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Prison Service

Mr. Cox: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what criteria his Department uses to judge whether a programme demonstrates a lack of understanding and appropriate sensitivity to the diversity agenda of HM Prison Service; and if he will make a statement. [92741]

Mr. Sutcliffe: All interventions programmes are expected to comply with Prison Service standards, including those set out in the Service’s equal opportunities policies. Programmes can only be effective if they address the implications that gender, culture, age, sexuality, ability, nationality, ethnicity, religion, learning style and past and present life experiences have for programme access, participation and outcome.

Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many investigations HM Prison Service has commissioned Mr Ron Tasker to carry out since the termination of his employment with the service; and if he will make a statement. [94076]

Mr. Sutcliffe: Ron Tasker has been commissioned by HM Prison Service to carry out one investigation since his retirement from the Service.

Prisons

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prison to prison transfers of prisoners occurred in each year since 2000. [91364]

Mr. Sutcliffe: The following table shows the number of prison to prison transfers of prisoners in England and Wales for each financial year from April 2000.


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Financial year Number of transfers

2000

51,336

2001

64,085

2002

71,145

2003

72,746

2004

70,128

2005

68,430

2006 (to July)

23,107


Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Polish nationals are being held in prisons in England and Wales. [92505]

Mr. Sutcliffe: At the end of December 2005, there were 155 Polish national prisoners held in prison establishments in England and Wales.

This figure has been drawn from administrative IT systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system, and although shown to the last individual the figure may not be accurate to that level.

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans there are to increase capacity at HMP Lewes through new construction; what consultation there will be with the local community; and if he will make a statement. [93242]

Mr. Sutcliffe [holding answer 12 October 2006]: Plans to increase capacity at HMP Lewes by the construction of a new house block are part of the programme to build 8,000 new places, as announced by the Home Secretary in July. In gaining planning consent in 2003, consultation was undertaken with the local authority and community under the terms of planning legislation at the time.

Planning consent for the ancillary buildings will be sought in compliance with the terms of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, in which full consultation with the local authority is required. On registration of the planning application, the public will have the opportunity to comment on the proposals and the National Offender Management Service will respond to any concerns.

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has discussed with the chief constable of Essex the use of police cells for accommodating remand prisoners or those sentenced to a term in prison. [93248]

Mr. Sutcliffe [holding answer 2 October 2006]: The Home Secretary announced to the House of Commons on the 9 October 2006 the activation of “Operation Safeguard”, a short-term measure enabling the National Offender Management Service to use police cells to accommodate prisoners during exceptional population pressures.

Initially this will be for the duration of one month. As a result of its proximity to London, where the need
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for prison places is most necessary, the chief constable of Essex was consulted and Essex police force will be providing prison places under of “Operation Safeguard”.

Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of (a) governor grade staff, (b) governing governors, (c) Prison Service Area Managers and (d) Prison Service Management Board are (i) (A) practising and (B) non-practising (1) Church of England, (2) Roman Catholic, (3) non-conformist Christian (4) Hindu, (5) Muslim, (6) Sikh and (ii) non-affiliated; and if he will make a statement. [94080]

Mr. Sutcliffe: This information is not collected and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost

Mr. Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportion of inmates were returned from Category D establishments to closed condition in each region as a consequence of drug issues in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement. [94182]

Mr. Sutcliffe: This information is not held centrally and could be obtained from individual records only at disproportionate cost.

Mr. Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what restrictions there are on publications received by prisoners. [94349]

Mr. Sutcliffe: The authority to withhold or withdraw any published material rests with the governor. Action will be taken if the governor considers that the content presents a threat to the good order or discipline of the prison; that it would have an adverse effect on the prisoner; or in the wider interests of national security.

Respect Task Force

Mr. Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what criteria were used by the Respect Task Force to select the 27 areas across the country eligible for additional funding to help tackle the misuse of mini motorbikes; [93801]

(2) what research was conducted by the Respect Task Force before deciding which areas would be allocated the additional funding to help tackle the misuse of mini motorbikes; [93811]

(3) which local authorities were invited to bid for the additional funding provided by the Respect Task Force to tackle anti-social use of mini motorbikes; [93812]

(4) what measures will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the additional funding provided by the Respect Task Force to tackle the anti-social use of mini motorbikes; [93903]

(5) what criteria were used to decide the amount of additional funding given to the areas selected by the Respect Task Force to help tackle the anti-social use of mini motorbikes; [93904]

(6) what discussions the Respect Task Force had with local authorities in the Black Country when deciding upon which areas would be eligible for the additional funding to help tackle the anti-social use of mini motorbikes; [93905]


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(7) what discussions the Respect Task Force had with police in the Black Country when deciding upon which areas would be eligible for the additional funding to help tackle the anti-social use of mini motorbikes. [93906]

Mr. McNulty: Communities, local authorities and the police have identified the illegal use of mini motos as a major problem and have raised this with the Respect Task Force.

As part of an awareness-raising campaign about action that can be taken anywhere to tackle the antisocial and illegal use of mini motos in public spaces, the Respect Task Force made some limited funding available for an education and enforcement campaign over the summer. With funds restricted to around £10,000 per area, the Respect Task Force invited its trailblazer and action areas (List 1) to bid for financial support. Both Wolverhampton and Sandwell in the Black Country were contacted.

Bids were assessed on the capacity of police to deploy extra policing in hotspot areas and to deliver an information campaign to better inform parents and children about the laws governing mini motos.

Money was allocated to 28 areas (List 2) who responded to the invitation and who demonstrated a joint commitment by the local authority and police to tackle a locally identified mini moto problem. In some cases, police were able to extend their campaign beyond the local authority action or trailblazer areas. Neither Wolverhampton nor Sandwell submitted bids to the Respect Task Force.

The campaign has provided information to children and parents, supported frontline staff through the purchase of police trial bikes, cameras and the use of signposts and barriers to prevent mini moto access to public places.

Participating areas collected data throughout the campaign such as use of powers, number of complaints, community impact and successes of the operation in order to gauge the impact of the campaign. These data are currently being evaluated by the Respect Task Force.

The Respect Task Force is committed to supporting any area experiencing problems with mini motos. We have produced guidance to practitioners on tackling mini moto misuse and a leaflet for the public and retailers. In addition, help for any practitioner is provided through our action line and website and the Respect Task Force can also facilitate action days in individual areas to train and inform practitioners and the police about how to tackle a wide range of antisocial behaviour.


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