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19 Feb 2007 : Column 135Wcontinued
Private prisons | |
Prison | Percentage staff requirement in post |
(1 )100 per cent. operational, 94 per cent. non-operational. Source: Private prisons information has been obtained from the Home Office, on behalf of Serco, GSL, G4S, and KALYX human resources databases. |
Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to increase the number of prison officers in the Prison Service. [117574]
Mr. Sutcliffe: A new Prison Service Business Change Team has been set up to plan and coordinate recruitment activity, and the transfer of experienced staff, to resource new prisoner places. Normal recruitment of prison officers continues, and is largely managed at area level to ensure that staffing numbers meet local needs and operate within acceptable operating margins.
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to eradicate homophobia among prison governors; and if he will make a statement. [121103]
Mr. Sutcliffe: In 2001 a requirement was introduced for all prison governors to attend diversity training which included a session which challenged homophobic attitudes. This requirement lasted for three years. The public sector Prison Service is now developing plans for a new diversity training strategy for 2007-08. Prison Service orders, issued for action by all governors, make it clear that all staff have the right to work in an environment that is free from harassment including homophobia and homophobic bullying.
James Brokenshire:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was spent on taxi
and mini-cab fares in the transport of prisoners in each of the last three years. [117554]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The information concerning taxis and mini-cab fares could be obtained from all prisons only at disproportionate cost.
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners on remand there were in England and Wales in each year since 2000; and how many of these received a custodial sentence. [118460]
John Reid: Information on the numbers of prisoners held on remand in prison establishments in England and Wales in each year since 2000 can be found in table 8.1 in the Offender Management Caseload Statistics 2005, a copy of which can be found in the House of Commons Library, and which can also be accessed at the website:
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs07/hosb1806section8.xls
Information on the proportion of prisoners held on remand whose final outcome was to receive a custodial sentence can be found in table 7.11 of the same publication and at the following website:
http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs07/hosb1806section7.xls
These figures have 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 figures may not be accurate to that level.
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average time was spent in category D conditions before release by (a) violent offenders and (b) non-violent offenders in each of the last five years. [118320]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Comprehensive information on the movement of prisoners within the prison establishments of England and Wales between categories of detention in the way requested in the question is not held centrally and would not be available without disproportionate cost.
Dr. Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) murders, (b) manslaughters and (c) other categories of unlawful killing have been committed by convicted criminals released (i) halfway through their sentences and (ii) earlier than the full period to which they were sentenced, in each year since 1997. [117712]
Mr. Sutcliffe
[holding answer 1 February 2007]: The information is not available in the precise form requested. However, information on the number of murders, manslaughter and unlawful killings that were committed by offenders under the supervision of the Probation Service between 1998 and 2003 was
published in Probation Statistics for England and Wales 1999 and Home Office Statistical Bulletin 15/04.
Mr. Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 23 January 2007, Official Report, columns 1705-06W, on prisons, how many prisoners were identified as suffering from mental illness in each year since 1997. [118995]
Mr. Sutcliffe [holding answer 6 February 2007]: The information requested is not held centrally.
A survey, Psychiatric morbidity among prisoners in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics, 1998) showed that 90 per cent. of prisoners have at least one significant mental health problem, including personality disorder, psychosis, neurosis, alcohol misuse and drug dependence. A copy is available in the Library.
Mental health services for prisoners have been a key part of the Government's recent reforms of health services for prisoners. The Department of Health is now investing £20 million a year in NHS mental health in-reach services for prisoners. These are community mental health teams working within prisons and are now available in 102 prisons, with some 360 extra staff employed. Every prison in England and Wales has access to these services. Information on how many prisoners receive these services is not collected centrally.
Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his estimate is of the proportion of the prison population in each London prison who suffer from mental illness; and if he will make a statement. [120807]
Mr. Sutcliffe [holding answer 9 February 2007]: The information requested is not held centrally. A survey, Psychiatric Morbidity among Prisoners in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics, 1997) showed that 90 per cent. of prisoners have at least one significant mental health problem, including personality disorder, psychosis, neurosis, alcohol misuse and drug dependence. A copy is available in the Library.
Mental health services for prisoners have been a key part of the Government's recent reforms of health services for prisoners. The Department of Health is now investing £20 million a year in NHS mental health in-reach services for prisoners. These are community mental health teams working within 102 prisons, with some 360 extra staff employed. Every prison in England and Wales has access to these services.
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many defendants convicted in courts in Wales received a custodial sentence of six months or more in each of the last six months; and to which prisons those convicted were sent to serve their sentences. [118205]
Mr. Sutcliffe [holding answer 6 February 2007]: The last six months for which figures are currently available are July to December 2005. The information is contained in the table.
The court proceedings database from which these figures are extracted does not contain details as to where these sentences are served. In any case, the establishment to which a person is initially committed may not be the establishment where the greater part of the sentence is served.
Number of persons sentenced to immediate custody of six months or more by courts( 1) in Wales | |
July to December 2005 | Number of persons sentenced |
(1) Includes cases heard at Crown court centres outside Wales if committed by magistrates courts in Wales. 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 |
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his policy is on the taking of illegal drugs in prisons; and if he will make a statement. [100969]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The taking of illicit drugs in prison is not tolerated. A comprehensive framework of initiatives is in place to reduce the amount of illegal drugs getting into prisons. Robust measures are in place to deal with those individuals who use drugs in prison or who attempt to supply drugs into prisons.
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many prison places he plans to bring into use from (a) refurbishment, (b) new build on existing sites and (c) new build on sites that do not currently house a prison in each of the next five years; [112278]
(2) what funds have been allocated for capital works on the prison estate on (a) refurbishment, (b) new build on existing sites and (c) new build on sites that do not currently house a prison in each of the next five years. [112279]
John Reid: NOMS undertakes a rolling programme of refurbishment on the prison estate. As schemes come back into use following refurbishment, other schemes are taken forward and the accommodation is taken out of use.
Around 10,000 places are planned to be delivered over the next five years. Approximately half will be on sites not currently occupied by prisons. The programme is still in the planning stages and the
number of places to be provided in each of the next five years has not been finalised.
The estimated capital cost of this new capacity is around £1.7 billion. The breakdown of costs in each of the next five years has not yet been finalised.
Mr. Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he receives daily reports from the Prison Service on the number of prisoners housed outside the prison estate during the previous night. [112319]
John Reid: The number of prisoners held in police cells is available as management information to Ministers on a daily basis.
Mr. Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many vacant prison places there are for male category (a) A, (b) B, (c) C and (d) D prisoners in England and Wales. [112391]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Only adult male sentenced prisoners are allocated a category of A, B, C or D. Categorisation takes into account a number of factors, one of which is security. A prisoner must be assigned to the correct security category even if it may not be possible to allocate the prisoner to a particular establishment for prisoners in that category. Therefore, as prison places can hold a variety of category of prisoner (but not a higher category than the prison is designated to hold), it is not possible to calculate the number of vacant prison places for each category.
Mr. Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many vacant prison places there are for female prisoners in (a) category A, (b) open and (c) closed prisons in England and Wales. [112392]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Female prisoners are categorised as suitable for open, semi-open or closed conditions. A prisoner must be assigned to the correct security category even if it may not be possible to allocate the prisoner to a particular establishment for prisoners in that category. Therefore, as prison places can hold a variety of category of prisoner (but not a higher category than the prison is designated for), it is not possible to calculate the number of vacant prison places for female prisoners in open and closed conditions.
Nick Herbert: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners were transferred from Category C prisons to Ford Prison in each month since 1 January 2006; what category of offence had been committed by each of those prisoners; and what the term of the prison sentence was in each case. [116192]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The information requested is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Garnier:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the prison places to be provided by the new prison HMP Kennet in
Merseyside are (a) part of and (b) in addition to the 8,000 extra places promised by 2012. [117739]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The places provided at HMP Kennet are additional to the 8,000-place building programme as announced in July 2006.
Sir George Young: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has approached the Scottish Executive for assistance in relieving overcrowding in prisons in England and Wales. [117884]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Prisoners sentenced in England and Wales cannot, as a matter of course, be held in Scottish prisons due to the differing legal jurisdictions.
Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has made an assessment of the effects of Operation Safeguard on front line policing. [120554]
Mr. McNulty: The number of police cells made available under Operation Safeguard is at the discretion of Chief Constables who take their operational needs into account.
Mr. Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police cells have been taken over for use as part of Operation Safeguard; and on how many occasions each cell has been so used. [120555]
Mr. Sutcliffe: There are up to 400 places available in police cells in England and Wales under Operation Safeguard.
The number of prisoners held in police cells varies on a daily basis and is dependent on court activity and the management of regional prison population pressures.
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