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1 Mar 2006 : Column 829W—continued
Prisoners
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many televisions have been purchased by the Prison Service for the use of offenders in each of the last eight years. [52068]
Fiona Mactaggart:
The following table details the number of television sets purchased by the Prison Service in the last three years following the introduction of a central contract and includes all those purchased for use in cells. The data does not include sets purchased outside the contract or those purchased from the
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contractor for use in other parts of the Prison Service estate. The cost of in-cell television sets is recovered from prisoners who are on the enhanced incentive and privileges scheme. There is therefore no cost to the public purse.
| Financial year | Number of televisions |
|---|---|
| 2003–04 | 1,471 |
| 2004–05 | 15,753 |
| 2005–06 | 9,155 |
Mr. Holloway: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) full-time and (b) full-time equivalent literacy and numeracy teachers were employed by the prison service in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [54936]
Fiona Mactaggart: I refer my colleague to the response given to the hon. Member for Rutland and Melton (Mr. Duncan), on 26 January 2006, Official Report, column 2364W.
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) minors and (b) adults normally resident in Peterborough are serving custodial sentences. [53702]
Fiona Mactaggart: Information is not recorded centrally on the home address of prisoners in England and Wales. Information is, however, held on the court that a prisoner is committed to or sentenced at.
On 30 November 2005 there were 750 sentenced prisoners held in prison establishments in England and Wales who were sentenced at courts in Cambridgeshire, as recorded on the Prison Service IT system. 730 of these were adults or young adults (i.e. aged 18 and above) and 20 were juveniles (i.e. aged less than 18).
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much money is being held in trust for prisoners. [52548]
Fiona Mactaggart: At 31 January 2006, a total of £8,865,202 was held by the Prison Service on behalf of prisoners.
Prisons
Mr. Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many ex-prisoners from HMP Wandsworth are participating in resettlement projects. [18114]
Fiona Mactaggart: This information is not held centrally and can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to review the arrangements for prisoners being released before completing their sentence; and if he will make a statement. [44378]
Fiona Mactaggart:
The arrangements for the early release of prisoners are kept under constant review. At the present time there are no plans to amend to existing arrangements.
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Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offenders have been released from prison in each region (a) in total and (b) on the basis of a paper dossier prepared by the Probation Service in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement. [44379]
Fiona Mactaggart: In the year ending 31 December 2004, 85,700 prisoners were released from prisons in England and Wales.
Prisoners serving a determinate sentence of four years or over who are due to be released under the provisions of the Criminal Justice Act 1991 can apply for parole at the halfway point of sentence and prisoners serving a life sentence and who have served their tariff may apply for early release. In all such cases, reports are prepared by the probation service, for consideration by the Parole Board. In the year ending 31 March 2005, 3,997 prisoners on whom the probation service had prepared reports were released.
This information is not readily available on a regional basis and to provide it would incur disproportionate costs.
The probation service also provide reports on the home circumstances of offenders being assessed for release on home detention curfew, of whom there were 19,314 in the period 1 January-31 December 2004.
Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his policy is on introducing healthy eating into prison tuckshops as (a) an incentive and (b) a punishment. [52563]
Fiona Mactaggart: Access to the prison shop is an incentive. The role of the prison shop is to provide additional facilities for prisoners with which they voluntarily spend their earnings and/or private cash. Contractors have recently begun to respond to requests for low salt and sugar items. These will begin to be made available to prisoners by June 2006.
Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners underwent treatment for drugs dependence in (a) West Lancashire constituency, (b) Lancashire and (c) England and Wales in each of the past five years. [53395]
Fiona Mactaggart: Figures for prisoners undergoing drug treatment are given in the following table.
There are no recorded figures prior to 2001–02. Figures for programme completion were not collected prior to 2004–05. There are no prisons in the West Lancashire constituency.
(29) HMP Garth, HMP Kirkham, HMP Lancaster Castle, HMP Lancaster Farms, HMP Preston, HMP Wymott
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David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance is given to prisons on the purchase of halal meat. [53774]
Fiona Mactaggart: The purchase of all meat and poultry products is from nationally contracted-suppliers and all halal meat and poultry products are certified as such. Comprehensive and robust specifications are in place together with stringent policy and practice. Certificates are reissued when the supply chain is revised. A multi-disciplinary team has been established to address issues of provenance. The team includes Muslim leaders, representatives from the Halal Food Authority, the Prison Service Muslim Advisor and representatives from Prison Service Contracts and Procurement Unit, and Prison Catering Services.
Mr. Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much money the Prison Service receives each year as a result of charges imposed on prisoners' phone calls. [54054]
Mr. Charles Clarke: The Prison Service receives a commission on each £1 pinphone credit purchased by prisoners. The value of this commission is commercial in confidence to the Prison Service and is not disclosable under the exemption set out in section 43 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 on commercial interests.
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions members of the Pagan Federation have been granted chaplaincy visits in prisons in England and Wales in each of the last 10 years; and what safeguards are in place to ensure that no practice detrimental to wellbeing or public decency is permitted. [53050]
Fiona Mactaggart: Visits by chaplains of all faith traditions are arranged locally by prison establishments, and information is not recorded to show the number of visits made. Prisoners are free to practise their religion within the constraints of good order and discipline. The Prison Service Order on Religion (4550) provides instructions and guidance to prisons, and includes specific information on the practice of paganism. A copy is in the House Library.
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