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31 Oct 2005 : Column 772W—continued
Prisoner Re-offending
Mr. Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of prisoners released with electronic tags have re-offended. [19471]
Fiona Mactaggart: As of 31 August 2005, over 116,000 prisoners have been released on the Home Detention Curfew (HDC) scheme since it was introduced in January 1999. The number of offenders who have been convicted, cautioned or are awaiting prosecution for a further offence, committed while subject to HDC, as notified to the Home Office by 31 August 2005, is 3,583, which is approximately 3 per cent. of the total curfews placed on the scheme.
Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of prisoners sentenced to between one and four years and then subject to early release were later recalled to prison for re-offending over the last five years. [19050]
Fiona Mactaggart [holding answer 17 October 2005]: The information requested is shown in the following table.
(12) Subject to early release means those released early to serve part of their sentence under home detention curfew.
Prisons
Dr. Vis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which routes of complaint are open to prisoners held in the (a) public sector prison estate and (b) private prison estate to make formal complaints about the health and medical services. [21788]
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Fiona Mactaggart: Prisoners have access to the national health service complaints process in prisons where the NHS commissions health services. Prison Service Instruction 14/2005, Handling Complaints about Prison Health Care", which provides the relevant guidance, is available op the Prison Service website at www.hmprisonservice.gov.uk/resourcecentre/psispsos/listpsis.
Work is under way with the Health Service Ombudsman, the Prison and Probation Ombudsman and the Health Care Commission to ensure that an equivalent complaints process is in place for prisoners in contracted prisons.
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many members of prison staff have been referred to the police for dealing in drugs in each of the last eight years. [21852]
Fiona Mactaggart: This information is not recorded centrally.
Where prison staff are suspected of, or accused of committing any criminal act, which includes dealing in drugs, the matter is referred to the police for investigation or action.
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the incidence of overcrowding in prisons; and what assessment he has made of the consequences of overcrowding. [21695]
Fiona Mactaggart [holding answer 24 October 2005]: The key performance target for overcrowding in public sector prisons for 2005–06 is for no more than 24 per cent. of the population, and for the private sector 34.5 per cent. of the population held in accommodation units intended for fewer prisoners. The difference in the targets between the public and private sector prisons reflects their different circumstances. Private sector prisons are generally of a comparatively newer design and construction than their public sector equivalents and better able to safely accommodate higher levels of overcrowding than the public sector estate. At present, there are 23.5 per cent. of prisoners sharing accommodation in crowded conditions in the public sector and 24.9 per cent. in the private sector. This is kept under review.
Population pressures can result in greater numbers of prisoners required to share cells in crowded conditions. Higher numbers of prisoners may also affect the provision of regimes in some prisons. Everything possible will continue to be done to minimise any disruption.
School Security (London)
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps the Government are taking to ensure that schools in London have adequate security in place to prevent them being attacked by terrorists. [16965]
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Jacqui Smith: I have been asked to reply.
We believe that existing security advice to schools remains sufficient. It includes pointing schools towards MI5's advice on protective security against terrorism. The employer in each school is responsible for managing their own school's safety.
Secure Training Centres
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many members of staff have (a) joined and (b) left each secure training centre in each year since they came into operation. [10982]
Fiona Mactaggart [holding answer 11 July 2005]: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 28 October 2005, Official Report, column 596W to my hon. Friend, the Member for Finchley and Golders Green (Dr. Vis).
Sentencing
Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will review the need for pre-sentence reports in criminal cases where there is a guilty plea and where there are no non-custodial sentencing options on conviction. [19787]
Fiona Mactaggart: [holding answer 19 October 2005]: It is for the court to request a pre-sentence report (PSR). The Probation Service is statutorily obliged to provide a pre-sentence report when the court requests one. The Probation Service would normally provide a PSR in all cases where custody is a possibility. A PSR would not usually be provided where an offender has been found guilty of murder and a life sentence is the only possible disposal.
Sexual Harm Orders
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many risk of sexual harm orders have been issued in the last six months. [21723]
Paul Goggins: The data requested is not currently available. The most recent published data pre-dates the use of risk of sexual harm orders which were introduced in May 2004.
Terrorism
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the evolution of the terrorist career path; what progress the Government is making to develop a comprehensive interventions strategy to turn people from this path; and if he will make a statement. [17644]
Mr. Charles Clarke:
The Government has been working with the intelligence agencies and communities to develop our understanding of the ways in which our young people can be attracted to terrorism. Over the summer Home Office Ministers conducted a series of meetings, speaking to over 1,000 local faith and community representatives to gather their views on tackling extremism.
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In addition, I announced three proposals developed by the Preventing Extremism Together (PET) working groups, to tackle extremism and its underlying causes on 22 September. These are:
There are many other proposals coming from the PET groups and they are working with officials to develop these further and report back to me by the end of October.
Witness Care Units
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many local criminal justice board areas have at least one witness care unit; and if he will make a statement. [21976]
Fiona Mactaggart: There are now 118 witness care units up and running, with at least one in each local criminal justice board area. By the end of December this year, there will be 165 units live, providing an enhanced level of service to victims and witnesses across the whole of England and Wales.
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