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Overturned Convictions

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the (a) number and (b) percentage of miscarriages of justice at each level of the criminal justice system in each of the last 10 years. [173108]

Paul Goggins: The Home Secretary's powers to consider alleged miscarriages of justice came to an end on 31 March 1997, and were replaced by new powers vested in an independent body called the Criminal Cases Review Commission.

In its first seven years, the Commission received 6,647 applications for case review and referred 226 of these to the relevant court of appeal. Of the appeals resulting from these referrals that the courts have determined, some two-thirds have resulted in the conviction being quashed.

Figures available from the Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) show that 290 convictions were overturned in 1998, 171 in 1999, 150 in 2000, 136 in 2001 and 166 in 2002. These would have included cases referred by the Commission, in addition to normal in-time appeals and those where the court granted leave for an out-of-time appeal.

Mr. McNamara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what procedures are in place to review case files following a referral to the courts by the Criminal Case Review Commission; and what mechanisms are in place (a) to address case-particular errors and (b) to identify general improvements that may reduce the risk of further miscarriages of justice. [173109]

Paul Goggins: Once closed by the Commission, the files for both referral and non-referral cases are retained for five years at which point the Commission reviews the files for record keeping purposes. It is possible for an applicant whose referral is unsuccessful or whose case is not referred by the Commission to reapply at any time.
 
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It is an objective of the Commission to analyse the causes of miscarriages of justice and to suggest ways in which the criminal justice system might be improved to reduce their incidence. It is still too early for the Commission to do so authoritatively. The Commission has only referred 226 cases (as at March 2004) and about a fifth of these have yet to been determined. The difficulty in drawing sound conclusions relevant to today's criminal justice system is that these cases concern a wide spectrum of offences and convictions spread over half a century.

However when the Commission's database contains a greater number of recent cases, it should be possible to analyse comprehensively the legal and investigative issues that still commonly arise in miscarriages of justice. The Commission should then be able to formulate sound advice to other stakeholders and agencies within the criminal justice system on actions and legislation that could help to minimise their incidence.

While section 23 of the Criminal Appeal Act 1995 precludes the Commission from disclosing any case information obtained in the exercise of its functions the Commission does liaise with other agencies and individuals in the criminal justice system. This includes discussion of issues raised in cases reviewed by the Commission.

Parenting Orders and Curfews

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) parenting orders and (b) curfews have been issued in each local authority, broken down by region and listed in descending order. [172923]

Paul Goggins: The Youth Justice Board has collected figures on Parenting Orders and Curfew Orders since April 2000. The data, covering parenting orders of all kinds including orders made in relation to school attendance, is collected by Youth Offending Teams and is not available by local authority area. Table A provides details of the 4,461 Parenting Orders made by region and Youth Offending Team area, in descending order, from April 2000 to March 2004. Table B provides details of the 5,475 Curfew Orders made in respect of young offenders presented in the same way over the same period. Both tables will be placed in the Library. The data between January and March 2004 is provisional and subject to validation.

Prison/Probation Services

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff are employed by (a) the Prison Service at Head Office and (b) the National Probation Directorate; and how many at each are (i) consultants and (ii) contractual staff. [147659]

Paul Goggins: At the beginning of November 2003 there were 2,403 (full time equivalent) staff employed at Her Majesty's Prison Service Headquarters (including operational Area Offices). Of these, 1,330 were employed in central London offices. Central records are not held which specifically identify the number of consultants. However, information supplied by Headquarters
 
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Groups identifies a total of 122 agency staff and consultants working at Prison Service Headquarters at the beginning of November.

In December 2003, the National Probation Directorate employed 445 staff, of which 39 were consultants and 26 were contractors.

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the Prison Service's alcohol strategy. [170517]

Paul Goggins: The Prison Service is in the final stages of development of a comprehensive alcohol strategy, which will be published shortly.

John Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the Youth Justice Board definition is of purposeful activity for juvenile prisoners. [174344]

Paul Goggins: The Youth Justice Board (YJB) now categorises activity by reference to its National Specification for Learning and Skills. The National Specification sets out the expectations of the Board for the delivery of learning and skills to young people held in young offender institutions on Detention and Training Orders. The overall aim is that young offenders should spend 30 hours a week in formal educational classes; 12 on enrichment activities, including access to arts learning and arts experiences, environmental studies and sport; and have seven hours private study time.

The YJB and the Prison Service now have a Service Level Agreement that measures education, training and personal development activity for young people in the juvenile secure estate and sets out agreed performance targets.

Tom Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the new prisons being built in England and Wales; and what category of prisoner each will accommodate. [174488]

Paul Goggins: Two prisons are under construction in England and Wales through the Private Finance Initiative. Bronzefield, at Ashford, Middlesex, is a 450 place prison which will accommodate female offenders and is on schedule to open in June 2004. The second prison, sited at Peterborough, comprises 480 places for male offenders and 360 for female offenders and is scheduled to open in March 2005.

Both prisons are being procured to Category B security standards. Bronzefield will have provision for up to five Category A female prisoners and both prisons will have a 12 place Mother and Baby Unit.

Probation Hostels

Mrs. Helen Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to set up and operate probation hostels in England and Wales which will be exclusively used for convicted sex offenders. [172268]

Paul Goggins: There are currently no plans for any probation hostel in England and Wales to be used exclusively by convicted sex offenders.
 
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Mrs. Helen Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the sex offender treatment programme is available in probation hostels in England and Wales; and what assessment has been made of its effectiveness. [172270]

Paul Goggins: Residents of probation hostels (approved premises) have access to the accredited sex offender treatment programme run by the local Probation Area. Treatment takes place off-site, usually in local probation offices, not in the Probation hostel.

The community based programmes are currently subject to an evaluation study conducted by the Universities of Liverpool and Leicester. It is too early for reconviction studies to be completed.

Mrs. Helen Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to construct and open new probation hostels in England and Wales; and if he will make a statement. [172273]

Paul Goggins: Currently there are plans to open five new approved premises in England and Wales. These will be operated under the Prospects programme. They will provide high quality support from custody to the community for non-violent offenders with a history of drug dependency. The programme represents an innovative way of working within the local community to reduce crime.

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