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1 Feb 2006 : Column 577W—continued
Offences Against the Person Act
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people found guilty of an offence under section 18 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 were sentenced to (a) five years' imprisonment, (b) four years' imprisonment, (c) three years' imprisonment, (d) two years' imprisonment, (e) one year imprisonment, (f) six months' imprisonment, (g) community service and (h) a fine only in (i) Essex, (ii) the Metropolitan Police part of London, (iii) Hertfordshire and (iv) England and Wales, broken down by (A) sex and (B) age in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [37377]
Fiona Mactaggart: I will arrange for the information requested to be placed in the Library.
Police
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the daily cost is of holding a prisoner in a police cell in each police force area. [37756]
Mr. Charles Clarke: This information is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Prisons
Mr. Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of the Prison Service budget was spent on (a) educating adult prisoners and (b) prisoners in young offenders institutions in the last five years for which figures are available. [43580]
Fiona Mactaggart: Responsibility and funding for prisoner education transferred from the Prison Service to the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) in 2002–03.
From 2000–01 to 2002–03 inclusive, spending on education for all prisoners represented just over 2 per cent. of total Prison Service expenditure. Following the transfer and allocation of additional funding secured by
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DfES in SR2002, spending on education for all prisoners rose to 3 per cent. a year in 2003–04 and 2004–05.
The Prison Service education budget split for 2004–05 was 82 per cent. for prisoners in the adult estate and 18 per cent. for prisoners in young offenders institutions.
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Measuring Quality of Prison Life audit was last conducted for each prison; what mechanisms there are for public access to these audits; what assessment he has made of the results; and if he will make a statement. [44344]
Fiona Mactaggart: The following table details when prisons were last audited under the Measuring the Quality of Prison Life (MQPL) survey. MQPL, the Weighted Scorecard, cost performance, compliance with Prison Service standards, findings from external inspections by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Prisons and the Independent Monitoring Board inform the quarterly assessment of performance submitted to Ministers through the National Offender Management Service. Survey results and reports may be obtained from the Home Office Open Government Unit.
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Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to extend the personal officer scheme across the prison estate; and if he will make a statement. [44351]
Fiona Mactaggart: Prisons are encouraged to operate Personal officer schemes and most already do so.
The introduction of the offender management model, currently planned for April 2007 for offenders in custody, will result in changes in the way individual offenders are managed and in the role of the personal officer. All sentenced prisoners will then have an offender supervisor, normally a prison officer, who will help ensure they follow an individual sentence plan designed to reduce re-offending and prepare them for their return to the community.
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will commission further research into the comparative operating costs of publicly and privately operated prisons; [45182]
(2) when the last review was made of the comparative costs and performance of privately and publicly operated prisons; and what the outcome of that review was. [45183]
Fiona Mactaggart: The last review of the comparative costs and performance of privately and publicly managed prisons was in respect of 1998–99. Since then the performance of the prisons in both sectors has been continuously monitored through key performance targets. There are no current plans to commission further research.
Mr. Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost of the operation of the Office of Contracted Prisons was in each of the last eight years for which figures are available. [45184]
Fiona Mactaggart:
The cost of the operation of the Office for Contracted Prisons for the years 2003–04 and 2004–05 is shown in the following table:
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| £000 | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2003–04 | 2004–05 | |
| Pay | (12)407 | (12)606 |
| Non-pay | 415 | 397 |
| Total | (13)822 | (13)1,003 |
(12) Additional pay costs were incurred during 2004–05 because of the recruitment of a full team of office support staff.
(13) Figures are for the operation of the Office for Contracted Prisons only: they do not include the costs of contracts or of controllers teams based in individual prisons.
Note:
Data cannot be provided for earlier years as the Office for Contracted Prisons was not created until April 2003. Before this date, the management of contracted prisons was the responsibility of individual Prison Service area managers: costs for the contracted prisons were included within individual Prison Service area budgets.
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made towards achieving his Department's targets for (a) holding prisoners closer to home and (b) developing opportunities for jobs and housing when prisoners are released. [45209]
Fiona Mactaggart: There are currently no targets for the distance at which prisoners are held from their home address.
Employment, training and education (ETE) outcomes for prisoners released before April 2005 can be separated only at disproportionate cost. Education training and employment (ETE) outcomes also include those who attended Freshstart appointments at Jobcentre Plus. Freshstart is the initiative whereby prisoners who do not have a job or training place to go to on release are linked into employment, training and benefits advice and support immediately after release. The Accommodation and ETE targets for 2004–05 and the recorded outcomes are given in the following table.
| Number of discharges 2004–05 | Number with accommodation | Number with ETE | Target | Percentage target |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accommodation | ||||
| 85,685 | 66,888 | — | 64,765 | +3.2 |
| ETE | ||||
| 85,685 | — | 41,146 | 38,012 | +7.6 |
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans his Department has for the building of new prisons in England and Wales. [45540]
Fiona Mactaggart: There are no plans at present to build any new prisons in England or Wales.
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost per prison place was in each prison establishment in England and Wales for the financial year 2004–05. [45848]
Fiona Mactaggart: The cost per prison place for each establishment in the prison estate for 2004–05 is shown in the following table. Costs per place vary considerably across the estate, with costs for securing those prisoners deemed to be of highest risk (Category A) being at the highest end of the spectrum and the cost of a place in an open establishment being at the lowest.
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Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) male and (b) female remand prisoners were subsequently (i) acquitted and (ii) sentenced to a non-custodial penalty in the last 12 months for which figures are available. [45850]
Fiona Mactaggart [holding answer 30 January 2006]: The information requested is provided in the following table.
Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what changes in cost he expects will be realised as a result of the performance test of the prisons on the Isle of Sheppey. [46051]
Fiona Mactaggart: The performance test at Sheppey was designed to encourage better quality and value for money in the supervision and care of offenders on the Isle of Sheppey. In its proposals, the Prison Service identified approximately £2 million of cost savings which will be reinvested to deliver improved quality. Hence, the proposals are cost neutral, but will deliver enhanced outcomes.
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he (a) has taken and (b) plans to take to change the role of prison officers in relation to the promotion of education and learning within prisons; and if he will make a statement. [46180]
Fiona Mactaggart: Education for offenders in custody is provided by contractors. There are no plans to change the role of prison officers in relation to the promotion of offender education and learning within prisons.
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners have been re-categorised from category C to category D at Coldingley prison in each of the last six months. [46739]
Fiona Mactaggart:
The table contains the relevant information for the last six months of 2005.
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| Number | |
|---|---|
| July | 17 |
| August | 15 |
| September | 8 |
| October | 6 |
| November | 13 |
| December | 15 |
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