43. Twelfth supplementary memorandum
submitted by HM Prison Service, Home Office
FURTHER QUESTIONS
FOR THE
PRISON SERVICE
ON REHABILITATION
OF PRISONERS
(2 DECEMBER 2004)
1. What progress has been made in rolling
out the OASys offender assessment tool in (a) prisons and (b)
probation; how many prisons have access to the system; and when
will roll-out will be complete?
Roll out of the prison and probation OASys IT
systems has gone well, with the Prison Service due to complete
on target by the end of the year and all probation areas already
using OASys IT.
In the Prison Service, roll out of OASys is
complete in all public sector prison Areas and 124 establishments
have "gone live" with OASys following staff training
in the IT application, including HMP Bronzefield in the contracted
sector. The remaining contracted sector establishments will be
able to access and use OASys before the end of this year.
Plans to connect the two Services' OASys IT
systems are behind schedule but it is expected to complete connection
between all probation areas and prisons by the autumn of 2005.
2. Are there any problems of mutual compatibility
between the prison and probation versions of OASys?
OASys was developed jointly by the Prison and
Probation Services based on a common paper design and sharing
a common manual; but it was clear that the full benefits would
only be achieved when all users had access to an IT version, and
when users in the Prison Service and National Probation Service
could exchange OASys assessments electronically.
Differences between the two Services' IT infrastructures
led in 2001 to the decision to develop two OASys IT systems and
connect them; the creation of a single system was not considered
practicable.
Both systems use an independent user interface
that displays the same core data and there is no problem with
moving core data between both systems. The National Probation
Service uses Lotus Notes while the Prison Service uses a web-based
interface to display the data. But in essence there is no problem
of mutual compatibility.
A pilot for Prison Service to National Probation
Service connectivity began in July as planned, linking a probation
area to several prisons. The effort needed to develop and support
the pilot was greater than expected and led to a delay to the
final version of the software, which has now been finished and
will be delivered to pilot in December. This will prove the technical
connection between the Prison Service and a probation area.
The Probation Service implementation plans have
had to be reviewed in light of this delay and of other priorities,
including the need to ensure that OASys can support the sentencing
provisions of the 2003 Criminal Justice Act that come in to force
in April 2005. We now expect to complete connection between probation
areas and prisons by the autumn of 2005.
3. Which categories of prisoners will not
be subject to OASys assessment (eg young offenders, remand prisoners,
short-term prisoners) and why will they not be? Are there any
plans to extend OASys assessment to these categories?
The following are the main groups of prisoners
not subject to OASys assessments by the Prison Service:
Juveniles
OASys applies to prisoners aged 18 and over.
Different arrangements, to meet the requirements of the Youth
Justice Board, apply for prisoners aged under 18. The YJB has
a separate risk and needs assessment tool, ASSET, which is used
for juveniles sentenced to Detention and Training Orders.
Remand prisoners
OASys assessments are not completed by the Prison
Service for remand prisoners. The National Probation Service will
complete an OASys assessment in the majority of cases where a
Pre-Sentence Report is requested by the court.
Short-term prisoners
OASys assessments, for those sentenced to less
than 12 months imprisonment, are only a mandatory requirement
for young adult offenders, aged 18 to 20. Some adult short-term
prisoners will have had an initial OASys prepared by the National
Probation Service, as part of Pre-Sentence Report, and this will
be available to the Prison Service to inform offender management.
OASys is suitable for use with short-term adult prisoners, but
its use is not currently mandatory due to resource constraints.
This policy will be reviewed in preparing for the introduction
of Custody Plus, under the Criminal Justice Act 2003. Some prisons
currently provide custody plans or "prisoner passports',
which focus on resettlement issues, for adults serving short sentences.
This is good practice although not mandatory.
Civil Prisoners
OASys assessments are not required for civil
prisoners. Under the Criminal Justice Act 1991, such prisoners
are described as serving a "term" rather than a "sentence".
Prison Service instructions on completing OASys
Prison Service Order (PSO) 2205 on OASys provides
instructions and guidance and sets out details of the prisoners
for whom an OASys assessment must be completed. It is mandatory
for all young adult offenders (18 to 20) with at least four weeks
left to serve; ACR prisoners (sentenced to 12 months and over,
but less than four years) with at least six months left to serve
up to the conditional release date and all DCR prisoners (sentenced
to four years and over). These arrangements were carried over
from the previous paper-based sentence planning system. OASys
is also used for life sentence prisoners (OASys assessment is
included within the Life Sentence Plan) and for extended sentence
recall prisoners, if their time in custody after recall will be
one year or more. A revised version of the PSO to be published
shortly will also require an OASys assessment for licence recall
offenders, if their time in custody after recall will be one year
or more.
4. Is it proposed to carry out a formal review
of the success of OASys implementation, and if so to what timetable?
Will the review be published and if so in what format?
The OASys Programme has been subject to the
Office of Government Commerce (OGC) Gateway Review process.
A Prison Service OASys project Gateway 4 review—Readiness
for Service—was undertaken in June 2003. The Review put
the project's status at Green and found that the service's OASys
IT application had been developed successfully, had passed system
and user acceptance testing and had been piloted in a real environment.
The last review on the joint OASys programme—a
Gateway 0 review—strategic assessment—was held in
July 2004. The review awarded an Amber status. The report was
positive and the OASys Programme Board is regularly reviewing
progress against the report's recommendations.
The next review will be a Gateway 5 review—benefits
evaluation—and will be held following completion of National
Probation Service connectivity roll out in autumn 2005.
Gateway Review reports are not currently published.
The programme will also complete a formal Lessons
Learned review, which will be made available to the Prison Service
Management Board and the Project and Programme Management Support
Unit in the Home Office to ensure the dissemination of good practice.
5. How many offenders were released from prison
in the last three years for which figures are available? Of these,
what percentage found employment?
The information available relates to prisoners
who have been convicted, and have secured employment, education
or training outcomes on release.
The total number of prisoners discharged for
the period April 2002-October 2004 was 224,744.
The percentage of those who secured an employment,
education or training place (ETE) was 23%.
48,975 other prisoners were connected through
the Freshstart initiative (Job Centre Plus) with employment programmes
and other support available through their local jobcentre.
These figures can be broken down on an annual
basis as follows:
APRIL 2002-MARCH 2003
|
| Discharges | 86,363
|
| ETE Outcomes | 14,241
|
| Job Centre Plus attendance | 14,173
|
| APRIL 2003-MARCH 2004 | |
| Discharges | 87,449
|
| ETE Outcomes | 20,932
|
| Job Centre Plus attendance | 23,401
|
| APRIL 2004-OCTOBER 2004 | |
| Discharges | 50,932
|
| ETE Outcomes | 16,482
|
| Job Centre Plus attendance | 11,401
|
|
| 15 December 2004 | |
| 
