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Prisoners

Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to ensure that the educational needs and progress of prisoners are assessed before they are transferred between prison establishments. [54064]

Beverley Hughes: We will put in place arrangements for all prisoners to have access to a full assessment of learning needs on reception and a supporting individual learning plan. In the longer term we want to make the transfer of records of individual achievement from prison to prison more efficient as part of a wider strategy to support effective management information systems through information technology. This should eradicate the need for prisoners to be re-assessed before of after they are transferred to a new establishment within a reasonable timescale.

Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to assess the individual educational needs of prisoners when they first enter custody; what plans he has to replace the global education targets set for the Prison Service with incentives for establishment and prison staff to improve the education attainments of individual prisoners; and if he will make a statement. [54065]

Beverley Hughes: All prisoners are offered a basic skills screening test at reception. We plan to improve initial assessment by introducing a greater range of diagnostic tests and are piloting computer-based initial assessment in basic skills for juveniles in selected young offender institutions and secure units.

We are widening education targets at national and establishment level to enable prisons to be more flexible in responding to the learning needs of their population. Prison education is now covered by the Adult Learning Inspectorate, which will monitor teaching and training standards to ensure they meet the needs of learners and enable them to progress. Under the Basic Skills Quality Initiative, all establishments will be supported in producing an action plan for delivering basic skills. We will also provide training to instructors and prison officers to enable them to support prisoners' educational needs.

Mr. Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to give prisoners over 16 years a statutory right to receive education while in custody. [54063]

8 May 2002 : Column 238W

Beverley Hughes: We have no plans to make education a statutory right to prisoners who are not of compulsory school age. But we will increase access to education for all prisoners through extra resources over the next two years and by continuing to remove barriers to learning.

Mr. Chaytor: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many women were serving custodial sentences in each of the last three years, broken down by location. [53824]

Beverley Hughes: The number of women serving custodial sentences on the 30 June in the last three years, broken down by prison is given in the table.

Establishment	1999	2000	2001
Total	2,436	2,666	2,899
Askham Grange	119	119	134
Brockhill	56	77	68
Bullwood Hall	133	156	161
Cookham Wood	146	141	151
Drake Hall	224	172	232
Durham	100	94	100
East Sutton Park	97	71	91
Eastwood Park	165	221	177
Foston Hall	166	164	155
Highpoint	194	188	229
Holloway	199	210	154
Low Newton	61	161	197
Morton Hall	—	—	185
New Hall	266	279	238
Send	88	198	216
Styal	331	335	320
Winchester	91	79	91

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners who are Irish citizens have died in United Kingdom prisons in each year since 1996. [53245]

Beverley Hughes: The numbers of deaths since 1996 in establishments in England and Wales of prisoners who were Irish citizens are set out in the table.

8 May 2002 : Column 239W

	Self-inflicted deaths(19)	Natural causes deaths(20)
Year	Irish prisoners(21)	Irish prisoners(21)
1996	0	0
1997	0	0
1998	1	0
1999	3	1
2000	3	0
2001	2	2
2002(22)	1	0
Total	10	3

⁽¹⁹⁾ Not all self-inflicted deaths result in an inquest verdict of suicide.

⁽²⁰⁾ Not all deaths initially classified as being due to natural causes result in an inquest verdict of natural causes.

⁽²¹⁾ Includes only those prisoners who are known to be Irish citizens.

⁽²²⁾ Up to and including 28 April 2002.

Dr. Vis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many young prisoners have been subjected to restraint under Rule 52 of the Rules for Young Offenders Institutions since April 2000; and what sort of restraints were used in each case. [52137]

Beverley Hughes: There have been nine young prisoners between the age of 18 and 21 years of age placed in restraint under Rule 52 during the stated period. The only restraint available for use under Young Offender Institution Rules 2000, Rule 52, is the body belt and it was used on 11 separate occasions at the following locations:

Location	Date
Guys Marsh	June 2000
Glen Parva	August 2000
Reading	September 2000
Portland	September 2000
Brockhill	(23)October 2000
Feltham	March 2001, August 2001
Dover	August 2001
Swinfen Hall	March 2002

⁽²³⁾ Three separate occasions

Mrs. Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress he has made on developing policies for the aftercare of wrongfully convicted prisoners; and what plans he has to consult on his proposals. [51941]

Beverley Hughes: I have now received the report of the working group established to consider this issue and I am considering its recommendations. I am also considering the extent to which there should be consultation on the proposals contained in the report. I will make an announcement shortly.

Prisons

Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make it his policy to notify hon. Members of proposals for prisons in their constituencies. [53705]

Beverley Hughes: It is already Government policy to notify hon. Members of proposals for new prison accommodation in their constituencies.

Mr. Wilshire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which prisons have sprinklers fitted in the residential parts of the prisons. [54324]

8 May 2002 : Column 240W

Beverley Hughes [holding answer 7 May 2002]: No prisons have sprinklers fitted in the residential areas of prisons. The Prison Service is currently undertaking field trials to evaluate the viability of sprinkler provision.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Departmental Functions

Mr. Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the functions of his Department that have been (a) market tested and (b) outsourced in each of the last five years, specifying the (i) money saving and (ii) percentage saving in each case. [42999]

Mr. MacShane: The following FCO functions have been market tested and subsequently outsourced within the last five years:

(i) London Press and Pictures Service (LPS), British Satellite News/London Radio Service (BSN/LRS) and British Information Services (BIS) Dispatch of Information Materials. All three services had been provided by the Central Office of Information (COI) and were outsourced in 1997 following a COI review which resulted in their no longer providing such services. Savings were as follows:

LPS: £522,000—a 13.6 per cent. saving per annum

BSN/LRS: £150,000—a 7 per cent. saving per annum

BIS £397,000—a 35 per cent. saving per annum.

(ii) Facilities management of the UK estate was outsourced in 1998 at a saving of £463,000 (30 per cent. per annum).

(iii) Guarding services for the UK estate were outsourced in 1998 at a saving of £340,000 (11 per cent. per annum).

National Insurance Costs

Mr. Andrew Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what his estimate is of the cost in a full year of the budget changes to employers' national insurance contributions to (a) his Department and (b) agencies of his Department. [51953]

Mr. Bradshaw: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary to the Treasury on 29 April 2002, Official Report, column 544W.

Organisation for the Prohibition of

Chemical Weapons

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) if he will make a statement on the reasons for the Government's decision to vote in favour of a vote of no confidence in Jose Bustani, Director General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons; [52578]

(2) if he will make a statement on the decision of Her Majesty's Government to vote to remove the Director General of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. [54237]

Mr. Bradshaw: Our policy throughout this matter has been guided by our judgment of what is in the best interests of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). Mr. Bustani had lost the confidence of a significant number of the OPCW's Executive

8 May 2002 : Column 241W

Council. At a Special Conference of the OPCW on 21 April, 48 states parties voted for the resolution to terminate Mr. Bustani's appointment, 43 abstained and only seven voted against. Every European Union country voted for the resolution (except France, which abstained), as did other key countries like India, Australia, Canada and Japan. Mr. Bustani's appointment was accordingly terminated with immediate effect.

The Special Conference also called for states parties to nominate candidates for the vacancy of Director General as soon as possible, and for the Executive Council to meet before 31 May to consider the nominations and decide on a recommendation to put to the conference before 10 June.

Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs for what reasons the United Kingdom voted on 22 April at the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons for the removal of the OPCW Director General from his post; and if he will make a statement on Jose Bustani's replacement. [54168]

Mr. Bradshaw: Our policy throughout this matter has been guided by our judgment of what is in the best interests of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). Mr. Bustani had lost the confidence of a significant number of the OPCW's Executive Council. At a special conference of the OPCW on 21 April, 48 states parties voted for the resolution to terminate Mr. Bustani's appointment, 43 abstained and only seven voted against. Every European Union country voted for the resolution (except France, which abstained), as did other key countries like India, Australia, Canada and Japan. Mr. Bustani's appointment was accordingly terminated with immediate effect.

The special conference also called for states parties to nominate candidates for the vacancy of Director General as soon as possible, and for the Executive Council to meet before 31 May to consider the nominations and decide on a recommendation to put to the conference before 10 June.

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