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19 July 2006 : Column 564W—continued
Prisons
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many nurses, doctors and other specialists in psychiatric and mental health care for vulnerable and at risk children and young adults have been employed by the Prison Service in each of the past 20 years. [86244]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Information on the number of staff employed by the Prison Service in the psychiatric and mental health care of vulnerable and at risk children is not held centrally and could only be provided at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the impact on family contact for female prisoners of the re-roling of HMP Bulwood Hall as a male prison. [81200]
Mr. Sutcliffe: We have examined the impact of the change on the 100 women prisoners still in custody who were relocated from Bullwood Hall and their average distance from home is now in fact slightly less. It therefore seems unlikely that there will be a significant adverse impact on family contact. All women’s prisons aim to maintain and promote family contact.
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much money was paid in bonus payments to (a) governor grade staff and (b) operational staff at each prison establishment for each of the last 36 months; who authorised the payments; and if he will make a statement. [85481]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Accurate information as to the amount of money paid to (a) governor grade staff and (b) operational staff in bonus payments is not held centrally and could only be obtained by reference to paper records held at individual prison establishments, which would incur disproportionate cost.
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what changes have occurred to the service level agreement developed as part of the performance testing exercise at HM Prison Wandsworth since its acceptance in December 2004; and if he will make a statement. [85482]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Wandsworth prison was awarded a Service Level Agreement (SLA) from April 2005, following the successful performance test.
The SLA is a living document and has been reviewed to reflect priorities for 2006-07 and maintain the drive for improved performance. As a result, more demanding targets have been set in some key performance areas.
The area manager and the regional offender manager continuously monitor delivery of the SLA ensuring that performance levels are sustained.
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of prisoners currently detained were drug dependent on entering prison, broken down by age group. [85567]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Figures showing the percentage of prisoners who are drug dependent on entering custody are not held centrally. However, several research studies conclude that around 55 per cent. of those received into prison are problematic drug-users (PDUs) with 80 per cent. reporting some misuse. In certain prisons, up to 80 per cent. test positive for opiates on reception. A further study shows the breakdown of percentage drug misuse by age, in the 12 months prior to prison. It has also been reported that 76 per cent. of young men (18-21) were assessed as dependent on at least one drug.
Mr. Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what (a) treatments and (b) support are provided in prisons for drug misuse problems. [85590]
Mr. Sutcliffe: For drug misusers in custody, a comprehensive range of treatment and support is available. These address low, moderate and severe drug dependency and consist of:
Clinical services (detoxification and/or maintenance prescribing programmes), available in all local and remand prisons;
CARATs (Counselling, Assessment, Referral, Advice and Throughcare services), available in all adult prisons;
Juvenile Substance Misuse Service available across the Juvenile estate
Drug Rehabilitation Programmes -116 drug rehabilitation programmes, 40 of which are the Short Duration Programme, running in 103 establishments.
Wider resettlement needs are addressed through the Drug Interventions Programme and for those released on licence by the Probation Service.
Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prison officers have been subjected to disciplinary action as a result of allegations of racism in each of the last three years; how many prison officers have been convicted as a result of a criminal prosecution; and how many officers have been (a) fined and (b) dismissed as a result of disciplinary proceedings. [86208]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Central records on disciplinary cases involving public sector prison staff are currently being revalidated by reference to records held in individual prisons. I will write to my hon. Friend once this exercise has been completed.
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the number of (a) remand and (b) sentenced prisoners with psychiatric disorders, broken down by severity of disorder. [85405]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Information on the number of prisoners with psychiatric disorders is not held centrally.
Private Security Companies
Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what proportion of private security companies in England and Wales have been granted approved contractor status; and how many and what proportion of these have been granted a licence dispensation notice. [79265]
Mr. Coaker [holding answer 20 July 2006]: The Security Industry Authority (SIA) estimate that around 2,500 security firms in England and Wales are eligible to apply for Approved Contractor Status (ACS). Of these just over 200, or 8 per cent. have been granted Approved Contractor status since the scheme came into force on 20 March 2006. This means that at 3 July approximately 15,450 operatives may be legally deployed under licence dispensation. All firms approved to date have been authorised to use licence dispensation within specified limits and subject to ACS terms and conditions.
Private Security Industry Act
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people requested a licence under the Private Security Industry Act 2001 in each month since April 2005, broken down by type of licence. [76846]
Mr. Coaker [holding answer 19 June 2006]: Valid applications that could be processed in each month since April 2005 are represented in the following table. The Security Industry Act do not produce specific reports for each month broken down by sector. A number of applications that were not valid (for example because key documents were not enclosed) have also been received.
| Number of valid applications received by the SIA | |
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have requested an application for a licence under the Private Security Industry Act 2001 but have not yet received the application form, broken down by type of application. [77001]
Mr. Coaker [holding answer 19 June 2006]: This information is not available. However, the Security Industry Authority's (SIA's) despatch policy is that upon receipt of a telephone request the SIA sends out an application form within two days by first class post. There are two other methods for ordering application forms—companies can request via a bulk process and individuals via the website. These systems currently distribute applications within three to four days with delivery by data post and first class post respectively.
Probation Service
Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what account he has taken of rurality in the consultation process on proposed reform of the probation service. [86396]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The consultation for the proposed reform of the probation service ran from October to December 2005, during which a number of respondents raised concerns about how locally specific arrangements would work. The new process for commissioning probation services will take account of the differing needs of differing areas. Through regional structures NOMS commissioners will engage stakeholders to inform their commissioning decisions on the range and volume of services that are needed and commissioned.
Racial Hatred
Mr. Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will investigate allegations of incitement to racial hatred at the (a) Hawza Ilmiyya College and (b) the Islamic College of Advanced Studies, Willesden, London; and if he will make a statement. [65775]
Mr. McNulty [holding answer 25 April 2006]: The decision to investigate allegations that individuals and organisations are using inflammatory language or messages is one for the chief officer of the police force concerned.
Sheriffs
Mr. Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his Department has considered proposals for (a) elected and (b) appointed sheriffs to be established as part of measures to combat crime and antisocial behaviour. [84298]
Mr. McNulty:
We have considered a wide range of options for making services more responsive and accountable to local priorities on issues of crime and antisocial behaviour. The review of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 committed to strengthening the effectiveness of Crime and Disorder Reduction
Partnerships (CDRPs) by setting national standards. These will require, among other things:
Elected local authority members responsible for community safety issues to play a full part in setting community safety priorities;
Subjecting CDRPs to periodic scrutiny by local authority Overview and Scrutiny Committees;
Requiring Basic Command Unit Commanders and senior representatives of other responsible authorities to hold regular Face the People sessions to respond to issues raised by local communities; and
The introduction of the Community Call for action to enable local communities to trigger intervention by the local authority scrutiny committee if community safety issues have not been adequately addresses by the police or their partners.
Setting out requirements on CDRPs/Community Safety Partnerships to consult, communicate and engage with their communities.
Statutory Instruments
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what occasions a statutory instrument sponsored by his Department has been reported by the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments as defective since October 2005. [85189]
Mr. McNulty: Between the beginning of October 2005 and 5 July 2006, the only occasion when the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments (JCSI) raised a question about the content of a Home Office SI was in relation to the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 (Commencement No. 1 and Transitional and Transitory Provisions) Order 2005 (S.I.2005/1521). This followed a decision by the divisional court that certain provisions in the Order were ultra vires. There has subsequently been a successful appeal against that decision in the Court of Appeal.
Reports from the JCSI contain full details of the statutory instruments which they have reported. SI 2005/1521 is considered in the Sixth Report of the JCSI for Session 2005-06.
Violent Crime (Licensed Premises)
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many violent offences in connection with licensed premises there have been in (a) non-rural and (b) rural areas in relation to (i) adults and (ii) under age people in (A) absolute terms and (B) per 1,000 population in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement. [84630]
Mr. McNulty: The information is not available centrally.
World Cup
Mr. Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much additional funding has been made available to police forces during the period of the World Cup to help maintain law and order in town centres and other areas with high numbers of licensed premises. [78327]
Mr. McNulty: None. The Police Service in England and Wales has had a huge increase in funding in recent years. The use of these resources is a matter for each chief constable and police authority to determine in the light of local and competing priorities.
Young Offenders
Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 26 June 2006, Official Report, Column 122W, on young offenders, how much of the additional £45 million funding allocated to youth offending teams has been received by Sefton council; how many additional members of staff will be recruited; where they will be located; what their primary duties are; and how their performance will be assessed. [85978]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Sefton Youth Offending Team (YOT) is receiving a total Youth Justice Board (YJB) prevention grant of £347,222 between November 2005 and March 2008, which it is using to fund its existing Youth Inclusion Programme (YIP) and a new Youth Inclusion and Support Panel (YISP). £177,222 of this comes from the additional 45 million funding and £170,000 is part of ongoing YIP funding.
Two additional YISP staff will be recruited. These will be in addition to the existing YIP staff. Both new posts are located in the Sefton Centre for Restorative Practice in Stanley Road, Bootle.
The primary duty of the YISP co-ordinator is to be responsible for the development and implementation of the work of the YISP, in order to ensure that the YISP delivers effective services to address the needs of children referred to the panel, within a restorative practice framework.
The YISP key worker will be responsible for the management of a caseload and overseeing the delivery of intervention designed to address the needs of those children.
The YOT has an effective workforce strategy to manage the performance of individual members of staff that is integrated with the council's performance management framework. The YIP and YISP programmes in Sefton will be monitored and supported through the YJB's performance management framework which ensures YOTs provide quarterly data returns to the YJB to gauge outputs and outcomes, includes monitoring by YJB staff, and provides for mechanisms for supporting individual YOTs should there be poor performance issues.
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