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21 Mar 2006 : Column 323W—continued
Public Order
Anne Snelgrove: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offenders under the age of 25 have been placed under intensive supervision in (a) Swindon and (b) England in each of the last five years. [59019]
Fiona Mactaggart: Intensive Supervision schemes have only been used for offenders aged 20 and under; the Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme for those aged under 18, and the Intensive Control and Change Programme as a pilot for those aged 18 to 20. Numbers placed under these schemes are shown in the tables. The Intensive Control and Change Programme was not piloted in Swindon.
Remand Prisoners
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many detainees were being held on remand in each of the last 12 months for which figures are available. [59304]
Fiona Mactaggart: Information on prisoners held on remand in January 2005 to January 2006 is given in the following table.
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Serious Organised Crime Agency
Anne Moffat: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what priorities he has set for the work of the new Serious Organised Crime Agency. [59378]
Paul Goggins: The Home Secretary set out the Government's priorities for the Serious Organised Crime Agency in a letter on 9 June 2005 to the Chairman-designate, a copy of which was laid before the House. The letter expresses the Government's belief that all serious organised crime should be tackled on the basis of an intelligence-led approach which prioritises those criminal networks and markets doing the most harm. It also explains that on the basis of work done so far to analyse harm, we continue to see Class A drugs and organised immigration crime, in that order, as the top strategic priorities. The Serious Organised Crime Agency will be expected to focus the bulk of its effort in these two areas but will also be expected to devote resources to the other threats detailed in the UK Threat Assessment.
Sex Offences (Sentencing)
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the Sentencing Guidelines Council's recommendations regarding the shortening of future sentences for rape and other sex offences. [59388]
Fiona Mactaggart: The Sentencing Guidelines Council has not yet published its draft guideline on the offences in the Sexual Offences Act 2003. When it is published, the Government will have the opportunity to respond.
Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans his Department has for shortening future sentences for rape and other sex offences. [59389]
Paul Goggins: The Home Office has no plans to shorten the sentences available to the courts for those found guilty of rape and other sexual offences.
Sex Offender Treatment Programmes
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the impact of sex offender treatment programmes; and if he will make a statement. [59201]
Fiona Mactaggart: Three accredited sex offender treatment programmes were introduced in the National Probation Service in 2002–03 and are currently subject to an evaluation study. The study is based on psychometric information which measures statistically significant change in factors most closely linked to offending. Results are due later this year. However, it is too early for reconviction studies to be completed.
The Prison Service offers six accredited programmes for sex offenders, which are provided in different combinations according to the risk and need of the individual offender. The Core Programme, for medium risk offenders, was evaluated in 2003 and the findings indicated that the programme significantly reduced sexual and violent recidivism rates. This was particularly true with medium risk offenders but the programme did not impact on recidivism for high risk
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offenders (HORF 205). Psychometric evaluations have been completed on most other Sex Offender Treatment Programmes and these routinely show that participants improve in terms of their attitudes and other psychological variables that are known to predict recidivism. The Prison Service is currently designing further outcome studies to evaluate the success of its treatment programmes.
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the role of attachment theory in the (a) construction and (b) delivery of sex offender treatment programmes; and if he will make a statement. [59202]
Fiona Mactaggart: The three core sex offender treatment programmes provided by the national probation service, all cover attachment theory although in different ways. One programme is explicit in teaching attachment theory to group members, while the other two take a more implicit approach and address the offender's attachment styles based upon a structured assessment of the offender's risk and need.
An important treatment target for all three programmes is to address how sex offenders relate to others and how this may need to change in future to reduce risk. This will include specific work throughout each of the three programmes on life skills including the social and emotional management of relationships, together with self management skills.
In the Prison Service, treatment programmes for sex offenders, attachment theory is the basis for modules of the Rolling Sex Offender Treatment Programme (for low risk offenders) and the Extended Sex Offender Treatment Programme (for high risk offenders). In both programmes, participants are taught the basics of attachment theory, helped to identify their individual attachment styles, and develop and practice strategies for moving towards a more secure attachment style. Additionally, all the Prison Service Sex Offender Treatment Programmes involve group work, which, as with the probation service, carries the benefit of offering an opportunity for group members to learn how to interact positively with one another.
Werrington Young Offenders Institution
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on educational and vocational provision at Werrington young offenders institution. [59206]
Fiona Mactaggart: The Youth Justice Board (YJB) has set a target, for the juvenile secure estate, a national average of 25 hours a week for the provision of education, training and personal development, rising to 30 hours when resources and funding allow. Werrington young offender institution is currently exceeding the YJB's targets and has achieved an average of 26 hours during the period April 2005 to February 2006.
Werrington has also exceeded the Prison Service's key performance target of 30 hours a week of purposeful activities (which include education, work and resettlement) for the period April 2005 to February 2006, having achieved an average of 32 hours. For the same period, classroom attendance at Werrington was nearly 94 per cent. against the national target of 90 per
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cent. In addition to education and training, Werrington provides three hours a week of other activities such as information technology, sports, etc.
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