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8 Feb 2005 : Column 1420W—continued

Identity Cards

Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 24 January 2005, Official Report, columns 115–16W, on identity cards, when a decision will be made on the number and location of centres where biometric information may be recorded; and what assessment has been made of the feasibility and cost of using mobile equipment to collect this information. [213532]

Mr. Browne: Decisions on the number and location of centres where biometric information may be recorded will be made in the procurement phase of the programme expected to conclude by 2007 during which time feasibility and cost issues will have been thoroughly evaluated. Mobile equipment was used during the biometric enrolment pilot to assess the public's reaction to this type of equipment.

National Offender Management Service

Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the expected cost is of each of the individual departments and units that (a) are already established and (b) are planned to be established within the National Offender Management Service. [201056]

Paul Goggins: The 2005–06 budget which will be managed by the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) totals £4,050 million resource and £320 million capital. This includes expenditure by the Youth Justice Board, Prison Service, probation service and the Correctional Services Head Quarters.

We cannot yet provide 2005–06 budgets for each of the individual areas within NOMS as we are currently designing a new headquarters structure which includes transferring a number of units (and their budgets) from the organisations that make up the service to NOMS Head Quarters. A detailed proposal showing the allocation of individual units to NOMS Head Quarters Directorates has been put forward to staff and trade unions for their comments. This restructuring of NOMS
 
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Head Quarters is due to be finalised in April 2005, thereafter separate budgets for the organisations and Directorates within NOMS will be agreed.

Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when regional offender managers will assume responsibility for budgets in the Prison and Probation Services. [201714]

Paul Goggins: In 2005–06, budget allocations for probation areas will be endorsed by regional offender managers (ROMs). In 2006–07, budget allocations for probation areas and the Prison Service will be agreed by ROMs

OASys IT System

Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 10 January 2005, Official Report, column 326W, on the OASys IT System, what estimate he has made of the cost of OASys assessments for those young adult offenders aged 18 to 20 years sentenced to fewer than 12 months imprisonment. [212147]

Paul Goggins: We estimate the additional cost of completing OASys assessments for this group at around £282,000.

Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were subject to OASys assessments in the last 12 months. [212148]

Paul Goggins: Prison Service records identify 13,546 offenders as receiving one or more OASys assessments for the 12 months from 1 January to 31 December 2004. This figure includes offenders with OASys assessments completed by Cheshire Probation Area—the first area to be linked electronically with prisons.

National Probation Service records identify 244,582 as having received one or more electronic OASys assessments completed by probation staff between October 2002 and mid January 2005. The configuration of the probation OASys IT system does not allow figures to be produced for the 12 months of 2004 alone without incurring disproportionate cost. However, the great majority of the electronic assessments were completed in 2004. In addition there were several thousand assessments completed on the paper-based system which the IT progressively replaced, but these are not counted. addition there were several thousand assessments completed on the paper-based system which the IT progressively replaced, but these are not counted.

Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost of operating the OASys system has been in the last 12 months. [212149]

Paul Goggins: The funding allocated to meet the additional cost of operating the OASys offender assessment system for the 12 months period from 1 January to 31 December 2004 was £10,182,000.

The following table shows the breakdown between the Prison Service (HMPS) and the national probation service (NPS) and between operational and IT support costs. The figures do not include development costs for new software or project costs for establishing and implementing the projects and programme.
 
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£ million

	HMPS	NPS	Total
Operational	5.94	3.12	9.06
IT support costs	0.51	0.61	1.12
Total	6.45	3.73	10.18

Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) pursuant to his answer of 10 January 2005, Official Report, column 326W, on the OASys IT System, if he will list those prisons which provide custody plans or prisoner passports for adults serving short sentences; [212150]

(2) how many prisoners have been subject to custody plans or prisoner passports; and what percentage such prisoners represent of adults serving short sentences. [212151]

Paul Goggins: All prisoners serving sentences of 12months or more are required to have an individual sentence plan, which is now included within OASys.

Following local initiatives some prisons provide Custody" plans or passports", which focus on resettlement issues, for prisoners serving under 12-month sentences. No central record is available of the number of prisoners on these schemes.

Offender Management

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which agency is responsible, where an offender is a danger to himself, his immediate family and the wider public, for ensuring that the offender (a) does not re-offend, (b) receives the requested medical treatment and (c) has stable and permanent accommodation; and what the role of his Department is. [201563]

Paul Goggins: An offender under current probation supervision is allocated an offender manager who is responsible for assessing the risk of harm posed by that individual. The offender manager will develop a supervision plan which is directly aimed at reducing the risk of re-offending. Where there is any indication that medical treatment may be required, the offender manager can direct the offender to local health services, whose responsibility it is to provide any necessary service. The offender manager cannot seek to enforce compliance with treatment unless it is a specific requirement of their supervision. Similarly with accommodation, local authorities are required to ensure that advice and information is made available about an individual's right to apply for housing, and to provide assistance where necessary. The probation service has a role in signposting offenders to local authority advice services, and can refer those who need additional housing support to local services run under the Supporting People Programme. In addition, there is a limited supply of approved accommodation available for those offenders who pose the greatest risk of harm.

Offenders with multiple problems will demand the expertise of a number of agencies. The Government are committed to enhanced partnership working and special arrangements have been put in place for the supervision of those offenders who represent the greatest risk of harm. These arrangements, known as Multi-Agency
 
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Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) ensure that key agencies come together with others under the lead of the probation, prison and police services to plan and monitor the supervision of individuals. The key agencies, including local housing authorities and health Trusts and Authorities, have been placed under a duty to co-operate with their local police, prison and probation services.

Passports

Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 24 January 2005, Official Report, columns 121–2W, on passports, when a final decision will be made on the number of interview offices; and what steps he has taken to investigate the practicality of mobile facilities for remote areas. [213771]

Mr. Browne: I expect to be in a position to make a decision in April this year on the number of locations in which interview offices will be required. As part of a programme of consultations on the sitting of offices, the UK Passport Service (UKPS) will be visiting Highlands and Islands Enterprise for discussions in early March. The UKPS will also visit mobile facilities in Scotland belonging to the Driving Standards Agency. A critical issue will be the standard of security required in mobile units for the handling and transmission of personal data. The UKPS is currently investigating this.

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