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17 Mar 2006 : Column 2600W—continued
Prison Visits (Children)
Mr. Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what funds were provided by the prison service for facilities for children visiting prisons in the last year for which figures are available. [57241]
Fiona Mactaggart: There are no centrally collated figures on the money spent across the prison estate to provide facilities for children visiting prison.
The responsibility for funding decisions rests with individual Prison Governors, as they are best placed to assess local needs.
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Prisoner Pay
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the impact of relative pay rates for inmates on participation in education provision within the prison estate; and if he will make a statement. [57777]
Fiona Mactaggart: No data is collected centrally that allows an assessment of the impact of relative pay rates for inmates on participation in education within the prison estate. The Green Paper 'Reducing Re-Offending Through Skills and Employment' (December 2005) makes clear that prison pay regimes should ensure that there are no barriers to involvement in learning and skills activity.
Prisoners
Dr. Kumar:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many incidents of (a) suicide, (b) murder, (c) violent attack and (d) self harm were
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recorded in (i) men's prisons, (ii) women's prisons and (iii) young offender institutions in (A) England, (B) the North East and (C) the Tees Valley in each year since 1997. [57071]
Fiona Mactaggart: The information requested with respect to deaths is provided in table A.
The information requested with respect to serious assaults is provided in table B.
An assault is classified as 'serious' if it:
requires medical treatment for concussion or internal injuries, or—is a fracture, scald or burn, stabbing, crushing, extensive or multiple bruising, black eye, broken nose, lost or broken tooth, cuts requiring suturing, bites, temporary or permanent blindness.
For the information requested with respect to self-harm, please see 16 March 2006, Official Report, column 2117.
Prisons
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for theHome Department if he will make a statement on changes in prison management systems over the last 10 years. [58647]
Fiona Mactaggart:
Since 1997, the Government have placed an increasing emphasis on addressing the causesand effects of offending behaviour. The 1998 comprehensive spending review (CSR) provided the first large scale, discrete investment in prison regimes, to allow prisoners to address offending behaviour and helpwith rehabilitation. This has been reinforced in subsequent spending reviews. Since 2002, partnerships with the Departments of Health and Education and Skills, which have transferred the budgets and policy responsibility from the Prison Service, have put provision of prisoners' health care and education on a par with that of the rest of society, to ensure equality and continuity of care and opportunity inside and outside of prison.
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The Youth Justice Board (also established as one of the outcomes of the 1998 CSR) has concentrated resources and efforts across the criminal justice system to help address the specific issues and problems associated with juveniles in a positive and constructive way. The new commissioning arrangements currently being designed and implemented in the new National Offender Management System, will allow regional offenders managers to similarly positively address the issues of adult offenders, both in custody and when held under community sentences.
Race Relations (Amendment) Act
Mr. Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of compliance by Government Departments with their duties under the Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000; and if he will make a statement. [56245]
Paul Goggins: The Government are wholly committed to reducing inequalities experienced by people because of their race. The Race Relations (Amendment) Act requires all Government Departments to publish Race Equality Schemes which lay out how they will incorporate measures to tackle inequalities as part of their policy development and service delivery. Individual departments, with whom responsibility for complying with the duties lies, are currently carrying out a detailed assessment of their own compliance.
The Home Office has been working with Government Departments to improve their compliance with the Race Equality Duty and will continue to do so.
Safer Cells Programme
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the safer cells programme. [57763]
Fiona Mactaggart: The continued introduction of safer cells across the prisons estate is based on a policy set out in December 2003 by the Prison Service Investment Board (PSIB). This states that for new accommodation in existing public prison establishments, all Category A, Category B and local prisons would be fitted 100 per cent. with full specification safer cells; Category C prison establishments would be fitted 25 per cent. with full specification safer cells; while RTUs ('ready to use') and MTUs (modular temporary units) would not generally be fitted with full specification safer cells and risks would be managed operationally. The PSIB further agreed that, for refurbished accommodation in local prison establishments, consideration should always be given to include safer cell provision in all business cases commissioned by the Estates Planning Committee.
Some issues around ventilation in safer cells were raised during the independent evaluation of safer cells, carried out by the Jill Dando Institute of Crime Science in 2003, as a result of which the Prison Service has developed an alternative safer ventilator design. The evaluation concluded that safer cells have much to commend them. Three prisoners stated to evaluators that being in a safer cell had prevented them from killing themselves.
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Security Industry
Mrs. Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications have been submitted for (a) those employed in Cash and Valuables in Transit, (b) door supervisors, (c) vehicle immobilisers, (d) close protection operatives, (e) CCTV operatives and (f) security personnel since the establishment of the Security Industry Authority; how many applications have been (i) granted and (ii) refused in each case; and if he will make a statement. [54933]
Paul Goggins: Details of licensing statistics are available via the Security Industry Authority website www.the-sia.org.uk. As at 8 March, the numbers, including applications are set out in the following table.
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