| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
29 Mar 2004 : Column 1277W—continued
Forensic Science
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will meet a small contingent from the Privatisation of Forensic Science lobby of Parliament on 30 March. [163544]
Ms Blears: I would be pleased to meet the hon. Member and his colleagues, but it would be helpful if we could agree to meet once I have had opportunity to consider the outline business case currently being prepared by my officials.
Information Technology
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 5 March 2004, Official Report, column 1175W, on information technology, how many of the cases cited in the table related to (a) breaches of data protection law and (b) pornography. [162436]
Paul Goggins: None of the cases cited involved breaches of data protection laws. Of the two cases in 2002 involving Prison Service staff, one resulted in a member of staff being dismissed for downloading material believed to be pornographic. The other cases cited involved inappropriate use of e-mail and/or browsing inappropriate internet sites.
Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme
Mr. Keith Bradley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the evaluation report of the Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme undertaken by Oxford University will be published. [162605]
Paul Goggins: We expect the report to be ready for publication, following peer review, in the summer.
Juvenile Crime
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of recorded crime was committed by persons aged (a) 15 to 18 years and (b) 15 to 21 years in each of the last three years. [163647]
Paul Goggins: The requested information is not available centrally.
Prisons
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the effects of funding of the Lancashire Probation Service on the funding of the weekend custody suite at Kirkham Prison. [161613]
Paul Goggins: There are no financial implications for the Lancashire Probation Service as a consequence of the introduction of intermittent custody pilots at Kirkham Prison. The Lancashire Probation Service does second three staff to Kirkham Prison, but the cost of these is fully reimbursed by the Prison Service.
29 Mar 2004 : Column 1278W
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the firms which are being invited to bid to (a) build and (b) run prisons. [162629]
Paul Goggins [holding answer 22 March 2004]: There are currently no plans for competitions to build or to run prisons. Should such a competition be launched, this would be announced in a notice in the Official Journal of the European Union setting out details of the relevant contract and inviting expressions of interest. Those firms known to be likely to have an interest in the competition would be notified of the announcement. It is for these firms and any other interested firm to decide whether to bid.
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners have been assaulted in (a) privately and (b) publicly run prisons in each of the last three years. [161604]
Paul Goggins: The assaults data the Prison Service collects is an overall total for all assaults within a prison, it does not breakdown into assaults on prisoners, staff or others. However our current Key Performance Indicator for Serious Assaults, which offers a better indication of prisoner violence, has been given. This data is collected in a manner which does not identify cases of multiple or repeat assault on individual prisoners.
| Number of serious assaults on prisoners | Average prisoner population | Rate of serious assaults as a proportion of prisoner population (percentage) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Contracted prisons (privately operated) | ||||
| 2001 | 50 | 5,511 | 0.9 | |
| 2002 | 54 | 6,615 | 0.8 | |
| 2003 | 74 | 6,713 | 1.1 | |
| Public prisons | ||||
| 2001 | 447 | 60,790 | 0.7 | |
| 2002 | 521 | 64,163 | 0.8 | |
| 2003 | 687 | 66,325 | 1.0 | |
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners have escaped from (a) privately and (b) publicly run prisons in each of the last three years. [161605]
Paul Goggins: The information requested is as follows.
| Contracted prisons(privately operated) | Number of serious escapesfrom prisons |
|---|---|
| 2001 | 3 |
| 2002 | 0 |
| 2003 | 1 |
| Public prisons | Number of escapes from prisons |
|---|---|
| 2001 | 5 |
| 2002 | 10 |
| 2003 | 12 |
29 Mar 2004 : Column 1279W
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average ratio of prisoners to wardens was in (a) privately and (b) publicly run prisons in the last year for which figures are available, broken down by category (i) A, (ii) B and (iii) C. [161606]
Paul Goggins: Contracted prisons (privately operated).
| Category | Average prisoner population-2003 | Prison custody officers(67) | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | |||
| B | 6060 | 1531 | 3.96 |
| C | 340 | 95 | 3.58 |
(67) Prison Custody Officers are the equivalent of the public prisons Prison Officer
| Category | Average prisoner population | Unified officers | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 6272 | 3967 | 1.58 |
| B | 3406 | 1184 | 2.88 |
| C | 19001 | 5092 | 3.73 |
Mr. Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) sentenced prisoners and (b) remand prisoners were in employment prior to entering prison in each of the last 10 years. [163285]
Paul Goggins: The available information is from large-scale resettlement surveys of sentenced prisoners nearing release, conducted in November-December 2001 and March-April 2003. In both surveys 33 per cent. of prisoners had been in employment, training or education in the four weeks before entering custody. Comparable information for preceding years is not available.
Mr. Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners serving (a) short-term and (b) long-term sentences had employment upon release in each of the last 10 years. [163286]
Paul Goggins: The available information is from large-scale resettlement surveys of sentenced prisoners nearing release, conducted in November-December 2001 and March-April 2003. In both surveys 30 per cent. of prisoners had employment, training or education arranged on release. Comparable information for preceding years is not available.
Mr. Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) short-term and (b) long-term prisoners were released in England and Wales without overnight accommodation in each of the last 10 years. [163288]
Paul Goggins: The available information, from large-scale resettlement surveys of sentenced prisoners nearing release conducted in November–December 2001 and March–April 2003, is contained in the following table. Comparable information for preceding years is not available.
29 Mar 2004 : Column 1280W
| Resettlement survey | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 2003 | |
| Under 12 months | 34 | 32 |
| 12 months to less than four years | 35 | 25 |
| Four years or over | 24 | 23 |
| Total | 33 | 29 |
Mr. Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what percentage of prisoners in England and Wales used prison gymnasium and sports facilities in each of the last 10 years. [163278]
Paul Goggins: The precise information that the right hon. Member seeks is not available. However, information is available on the amount of time that prisoners spend on physical education. This information is available for the last four years only and is set out in the table.
| Average weekly number of prisoners undertaking physical education | Percentage of prisoners undertaking physical education | |
|---|---|---|
| 2002–03 | 14,047 | 20.0 |
| 2001–02 | 13,235 | 19.9 |
| 2000–01 | 13,541 | 21.2 |
| 1999–2000 | 11,198 | 17.4 |
Probation
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what targets were set for the National Probation Service for the (a) current and (b) last financial year and to what extent they have been achieved. [161169]
Paul Goggins: The National Probation Service were set targets in eight key areas in 2002–03. The targets relating to Drug Treatment and Testing Orders (DTTOs) and the number starting basic skills courses were met while the targets on basic skills awards, victim contacts and clarity of court reports on minority ethnic offenders were narrowly missed. Targets on enforcement, accredited programmes and sickness absence were not met. The following table gives more details.
Targets were set in the same eight key areas in 2003–04 with substantial increases in the numerical targets from those set in 2002–03. There was a 50 per cent. increase in the DTTO, target, a 25 per cent. increase in the accredited programmes target, and 167 per cent. and 300 per cent. increases in the basic skills starts and awards targets respectively. The following table shows the extent to which these targets are currently being met by expressing the achievement between April and December (the latest available data) as a proportion of the expected level of achievement during the period. The expected level of achievement has been based on the trends achieved during 2002–03. The target on contacting victims has been exceeded whilst basic skills awards, accredited programmes and DTTOs are narrowly under the target expected at this stage in the year.
29 Mar 2004 : Column 1281W
| 2002–03 | 2003–04 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Key performance measure | Target | Actual | Percentage of target achieved | Target | Actualto date | Expectedto date | Percentageof expected achieved |
| Commencements of Drug Treatment and Testing Orders | 6,000 | 6,140 | 102 | 9,000 | 6,159 | 6,490 | 95 |
| Completions of Accredited Programmes | 12,000 | 7,716 | 64 | 15,000 | 9,177 | 10,457 | 88 |
| Percentage of orders enforced in accordance with national standards | 90 | 64 | — | 90 | 76 | — | — |
| Number starting basic skills courses | 6,000 | 5,983 | 100 | 16,000 | 8,641 | 11,010 | 78 |
| Number of basic skills awards | 1,000 | 848 | 85 | 4,000 | 1,675 | 1,840 | 91 |
| Percentage of victims contacted in accordance with national standards | 85 | 81 | — | 85 | 91 | — | — |
| Percentage of court reports on minority ethnic offenders with clear proposals | 95 | 92 | 95 | — | — | — | |
| Sickness absence (average number of days per person per year) | 10 | 11.9 | — | 9 | 12.1 | — | — |
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether targets for the National Probation Service during 2004–05 will be revised in the light of past performance. [161170]
Paul Goggins: Targets for the National Probation Service for 2004–05 have been issued to areas and are set out in the table.
29 Mar 2004 : Column 1282W
The second column indicates whether the target is new, has been increased compared to 2003–04, or is unchanged.
Past and current performance has been taken into account in setting these targets, which are intended to be stretching yet achievable. For example, the new compliance target has been set at 70 per cent. based on current performance of 62 per cent.
| Measure/Target 2004–05 | Change from2003–04 |
|---|---|
| Enforcement and Compliance | |
| Initiate breach proceedings according to National Standards within 10 days in 90 per cent. of cases | No change |
| Increase to 70 per cent. the proportion of orders and licences in which the offender complies | New target |
| Offending Behaviour Programmes | |
| To achieve 15,000 completions | No change |
| Enhanced Community Punishment | |
| To achieve 30,000 completions | New target |
| Drug Treatment and Testing Orders | |
| To achieve 13,000 order commencements, including 1,000 lower intensity orders | Increased |
| To improve completion rates to 35 per cent. | New target |
| To increase the number of first contacts made within one day of the order being made to 90 per cent. | New target |
| To increase the number of first contacts made with the treatment provider within two days of the order being made to 90 per cent. | New target |
| Basic Skills | |
| To achieve 32,000 starts and 8,000 awards | Increased |
| Intensive Control and Change Programme | |
| To achieve 1,788 orders made and 1,101 completions | New target |
| Reports to Courts | |
| Clear proposals to be made in 95 per cent. of court report on ethnic minority offenders | No change |
| Victim Contact | |
| 85 per cent. of victims to be contacted within eight weeks of an offender receiving 12 months imprisonment or more for serious sexual or violent offence | No change |
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what factors led to the decision to close the Diversity Unit within the National Probation Directorate. [161171]
Paul Goggins: Probation areas' budgets for 2004–05 include £5.61 million, (1 per cent. of the total budget) that is dedicated to diversity projects. This is a three-fold increase on the previous year. Building on the progress made in recent years, the National Probation Service (NPS) intends to fully integrate diversity as a key part of its work. In order to achieve this, the National Probation Directorate's drive on diversity will include three elements:
- the Regions and Performance Management Unit, where a new post filled by the previous Head of the Diversity Unit will provide support to local areas
- the Human Resources Unit, which will lead on diversity policy development in relation to NPS staff
- the Interventions Unit, which will provide similar leadership in relation to the offenders the Service works with.
29 Mar 2004 : Column 1283W
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many places are available in probation hostels in England and Wales; and how many of these places are occupied by (a) convicted sex offenders and (b) others covered by Multi-Agency Public Protection Panel arrangements. [161174]
Paul Goggins: There are currently 100 approved probation and bail hostels (approved premises) in England and Wales, providing around 2,240 places. No published data is available on the numbers of offenders convicted or charged with sexual offences who are resident in approved premises nor is there any published data on the number of Multi-Agency Public Probation Panel registered offenders in approved premises.
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what representations have been received by the National Probation Directorate from the probation areas following the decision to award the contract for hostel facilities to Anglia Water. [160811]
Paul Goggins: The National Probation Directorate (NPD) regularly receives representations on the operation of the facilities management contract for approved hostels that was awarded to Anglian Water Group in October 2002. These representations are made through a series of Divisional Forums, meeting quarterly, whose membership includes the relevant local probation areas. NPD has also received a number of representations on facilities management issues from individuals and from probation areas.
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many probation areas in England and Wales have reported that they will experience difficulties in producing a balanced budget for 2004–05. [160465]
Paul Goggins: The National Probation Directorate has received letters from either the Chief Officer and/or the Chair of nine probation areas concerning the difficulties in producing a balanced budget for 2004–05. Most of these areas are also those that are forecasting an over-spend for 2003–04.
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many probation areas in England and Wales are expecting a shortfall in budget for 2004–05. [160466]
Paul Goggins: The National Probation Directorate has now received budget details for 2004–05 from most of the 42 probation areas. Some information is still awaited from some areas. These budgets are currently being analysed. Probation boards are required to produce a balanced budget in accordance with the rules of the Financial Memorandum agreed between the Home Office and the Probation Boards. The National Probation Directorate will carefully scrutinise probation board budgets to ensure that the assumptions that underpin those budgets are sustainable. Boards will not be allowed to have budget deficits or shortfalls.
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the expected shortfall in the London probation area budget for 2004–05 is. [160467]
Paul Goggins: The London Probation Area budget for 2004/05 is currently being compiled by officials at the London Probation Area in consultation with the
29 Mar 2004 : Column 1284W
National Probation Directorate. Probation boards are required to produce a balanced budget in accordance with the rules of the financial memorandum agreed between the Home Office and the probation boards.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |