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19 Jun 2007 : Column 1727W—continued
Mr. Sutcliffe: The NHS has been responsible for commissioning prison healthcare services, including smoking cessation, for publicly run prisons in England since April 2006.
For each of the financial years 2003-2006, the Department of Health provided an additional £500,000 funding to bring smoking cessation services in line with National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence guidelines. Resources are now contained within the baseline funding of NHS primary care trusts.
Health care arrangements in private prisons are provided under their establishing contract. Information on expenditure on specific health services in these prisons is not collected centrally.
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice what advice she has provided to prison establishments on the provision of accommodation to inmates choosing to smoke during designated periods of association; and if she will make a statement. [142873]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The guidance is set out in Prison Service Instruction 9/2007, a copy of which is in the Library of the House.
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice what protection is available to prison officers required to intervene to protect (a) a prisoner or (b) a member of staff in danger of immediate harm where smoke has not cleared from the prison cell in question; and if she will make a statement. [142874]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Safe systems of work will be in place to allow smoke to clear from cells before routine entry by staff. Staff will be expected to enter cells in an emergency threatening life and limb, even if tobacco smoke is present.
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice what assessment she has made of the impact on (a) security and (b) discipline of the terms of Prison Service Instruction 09/2007 that, where an inmate is smoking in a cell, a prison officer is not required to enter the cell until the cigarette smoke has dissipated from the location; what representations she has received in consequence of that condition; and if she will make a statement. [142875]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The arrangements set out in PSI 9/2007, which are required to comply with the Smoke Free Legislation (Health Act 2006), were operationally impact assessed by a group of senior operational managers, chaired by the deputy director general of the Prison Service, prior to implementation. Ministers have not received any representations on this matter.
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice what facilities will be available under Prison Service Instruction 09/2007 for (a) pregnant inmates and (b) those detained in mother and baby units across the prison estate to smoke; and if she will make a statement. [142877]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Pregnant women and prisoners in mother and baby units will be permitted to smoke in cells occupied only by smokers, in the same way as all other prisoners.
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice what mechanism will allow an inmate designated at reception to a prison establishment as a smoker under Prison Service Instruction 09/2007 to change to become designated as a non-smoker; what assessment she has made of the number of cells at each prison establishment to be designated as (a) smoking and (b) non-smoking; what mechanisms will ensure that sufficient accommodation for each category of demand is provided; and if she will make a statement. [142879]
Mr. Sutcliffe: A prisoner who recorded their status on reception as a smoker and wishes to change their status to non-smoker, or vice versa, may make an application to wing staff.
Under PSI 9/2007, all cells containing up to four persons will be designated as places where smoking is permissible when occupied only by smokers. Smokers must not be required to share cells with non-smokers who are actively smoking, but these arrangements enable governors to use accommodation flexibly to meet the changing needs of the prison population.
Reoffenders
Justine Greening: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice what the re-offending rates were (a) in each of the last five years and (b) over the five-year period for those issued with a (i) community rehabilitation order, (ii) supervision order, (iii) community punishment order, (iv) attendance centre order, (v) community punishment and rehabilitation order, (vi) curfew order, (vii) reparation order, (viii) action plan order, (ix) drug treatment and testing order, (x) referral order and (xi) community order; and if she will make a statement. [144100]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The following tables show the available figures for reoffending rates for adult and juvenile offenders who started their community penalty in England and Wales in the first quarter of each year. Reoffending rates for adults are calculated over a two-year period and for juveniles over a one-year period. Community orders were introduced in 2005 and therefore data are not yet available for this type of disposal.
The relationship between disposal and reoffending is complex; the disposal given depends on the characteristics of the offender, which will also affect their chances of reoffending. Further information is available in the most recent Statistical Bulletins on adult and juvenile re-offending which can be found at the following addresses:
| Adults | ||||
| Percentage | ||||
| Disposal | 2000 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 |
| Juveniles | ||
| Percentage | ||
| Disposal | 2000 | 2004 |
Justine Greening: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice what the re-offending rates were (a) in each of the last five years and (b) over the five-year period for those issued with intensive supervision and surveillance programme orders; and if she will make a statement. [144101]
Bridget Prentice: Information on reoffending rates from ISSP is not available in this form. ISSP tackles the most persistent offenders who are often damaged and deprived, and who suffer from mental health problems. This is, therefore an exceptionally difficult group of offenders who present a major challenge to ISSP teams. Nevertheless, despite the report showing 91 per cent. of young people given an ISSP were reconvicted at least once in the two years starting the programmes, it also showed that young offenders on ISSP committed 39 per cent. fewer crimes in the two years after starting the programme and that the seriousness of those crimes reduced by 13 per cent.
Victim Support Schemes: Expenditure
Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice what the grant allocation was for the support of victims and witnesses in each year since 2002; what proportion of that grant allocation went to Victim Support in each year; and whether she plans to make a similar proportional allocation in the future. [144098]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The Government funds a wide range of projects and organisations to support victims of crime, such as Sexual Assault Referral Centres and Independent Sexual Violence Advisors for victims of sexual violence, the POPPY scheme for victims of trafficking, and Support After Murder and Manslaughter for homicide victims.
The Government’s main mechanism for delivering emotional and practical support services to victims is through the £30 million grant to Victim Support. In addition, since 2004, the Victims Fund has distributed £5.25 million in grants to support and develop specialist organisations. A further round of the Victims’ Fund was opened on Friday 15 June, dedicated to organisations that support homicide and hate crime victims.
It is expected that the surcharge on fines will raise £16 million in a full year to be spent on a range of services for victims of crime and witnesses.
The main national grant allocations since 2002 and the proportion, as a percentage, which goes to Victim Support are as follows. Future funding decisions will be made in the light of available resources.
| Funding to victim support (£ million) | Proportion as a percentage to victim support | Compensation paid by CICA (£) | Funding to the victims’ fund (£ million) | |
Wetherby Young Offender Institution: Smoking
Dr. Murrison: To ask the Minister of State, Ministry of Justice if she will publish the report of the review into the smoking ban at HM Young Offenders Institution Wetherby conducted in 2005. [142871]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The review into the smoking ban at Wetherby was completed in August 2005. A copy of the report is available in the House Library.
Work and Pensions
Access to Work Programme
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the total budget is for the Access to Work scheme in 2007-08; what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on developing the scheme; and if he will make a statement. [140673]
Mrs. McGuire: The budget for the Access to Work programme for 2007-08 is £64 million. The Secretary of State has regular discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on funding for the Department's priorities, including Access to Work. Over the past 10 years the programme's budget has increased four-fold and the programme now helps nearly three times as many people as in 1997.
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the total expenditure was on the Access to Work scheme in 2005-06; and how much of that expenditure was spent on promoting the scheme to (a) employers and (b) disabled jobseekers. [140674]
Mrs. McGuire: The total expenditure for Access to Work in 2005-06 was £59.8 million.
The promotion of Access to Work comes under the wider Jobcentre Plus marketing budget. The Department does not record specific marketing expenditure on Access to Work.
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many disabled people were supported by the Access to Work scheme in 2005-06. [140675]
Mrs. McGuire: In 2005-06, 28,514 people were supported by Access to Work.
Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people with hearing impediments were supported by the Access to Work scheme in 2005-06. [140676]
Mrs. McGuire: The information is not available.
Access: Disabled People
Mr. Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the levels of (a) coverage throughout England of, (b) usage of and (c) compliance with requirements and recommendations arising from (i) disabled access statements and (ii) disabled access audits. [142421]
Mrs. McGuire: Design and access statements are required for most types of planning application. While no formal assessment has been made of their use, unless a statement accompanies a relevant application and meets the requirements as to what it includes, a local planning authority in England cannot determine that application.
Access audits are not a statutory requirement, but may be conducted as a matter of good practice. No assessment has been made of the usage of, and compliance with the recommendations of, access audits. My Department has, however, conducted a series of surveys to monitor how employers and service providers are responding to their duties to make reasonable adjustments under the Disability Discrimination Act. The findings of the most recent research(1) show that levels of physical adjustments for disabled people are increasing. Among employers, there has been a slight increase in those having made adjustments since 2003 (from 42 per cent. to 45 per cent. for adapting the work environment). There has been a larger increase in changes made to physical accessibility by those providing goods, facilities and services (from 47 per cent. to 61 per cent.). Not all disabled people will require physical adjustments to be made to the workplace, or to the premises of a service provider, nor will it always be reasonable for an employer or service provider to make a physical adjustment.
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