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23 Feb 2005 : Column 735W—continued
Prison Information Booklets
Mr. Stinchcombe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the contractual obligations for privately managed prisons are in relation to the provision of information to prisoners. [215296]
Paul Goggins: Both public sector and privately managed prison establishments are obliged to adhere to the provisions contained in Prison Service Order 6710 on Prison Libraries, and which sets out the publications which must be held by all Libraries and made available to prisoners. These publications include relevant legislation, documents and manuals on the management of prisons and guidance on legal matters.
Prison Service Intranet
Mr. Stinchcombe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether privately managed prisons have access to the Prison Service intranet. [215297]
Paul Goggins: Privately managed prisons do not currently have access to the Quantum IT infrastructure which supports the Prison Service intranet. Work commenced in January 2005 to provide these establishments with limited access to the electronic version of the Offender Assessment System (OASys).
Plans are in hand to allow privately managed prisons access the Quantum IT infrastructure from summer 2005.
Prisoners (Communication Costs)
Mr. Oaten:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost to his Department was
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in each of the last three years for (a) prisoners' private letters, (b) prisoners' legal letters, (c) foreign national prisoners' telephone calls and (d) telephone calls made by prisoners on arrival in prison. [214988]
Paul Goggins: The information requested is not collected centrally.
The Prison Service has a statutory obligation to assist prisoners to maintain external contacts as part of their rehabilitation. To this end, convicted prisoners are allowed to send one letter a week and unconvicted prisoners two at public expense by 2nd class post. Prisoners are required to meet the cost of any additional letters but Governors and Directors have the discretion to fund special letters in exceptional circumstances (such as when a prisoner is to be transferred, or is involved in legal proceedings).
Prisoners pay to make an estimated 25 million telephone calls a year. For Foreign National prisoners, Governors have the discretion to provide a free 5-minute call provided that the prisoner in question has not received a domestic visit in the preceding month. Governors also have the discretion to provide prisoners with access to an official telephone or make a call on their behalf to a close relative or partner within the first 24 hours of their arrival into prison. The only other occasion where prisoners are provided with calls at official expense is in urgent domestic circumstances involving a close relative or partner.
Prisons
Simon Hughes:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average cost was in the last
23 Feb 2005 : Column 737W
year of a place in each prison in (a) the Prison Estate and (b) privately run prison establishments; and if he will make a statement. [214365]
Paul Goggins: The average cost per place for each Prison Service and privately run establishment for the financial year 2003–04 is listed in the tables. These figures are not directly comparable since prisons vary widely in a number of factors which impact on costs such as the type of prison, category of security, levels of crowding, facilities and layout, location and the age of establishment.
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| £ | |
|---|---|
| Altcourse | 50,747 |
| Ashfield | 32,041 |
| Doncaster | 24,769 |
| Dovegate | 25,916 |
| Forest Bank | 26,080 |
| Lowdham | 24,499 |
| Pare | 39,645 |
| Rye Hill | 23,671 |
| Wolds | 21,861 |
(29)The costs for private prisons excludes capital charges (Cost of Capital, Cost of Capital Credit and Depreciation), making the figures comparable with the public prison service.
(30)HMP Bronzefield, a privately run prison, opened in June 2004 and is therefore excluded from this data.
Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the budget is for prison education in 2004–05; what allocation has been made to 2007–08; and if he will make a statement. [216738]
Paul Goggins: The Department for Education and Skills has a specified and non-transferable budget for offenders' learning and skills of £136 million in 2004–05, which rises to £152.5 million for each of the years 2005–06, 2006–07 and 2007–08. This covers learning and skills in prison as well as for offenders in the community.
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to improve rehabilitation for short-term and remand prisoners. [216803]
Paul Goggins: The introduction of Custody Plus, under the Criminal Justice Act 2003, will improve rehabilitation for all short-term prisoners by providing post-release supervision by the probation service of at least six months in all cases.
In the meantime, a range of interventions have been introduced for short-term prisoners to address pressing needs in health, basic skills, drugs, and job search and benefits advice. From April 2005, all local prisons will be required to carry out housing needs assessments for every new prisoner, including those serving short sentences and on remand. A drug rehabilitation programme specifically for short-term prisoners is already being rolled-out following a successful pilot launched in April 2004.
All prisoners, including those on remand, receive induction on admission to prison, which includes interviews on healthcare and resolving problems such as preserving accommodation, employment, and meeting family responsibilities.
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Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the incidence of smoking in prisons in England and Wales was in the last period for which figures are available. [217209]
Paul Goggins [holding answer 21 February 2005]: This information is not routinely collected. In 1999 the report by the Office for National Statistics Substance Misuse Among Prisoners in England and Wales" recorded that 78 per cent. of male sentenced, 85 per cent. of male remand, 81 per cent. of female sentenced and 83 per cent. of female remand prisoners were current smokers.
Mr. Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the policy of the Government are in relation to prisoners who do not wish to be exposed to the effects of passive smoking in their cells. [217210]
Paul Goggins [holding answer 21 February 2005]: Each prison develops its own no smoking" policy in line with current health and safety advice and taking into account the type of establishment it is, its population and the special needs of that population. Wherever possible prisoners should not be required to share accommodation with a smoker if they so request.
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