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Police Training

Dr. Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the average cost of employing, training and developing a probationary police constable in the last year for which figures are available. [216739]

Ms Blears: Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary have estimated that the average salary, training and development costs of a probationary police constable up to independent patrol (which is normally 31 weeks after joining a force) in 2003–04 were £27,048. This figure includes salary costs of £13,993 per probationary police constable for that period and training and development costs of £13,055.

Information about the associated costs for recruitment, supervision, accommodation, information technology etc is not collated centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

Prison Statistics

Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the annual prison statistics for 2003 will be published; and what factors have determined the timescale for publication. [219517]

Paul Goggins: The Home Office statistical bulletin 'Offender management caseload statistics 2003' was published on 9 December 2004. This bulletin replaces the annual publications 'Prison statistics England and Wales' and 'Probation statistics England and Wales'. A copy of the publication is available in the Library, and is supplemented by further tables on the Home Office website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/omcs.html

Prison System

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment his Department has made of public attitudes to prison and its alternatives. [212336]

Paul Goggins: The Home Department conducts its own assessments of public attitudes to prison and its alternatives through its own research such as the British Crime Survey, and through the consideration of other research and representations.

Prison/Employer Links

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans his Department has to encourage links between prisons and local employers. [212319]

 
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Paul Goggins: The National Offender Management Service is developing a joint prison probation strategy for establishing and maintaining links with employers. These links are focused on sectors that have significant labour shortages nationally and regionally, such as construction, catering, industrial cleaning, utilities, sports and fitness, driving and distribution. Opportunities are also being explored in horticulture and information communication technology. These sectors were identified following consultation with the Confederation of British Industry, Jobcentre Plus and Sector Skills Council.

The Prison Service is taking the lead on a cross Government work programme for engaging with employers which has been agreed by the Employment, Training and Education Sub-Board of the Reducing Re-offending Programme Board. This work programme includes officials from the National Offender Management Service (NOMS), the Probation Service, Jobcentre Plus, the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) and the Learning and Skills Council. National and local employers will be invited to be involved as the work programme develops. Its aim is tobuild on existing work to encourage employers to contribute to the training of offenders and to commit to the recruitment of those who achieve an agreed level of skills.

At a local level, employer links are being developed and maintained through the Heads of Learning and Skills and Resettlement Managers in establishments. They work closely with Jobcentre Plus, Learning and Skills Councils and voluntary organisations to involve employers in work and training programmes for prisoners and to encourage them to recruit prisoners on their release. From April 2005 the Learning and Skills Councils will assume responsibility for the skills training of all offenders, and will be seeking to meet local labour market needs. This will increase opportunities for linking with employers at a local level.

The Prison Service is currently developing an employer database, holding information on employers who are willing and able to offer work to ex-offenders. This will enable prison to access information about employment opportunities in their local area, and also nationally to assist prisoners who are held at establishments outside their home areas.

Prisoners (Art)

Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures his Department is taking to ensure that different parties involved in the arts work closely together to increase the range, quantity and quality of activities for prisoners. [212320]

Paul Goggins: Activities being undertaken by arts organisations in prisons and the community are well documented for all key stakeholders in the Directory of Arts Activities in Prisons, which has been produced annually by the Unit for Arts and Offenders with financial support from the Department for Education and Skills. The Unit also produces a regular e-mail newsletter for arts organisations working with offenders, hosts a Forum for Arts and Offenders and provides training to artists wanting to work with prisoners. TheUnit for Arts and Offenders will be members of the
 
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newly formed National Offender Management Service (NOMS) Voluntary and Community Sector Advisory Group.

Arts for offenders are supported through the curriculum in prisons and through financial support provided centrally to several national arts organisations to actively promote arts activities in prisons. Most prisons now have a Head of Learning and Skills, funded by the Department for Education and Skills, and they will determine the part that arts activities and arts organisations can play within the establishment. At a major prison Arts conference last year to celebrate and promote arts activities for offenders, a guide was launched for Heads of Learning and Skills and Managers in the Voluntary Sectors on provision of voluntary sector activities in prisons. This includes a consistent and joint approach to joint working on setting up, monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of provision.

Prisons

Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prison officers and staff have (a) been tested for tuberculosis and (b) tested positive for tuberculosis (i) in each year since 1997 and (ii) between 1 January and 1 December. [203712]

Paul Goggins [holding answer 13 December 2004]: This information is not held centrally and can be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.

Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what assessment his Department has made of the effects of the recruitment moratorium by Her Majesty's Prison Service; [218147]

(2) when the decision was made by Her Majesty's Prison Service to introduce a recruitment moratorium; [218148]

(3) how long the recruitment moratorium by Her Majesty's Prison Service will continue. [218149]

Paul Goggins: The Prison Service introduced a managed recruitment ban on 6 December 2004. The need for the ban to continue has been recently reviewed and the Prison Service has now decided that from 1 April 2005, recruitment can recommence in order to fill vacancies. An evaluation of the effects of the ban is currently being assessed but it has successfully contributed toward the reduction of the projected overspend by the Prison Service for 2004–05 to a level where the ban will only need to remain in place for the remainder of this financial year.

Since January 2005, establishments have been required to report monthly on the impact of the ban to assess operational pressures. The imposed ban was not an absolute freeze on recruitment and was not intended to prevent the filling of vacancies that, if left unfilled, could compromise the safety and security of establishments.

Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will publish the 2003 Prisoner Resettlement Survey. [218196]

Paul Goggins: The 2003 Prisoner Resettlement Survey 2003 was published on 24 February 2005.
 
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Dr. Vis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reasons cookery classes in Bullwood Hall prison have been discontinued. [218220]

Paul Goggins: Cookery classes for prisoners have not been stopped at Bullwood Hall prison. All education classes at Bullwood Hall took place in a building known as the activity centre. Asbestos has been found in areas of this building and work is currently under way to ensure its safe removal by specialist contractors. While this work is carried out, the cookery class and other classes continue to take place in other areas of the prison.

Dr. Vis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many women have been transferred from Holloway prison to Cookham Wood prison in the last six months; and what the reasons were for the transfers. [218221]

Paul Goggins: Between 30 July 2004 and 18 February 2005, 79 prisoners were transferred from Holloway prison to Cookham Wood prison and young offender institution.

Of these, 77 were routine allocations from a local prison serving the courts to a training prison and two were for disciplinary reasons.

Dr. Vis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to improve conditions at Cookham Wood Prison. [218222]

Paul Goggins: Over the last 12 months Cookham Wood has successfully implemented a performance improvement plan and has implemented most of the recommendations made by Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons in her report of an inspection of the prison which was published on 6 February 2004. This has contributed to a significant improvement in conditions across the prison.

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost of mandatory drug testing programmes in prisons was in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [218861]

Paul Goggins: The central costs of the mandatory drug testing programme in the last five years are given in the following table.

	£ million
1999–2000	1.8
2000–01	1.8
2001–02	1.6
2002–03	1.4
2003–04	1.4

Mr. Norman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in how many prisons the population was in excess of the certified normal accommodation on the latest date for which figures are available. [219839]

Paul Goggins: As at 28 February 2005, 78 prisons were operating with a population above their in-use certified normal accommodation (CNA) level. This is the uncrowded capacity of the establishment. All prisons were operating within their useable operational
 
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capacity, which is the total number of prisoners that an establishment can hold taking into account control, security and the proper operation of the planned regime.

The Government have increased the number of prison places by around 17,000 since 1997 to the current useable operational capacity of 76,600. We plan to increase this by a further 3,800 to around 80,400 in 2007.

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