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24 Feb 2003 : Column 109W—continued
Prisons (Drugs)
Mr. Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answers of 28 January 2003, Official Report, columns 757–59W, what assessment he has made of (a) the adequacy of closed circuit television provision in visits areas of prisons and (b) their success in obstructing smuggling of drugs into prisons by visitors. [97995]
Hilary Benn: No specific research has been conducted by the Prison Service on the effectiveness of closed circuit television (CCTV). A CCTV good practice guide, drawing on the wider experience within the criminal justice system, has however been issued to prisons, against which individual establishments must review their procedures.
Mr. Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answers of 28 January 2003, Official Report, columns 757–59W, what importance he attaches to each of the routes he has identified by which drugs enter prisons. [97996]
Hilary Benn: Drug smuggling is by nature a covert activity. It is extremely difficult to quantify the frequency with which different routes are used. Routes vary depending on the nature of the individuals or prisons concerned. The Prison Service, however, believes that one of the most frequent routes is through social visits.
Mr. Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answers of 28 January 2003, Official Report, columns 757–59W, which measures to reduce the availability of drugs in prisons aim to disrupt attempts to smuggle drugs in by mail. [97997]
Hilary Benn: It would not be appropriate to disclose all the precise security measures in place to disrupt attempts to smuggle drugs. All social mail is opened and searched before being sent to the prisoner. X-ray machines and active drug dogs may be used in support of that process.
Mr. Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answers of 28 January 003, Official Report, column 757–59W, by what means he will assess the effectiveness of measures to reduce the availability of drugs in prisons. [97998]
Hilary Benn: Random mandatory drug testing (MDT) provides the best available measure of the effectiveness of policies to reduce the availability of drugs in prisons. Since the introduction of MDT the figure has reduced from 24.4 per cent. in 1996–97 to 11.6 per cent. in 2001–02. A wide-ranging programme of research is also under way to assess the effectiveness of supply reduction measures.
Mr. Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answers of 28 January 2003, Official Report, column 757–59W, how many attempts have been made to smuggle drugs into prisons by means of perimeter breach in the last year for which figures are available. [97999]
Hilary Benn: Any attempts to smuggle drugs into prisons are, by nature, covert activities which are extremely difficult to quantify. No such records are
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kept. Prisons take into account the geography of each site and adopt appropriate security measures to minimise the risk of smuggling via this route.
Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of prison inmates in Britain are using drugs on a regular basis. [97595]
Hilary Benn [holding answer 12 February 2003]: The random mandatory drug testing (MDT) programme represents the best available measure of overall drug misuse in prisons in England and Wales. The percentage figure for prisoners who tested positive in 2001–02 was 11.6 per cent.
Prison Statistics
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners over the age of 65 are (a) serving life sentences and (b) have special medical needs; and if he will make a statement. [97494]
Hilary Benn: The number of prisoners serving life sentences over the age of 65 on 30 November 2002 was 121.
A study of 203 sentenced male prisoners aged 60 and over in 15 establishments in England and Wales (about one-fifth of that total population) conducted in 1999–2000 reported that 85 per cent. had one or more major illnesses reported in their medical records and 83 per cent. reported at least one chronic illness or disability when interviewed. The most common illnesses were psychiatric, cardiovascular, musculoskeletal and respiratory. All prisons and their local national health service partners have completed joint prison health needs assessments, leading to the implementation of improvements to healthcare provision based on individual prison health plans.
Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list those prisons which cater for young offenders; and how many (a) young offenders and (b) other prisoners are held in each prison. [97038]
Hilary Benn: The information requested is shown in the table. The term young offenders has been taken to refer to any prisoner aged under 21 years of age held in an establishment, whether or not they have been convicted of an offence.
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Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average weekly number of offenders was (a) entering the prison system and (b) released from the prison system in each year since 1995. [98139]
Hilary Benn: The information is given in the following table:
| Year | Receptions | Discharges |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 2,420 | 1,600 |
| 1996 | 2,320 | 1,500 |
| 1997 | 2,410 | 1,500 |
| 1998 | 2,540 | 1,700 |
| 1999 | 2,600 | 1,800 |
| 2000 | 2,500 | 1,800 |
| 2001 | 2,720 | 1,700 |
| 2002 | 2,820 | 1,700 |
Mr. Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the (a) total prison population and (b) number of people convicted of a criminal offence were in (i) 1980, (ii) 1985, (iii) 1990, (iv) 1995 and (v) 2000. [98140]
Hilary Benn: The information is given in the table:
| 1980 | 1985 | 1990 | 1995 | 2000 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population in custody(22) | 43,109 | 46,278 | 45,636 | 50,962 | 64,602 |
| Number of people convicted for a criminal offence | 2,182,635 | 1,878,287 | 1,493,936 | 1,343,227 | 1,413,449 |
(22) Average population in custody including fine defaulters.
Mr. Stinchcombe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) fathers and (b) mothers are in prison who are aged (i) under 18, (ii) 18 to 21, (iii) 21 to 31, and (iv) 31 to 41. [97268]
Hilary Benn: There is no routinely collected data on the number and age of fathers and mothers in prison. However, a Home Office study of a large sample of imprisoned women and mothers, published in 1997, found that 60 per cent. of female prisoners, sentenced and unsentenced, had dependent children under the age of 18. Another smaller but more recent study of women prisoners and their work in custody, published in 2000, found broadly similar results (out of a sample of 567 sentenced women, 66 per cent. had dependent children under the age of 18).
Directly equivalent information for male prisoners is not available. However, the 1991 England and Wales prison survey showed that 32 per cent. of male prisoners had dependent children who had been living with them just before they were imprisoned; the corresponding figure for female prisoners was 47 per cent.
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the (a) capacity and (b) occupancy is of each prison. [96770]
Hilary Benn: The information requested is shown in the following table. The table shows the population and operational capacity of all establishments in England and Wales. Operational capacity is the total number of prisoners that an establishment can hold taking into account control, security and the proper operation of the planned regime.
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Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisons in England and Wales have been equipped with stair lifts to help elderly infirm people. [96019]
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Hilary Benn: Prison Service establishments install stair lifts as operational needs dictate. Such installations are funded locally. This information is not therefore held centrally and could be collected at disproportionate cost.
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many pregnant women are held in prisons in (a) England and (b) Wales. [96851]
Hilary Benn: Statistics on the number of pregnant women held in prisons in England and Wales are not collected routinely. However, a one-off survey was conducted on 13 November 2002 and has recently been collated. At that time, there were 75 pregnant women held within the female prison estate.
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