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15 Mar 2006 : Column 2305W—continued
Police
Mr. Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the starting salary was for newly qualified police officers in Oxford for each of the last 10 years. [58273]
Hazel Blears:
The salary of a constable on completion of initial training for each of the last 10 years is shown in the following table.
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In addition a South-East England allowance of £2,000 per year is payable to all officers appointed on or after 1 September 1994.
Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many special constables have been recruited in (a) West Lancashire, (b) Lancashire and (c) England and Wales since the beginning of the scheme. [58474]
Hazel Blears: Home Office specific grants to forces under the Special Constabulary Capacity Building Scheme began in January 2004. In the year 1 April 2004–31 March 2005, 63 special constables were recruited by Lancashire Constabulary, with 3,636 special constables recruited in England and Wales.
Figures are not collected centrally for West Lancashire.
Rosie Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what average number of hours per week was worked by a special constable in (a) West Lancashire, (b) Lancashire and (c) England and Wales in each year since the beginning of the scheme. [58475]
Hazel Blears: Special constables are volunteers and the hours individual specials work varies. Data on hours worked by special constables are collected by police force area; figures are not collected centrally for West Lancashire. Available information on the average number of special constable hours per week are as follows:
| 2003–04 | 2004–05 | |
|---|---|---|
| Lancashire | 1,379 | 1,389 |
| 25 forces providing data(8) | 19,452 | 21,266 |
(8) Forces not providing data are Avon and Somerset, Cambridgeshire, Cleveland, Derbyshire, Durham, Greater Manchester, Humberside, Merseyside, Metropolitan Police, North Wales, North Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, South Wales, Suffolk, Surrey, Sussex, Thames Valley and West Midlands).
Mr. Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police community support officers have been introduced in Suffolk since the scheme began. [58510]
Hazel Blears:
Information relating to the number of full-time equivalent Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) in each Police Force Area has been collected by RDS since 2003. As at 31 March 2003, Suffolk did not have any PCSOs. 15 PCSOs were
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introduced by 31 March 2004, this increased by 19 giving a total of 34 PCSOs as at 31 March 2005. This figure decreased by one, to 33 as at 30 September 2005.
Police National Computer
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which prisons have access to the Police National Computer (PNC); what action he is taking to increase access for prisons to the PNC; when he expects all prisons to have access to the PNC; and if he will make a statement. [58233]
Fiona Mactaggart: There are 49 prison establishments with dedicated Police National Computer (PNC) terminals to enable access to an individual's previous convictions. A further three terminals have been approved by the Police Information Technology Organisation at Bullingdon Peterborough and Styal prisons.
However, no further terminals will be installed until the completion of a investigation by the Information Commissioner, who has concerns about not only the length of time personal data is retained on the PNC, but also how it is shared with non-police organisations such as the Prison Service.
Police Pensions
Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many injury award pensions are being paid by each police force in England and Wales. [58724]
Hazel Blears: I refer my hon. Friend to the Answer I gave on 7 March 2006, Official Report, column 1317W, to my hon. Friend the Member for Central Ayrshire (Mr. Donohoe).
Prison Governors
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many current prison governors have previously been employed in (a) the National Offender Management Service and (b) the offices of regional offender managers; and if he will make a statement. [57780]
Fiona Mactaggart: A number of Prison Service operational managers currently work in the headquarters of the National Offender Management Service (NOMS), but only one serving governing governor of a public sector prison in England and Wales has previously worked there. None have worked in the offices of regional offender managers.
Prison Visits (Children)
Mr. Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will provide crèche facilities for visitors to prisons. [57242]
Fiona Mactaggart:
The Government recognise the contribution that appropriate facilities can make to a more positive visiting experience for children.
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Responsibility for the provision of facilities for visitors rests with individual prison governors, as they are best placed to assess local needs. Currently over 100 prisons in England and Wales have supervised play facilities.
Prisoners
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the proportion of prison inmates registered with a general practitioner prior to being sent to prison; and if he will make a statement. [58239]
Fiona Mactaggart: The information requested is not collected centrally. Prisoners are asked for their general practitioner registration details at their first reception screening.
Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance he has issued to the police on the transporting of handcuffed individuals in police cars with regard to the use of seatbelts. [56672]
Hazel Blears: We do not issue guidance on the use of handcuffs. However, the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) have issued general guidance to police officers on the use of handcuffs. This can be found on the ACPO website (www.acpo.police.uk).
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps his Department is taking to reduce the levels of (a) suicides and attempted suicides, (b) violent attacks and (c) self-harm in female prisons. [57812]
Fiona Mactaggart: A broad, integrated and evidence-based prisoner safer custody (an umbrella term for suicide prevention, self-harm management and violence reduction) strategy is in place. The strategy can be summarised as, 'Reducing distress and promoting the well-being of all who live and work in prisons.' It operates by embedding safer custody as a current through every area of prison life—including detoxification, health care, staff training, and the built environment—and applies to all prisoners, regardless of gender.
Meanwhile a specifically targeted suicide prevention and self-harm management strategy has been developed for women prisoners. This builds upon a number of interventions including individual crisis counselling for women prisoners who self-harm; investment and planning to ensure progress on the detoxification strategy in women's prisons; and the introduction of a new training pack for all staff working with women in custody. £2.5 million from the Department of Health has been allocated to women's prisons to be spent on mental health services and NHS mental health in-reach services are now available in all women's prisons.
Comprehensive electronic guidance to staff on managing people who self-harm has been issued; this was developed in close partnership with the Department of Health and the National Institute of Mental Health in England (NIMHE) and aims to be of use to all those working with people who self-harm within a secure environment.
The national Violence Reduction Strategy was launched in May 2004. The national Strategy requires each establishment to have in place a local Violence
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Reduction Strategy appropriate to needs. A whole prison approach is encouraged, with the aim of reducing violence and fear of violence. A focus on personal safety, supporting victims, and repairing the physical and emotional harm caused by violence or abuse, links closely with the suicide prevention strategy.
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on prisoners' use of electronic mail facilities while in detention. [58214]
Fiona Mactaggart: Prisoners currently do not have access to these facilities, although a pilot project to test the operational and practical realities of giving prisoners access to email facilities at Wormwood Scrubs prison will begin shortly. Email provides additional facilities for prisoners to maintain contact with family and friends. It will also assist them in gaining employment and other resettlement based activities when preparing for release.
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in which prison establishments yoga is being taught; at what cost; what assessment he has made of its impact on prisoners; how many participants there are at each relevant establishment; and if he will make a statement. [58226]
Fiona Mactaggart: The information requested is not collected. The provision of alternative or complementary therapies for prisoners is a matter for the national health service primary care trusts responsible for commissioning primary health services at prison establishments.
Dr. Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what training (a) prison officers and (b) prison nurses undertake to enable them to deal with the mental welfare of prisoners. [57073]
Fiona Mactaggart: The mental health workforce in prisons is trained alongside mental health professionals in the national health service. The majority of healthcare staff will have already gained registered status prior to working within a prison. A small number of staff, usually health care officers and assistants, undertake pre-registration nurse training courses on secondment from prison.
Mental health awareness training for Prison Service staff falls into two categories. The Government have funded the development of a two-day training course to support the assessment care in custody and teamwork (ACCT) programme, which looks at care planning for at-risk prisoners as part of the Prison Service suicide strategy. This is aimed at Prison Service staff who are going to be ACCT assessors. In addition, we have developed a mental health workbook aimed at the wider custodial workforce. This training is self-directed and is been rolled out initially for six months, to be evaluated, developed and then rolled out fully, so that by April 2007, 20 percent., of staff should have completed a minimum of 10 hours training.
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As new roles within mainstream mental health services are developed, these are implemented within prisons where appropriate.
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners released from foreign prisons were held by British police on their return for (a) one hour, (b) two hours, (c) three hours, (d) four hours, (e) five hours and (f) six hours or more at each airport in the UK in each of the last five years. [56909]
Fiona Mactaggart: The information requested is not collected centrally.
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