---

18 Jun 2004 : Column 1171W—continued

Probation Service

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) prisoners and (b) people under supervision of the probation service have obtained qualifications in basic skills in Merseyside in each year since 1997. [177935]

Paul Goggins: Until 2000 there were no clear definitions of what an adult should be expected to know, understand and do at each level of literacy, numeracy and spoken language. The Government's Skills for Life strategy is raising levels of adult basic skills through the introduction of national standards and curriculum documents for listening, speaking, reading, writing and numeracy. These now provide the framework for all adult literacy, numeracy and ESOL screening tests, diagnostic tools, programmes of study and qualifications.

In 2002–03 central monitoring of literacy, numeracy and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) was introduced for offenders under the supervision of the National Probation Service (NPS). This is the first year for which national targets were set. Targets were introduced in Prison Service establishments in 2000–01, from which date only aggregate figures are available. 2002–03 is the first year from which figures are available at establishment level.

The number of qualifications obtained by offenders in prison and under probation supervision in Merseyside from 2002–03 is contained in the tables:
 
18 Jun 2004 : Column 1172W
 

Basic skills qualifications: offenders in custody

	Target	Achieved
2002–03	506	915
2003–04	692	938

Basic skills qualifications: offenders under probation supervision

	Target	Achieved
2002–03	38	95
2003–04	155	234

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps the Government are taking to maintain community and local involvement in the probationary services as part of the restructuring process. [175227]

Paul Goggins: The National Offender Management Service will ensure that effective links with bodies such as local criminal justice boards, crime and disorder reduction partnerships, drug action teams and local authorities, are maintained and developed. All regional offender managers will be required to establish these links within their region and to develop other community and neighbourhood networks as appropriate.

Project Reflex

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on Project Reflex. [177869]

Caroline Flint: Reflex is the government's response to organised immigration crime. It was established in 2000 as a multi-agency task force to co-ordinate intelligence and the law enforcement response. Led by the National Crime Squad (NCS), Reflex brings together the key agencies involved in combating organised immigration crime including the Immigration Service, the National Criminal Intelligence Service, the security and intelligence agencies, the UK Passport Service, government departments including the Crown Prosecution Service and key police forces.

Based on its initial success Reflex was awarded £60 million over three years starting in April 2003. The core aims of Reflex are to raise the risks that organised crime gangs must take, render their illegal businesses unprofitable and reduce the opportunities for them to exploit communities.

Reflex targets criminal groups involved in the volume facilitation of illegal migrants, human trafficking (in particular the trafficking of women and children) and running the criminal infrastructures that serve both to facilitate illegal entry and to exploit the illegal population once in the UK.

Between April 2003 and April 2004 reflex resulted in 38 disruptions. In the same period Reflex operations resulted in 38 convictions.

Secure Units

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to ensure that children sent to secure units are contained as near to their families as possible. [175835]

 
18 Jun 2004 : Column 1173W
 

Paul Goggins: [holding answer 25 May 2004]: The Youth Justice Board for England and Wales (YJB) is responsible for commissioning and purchasing secure accommodation for young people who receive custodial sentences, and for placement decisions.

It aims to improve the geographical spread of places suitable for the younger and more vulnerable young people in secure training centres (STCs) and local authority secure children's homes (LASCHs). It has already expanded two STCs by a total of 64 places and a new one is due to open this summer at Oakhill, Milton Keynes. Based on modelling of the home locations of young people placed since April 2000, the 80 places it will provide—in exchange for withdrawal from 64 LASCH places—will significantly improve the geographical coverage in particular for young offenders from north London.

Sentencing Guidelines Council

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether it is envisaged that the Sentencing Guidelines Council will examine the case for reducing sentence lengths for less serious offences. [147632]

Paul Goggins: The Government believe that less serious offenders should be punished by fines or community penalties; prison should be reserved for serious, dangerous and persistent offenders. The Sentencing Guidelines Council will issue guidance on the appropriate sentences for all offences. One of its first tasks is to look at the use of the generic community sentence established by the Criminal Justice Act 2003. The Government believe that this new sentence offers the opportunity for more offenders to be punished in the community and to increase the opportunities for rehabilitation.

Shoplifting

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) men and (b) women were imprisoned for shoplifting offences in Greater London in the last five years. [158441]

Paul Goggins: The information requested is shown in the table.
Number of persons sentenced to immediate custody at all courts for stealing from shops and stalls in the Greater London Area⁽¹⁴⁾, 1998 to 2002 2

		Sentenced to immediate custody
Offence	Year	Male	Female	Total
Stealing from shops and stalls	1998	1,957	415	2,372
	1999	2,225	418	2,643
	2000	2,394	481	2,875
	2001	2,290	435	2,725
	2002	2,730	518	3,248

⁽¹⁴⁾ Metropolitan and City of London police force areas.
⁽¹⁵⁾ These data are on the principal offence basis.

It should be noted that courts' sentencing decisions are influenced by the seriousness of the offence and take into account previous convictions.
 
18 Jun 2004 : Column 1174W
 

Statistics for 2003 will be published in the autumn.

Women Prisoners

Julie Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many female prisoners were electronically tagged in (a) England and (b) Wales during the period between January and December 2003; and what the most recent available figures are for 2004. [177256]

Paul Goggins: In 2003 there were 2,153 female prisoners released on the Home Detention Curfew scheme (HDC). Between 1 January 2004 and 30 April 2004, there were 689 female prisoners released on HDC. These prisoners were all released from prisons in England There are no prisons for females in Wales. The country (i.e. England or Wales) in which electronically tagged prisoners reside on release is not recorded centrally.

Julie Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many women's places were not used in bail hostels in (a) England and (b) Wales during the period between January and December 2003; and what the most recent figures are for 2004. [177257]

Paul Goggins: There are currently 100 approved probation and bail hostels throughout the 42 probation areas which make up the National Probation Service for England and Wales. They provide a total of 2,238 places, of which 2,016 are for men and 222 for women. These approved premises broadly accept three categories of residents; bailees, those on community orders with a condition of residence at the approved premises, and those on licence following release from a custodial sentence. Five of these premises (all based in probation areas in England), are for women only. A further 28 premises (three of which are in Wales) provide mixed accommodation. However, no published data is available on how many women's places were not utilised during 2003 or 2004.

Mr. Stinchcombe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many custodial sentences being served by female prisoners of one month or less were imposed on female convicts and served at HMP Holloway in the last year. [177494]

Paul Goggins: Of the women serving custodial sentences at Holloway in the last year, 123 had received sentences of one month or less. The Government does not believe that these kind of short sentences are generally effective in reducing re-offending which is why we are introducing the Generic Community Sentencewhich will enable sentencers to choose from a range of measures appropriate for each individual offender and Custody Plus which will ensure that short periods of custody are followed up with effective supervision in the community.

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many female prisoners were in England and Wales (a) broken down by prison and (b) as a total in each year since 1997. [177510]

Paul Goggins: The number of female prisoners in England and Wales, broken down by establishment and as a total, on 30 June in each year since 1997 is given in the table.
 
18 Jun 2004 : Column 1175W
 

Female prison population by establishment—England and Wales, 30 June

	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003
Askham Grange	131	126	113	113	128	135	122
Birmingham	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
Brockhill	135	132	145	155	150	161	155
Buckley Hall	0	0	0	0	0	203	308
Bullwood Hall	125	134	137	160	162	181	163
Cookham Wood	147	161	147	137	151	144	143
Downview	0	0	0	0	0	245	212
Drake Hall	281	275	209	162	232	276	303
Durham	42	45	103	96	104	97	107
East Sutton Park	95	97	96	70	89	95	99
Eastwood Park	125	259	277	301	299	322	286
Foston Hall	0	134	171	167	156	207	224
Highpoint	204	206	198	201	251	270	293
Holloway	524	516	501	490	474	480	465
Low Newton	47	83	105	207	251	286	268
Morton Hall	0	0	0	0	188	188	347
New Hall	317	364	379	366	347	348	374
Risley	152	160	0	0	0	0	0
Send	0	55	89	201	216	215	216
Styal	267	281	446	449	424	455	426
Winchester	80	91	91	80	91	86	84
Total	2,672	3,120	3,207	3,355	3,713	4,394	4,595

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the women's unit at HMP Durham will close; where the female inmates at HMP Durham will be moved to; and if he will make a statement. [177575]

Paul Goggins: Durham is to change its role from a high security prison to a community prison by April of next year and will no longer be holding women
 
18 Jun 2004 : Column 1176W
 
prisoners. The change is due to spare capacity in the rest of the high security estate and the availability of new accommodation for women at Bronzefield in Ashford, Middlesex opening on 17 June and Peterborough in June 2005.

There are currently around 100 women being held at the prison of whom seven are category A. The women will all be subject to comprehensive sentence plans to determine the most appropriate prison for them.

---

---