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19 Apr 2004 : Column 120W—continued
Work Permits
Mr. Lilley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what targets have been set for numbers of applications for work permits processed by Home Office officials in (a) 2003 and (b) 2004; and how targets are allocated among departmental offices. [161127]
Mr. Browne
[holding answer 12 March 2004]: There are no targets for the number of work permits issued by the Home Office, although the Sectors Based Scheme within these arrangements is subject to a quota. The work permit system is designed to be flexible and
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responsive to the needs of employers and the economy. The overall number of work permits issued will depend on the number of applications made by employers and whether individual applications meet the criteria for the issuing of permits.
Work Permits (UK) does make internal planning assumptions about expected volumes of applications (on a financial, not calendar, year basis), in order to allocate resources to process applications. Work Permits (UK)'s planning assumption for 2003–04 is that it will receive 175,000 work permit applications (including extension applications). The current planning assumption for 2004–05 is 183,000. These figures do not include applications under the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme and Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme applications, which Work Permits (UK) also administers.
These planning assumptions are informed by monitoring trends in volumes of applications and consultation with stakeholders, including other Government Departments on labour market conditions.
Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many work permits have been granted to education workers since January 2003 broken down by (a) Government office region, (b) type of education work and (c) nationality. [163854]
Mr. Browne: The tables provide figures for the numbers of work permits that have been granted to education workers since January 2003.
All work permits applications, including extensions, approved for education workers since 1 January 2003, broken down by the type of education work:
| Occupation | Number of permits issued |
|---|---|
| Teacher | 5,720 |
| Lecturer | 792 |
| Research Associate | 763 |
| Research Fellow | 705 |
| Research Assistant | 530 |
| Professor | 158 |
| Research Officer | 100 |
| Tutors | 90 |
| Research Technician | 19 |
| Others | 3,041 |
| Total | 11,918 |
All work permits applications, including extensions, approved for education workers since 1 January 2003, broken down by nationality:
| Nationality | Number of permits issued |
|---|---|
| Australia | 1,549 |
| Canada | 676 |
| India | 760 |
| Jamaica | 481 |
| New Zealand | 736 |
| Peoples Republic of China | 948 |
| Russia | 261 |
| South Africa | 1,577 |
| United States of America | 1,318 |
| Zimbabwe | 304 |
| Others | 3,308 |
| Total | 11,918 |
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A breakdown of all work permits applications approved for education workers since January 2003 by Government Office region is not available.
Workers Registration Scheme
Mr. Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on progress made on introducing a workers' registration scheme for EU Nationals after 1 May. [164337]
Mr. Browne [holding answer 29 March 2004]: On 25 March we laid draft regulations which will establish a workers' registration scheme for nationals from eight of the states acceding to the European Union on 1 May.
The draft regulations are laid under paragraph 2(2) of Schedule 2 to the European Communities Act 1972 and Section 2 (6) of the European Union (Accessions) Act 2003 and will be subject to the affirmative resolution procedure. The draft regulations and an Explanatory Memorandum can be viewed at http://www. legislation.hmso.gov.uk/si/dsis2004.htm
Young Offenders
Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to streamline the inspection regime for secure units for juvenile offenders. [162314]
Paul Goggins: From 1 April 2004 the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI), which replaces the Social Services Inspectorate, will inspect local authority secure children's homes and secure training centres. Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Prisons will continue to inspect Young Offender Institutions holding juveniles, with support from CSCI.
Within those arrangements, there will be greater harmonisation of the approach to education inspections through use of the same methodology and a consistent pool of inspectors.
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 9 February 2004, Official Report, column 1262W, on juvenile prisoners, if he will provide a brief description of (a) the fixtures and facilities in the unfurnished cell in each establishment, (b) its location within the prison and (c) the items of clothing and personal possessions which the prisoner is allowed to have with him. [162438]
Paul Goggins: Every special or unfurnished cell ("special accommodation"), when used for the temporary confinement of juveniles under Rule 51 of the Young Offender Institution Rules 2000 (or Rule 48 of the Prison Rules 1999) is heated, ventilated, has a window or other natural light, and an intercom or other means of allowing the young person to communicate with an officer. There is access to toilet and sanitary facilities.
The Prison Service does not provide other fixtures or facilities in special accommodation when used for the temporary confinement of juveniles, having regard to the fact that the young person's refractory or violent behaviour may result in damage to themselves or property; and the fact that the confinement is only temporary and must cease as soon as the refractory or violent behaviour has ended.
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Special or unfurnished cells are located in the establishment's segregation unit, which in some cases is known as the "separation and care unit" or "intensive support unit". The only exception is at HMYOI Wetherby, where the unfurnished cell is located temporarily near the administrative unit due to structural works in progress.
When a young person is placed in special accommodation a risk assessment will be conducted. This determines whether the young person is at risk of self-injury and whether normal clothing presents a hazard to his/her health. If in exceptional circumstances it is necessary to remove normal clothing, the young person is provided with protective clothing so that he/she can be decently dressed and their normal clothing is returned to them at the earliest opportunity.
Personal possessions are not normally allowed in special accommodation given that the young people must only be kept there for the shortest possible time; and may often be in a volatile state, with the result that personal possessions may present the risk of self-injury or harm. However, permission may be granted on a case-by-case basis, if the risk assessment demonstrates the benefits would outweigh the risks.
Young Offenders Institutes
Julie Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many juveniles in each young offenders' institution were injured by other inmates in each month from June 2003 to the most recent month for which figures are available. [163216]
Paul Goggins: In April 2003 a new measure of violence was introduced based on the number of reported serious assaults. An assault is classified as 'serious' if it:
is a sexual assault, or
results in detention in outside hospital as an inpatient,
or
requires medical treatment for concussion or internal injuries, or
is a fracture, scald or burn, stabbing, crushing, extensive or multiple bruising, black eye, broken nose, lost or broken tooth, cuts requiring suturing, bites, temporary or permanent blindness.
Information on juveniles seriously assaulted by other trainees in custody is given in the table:
| June | July | August | September | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brinsford | — | — | — | — |
| Brockhill | — | — | — | — |
| Bullwood Hall | — | 1 | — | — |
| Castington | — | — | — | — |
| Eastwood Park | — | — | — | — |
| Feltham | — | — | — | — |
| Hindley | — | — | — | — |
| Huntercombe | 1 | — | — | — |
| Lancaster Farms | 2 | 3 | — | — |
| New Hall | — | — | — | — |
| Onley | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| Stoke Heath | — | — | — | 1 |
| Thorn Cross | — | — | — | — |
| Warren Hill | — | — | — | — |
| Werrington | 1 | — | 3 | 1 |
| Wetherby | — | — | 1 | — |
| October | November | December | January 2004 | February 2004 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brinsford | — | — | — | — | — |
| Brockhill | — | — | — | — | — |
| Bullwood Hall | — | — | — | — | — |
| Castington | — | — | — | — | — |
| Eastwood Park | — | — | — | — | — |
| Feltham | — | — | — | — | — |
| Hindley | — | — | — | — | — |
| Huntercombe | — | — | — | — | — |
| Lancaster Farms | — | — | — | — | — |
| New Hall | — | — | — | — | — |
| Onley | — | — | — | — | — |
| Stoke Heath | — | 1 | — | — | — |
| Thorn Cross | — | — | — | — | — |
| Warren Hill | 1 | — | — | 1 | — |
| Werrington | — | — | — | — | — |
| Wetherby | — | — | — | — | — |
The number of positive adjudication's for assaults on juveniles is given in the table. Most of the injuries in these incidents would be classified as minor (grazes, scratches, abrasions, minor bruises, swellings, superficial cuts) or none at all.
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