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11 Feb 2004 : Column 1505W—continued
Ministerial Police Protection
Mr. Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many Ministers receive protection from the police; and what the cost to public funds is in this financial year; [153073]
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(2) how many former Ministers receive protection from the police; and what the cost to public funds was in the last year for which figures are available. [153074]
Fiona Mactaggart: We seek to ensure the most effective and efficient protective security arrangements for public figures in the light of the changing threat from terrorism and other continuing risks. It is not our policy to comment on the details of protection arrangements for individuals, as to do so could compromise their security.
Official Secrets Act
Mr. Nigel Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the (a) average and (b) longest time between (i) arrest and charge and (ii) charge and start of trial has been in cases brought since 1997 under the Official Secrets Act. [152321]
Mr. Blunkett: Data on the average and longest time between (i) arrest and charge and (ii) charge and start of trial for offences under the Official Secrets Act are not available centrally.
Press Officers
Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many press officers were employed in his Department in (a) 2002–03 and (b) 2003–04; and what estimate he has made of the cost in each year. [148507]
Fiona Mactaggart [holding answer 19 January 2004]: Press office numbers and costs are as outlined as follows:
| Number of press officers | Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| 2002–03 (1 April 2002) | 39 | (19)1.7 |
| 2003–04 (1 April 2003) | 39 | (20)1.9 |
(19) Actual.
(20) Estimate to end of March 2004.
Prisons
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the total prison capacity in each of the next 10 years. [147359]
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Paul Goggins: The information requested is provided in the following table.
| Average useable operational capacity | |
|---|---|
| 2004 | 75,000 |
| 2005 | 77,100 |
| 2006 | 78,700 |
| 2007 | 78,700 |
| 2008 | 78,700 |
| 2009 | 78,700 |
| 2010 | 78,700 |
| 2011 | 78,700 |
| 2012 | 78,700 |
| 2013 | 78,700 |
The figures given in this table are the average useable operational capacity projected to 2006 and beyond. Useable operational capacity is the measure used for long-term estate planning purposes. It is the total number of prisoners that establishments can hold taking into account control, security and the proper operation of the planned regime. It is determined by operational managers on the basis of their operational judgment and experience.
The maximum number of prisoners that the state could normally hold, as the average operational capacity, is up to 2,000 less than the total certified operational capacity. This is because of constraints imposed by the need to provide separate accommodation for different classes of prisoner i.e. by sex, age, security category and conviction status, single cell risk assessment and also due to geographical distribution.
Two new prisons will open at Ashford, in June 2004, and Peterborough, in March 2005, and funding has also been provided for around 3,000 additional public sector prison places to be built at existing prisons by 2006. This will increase the total useable capacity of the prison estate to around 78,700. There are no plans or funding at present to increase useable capacity beyond this figure.
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners are serving custodial sentences of (a) less than 12 months and (b) over 12 months, broken down by nationality and gender. [154179]
Paul Goggins [holding answer 10 February 2004]: The number of prisoners serving custodial sentences in prisons in England and Wales on 30 November 2003, by nationality, gender and length of sentence, is shown in the table.
11 Feb 2004 : Column 1511W
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