| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
23 Nov 2006 : Column 234W—continued
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prison officers employed at HMP Wymott in the last five years have (a) left to work at other prisons and (b) left the Prison Service. [101922]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Between April 2001 and March 2006, a total of 25 officer grade staff transferred from Wymott prison to other prisons and 29 left the Prison Service from Wymott.
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the establishment level of prison officers is at HMP Wymott; what the budget is for that prison in 2006-07; and what the estimated overspend is at the prison in the 2006-07 financial year. [101925]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The target staffing figure, as at November 2006, for uniformed and operational support grades (OSG) is 323, comprising 208 officers, 35 Senior Officers, 11 Principal Officers and 69 OSGs.
The current budget for Wymott for 2006-07 is £20,655,622.00. Wymott prison is currently predicting an overspend of £600,000.
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether prison officers who are taking paid leave may perform bedwatch duties and receive payment for this duty in addition to their leave pay. [101926]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Payment cannot be made for bedwatch duty during paid leave, which for health and safety reasons is protected. If a bedwatch takes place, leave must be cancelled and the shift re-instated and treated as if no leave had been booked.
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will convert hours owed in leave for prison officers at HMP Wymott into pay if officers are not allowed to take time in lieu. [101927]
Mr. Sutcliffe: All officers are entitled to their full leave commitment during the leave year and they can carry over nine days each year to the next leave year. It is not anticipated that any member of staff will have difficulties in taking their leave. Therefore no payment is necessary.
Probation Officers
Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many probation officers were employed in (a) 1996 and (b) 2006; how many support staff they had in each year; how many clients were on probation in each year; and how many of those on probation were prisoners on release who had been convicted of crimes against the person in each year. [101398]
Mr. Sutcliffe: As at 31 December 1996, the total number of offenders being supervised by the Probation Service was 170,852. Of these 3,922 were offenders released from prison who had been convicted of violence against the person offences.
As at 31 December 2005 (latest published data) the total number of offenders being supervised by the Probation Service was 224,094. Of these 5,098 were offenders released from prison who had been convicted of violence against the person offences.
To align with the information provided on offenders, as at 31 December 2005 the number of staff in post was:
| Number | |
Due to the process by which information was collated prior to 2003, we do not have the requested information for 1996.
Sentencing Guidelines Council
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he next expects the Sentencing Guidelines Council to review its guidelines in respect of prolific and persistent offenders; and if he will make a statement. [102733]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The principles that the court must follow when determining the seriousness of an offence are set out in statute. Any previous convictions, where they are recent and relevant, should be regarded as an aggravating factor which should increase the severity of the sentence. The Sentencing Guidelines published a guideline on “Overarching Principles: Seriousness” in December 2004. There are no plans to review this guideline at present.
Shoplifting
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions he has had with the Sentencing Guidelines Council on sentences for convicted shoplifters; and if he will make a statement. [100961]
Mr. Sutcliffe: My right hon. Friend the Home Secretary has not met the Sentencing Guidelines Council (SGC) to discuss sentences for convicted shoplifters.
Mr. Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people were convicted for shoplifting in Cambridgeshire in each year since 1997; and how many people received (a) custodial sentences, (b) fixed penalty notices, (c) community orders and (d) police cautions for shoplifting in Cambridgeshire in each year. [100678]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The requested court proceedings data are provided in the following table.
In addition to this, the penalty notice for disorder (PND) scheme, brought into effect in all police forces in England and Wales in 2004, gives the police powers to issue persons believed to be committing offences of shoplifting with an £80 fixed penalty notice. No admission of guilt is required and payment of the penalty discharges all liability for the offence. The number of PNDs issued for shoplifting in the Cambridgeshire police force area were six in 2004, 148 in 2005 and 116 in 2006—January to June provisional.
Suspended Sentences
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what percentage of offenders given custodial sentences in (a) Crown and (b) magistrates courts in England and Wales have had their sentences suspended in each of the last 12 months. [101107]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The information requested, relating to England and Wales for 2004, the latest year for which final court sentencing figures are published, is contained in the table. Final statistics for 2005 are due for publication towards the end of January.
| Persons sentenced to immediate custody and suspended sentences, England and Wales, 2004 | ||||||
| Magistrates courts | The Crown court | |||||
| Month | Immediate custody | Fully suspended sentence | Percentage suspended | Immediate custody | Fully suspended sentence | Percentage suspended |
| Note: Although care is taken in collating and analysing the returns used to compile these figures, the data are of necessity subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system. Consequently, although figures are shown to the last digit in order to provide a comprehensive record of the information collected, they are not necessarily accurate to the last digit shown. Source: RDS-NOMS, Home Office | ||||||
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |