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Prisoner Costs

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average annual cost is of accommodating a person in (a) a prison and (b) a youth offender institution; and if he will make a statement. [66624]

Hilary Benn [holding answer 2 July 2002]: The table gives the annual average establishment cost per place in 2001–02 by category of prison. Figures are expressed in resource terms and exclude capital expenditure and headquarters overheads.

Average annual establishment cost per prison place 2001–02

	£
Male closed young offender institution	20,732
Male open young offender institution	20,075
Category B	22,497
Category C	18,463
Dispersal	34,365
Female closed	24,795
Female local	31,310
Female open	21,220
Male juvenile	27,452
Male local	26,878
Male open	17,438
Male remand centre	32,474
Semi open	20,224
Average all establishments	23,500

4 Jul 2002 : Column 534W

People Trafficking

Mr. Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent assessment he has made of the extent of the trafficking of women and children in the UK. [66152]

Beverley Hughes [holding answer 3 July 2002]: Forming an accurate estimate of the levels of trafficking in people is problematic given the reluctance of the victims of trafficking to report to the police. There is currently no accurate, reliable data in existence within the United Kingdom (UK) or the European Union. A Home Office research study, "Stopping Traffic" (Police Research Series 125, published in 2000), indicated that there was intelligence to suggest that some women and children are trafficked into the UK for the purposes of sexual exploitation. This was estimated at between 140 and 1,400 per year but it was impossible to make a more accurate assessment of numbers. The report concluded that there was no evidence to suggest that this was on a large scale compared with other European countries.

The Immigration and Nationality Department Intelligence Section (INDIS) and the National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS) produce confidential monthly assessments and annual threat assessments for Reflex, our multi-agency task force on organised immigration crime. These assess the extent of organised immigration crime, which includes the trafficking of women and children, as it impacts on the UK. Reflex is led by the National Crime Squad and brings together all the key agencies involved in combating the problem, including INDIS, NCIS, the security and intelligence agencies and key police forces including the Met, Kent and the British Transport police.

Wolvercote Clinic

Mr. Dawson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if a decision has been made about the future location of the Wolvercote clinic; and if he will make a statement on the provision of residential treatment of sex offenders living in the community. [67645]

Hilary Benn: In the interests of public protection, I have commissioned the national probation service to undertake a national review of the provision of residential treatment for sex offenders. This will encompass the work of the Lucy Faithfull foundation, which runs the Wolvercote clinic in Epsom.

I have also decided not to proceed with the relocation of the Wolvercote clinic to Silverlands.

The Wolvercote clinic will cease to operate at Horton hospital in Epsom following the sale of the site. Contingency plans will be implemented for the nine remaining residents so that they can complete their treatment on a non-residential basis, and for those under licence or supervision, formal contact with the authorities will continue.

Kevin White Centre (Waiting Times)

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many patients (a) are awaiting treatment and (b) have had to wait for treatment at the Kevin White centre in Merseyside in the last year; and how long the waiting period is on average in each case. [64616]

4 Jul 2002 : Column 535W

Mr. Bob Ainsworth: Figures are not available on the numbers waiting for treatment (or the average waiting time of each case) at the Kevin White centre for 2000–01.

The following figures provide an illustration of current access to the unit:

during April and May 2002 a total of 42 people were admitted into the Kevin White Unit;


of the 18 people who entered treatment in May 2002, 15 had been waiting less than two months, with only three waiting between three and five months.

The Government set up the National Treatment Agency last year with the objective of increasing the capacity, quality and effectiveness of drug treatment in England. Since then the NTA has:

established waiting time targets for drug treatment;


piloted a co-ordinated system of treatment delivery in eight areas (this aims to integrate all support services); and promoted the shared-care approach to enable GPs to work more effectively with specialist services and drug users in their areas.

In June 2002, the NTA issued its third paper providing national guidance to Drug Action teams, commissioners and service providers on managing and reducing waiting times for specialist drug treatment.

Detox Units

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people are waiting for places in detox centres in the north west. [64615]

Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The information requested is not centrally held. From information provided by the 22 Northwest Drug Action Teams (DATs) in treatment plans submitted to the National Treatment Agency (NTA) in January this year, the mean waiting time for access into treatment for in-patient detoxification services and residential rehabilitation in the Northwest is as follows:

In-patient Detoxification Services

December 2001:

Priority—average 4.3 weeks (range 0–20 weeks)

Non-priority—average 13.7 weeks (range 0–52 weeks)

December 2002 Forecast:

Priority—average 3.5 weeks (range 0–10 weeks)

Non-priority—average 8.8 weeks (range 2–40 weeks)

Residential Rehabilitation:

December 2001:

Priority—average 5.0 weeks (range 0–24 weeks)

Non-priority—average 9.5 weeks (range 0–43 weeks)

December 2002 Forecast:

Priority—average 3.4 weeks (range 0–8 weeks)

Non-priority—average 4.7 weeks (range 0–13 weeks).

The NTA's priority is to reduce waiting times for treatment. It aims to enable practitioners, managers and commissioners to achieve measurable and sustainable reductions in waiting times, in line with NTA targets.

The NTA programme will achieve this by equipping local stakeholder teams, at DAT level, with the confidence, knowledge and skills to identify the main causes of avoidable waiting and to implement shared action plans to redress these.

4 Jul 2002 : Column 536W

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) drug rehabilitation and (b) detox units there are in the north west of England. [64614]

Mr. Bob Ainsworth: There are 17 specialist residential rehabilitation units in the North West of England for people recovering from problems with drug use. Non- residential rehabilitative support is available from a large number of community drug teams offering a comprehensive service over most of the region.

Three of the 17 units also offer detoxification services. Additionally, there are three specialist in-patient detoxification units in the north west of England.

Many drug users undergo in-patient detoxification in non-specialist beds within existing psychiatric care systems.

As above, community based detoxification is widely available across the region.

Drug Misusing Offenders

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the level of repeat offending by drug misusing offenders was in (a)1997, (b) 1998 and (c) 2001; and if he will make a statement. [66289]

Mr. Bob Ainsworth: The New English and Welsh Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring (NEW-ADAM) research programme currently provides estimates of repeat offending by drug misusing offenders for the purpose of tracking the drugs strategy. Repeat offending drug misusing offenders are defined as the proportion of arrestees who are using heroin and/or cocaine and/or crack at least once a week and who have offended at least twice a month in the last 12 months. The proportion of arrestees falling within the definition of repeat offending drug misusing offenders category was 15 per cent. for the financial year 1999–2000 (the first year of data collection). This only represents an interim figure from eight fieldwork sites. A summary of the full, two-year data from 16 sites (1999–01) is due be published later this year.

We are currently reviewing the drugs strategy targets and progress against them, including those concerning drugs and crime, to ensure we still have the right balance and focus. As part of this review, researchers in the Home Department are undertaking work to improve our ability to track changes over time in drug-related crime.

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