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17 Mar 2006 : Column 2597W—continued
Drug Treatment Programmes
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the outcomes of drug treatment programmes in prisonsin England and Wales; and if he will make a statement. [58213]
Fiona Mactaggart: Research evidence shows that drug treatment can lead to a significant reduction in drug taking and associated offending.
In prisons, research into the effectiveness of drug interventions shows that completion of an intensive treatment programme can lead to significantly lower rates of reconviction (up to 10 per cent.) after two years, provided treatment was continued on release.
Electronic Tagging
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which private companies are contracted by the Home Office to provide electronic monitoring of offenders; and what the value of the contracts with each company is for 2005–06. [58563]
Fiona Mactaggart: Group four Securicor and Serco Ltd currently provide electronic monitoring services under contract to the Home Office.
The value of the contracts will depend on the number of persons monitored each year. The latest available information suggests that in the financial year 2005–06
17 Mar 2006 : Column 2598W
the value of the contracts awarded to each supplier, broken down by contract area, is expected to be as in the following table:
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for theHome Department how many times each of the companies contracted to provide electronic monitoring of offenders has failed to meet the criteria specified by his Department. [58644]
Fiona Mactaggart: The Home Office audits the performance of the electronic monitoring contractors against 19 service levels each month. The table shows the number of service levels that each contractor has failed to meet since April 2005.
| Group four Securicor | Serco Ltd | |
|---|---|---|
| April 2005 | 3 | 2 |
| May 2005 | 4 | 2 |
| June 2005 | 3 | 1 |
| July 2005 | 1 | 3 |
| August 2005 | 1 | 2 |
| September 2005 | 2 | 2 |
| October 2005 | 2 | 1 |
| November 2005 | 1 | 3 |
| December 2005 | 1 | 3 |
| January 2006 | 1 | 2 |
Home Detention Curfews
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to improve the consistency of initial assessments by prison governors for home detention curfew arrangements; and if he will make a statement. [58240]
Fiona Mactaggart: Where a prisoner is eligible to be considered for release on HDC the Governor will consider suitability based on the merits of each individual case. Where the Governor considers there is a significant risk to the public or risk of reoffending on HDC or that the prisoner is likely to breach the curfew conditions, then release will not be granted. In order to assist Governors inform their future decisions, when offenders are recalled from HDC the releasing prison is now provided with copies of the revocation order and a police information sheet which provides details of the reasons for recall.
Immigration Detention Centres
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of those held in immigration detention centres on 31 January were held under the Fastrack scheme. [58206]
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Mr. McNulty: Internal Management information shows that on 31 January 2006, 18 per cent. of those held in immigration detention centres were held under the Fast Track process.
This figure does not constitute part of the National Statistics.
Published statistics on immigration and asylum are available on the Home Office's Research Development and Statistics website at: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.
Mr. Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases of (a) suicide, (b) attempted suicide and (c) self-harm there have been in immigration detention centres for each of the last three years; and how many detainees are on suicide watch. [58336]
Mr. McNulty: There has been one death in the detention estate in the last three years where the coroner has recorded a verdict of suicide. We await the coroner's verdict in a further five cases of apparently self-inflicted death.
We do not keep records of attempted suicides rather self-harm attempts. No figures are available for 2003–04. Figures for 2004–05 and 2005–06 to 31 January 2006 are reproduced as follows.
At 18:00 on 12 March, there were 35 detainees on self-harm watch in the detention estate.
(10)Opened August 2004.
Indefinite Leave to Remain
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many individuals were granted indefinite leave to remain under family applications in 2005. [58197]
Mr. McNulty: During 2005, 11,280 principal applicants and a further 23,000 dependants were granted indefinite leave to remain under the Family ILR Exercise. This information is based on internal management information.
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many holders of student visas applied (a) successfully and (b) unsuccessfully for the right to remain in the UK in a different category in 2005. [58204]
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Mr. McNulty: Provisional management information suggests that of those foreign nationals who were holders of student visas in the UK in 2005 and applied to remain here under a different category other than asylum, (a) about 7,740 of them were successful and (b) about 1,090 were unsuccessful.
National Asylum Support Services
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many individuals were covered by family applications for National Asylum Support Services support in 2005. [58203]
Mr. McNulty: In 2005, NASS received 27,155 applications for support, of these 4,830 were from family groups. The number of individuals that were covered by the family applications was 14,240.
The numbers of asylum seekers supported by NASS are published on a quarterly and annual basis. The most recent publication covering the fourth quarter of 2005, and further historical publications are available on the Home Office Research Development and Statistics website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/immigration1.html.
Prison Suicide
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish the (a) agenda and (b) minutes of the Ministerial Round Table discussions on suicides in prisons; and if he will make a statement. [57762]
Fiona Mactaggart: I will write to the hon. Member with the agenda and outcomes of the most recent Ministerial Roundtable on suicide in prisons. There are no current plans for these to be published in full as the group shares issues frankly and in confidence. If the minutes were to be published it could affect the nature of the group. My Ministerial Colleague, Baroness Scotland, who is the Chair of the Roundtable, will however ask that the group discusses its position on this issue at the next meeting.
The Roundtable last met on eight March 2006 at HMP Wormwood Scrubs. The key focus of the agenda was 'Reducing Violence and Fear of Violence in Prisons.' There were also the regular reports from Roundtable members and from officials. Previous discussions have focused on 'Care and Health Interventions,' 'Suicide Prevention Strategy Development,' 'Families, Deaths in Custody and their Prevention' and 'Suicide Prevention and Self-Harm Management among Women Prisoners.'
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