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9 Jan 2007 : Column 547Wcontinued
Mr. Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prison places were (a) put out of use and (b) created in each year since 1997; and at which prisons those changes took place. [113643]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The information requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many suicides there were in prisons classified as overcrowded in each of the last 10 years. [113644]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The information requested is provided in the following table.
Self-inflicted deaths in crowded prisons | |
Number | |
Notes: 1. A crowded prison is defined as one in which the prison population is more than the certified normal accommodation. 2. Self-inflicted deaths includes all deaths where it appears the individual acted specifically to take their own life, not only those that received a suicide or open verdict at inquest |
Mr. Garnier:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to ensure that education managers in prisons receive prisoners
records following transfer from another prison; and if he will make a statement. [113645]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Secure arrangements are in place to transfer individual learning plans and records of prisoners achievements and aspirations as they move between prisons and from prison to the community. Further work is under way between the Learning and Skills Council and the National Offender Management Service to develop and introduce a comprehensive electronic system.
Mr. Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the two prisons he announced for reroling in October 2006 are additional to the reroling of Brockhill and Bullwood Hall already announced by his Department in the spring. [113646]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The two prisons referred to in the Home Secretarys statement of 9 October 2006 were the two womens prisons, Brockhill and Bullwood Hall.
Mr. Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of prisoners identified as having drug problems are undergoing intensive drug rehabilitation. [113649]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Based on the number of prisoners engaging in 2005-06 with the counselling, assessment, referral, advice and throughcare (CARAT) treatment service, 16 per cent. went on to engage with an intensive drug treatment programme. This figure excludes juvenile prisons.
Not all prisoners with a drug dependency require an intensive treatment programme or are in prison long enough to gain access.
Mr. Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of the Prison Service budget was spent on education in 2005-06. [113651]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The Prison Service spent £85.2 million on education in 2005-06. This represents 4.5 per cent. of the gross budget. The Prison Service fully recovered this expenditure by invoicing DfES, which holds the budget for prisoners education.
The net cost to the Prison Service was nil.
Mr. Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his most recent assessment is of the proportion of prisoners who are able to complete a job application form. [113654]
Mr. Sutcliffe: We do not collect this specific information. However, Department for Education and Skills statistics show that 82 per cent. of offenders have writing skills at or below those expected of an 11-year-old. For reading and numeracy the figures are 48 per cent. and 65 per cent. respectively.
As part of wider work to get prisoners into employment, assistance with completing job application forms is provided to prisoners including by Jobcentre Plus staff, prison officers, voluntary sector workers and peer advisers.
Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what the evidential basis is for the proposals for reform of the probation service; [112992]
(2) what the evidential basis is for his statement that the Offender Management Bill will drive up standards. [112993]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The Offender Management Bill will enable the Secretary of State to commission probation services from providers in the voluntary, charitable and private sectors, to work alongside the public sector in the delivery of probation services. Experience in the custodial sector has shown that the introduction of alternative providers has helped to raise performance: there have been efficiency savings of up to 8.5 per cent. and improved standards of decency and innovation in staffing structures and prison design. The public sector has also raised its game in response. We expect to see similar effects in probation.
Mr. Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made on the availability of treatment for alcohol misusers on probation. [113611]
Mr. Sutcliffe: In May the National Probation Directorate (NPD) published Working with Alcohol Misusing Offendersa strategy for delivery. The strategy, which complements the Prison Service Alcohol Strategy to create a coherent NOMS Alcohol Strategy, contains a number of actions for NPD and recommendations for probation areas to improve provision, many of which are being taken forward in 2006-07.
Mr. Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the value has been of items collected under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 in each police authority in each of the last three years. [112818]
Mr. Coaker: Information is not available in the form requested. A confiscation order is made by the court for a sum of money to be paid by the defendant. It need not be paid from any particular assets or items. The value of confiscation orders and cash forfeiture orders obtained by each police force in England and Wales in each of the last three years under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 and earlier legislation is set out in the Table.
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