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7 Jul 2003 : Column 640W—continued
Pet Cruelty
Mr. Paul Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many incidents of pets being thrown from moving vehicles were reported to the police in the last 12 months. [122190]
Ms Blears: The requested details are not collected centrally.
Police and Prison Expenditure
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total amount spent per head of population on (a) police, (b) prisons and (c) probation was in the last 12 months for which figures are available. [121957]
Ms Blears: The total amount spent per head of population by the Home Office on police, prisons and probation, based on the 2002–03 estimated outturn as published in the (A) Home Office departmental report 2003 (cm5908) (minus (B) depreciation) and (C) the
7 Jul 2003 : Column 641W
Office for National Statistics' estimated mid-year resident population for England and Wales 2001 is set out in the following table.
| (A): Estimated expenditure (£) | (B) Depreciation (£) | (C): Total population | (A-B)/C = Cost per head (£) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Police | 6,815,251,000 | -8,088,000 | 52,084,500 | 130.69 |
| Prisons | 2,534,176,000 | -132,642,000 | 52,084,500 | 46.11 |
| Probation | 716,290,000 | -9,134,000 | 52,084,500 | 13.58 |
Police Inspectors
Mr. Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what additional responsibilities have been placed on police inspectors and chief inspectors by (a) legislation and (b) changes in policing methods since 1994. [121320]
Ms Blears: In recent years the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 (PACE) and other legislation has been amended so that the minimum rank for taking a number of important policing decisions has been reduced from superintendent to inspector. These include taking fingerprints, intimate and non-intimate samples without consent, authorising intimate searches and delaying a detained person's right to let someone know they have been arrested.
New legislation has also given additional responsibilities to inspectors. For example, they are able to authorise the searching or examination of a detained person to ascertain their identity and to deny independent custody visitors access to a detained person. In certain circumstances they can authorise surveillance under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) and approve searches for criminal cash under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA).
The way in which those powers are exercised, and the precise responsibilities given to officers at different ranks, depend on local decisions taken by individual chief constables and other police commanders. However, there has certainly been a very positive trend towards devolving decision making and responsibility from force headquarters to local managers.
Police Recruitment
Mr. Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers were recruited in Humberside in each of the last five years; and how many were recruited in police authorities with similar size populations in the same period. [121716]
Ms Blears: By 30 September 2002 Humberside Police had 2,114 police officers, a record number. The force had 816 civilian support staff on 31 March 2002 (the latest figures).
The table shows the number of officers recruited to Humberside Police and to the five other forces with most similar sized populations in the last five years for which figures are available.
7 Jul 2003 : Column 642W
| Force | Year as at31 March | Officers Recruited (includes number funded by the Crime Fighting Fund) |
|---|---|---|
| Humberside | 1998 | 88 |
| 1999 | 48 | |
| 2000 | 91 | |
| 2001 | 98 (47) | |
| 2002 | 237 (41) | |
| Cheshire | 1998 | 94 |
| 1999 | 112 | |
| 2000 | 36 | |
| 2001 | 108 (21) | |
| 2002 | 158 (76) | |
| Derbyshire | 1998 | 66 |
| 1999 | 52 | |
| 2000 | 79 | |
| 2001 | 103 (65) | |
| 2002 | 112(50) | |
| Leicestershire | 1998 | 118 |
| 1999 | 88 | |
| 2000 | 67 | |
| 2001 | 108 (37) | |
| 2002 | 150 (65) | |
| Norfolk | 1998 | 84 |
| 1999 | 28 | |
| 2000 | 43 | |
| 2001 | 90 (41) | |
| 2002 | 99 (42) | |
| North Yorkshire | 1998 | 65 |
| 1999 | 17 | |
| 2000 | 10 | |
| 2001 | 66 (4) | |
| 2002 | 99 (38) |
Policing
Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many arrests were made by non-Home Office police forces in the last 12 months for which figures are available. [121959]
Ms Blears: Information is not collected centrally on arrests made by non-Home Office police forces.
Prisons
Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisons have been built with public money over the last 10 years; and when the construction of each such prison was ordered. [122919]
Paul Goggins: Since 1993, four prisons have been built with public money. The dates of order, interpreted here as the date the main construction contract was let, is not readily available and could now be ascertained only at disproportionate cost. They are:
| Prison | Opened |
|---|---|
| Lancaster Farms | 1993 |
| Blakenhurst | 1993 |
| Doncaster | 1994 |
| Buckley Hall | 1995 |
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; [122967]
7 Jul 2003 : Column 643W
- (2) what proportion of staff in the Prison Service are from an ethnic minority group. [122968]
Paul Goggins: As at 30 June 2003, there was in the public sector, one senior operational manager in charge of an establishment recorded as coming from a minority ethnic group. A further two senior operational managers had no ethnicity data recorded in this group. Within the contracted prisons sector (i.e. private prisons), there is one minority ethnic manager in charge of an establishment.
Out of the 1,258 senior operational managers in post on 31 May 2003 in the public sector, 35 were recorded as coming from a minority ethnic group, representing 2.8 per cent. of senior operational managers in this group. A further 85 (6.8 per cent.) had no ethnicity data recorded.
Out of the 46,467 public sector staff in post on 31 May 2003, 2,425 were recorded as coming from a minority ethnic group, representing 5.2 per cent. of staff in this sector. A further 4,078 (8.8 per cent.) had no ethnicity data recorded.
Within the contracted (i.e. private) prisons sector, 83 staff are recorded as coming from a minority ethnic group, representing 2.2 per cent. of the total contracted prisons staff.
Mr. Stinchcombe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of GDP was spent on prisons in (a) 1973, (b) 1981, (c) 1991 and (d) 2001; and what the expenditure was on prisons in real terms in each of those years. [122969]
Paul Goggins: The following table provides the information requested, for 1973, 1981, 1991 and 2001 and is based on Prison service costs. Because of changes over the years in the way that the Prison service's costs have been funded and measured, these figures will not be exactly comparable with each other.
The level of expenditure in 1990–91 reflects an increased capital spend on new prisons at that time. In recent years such costs have been met through private finance initiative (PFI) contracts, with the capital costs being repaid over a long period.
| GDP (£ million) | Prison service (£ million) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Financialyear | Cash | Real terms 2001–02 | Cash | Real terms 2001–02 | Percentage |
| 1972–73 | 67,167 | 534,372 | 78.3 | 623.0 | 0.12 |
| 1980–81 | 236,486 | 592,111 | 403.5 | 1,010.3 | 0.17 |
| 1990–91 | 563,735 | 773,611 | 1,341.5 | 1,840.9 | 0.24 |
| 2000–01 | 962,613 | 986,682 | 1,794.7 | 1,839.6 | 0.19 |
Note:
Prison service costs include current and capital expenditure.
Mr. Stinchcombe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisons in England and Wales have (a) doctors, (b) nurses, (c) doctors or nurses and (d) doctors and nurses available to practice health care (i) 24 hours a day, (ii) 12 hours a day, (iii) every other day, (iv) twice a week and (v) once a week. [122970]
7 Jul 2003 : Column 644W
Paul Goggins: The information is not available in the form requested. Under the Prison Act 1952, every prison must have a medical officer. The provision of health services in an establishment is organised around its health care centre.
Health care centres fall into one of four categories according to the level of service provided and are staffed appropriately to fulfill their particular function. There are 23 Type 1 and 45 Type 2 health care centres at which only daytime health care cover is provided, generally by part-time staff in the former and full-time staff in the latter. There are 68 Type 3 health care centres, which have in-patient facilities and 24-hour nurse cover, and four Type 4 facilities, which have the same level of provision but act as national or regional assessment centres.
Mr. Stinchcombe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of prison officers are allowed to administer medication to prisoners; and what proportion of those officers have been given medical training. [122971]
Paul Goggins: Only nurses and health care officers—prison officers who have received specific training and work as part of the health care team—administer medication to prisoners. Where a health care officer is not nurse qualified they work under the clinical supervision of a registered nurse. The competencies for the safe administration of medicine are contained in the new national occupational standards for custodial health care set out in the Custodial Healthcare National Vocation Qualification (NVQ).
Mr. Stinchcombe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of medication provided in prisons that would normally be administered in tablets is given in liquid form to prevent prisoners storing their medication. [122972]
Paul Goggins: The information is not available in the form requested. Prisons have a risk assessment process that will be undertaken before a prisoner is allowed to have medication in their possession. Not all medication can be made available in liquid form. Prison Health has published "A Pharmacy Service for Prisoners", available at www.doh.gov.uk/prisonhealth, which will help prisons to develop their pharmacy services.
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