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11 Jan 2005 : Column 487W—continued
Police Administrative Staff
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in which police forces administrative staff working for police forces receive the same pay entitlement with regard to working on public holidays as police officers. [206216]
Ms Blears: Neither the Home Office nor the Employers Organisation routinely collects this information. Pay and conditions of service for police staff are set by local police authorities.
Press Officers
Mr. George Osborne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many press officers are employed in the Department. [206533]
Fiona Mactaggart: The Department currently employs 39 Press Officers. (Press Officers within the Home Office are employed at the Information Officer (IO) and Senior Information Officer (SIO) grades.)
Prison and Probation Services
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list properties and assets that are (a) owned and (b) used by (i) HM Prison Service and (ii) the probation service; and what value is attributed to each asset. [206418]
Paul Goggins: Details of prison and probation service properties and assets and their valuations could only be provided at disproportionate costs. The prison estate is valued in excess of £5 billion on a depreciated replacement cost basis and the probation service has property listing values in excess of £132 million.
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether all appraisals into the options for achieving better quality services at optimal cost for the Prison Service since 1997 have fully complied with Government guidance on Better Quality Services. [201015]
Paul Goggins: The Prison Service has undertaken four Better Quality Services (BQS) Reviews. These reviewed the following activities:
The BQS policy required the following options to be considered as part of each review:
In all cases, the reviews complied with the guidance on Better Quality Services.
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what appraisals have been conducted into the options for achieving better quality services at optimal cost for the Prison Service since 1997; when they were commissioned; who carried them out; when they were completed; if he will publish them; and if he will make a statement. [201020]
Paul Goggins: The Prison Service has undertaken four Better Quality Services (BQS) Reviews. These reviewed the following activities:
The Construction Unit BQS Review was commissioned in April 2002 and completed January 2003. External consultants were engaged to undertake this review.
The Prisoner Escort Contract BQS Review was commissioned in September 1999 and completed May 2002. External consultants were engaged to undertake this review.
The Works Departments BQS Review was commissioned in early 1999 and the review findings were approved in June 2000. The review was carried out by both Prison Service staff and external consultants.
The Security Group BQS Review was commissioned in February 2000 and completed June 2000. The review was carried out by both Prison Service staff resource and external consultants.
It is not the intention to publish the reviews, as they were not developed with an external audience in mind and require prior knowledge of both the function concerned and the wider Prison Service. However, the working papers will be available on request.
The formal BQS approach ceased to be mandatory in 2002 following a Cabinet Office Review. However, the Prison Service remains committed to the principles outlined in the BQS approach is taking forward a comprehensive programme of value for money initiatives.
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much the Prison Service has spent defending equal pay employment tribunal cases in each year since 1997. [201065]
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Paul Goggins: On 9 September 2004 the Prison Service had spent £1,034,741 since 1997 on equal pay tribunal cases. In view of the unresolved and continuing nature of most of these cases, it is not possible to provide an accurate breakdown for each year without incurring disproportionate cost.
Prisoner Escape (Stafford)
Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the escape of three prisoners from Stafford Prison on 8 December. [204669]
Paul Goggins
[holding answer 14 December 2004]: Three prisoners escaped from Stafford prison at approximately 16:00 hrs on 8 December 2004. The prisoners had gained access to a workshop roof from where they were able to escape. The prisoners were
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spotted in the vicinity of the prison by an off duty prison officer. A full roll check confirmed their absence and the incident was immediately reported to the police.
One of the prisoners was recaptured by police on 9 December and a second on 10 December. One remains unlawfully at large. The two prisoners who have been recaptured are each serving seven years for robbery.
The third is serving three years and six months for burglary. All are Category C prisoners. An internal investigation into the incident is currently under way.
Prisoners
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners there are, broken down by category of offence. [203531]
Paul Goggins: The information requested, as recorded on the Prison Service central IT system on 31 October 2004, is provided in the table.
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average distance in miles between (a) female and (b) male prison location and the registered home address of the inmate was in the last period for which figures are available. [206279]
Paul Goggins: A prisoner's home area is defined as their home address on their reception into prison. For prisoners with no address, the address of the relevant committal court is used as the home address.
As at September 2004 (the latest period for which figures are available), the average distance female prisoners were held from their home or committal court address was 62 miles. Male prisoners were held an average of 51 miles from their home or committal court address.
Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of babies born in prison remained with their mothers up to the age of nine months in the last year for which figures are available. [206286]
Paul Goggins: Information in the form requested is not available centrally. All pregnant prisoners who give birth to a baby while serving a prison sentence do so in a local hospital. Whether the mother then keeps the child with her in prison is partly a matter for her choice and partly a matter for social services. The Prison Service provides places on mother and baby units and those mothers who wish to keep their child with them and are considered suitable may do so up to about the age of 18 months depending on what is in the best interests of the child. At 13 December 2004 there were 51 mothers in those units and their children's ages ranged from a few weeks to 16 months.
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