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10 Feb 2004 : Column 1435W—continued
Prisons
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many dogs trained to locate drugs are working in prisons; and how many days those dogs worked in the last 12 months. [152713]
Paul Goggins: There are 439 drug dogs working in prisons in England and Wales. Of these 236 are active dogs and 203 are passive dogs. Comprehensive information about the number of days Prison Service drug dogs work is not held centrally and could not be obtained except at disproportionate cost.
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Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps the Prison Service takes to obtain medical records about a prisoner's mental health from clinicians who have provided treatment prior to imprisonment. [152920]
Paul Goggins: Prison establishments were reminded, in guidance issued in May 2002, of the importance of effective information sharing with other agencies, in particular the NHS, in enabling continuity of care. This guidance requires them, generally with the prisoner's consent, to request any information required from a prisoner's general practitioner or other relevant service with which the prisoner has recently been in contact. It also sets out the circumstances in which information may be requested and disclosed without consent.
Mental health in-reach teams are now operating in 90 establishments with the greatest need, which means that prisoners with a severe mental illness are generally being cared for by the national health service. One of the key elements of this in-reach service is the maintenance of links with outside services in order to achieve continuity of care.
Sue Doughty: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent estimate he has made of the (a) total prison population, (b) number of prisoners on remand and (c) number in each case suffering from severe or acute mental illness. [152943]
Paul Goggins: On 30 January 2004, there were 73,688 people in prison in England and Wales, of which 13,173 were remand prisoners. Information on the number of prisoners with severe or acute mental illness is not held centrally.
Using information collected from a survey of psychiatric morbidity among prisoners in England and Wales undertaken in 1997 by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) it is estimated that there will at any one time be around 5,000 prisoners with a severe mental illness. Not all of these prisoners will necessarily be acutely ill.
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how he is measuring the success of the three-year Proactive Project to reduce self-harm and suicides in prison; and when the results will be available. [154175]
Paul Goggins: Reducing the rate of self-inflicted deaths in prison establishments is an essential part of the Prison Service's decency agenda and a priority for Ministers. The three-year safer custody strategy to develop policies and practices to reduce prisoner suicide and manage self-harm in prisons, implemented from April 2001, has been under review during recent months. Account is being taken of emerging findings from in-house and external researchers, as well as the views of a wide range of practitioners and external interests, including Samaritans, Prison Reform Trust, Howard League and INQUEST.
I will be announcing the results of this work and next steps in the Spring. A team from the University of Cambridge is measuring the impact of the Safer Locals Programme on the quality of prison life, and investigating possible links between these measures and rates of suicide and self-harm. Early findings suggest
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that there are significant associations between levels of prisoner distress and an establishment's rates of self-inflicted death. Aspects of the quality of prison life that are associated with prisoner distress include distress on entry to custody, perceived safety, opportunities for personal development, and perceived fairness.
A team from Manchester and London Universities is also evaluating elements of the Safer Locals Programme, particularly Health care provision, detoxification services and a workstream called the Care of At-Risk Prisoners (revision of the 'self-harm at risk' From 2052SH) project. Additionally, researchers from the Jill Dando Institute of Crime Science were commissioned to evaluate the impact of Safer Cells on Suicide and self-harm. The evaluation included observations, interview and focus groups with prisoners and staff in six prisons. The report, presented in August 2003, concluded that the safer cells programme has much to commend it and recommended that the programme continue.
Public Bodies
Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who the members of the (a) Community Development Foundation, (b) Criminal Justice Consultative Council, (c) Misuse of Drugs Tribunal, (d) Visiting Committee, Immigration Detention Centre, Harmondsworth, (e) Prison Service Board of Visitors and (f) Visiting Committee, Immigration Detention Centre, Tinsley House were on 1 January; what their term of office is in each case; and whether they are remunerated. [151814]
Fiona Mactaggart: The table lists the members of the following bodies on 1 January; their term of office; and whether they are remunerated.
The following should be noted:
- 1. The Misuse of Drugs Tribunal has not sat for many years and is obsolete.
- 2. It is the practice not to publish the names of the members of the Independent Monitoring Boards (IMB) (legally known as the Boards of Visitors and the Visiting Committees) for reasons of security and because of concerns for their personal safety. There are 1,773 members of the IMB and they are appointed for a maximum of three years, and if their performance is assessed satisfactorily and they wish to continue, they are re-appointed for another three years. IMB members are not remunerated but can claim expenses.
| Community DevelopmentFoundation | Term of office | Whether remunerated |
|---|---|---|
| Andrew Selous MP | 3 years 1 month | No |
| Andrew Robinson | 3 years | No |
| Suhail Aziz | 3 years | No |
| Michael Hamilton | 3 years 7 months | No |
| Colin Williams QBE | 3 years | No |
| Hilary Willmer | 3 years 7 months | No |
| Abdul Ismail | 3 years 7 months | No |
| Dr Gareth Jones | 3 years 7 months | No |
| Peter Latchford | 3 years | No |
| Professor Ruth Lister CBE | 3 years | No |
| Jogwant Johal | 3 years | No |
| Avila Kilmurray | 3 years | No |
| Mavis Best MBE | 3 years | No |
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| Criminal Justice Council(formerly the Criminal JusticeConsultative Council) | Term of office | Whether remunerated |
|---|---|---|
| Lord Justice John Kay (Chair) | 3 years | No |
| Judge Alan Wilkie QC | 3 years | No |
| HHJ Richard Wakerley | 3 years | No |
| Sir David Hatch CBE JP | 3 years | No |
| Dame Helen Reeves DBE | 3 years | No |
| Judge Davinder Lachar | 3 years | No |
| George Mitchell CBE JP | 3 years | No |
| Rodney Warren | 3 years | No |
| Nicholas Purnell QC | 3 years | No |
| Withiel Cole | 3 years | No |
| Professor Di Birch | 3 years | No |
| Professor John Raine | 3 years | No |
| Neil Clarke | 3 years | No |
| Richard Collins | 3 years | No |
| Paul Cavadino | 3 years | No |
Rape
Dr. Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on sentencing guidance for rape convictions. [153662]
Paul Goggins: The maximum sentence for rape is life imprisonment. Sentences in individual cases are a matter for the courts, taking into account the circumstances of the offence and the offender including all mitigating and aggravating factors.
It will be possible to sentence offenders to the new sentence of imprisonment for public protection introduced by the Criminal Justice Act 2003. This scheme allows for those who pose a continued risk to the public to be kept in prison for an indeterminate period of time.
The Sentencing Guidelines Council was also set up by the 2003 Act with the purpose of issuing guidance so as to bring about greater clarity and consistency in sentencing. The council will be considering guidance on sex offences as one of its first priorities.
Sexual Offenders (Granting of Bail)
Mark Tami: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many individuals were charged with serious sexual offences and given bail in each of the last five years. [150801]
Paul Goggins: The information requested is not available.
Estimates of police and magistrates' courts remand decisions for England and Wales, broken down by type of offence (i.e. indictable, summary non-motoring and summary motoring offences), are published in chapter 5 of Criminal Statistics England and Wales 2002 Cm 6054.
Of those males received into prison during 2002 under an immediate custodial sentence for a sexual offence it is known that 52 per cent. had previously been remanded in custody.
Speed Cameras
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the Oral Answer to the
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hon. Member for Southend, West of 3 February 2004, Official Report, column 615, how much money was raised in fines from (a) speed cameras and (b) speed traps in each year since their inception in (i) Southend, West and (ii) Southend. [153473]
Caroline Flint [holding answer 9 February 2004]: Available information on the number of fixed penalties and court fines ordered to be paid for the offence of 'speeding detected by camera' in the calendar years 1997 to 2001 is shown in the table. It is not possible from the data collected centrally to identify Southend, West and Southend within the police force area of Essex.
Information is not available on speed traps as the police do not use this as an enforcement tool.
Information for 2002 will be available in the spring.
| Fixed penalties | Court proceedings | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of tickets(58) | Estimated revenue (£)(59) | Number of fines | Total amount of fine (£) | Average fine (£)(60) | |
| 1997 | 18,800 | 753,700 | 880 | 93,900 | 107 |
| 1998 | 8,700 | 346,600 | 1,700 | 227,400 | 134 |
| 1999 | 19,800 | 791,400 | 2,100 | 357,400 | 169 |
| 2000 | 46,300 | 2,007,200 | 2,800 | 317,800 | 115 |
| 2001 | 81,900 | 4,911,100 | 6,500 | 651,200 | 101 |
(56) Automatic cameras until 1998, all camera types from 1999.
(57) Offences under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 and The Motor Vehicles (Speed Limits on Motorways) Regulations 1973.
(58) Paid, i.e. no further action.
(59) Estimate based on £40 fixed penalty charge to October 2000. From November 2000 the penalty was raised to £60.
(60) Includes cases where fixed penalty notices were originally issued but not paid and subsequently referred to court.
Note:
Reliable data only available from 1997 onwards for speeding.
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| Fixed penalties | Court proceedings | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of tickets(62) | Estimated revenue (£)(62) | Number of fines | Total amount of fine (£) | Average fine (£)(64) | |
| 1997 | 48,100 | 1,924,900 | 5,000 | 643,600 | 128 |
| 1998 | 19,300 | 771,300 | 4,700 | 675,200 | 142 |
| 1999 | 57,900 | 2,315,100 | 6,600 | 933,900 | 141 |
| 2000 | 102,300 | 4,434,100 | 6,300 | 774,900 | 123 |
| 2001 | 168,900 | 10,133,100 | 9,100 | 1,020,100 | 112 |
(61) Offences under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 and The Motor Vehicles (Speed Limits on Motorways) Regulations 1973.
(62) Paid, i.e. no further action.
(63) Estimate based on £40 fixed penalty charge to October 2000. From November 2000 the penalty was raised to £60.
(64) Includes cases where fixed penalty notices were originally issued but not paid and subsequently referred to court.
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