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26 Oct 2006 : Column 2141W—continued
This includes all closed prisons, including both male and female. Some closed prisons hold YO's in separate, dedicated YO units.
On occasions prisons are listed as having populations higher than their operational capacity. The reason for this is most often attributed to prisoners on authorised absences.
| Young offender institutes( 1) | ||
| HMYOI | Operational capacity | Population( 2) |
| (1) Some YOIs hold juveniles as well as Young Offenders. (2) As at 1 June 2006. | ||
Mr. Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what category of prisoners will be accommodated at HMP Bullwood Hall following the change of status from a female to a male prison; and if he will make a statement; [77852]
(2) when the first male inmates are scheduled to be sent to HMP Bullwood Hall; and if he will make a statement; [77854]
(3) when the decision was taken to change the status of HMP Bullwood Hall from a female to a male prison; and if he will make a statement; [77855]
(4) whether a risk assessment was undertaken prior to the decision to change the status of HMP Bullwood Hall from a female to a male prison; and if he will make a statement; [77856]
(5) what additional security measures are planned at HMP Bullwood Hall to accommodate the change from female to male prisoners; and if he will make a statement. [77853]
Mr. Sutcliffe
[holding answer 15 June 2006]: Category C adult male prisoners are located in Bullwood Hall. Additional security has been put in place, but it is not Government policy to comment on specific security measures. Male prisoners were located at Bullwood Hall from 27 June. The decision to change the function of Bullwood Hall was taken on 18 May 2006. Full consideration was given to the risks involved when making the decision to change function. It was
decided to change function to ensure that there was sufficient capacity for the adult male prisoner population at a time when there was spare capacity within the women’s prison estate.
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Irish nationals are being detained for immigration purposes at prison establishments beyond their release date; and if he will make a statement. [78169]
Mr. Byrne: The data on the number of immigration act detainees cannot be separated out for Irish nationals because the numbers are small and their accuracy cannot be guaranteed.
Mr. Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what dates the contracts to build (a) HMP Altcourse, (b) HMP Ashfield, (c) HMP Dovegate, (d) HMP Forest Bank, (e) HMP Lowdham Grange, (f) HMP Parc, (g) HMP Rye Hill, (h) HMP Bronzefield and (i) HMP Peterborough were let; and when each is or was expected to be handed over to the Prison Service for occupancy by inmates. [81202]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The information requested is shown in the table. The land upon which the prisons are built is leased to the contractor and expires with the operating contract, which runs for 25 years from the opening of the prison (i.e. the receipt of the first prisoners).
| Prison | Date of contract signature (contract let) | Date of receiving first prisoners |
Mr. Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cells (a) designed for single occupancy were occupied by two inmates and (b) designed for double occupancy were occupied by more than two inmates on 22 June in each of the last nine years for which figures are available; and at what date he expects there to be none in either category. [81203]
Mr. Sutcliffe: We do not record the number of cells used to hold prisoners in crowded conditions. We do, however, record the number of prisoners held two in a cell certified for one. On this basis we have estimated the number of such cells in the following table. We do not collect information about the numbers of prisoners held in crowded conditions in larger multi-occupancy rooms. There is no planned date to end the use of crowded conditions for all prisoners.
| Number of cells | |
Mr. Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what (a) proportion and (b) percentage of the budgets of (i) his Department and (ii) the Prison Service are (A) required to be spent on and (B) have been spent on non-governmental agencies and charities working in prisons and with released prisoners in each of the last nine years for which figures are available. [83355]
Mr. Sutcliffe: There is no requirement for a specific proportion of the Home Office or Prison Service budgets to be spent on non-governmental agencies and charities working in prisons. Partnership working with the voluntary sector is encouraged and takes place in a number of sectors.
The amount of such expenditure is not separately recorded so the proportion of budget spent cannot be provided.
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many assaults by prisoners on prison staff there have been in each of the last eight years. [88915]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The following table details incidents of assaults on staff by prisoners in England and Wales prisons reported on the central incident reporting system.
| Assaults on prison staff by prisoners in England and Wales prisons reported on the central incident reporting system between 1998 and 2005 | |
| Number | |
David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of the total prison population is eligible (a) for weekend release and (b) to work outside prison. [90751]
Mr. Sutcliffe
[holding answer 12 September 2006]: The eligibility requirements for release on temporary licence are complex. These include, for example, the length of sentence imposed, the prisoner’s security category and the period of the sentence the prisoner
has served. Full details are contained in Prison Service Order 6300, which is available on the prison service website and in the Library.
Information on the number of prisoners who are eligible for any type of temporary release, including those eligible to work outside prison and those eligible for overnight temporary release is not held centrally and could only be obtained by examining individual prisoner records held in establishments. This could be carried out only at disproportionate cost. Data on the numbers of releases on temporary licence broken down by type of licence are contained in the Offender Management Caseload Statistics 2004 which is available on the Home Office website.
Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he has taken to ensure that escaped prisoners from Leyhill open prison are apprehended; how many prisoners are still at large; and for what offences they were convicted. [92986]
Mr. Sutcliffe [holding answer 12 October 2006]: When a prisoner absconds from an open prison the police are notified and the prisoner’s details entered on the police national computer as being unlawfully at large and subject to immediate arrest.
Leyhill prison has advised that between 1 April and 10 October this year 12 prisoners absconded. Three of these remain unlawfully at large, of whom two were convicted of robbery and one of burglary.
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what proportion of the proposed additional 8,000 prison places will be in (a) public and (b) private prisons; [93741]
(2) whether the proposed additional 8,000 prison places will be financed from (a) public funds, (b) private finance initiatives and (c) other means; [93742]
(3) what estimate he has made of (a) the number of additional prison officers that will be required for the proposed 8,000 additional prison places and (b) what the cost will be. [93587]
John Reid: The programme to provide 8,000 new places is still in development and final decisions have not yet been made.
We anticipate, however, that around half the additional places will be in public prisons and half in private prisons. Provisional proposals for funding the construction involve a combination of public funds, private finance initiatives and other means.
The funding required for the recruitment of staff has been accounted for, but is dependent on the type and location of prisons and whether they are financed publicly or privately. As the prison regimes are also under consideration, decisions on the number of additional prison officers required have not yet been made.
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 4 September 2006, Official Report, column 1901W, on prison/escort services, what criteria were used in the (a) old and (b) new escort contracts to determine the timely arrival of prisoners to courts. [93834]
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