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11 Nov 2003 : Column 246W—continued
SO19 Firearms Branch
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers in the SO19 Firearms Branch were suspended, broken down by month, in each of the last three years; and if he will make a statement. [136865]
Ms Blears: The Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis has stated that no firearms officers were suspended from police duty during this period.
South Wales Police
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the performance of south Wales police in murder cases; and if he will make a statement. [136787]
Ms Blears: Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary produced a 2002–03 report on south Wales police which included an assessment of their Major Crime Support Unit which handles the investigation of murder cases and other serious crimes. Her Majesty's Inspector (HMD) was impressed by the professionalism and the sense of duty to the public of the members of the unit. He reported that there was increased resilience in the investigative processes in
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south Wales Police and that increased value is being placed on family liaison and independent advisory groups during investigations of serious crime.
HMI also reported on the decision taken in 1999 to re-investigate 11 undetected murders and commended south Wales police for its committed response to proper public concerns.
A copy of the full HMIC report is in the Library.
Trick or Treat
Mr. Robathan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many complaints have been received by the Metropolitan police concerning trick or treat calls. [136743]
Ms Blears: The Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis advises me, that the computerised system for recording police calls does not distinguish between 'trick or treat" calls and other nuisance/disturbance calls. It is therefore not possible to provide the information requested.
West Yorkshire Police Authority
Mr. Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to address the predicted funding shortfall in the West Yorkshire police authority area. [135875]
Ms Blears: I shall announce details of the provisional police funding settlement in mid-November. It is a matter for West Yorkshire police authority to determine its final budget for next year in the light of its funding settlement, taking into account local needs and views.
We expect police authorities to set budgets that ensure further improvements without placing excessive burdens on the local taxpayer.
Young Offender Institutions
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average cost is of imprisoning an offender at a young offender institution; and what the total cost of running YOIs was in each of the last five years. [135864]
Paul Goggins: The average annual cost of imprisoning an offender in a Young Offender Institution (YOI) is £29,721 in male closed YOI establishments and £18,866 in male open YOI establishments. These figures include establishment costs but exclude the share of headquarters overheads. The number of YOIs has not remained constant over the five-year period. These figures are not comparable with the Prison Service cost per place Key Performance Indicators.
The following table shows the total cost of running young offender institutions in the last five years.
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| Male closed YOI | Male open YOI | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998–99 | 122,460,000 | 9,410,000 | 131,870,000 |
| 1999–2000 | 137,066,308 | 9,653,734 | 146,720,042 |
| 2000–01 | 198,588,609 | 10,727,558 | 209,316,167 |
| 2001–02 | 162,536,448 | 11,475,992 | 174,012,440 |
| 2002–03 | 182,908,407 | 7,370,209 | 190,278,616 |
These year on year costs are not comparable due to a change in the accounting system from cash to resource. In addition the number of YOI establishments has decreased during this period, causing some fluctuation in the expenditure figures.
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many hours on average offenders in young offender institutions spent on (a) education, broken down into (i) literacy, (ii) numeracy and (iii) other education-related activities, (b) exercise, (c) vocational work and (d) community work in the last year for which figures are available. [135867]
Paul Goggins: The Prison Service collects information on the average hours prisoners spend on education activities broken down into various categories. The education statistics are not broken down into literacy and numeracy as requested. The information available for 2002–03 is given in the table. It relates to establishments categorised as a young offender institution as their main role.
| Activity | Average hours per week | Average hours per inmate per week |
|---|---|---|
| Basic skills education | 17,035.4 | 2.68 |
| Other education | ||
| Education leading to accreditation | 10,179.4 | 1.60 |
| Maintaining safe and secure environment | 299.3 | 0.05 |
| Health education clinics and promotion | 1,363.5 | 0.21 |
| Other education | 6,091.4 | 0.96 |
| Exercise | ||
| Physical education | 18,922.1 | 2.98 |
| Vocational work | ||
| Skills training leading to recognised national accreditation | 9,476.4 | 1.49 |
| Community work | ||
| Voluntary work | 405.0 | 0.06 |
| Total | 63,772.4 | 10.04 |
Under the National Specification for learning and skills for young people serving a Detention and Training Order, juvenile offenders are expected to undertake one hour of private study per week in both literacy and numeracy, and a minimum of 12 hours of enrichment activities at the weekends.
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many children in young offender institutions (a) had special educational needs, (b) had educational statements and (c) suffered psychosis in 2002–03; if he will express these figures as a percentage of the total number of children in each institution in the UK; and if he will list the institutions; [137076]
- (2) how many teachers, expressed as full-time equivalents, work in each young offender institution; and if he will express this as a percentage of the young offenders institution population; [137078]
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(3) how many of the teachers within each young offender institution have been specifically trained to teach children; how many are special educational needs teachers; and if he will express these figures as a percentage of the total number of children in each young offender institution. [137079]
Paul Goggins: An analysis of "ASSET" assessment forms, published in December 2002, found that 25 per cent. of all young people in the youth justice system had been identified as having special educational needs and that 60 per cent. of these had formal statements.
Information about the number of children in young offender institutions diagnosed with psychosis in any particular year is not collected centrally. A survey of mental ill health in the prison population of England and Wales, undertaken in 1997 by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), indicated that 8 per cent. of young men aged 16 to 20 on remand and 10 per cent. of such sentenced young men had suffered from a functional psychosis in the previous year.
The table shows staff employed through the education contract in delivering or supporting education in establishments whose principal function is to hold Young Offenders. Data are from March 2003. Teaching staff include learning support assistants, and non-teaching staff include special educational needs co-ordinators.
| Prisons | Full-time lecturers | Part-time lecturers | Teaching staff | Non-teaching staff | Population |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aylesbury | 12 | 1 | — | — | 354 |
| Stoke Heath | 20 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 626 |
| Lancaster Farms | 14 | 3 | 16 | 6 | 460 |
| Glen Parva | 10 | 0 | — | — | 784 |
| Onley | 18 | 0 | 18 | 1 | 541 |
| Feltham | 20 | 1 | 14 | 1 | 629 |
| Castington | 10 | 7 | 19 | 1 | 300 |
| Portland | 8 | 23 | — | — | 446 |
| Swinfen Hall | 5 | 4 | — | — | 314 |
| Thorn Cross | 13 | 0 | 18 | 4 | 176 |
| Brinsford | 34 | 0 | 16 | 1 | 449 |
| Huntercombe | 26 | 13 | 11 | 2 | 320 |
| Reading | 9 | 14 | — | — | 265 |
On the basis of the information available, approximately 90 per cent. of teaching staff across the juvenile estate are qualified or are working towards a further education qualification. The Prison Service will be providing accredited training to learning support assistants later in the year to help them support learning in the juvenile estate. An inclusive learning handbook has been issued to help teachers, and other prison staff, identify and support prisoners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities.
The quality of teaching in custodial settings has improved through the introduction of the Common Inspection Framework. The new specification for teaching and learning we will introduce from September 2004 will also ensure quality control of teaching standards.
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