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7 Jan 2003 : Column 140W—continued
Children in Prison
Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many children are held in prison, broken down by type of offence. [88519]
Hilary Benn: The number of people under the age of 18 that were in prison on 31 October 2002, broken down by offence group is shown in the table.
| Offence Type | Number of Persons |
|---|---|
| Total | 2,724 |
| Violence Against the Person | 468 |
| Sexual Offences | 80 |
| Burglary | 491 |
| Robbery | 701 |
| Theft and Handling | 424 |
| Fraud and Forgery | 8 |
| Drugs Offences | 65 |
| Other Offences | 381 |
| Offence Not Recorded | 106 |
Drug Trafficking
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what funding he has targeted on preventative programmes to tackle (a) drug use and crime and (b) youth offending; what funding is specifically targeted at vulnerable groups; and if he will make a statement. [82713]
Mr. Bob Ainsworth [holding answer 25 November 2002]: Planned expenditure across Government in 2002–03 is as follows:
- Prevention of drug misuse by initiatives to disrupt trafficking and to reduce the supply of drugs—#376 million;
Preventative initiatives to strengthen communities and reduce the impact on them of drug misuse, including by reducing offending and re-offending by the drug misusers who cause the most harm to themselves and others—#171 million; and
Preventing drug misuse by young people, including through education and early interventions particularly targeted at vulnerable young people—#102 million.
Emergency Services
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will introduce legislation to create a separate offence of assault on members of the emergency services. [88488]
Hilary Benn: All assaults against emergency services personnel are totally unacceptable, and the severity of the sentence should reflect the relative seriousness of the crime. Courts already have discretion to impose the appropriate sentence taking into account all the aggravating or mitigating circumstances, within maximum penalties that range from six months for common assault to life imprisonment for causing grievous bodily harm with intent.
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Floating Accommodation
Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) which are the mainland locations closest to the floating accommodation that are being planned; [88016]
- (2) what recent representations his Department have received on using floating accommodation centres for asylum seekers; and what size of such centres he is planning. [88015]
Beverley Hughes: I met the hon. Member for Mid Worcestershire (Peter Luff) on 4 July 2002 to discuss floating accommodation for asylum seekers. We have not ruled out this possibility.
Site searching for potential accommodation centre sites remains ongoing. We will not be putting into the public domain details of such sites unless and until they are considered to be a serious prospect for the siting of an accommodation centre.
Prison Inmates (Hospital Treatment)
Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions in 2002 prison inmates have been taken to hospital for medical treatment and have been shackled while in hospital; and if he will make a statement. [86824]
Hilary Benn: No central records are maintained of the number of prisoners taken to hospital for medical treatment or the number of those who are held under restraint, and the information requested can be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The application of restraints to prisoners at hospital is determined by a risk assessment but restraints are not applied to women attending for antenatal treatment or to give birth. Once applied, restraints may be removed subject to a risk assessment, and will be removed where a healthcare professional seeks their removal because of an immediate risk to the health of the prisoner, or because the prisoner is in pain or discomfort, or because the restraints are impeding essential treatment.
Prisoners (Thrombolysis)
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of heart attack victims in the prison population received thrombolysis within 30 minutes in the most recent period for which figures are available. [88003]
Hilary Benn: This information is not collected centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Suicides (Youth Detention)
Mr. Lyons: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many (a) young people and (b) women have committed suicide in youth detention in each year since 1997; [87764]
- (2) how many suicides there have been in English prisons in each year since 1997. [87763]
Hilary Benn: The information requested is in the tables. Table 1 covers the 468 self-inflicted deaths in Prison Service establishments in England since 1 January 1997. Table 2 covers the 71 male and eight
7 Jan 2003 : Column 142W
female self-inflicted deaths of those under the age of 21 held in Prison Service establishments in England and Wales since 1 January 1997. Those under the age of 18 may also be held in Local Authority Secure Units and Secure Training Centres (STCs). Table 3 covers the one self-inflicted death in Local Authority Secure Units in England and Wales since 1 January 1997. There have been no deaths in STCs since the first STC opened in April 1998.
| Calendar year | Number |
|---|---|
| 1997 | 65 |
| 1998 | 76 |
| 1999 | 89 |
| 2000 | 80 |
| 2001 | 67 |
| 2002 | 91 |
| Total | 468 |
| Age category | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gender/calendar year | 15–17 years | 18–20 years | Total |
| Male | |||
| 1997 | 0 | 8 | 8 |
| 1998 | 3 | 11 | 14 |
| 1999 | 2 | 13 | 15 |
| 2000 | 3 | 9 | 12 |
| 2001 | 3 | 8 | 11 |
| 2002 | 3 | 9 | 11 |
| Total | 13 | 58 | 71 |
| Female | |||
| 1997 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 2000 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| 2001 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 2002 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 0 | 8 | 8 |
| Number | |
|---|---|
| 1997 | — |
| 1998 | 1 |
| 1999 | — |
| 2000 | — |
| 2001 | — |
| 2002 | — |
The Prison Service and the Youth Justice Board (YJB) are working closely together to try to prevent the suicides of young people held in their care. The Prison Service's suicide prevention and self-harm reduction programme (which applies to all prisoners, regardless of gender and age) includes a series of projects to improve pre-reception, reception and induction arrangements; the exchange of information; the care of prisoners; detoxification; prisoners supporting each other and learning from investigations into deaths in custody.
7 Jan 2003 : Column 143W
Terrorism
Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consultations he has had with European partners on changes to immigration and asylum policy in the fight against terrorism. [88392]
Beverley Hughes: The United Kingdom has actively promoted counter terrorism measures within the European Union (EU) and the global fight against terrorism now represents a key priority objective for the EU. We ensure that discussions of immigration and asylum issues, and in particular border control measures, take full account of the contribution that these activities can make to the fight against terrorism.
NORTHERN IRELAND
High Hedges
Mr Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans he has to introduce legislation for Northern Ireland to deal with high hedges. [88379]
Angela Smith: I have no plans at present to introduce legislation for Northern Ireland on this issue.
Transport Links
Mr. Foulkes: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the potential for enhanced rail, air and sea transport links between Scotland and Northern Ireland. [88936]
Mr. Paul Murphy: Air and shipping services are 'reserved' matters, which are the responsibility of the Secretary of State for Transport. Northern Ireland is reasonably well served at present by the existing transport linkages with Scotland, however there is always potential for such links to be further strengthened and enhanced, and I would expect this to happen as the private sector operators respond to new commercial opportunities and the changing market. It remains to be seen though what effect the growing competition between air and shipping operators will have on the Northern Ireland-Scotland routes.
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