Enforcement policy to disclose information on levels of Customs checks at specific locations.
Nick Harvey: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many kilograms of illegal meat products have been found as a result of stop checks by Her Majesty's Customs officers at (a) Heathrow, (b) Gatwick, (c) Stansted and (d) Luton airports in each of the past five years; and if he will make a statement. [51773]
Mr. Boateng: Central records of Customs seizures of meat and meat products are available only from 2000. Records for calendar years 2000 and 2001 are as follows:
| 2000 | 2001(10) | |
|---|---|---|
| Heathrow | 1,590 | 5,462 |
| Gatwick | 347 | 2,070 |
| Stansted | 2 | 67 |
| Luton | 0 | 101 |
(10) In 2001 in addition to the weights shown there were also a total of 60 seizures (Heathrow 49, Gatwick 17, Stansted two, Luton one) where the quantity was not recorded by weight.
24 Apr 2002 : Column 334W
Nick Harvey: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is done with illegal meat products once they have been confiscated by Her Majesty's Customs and Excise officers; and if he will make a statement. [51770]
Mr. Boateng: Meat and meat products seized by Customs are disposed of through arrangements made by the local or port health authority.
Nick Harvey: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the average number of Her Majesty's Customs and Excise officers working, per day, at (a) Heathrow, (b) Gatwick, (c) Stansted and (d) Luton airports was in each of the past five years; and if he will make a statement. [51769]
Mr. Boateng: It is not Customs Law Enforcement policy to disclose information on operational deployments of staff at specific locations.
Nick Harvey: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to place amnesty bins at airport departure and arrivals halls to give passengers an opportunity to dump illegal meat products prior to going through the Customs check point; and if he will make a statement. [51774]
Mr. Boateng: The question of amnesty bins at airport departure and arrival halls raises issues of security, health and safety. My officials are working with the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), who lead the overall programme on illegal meat imports, on measures to deal with illicit meat inadvertently imported by passengers.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |