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23 Nov 2005 : Column 2151W—continued
Politically Exposed Persons
Malcolm Bruce:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what procedures his Department has in place for (a) identifying and (b) tracking
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politically exposed persons who bring wealth derived from the illicit acquisition of foreign states' public assets into the United Kingdom. [29693]
Paul Goggins: The National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS) has procedures in place to identify persons, including politically exposed persons, suspected of being in possession of criminal property and to refer the intelligence to law enforcement agencies. Much intelligence of this nature comes by way of suspicious activity reports made to NCIS by UK banks and others within the 'regulated sector' under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. The Home Office works closely with NCIS, other Government Departments, law enforcement and industry to ensure the effectiveness of these procedures.
Prisons
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to provide more prison places over the next five years. [29353]
Fiona Mactaggart: There is a funded building programme to increase operational capacity to 79,100 by June 2006 and 80,400 by 2007.
We continue to investigate options for providing further increases in capacity.
Mr. Pelling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the prison population has been (a) in total, (b) in the Prison Service and (c) within private prisons in each of the last five years. [25452]
Fiona Mactaggart: The requested information for England and Wales is in the following table, as recorded on the Prison Service IT system.
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures are being taken to reduce the availability of illegal drugs in prisons. [29918]
Fiona Mactaggart: A comprehensive framework exists to reduce the availability and spread of illegal drugs in prisons. It includes:
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will increase the amount spent on drug rehabilitation schemes in prisons. [29919]
Fiona Mactaggart: Given drug treatment's key role in rehabilitating offenders and reducing re-offending, the Government have invested heavily in a wide range of drug treatment in prisons. In the past year alone, an additional £3.4 million made available for intensive drug rehabilitation programmes. Substantial funding is also being invested over the next three years to boost the amount and quality of treatment available to drug-misusers in prison—crucially during the first 28 days in custody.
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what specific training is given to staff working with girls under 18 years in prisons. [30366]
Fiona Mactaggart: In March 2004 the Prison Service and Youth Justice Board introduced the Juvenile Awareness Staff Programme to set a minimum standard of training for those working with children and young people, both boys and girls, in custody. The programme was reviewed in 2005 and new modules were added to the existing programme. The programme now includes modules on, among other things, safeguarding, child protection, mental health, substance misuse, vulnerability assessment, resettlement planning and managing difficult behaviour. This training has been delivered to all existing and new staff who work on the dedicated units for young women. Overall 1,000 staff have completed the programme to date.
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department by what criteria life prisoners are assessed by the Parole Board for release. [30386]
Fiona Mactaggart: In considering the possible release of any tariff expired life sentence prisoner, the Parole Board is required by statute to satisfy itself that
The Parole Board makes risk assessments of life sentence prisoners against criteria contained in directions given by the Secretary of State under Section 32 (6) of the Criminal Justice Act 1991. In addition, Rules made under Section 32(5) of that Act outline the procedural arrangements for the appointment of board panels to consider lifer cases and the provision of evidence. The directions and rules were amended on 1 August 2004 following changes to the release arrangements for mandatory life sentence prisoners as introduced by the Criminal Justice Act 2003. My predecessor (Paul Goggins) announced those changes in a written ministerial statement on 22 July 2004. A copy of his statement is available in the Library.
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to review the requirements for parole for life prisoners; and if he will make a statement. [30389]
Fiona Mactaggart:
There are no plans to review the parole system for life sentence prisoners. The release of all life sentence prisoners who have served the minimum period of imprisonment for the purposes of retribution and deterrence (the tariff), is entirely a matter for the independent Parole Board.
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Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many prisoners are waiting to attend (a) lifer victim awareness courses and (b) alcohol management courses; [30394]
(2) how many prisons are running (a) alcohol management and (b) lifer victim awareness courses. [30385]
Fiona Mactaggart: Information on (a) alcohol management and (b) lifer victim awareness courses is not collated centrally.
A number of prisons run alcohol management courses. There are no nationally accredited lifer victim awareness courses run by the Prison Service. Her Majesty's prison The Mount delivers a lifer victim awareness course.
Information on the number of prisoners waiting to attend such courses is not collated centrally.
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many lifer victim awareness courses are accredited for prisons in the UK. [30395]
Fiona Mactaggart: There are no nationally accredited lifer victim awareness courses run by the Prison Service. However, accredited general offending behaviour courses do include a victim perspective, and programmes such as the Sex Offender Treatment Programme also engage offenders in victim empathy work.
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how courses are chosen for life prisoners in order that they can demonstrate they have progressed before they are considered for parole. [30396]
Fiona Mactaggart: Prison staff are required to complete a life sentence plan (LSP) for all life sentence prisoners. The LSP framework provides the prisoner with a series of objectives designed to help him or her reduce their risk, and the means by which such a reduction might be achieved.
Specific risk reduction work, in the form of offending behaviour programmes, courses and other treatment options will be identified and managed throughout sentence by prison staff and treatment managers. The prisoner is involved in the LSP process and will be aware of the various targets and objectives. Selection for particular interventions will depend on a number of factors. These include, for example, an assessment of suitability, the prisoner's motivation to address the various treatment needs, the availability and location of the intervention, the proximity of the tariff expiry date, the sequencing of the individual's treatment needs alongside areas like work, education or vocational training. Treatment managers in prisons are largely responsible for prioritising cases and managing waiting lists for programmes and courses. In this respect, the treatment needs of life sentence prisoners would also have to be prioritised as appropriate, alongside those of determinate sentence prisoners.
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