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17 July 2007 : Column 273Wcontinued
Mr. Heath: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his most recent projections are of the (a) uncrowded and (b) maximum capacity of prisons in each of the next five years. [150136]
Mr. Hanson: The National Offender Management Service 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.
Eight thousand new prison places were announced by the Home Secretary in July 2006 and a further 1,500 places by the Lord Chancellor on 19 June. The programme is still in the planning stages and the number of places to be provided beyond 2007 has not been finalised.
Mr. Heath: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what provision has been made in his Department's budgets for capital works on the prison estate in 2007-08, broken down by (a) refurbishment, (b) newbuild on existing prison sites and (c) newbuild sites. [150143]
Mr. Hanson: The total capital budget for prison capacity in 2007-08 is £475 million. This is broken down as follows:
(a) Refurbishment: £190 million;
(b) New build on existing prison sites: £257 million;
(c) New prisons: £28 million.
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether the 12-step drug rehabilitation programme will continue in the prisons other than Swansea which operate the scheme. [149535]
Mr. Hanson: The 12-step programme is an integral part of the range of intensive accredited drug treatment programmes available in prisons. The 12-step programme at HMP The Verne has now ceased and the funding has been moved to HMP Dartmoor, where the programme will start shortly. There are currently no further plans to withdraw the programme from any other establishment where it is being delivered.
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the cost per head is of the replacement drug rehabilitation programme to be introduced in Swansea prison from November 2007. [149536]
Mr. Hanson: There are currently no plans to introduce a replacement drug rehabilitation programme at HMP Swansea.
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners who completed or commenced the 12 step drug rehabilitation programme in Swansea prison have been charged with further drug-related offences after their release from prison. [149537]
Mr. Hanson: The information requested is not available. There is no effective tracking mechanism in place. The tracking of an individual who has engaged with treatment interventions and subsequently went on to re-offend would involve the use of the police national computer and this would constitute a breach of confidentiality.
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the cost per prisoner is of the 12-step drug rehabilitation programme in Swansea prison. [149538]
Mr. Hanson: The cost of running the 12 Step Programme at HMP Swansea is subject to conditions of commercial confidentiality.
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners who commenced the 12-step drug rehabilitation programme in Swansea were released early before the end of their sentence. [149539]
Mr. Hanson: In 2006-07the latest period for which figures are availableno prisoners released early from HMP Swansea had commenced the 12-step programme.
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners have started the 12-step drug rehabilitation programme in Swansea prison since its introduction; and how many have completed the programme. [149540]
Mr. Hanson: The following table shows, the number of prisoners starting and completing the 12-step programme at HMP Swansea.
Starts | Completions | |
(1 )Data available from August 2004. Programme commenced in 2001 |
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if his Department will publish the assessment of the efficacy of the 12-step drug rehabilitation scheme at Swansea prison. [149541]
Mr. Hanson: Published research shows that prisoners who completed a 12-step programme had significantly lower rates of reconviction after two yearsdown 11per cent.provided effective treatment was continued on release. Efficacy is also determined by the quality of local delivery. Audit conducted locally, shows over the past three years, a marked decline in the quality of delivery of the 12-step programme at HMP Swansea.
Ms Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will place in the Library the reports of the Home Department monitors in each secure training centre. [149957]
Mr. Hanson: Monitoring reports are operational documents, the purpose of which is to enable the Youth Justice Board to track and improve performance. They contain detailed information about young people that has been provided in confidence. Placing them in the public domain could adversely affect the boards ability to monitor the running of secure training centres.
Ms Keeble: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice on how many occasions handcuffs were used on trainees in each secure training centre in each of the last three years. [149859]
Mr. Hanson: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for the Home Department on 19 February 2007, Official Report, column 338W. Complete data are not available before 2006.
Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice in what proportion of employment tribunal cases the chairman awarded costs to the claimant in the last period for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [149920]
Bridget Prentice: In 2005-06, there were 148 cases in which a claimant was awarded costs by an employment tribunal. This represents 0.66 per cent. of all cases disposed of at a hearing.
Mr. Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what plans there are to extend the capacity of HM prison Wellingborough; and if he will make a statement. [150307]
Mr. Hanson: There are no firm plans at present to increase the capacity of HMP Wellingborough. However, the National Offender Management Service is considering the potential to build around 50 to 60 additional places at the prison. These proposals do not form part of the current capacity building programme and the development of plans to increase capacity at HMP Wellingborough would be discussed in full with local planners.
Miss Begg: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many homes were sold in creditor bankruptcy cases in each year since the implementation of the Enterprise Act 2002. [149507]
Mr. McFadden: The Insolvency Service does not hold this information as the realisation of bankrupts interest in properties is generally undertaken by an insolvency practitioner acting as trustee rather than the Official Receiver. However, as part of the evaluation of the Enterprise Act 2002, the Insolvency Service is collecting information on property realisations in a sample of all bankruptcy cases in England and Wales. This study is ongoing and the final results will be published in autumn 2007. Interim reports are available on the Insolvency Service website at:
Miss Begg: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what information services are available to individuals to help them decide which course of action to pursue when they have been made bankrupt. [149508]
Mr. McFadden: Once an individual is made bankrupt in England and Wales they are subject to the bankruptcy provisions in the Insolvency Act 1986. All bankrupts are interviewed by a member of the Insolvency Service.
All bankrupts are given or sent a copy of the Insolvency Service Guide to Bankruptcy, which includes alternatives to bankruptcy.
The Insolvency Service produces a wide range of leaflets which are available in both paper form and on its website at www.insolvency.gov.uk. Those leaflets cover matters directly relating to the bankruptcy process, the consequences of bankruptcy and information on alternatives to bankruptcy.
Miss Begg: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what responsibilities the Official Receiver has to make clear to individuals the different options open to them in bankruptcy; and if he will make a statement. [149509]
Mr. McFadden: The responsibilities and duties of the Official Receiver are set out in the Insolvency Act 1986, which extends to England and Wales.
While there is no statutory duty on the Official Receiver to provide details of the different options available to bankrupts, all are given or sent the
Insolvency Service Guide to Bankruptcy, which includes information on alternatives to bankruptcy. In addition, leaflets informing bankrupts of their options are available in paper form and on the Insolvency Service website:
The Guide to Bankruptcy covers the possibility of a fast track voluntary arrangement. A leaflet on FTVAs is also available in paper form or from the Insolvency Service website.
Mr. Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what information is available to consumers for them to determine whether products on sale have been subject to animal testing. [148986]
Mr. Thomas [holding answer 12 July 2007]: Cosmetic products covered by the Cosmetic Products (Safety) Regulations 2004 (as amended), which implement the EU directive on cosmetic product safety, give manufacturers the choice of whether or not to make a claim about animal testing on their products. In practice most cosmetic product manufacturers do not make claims, and those that do make claims about no animal testing having been carried out on the product or its ingredients.
Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what his Departments responsibilities are for technology. [148749]
Mr. Timms: The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform will lead work to create the conditions for business success. This includes liaising closely with the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills, which now leads on technological innovation and research. The Department will address market and regulatory issues to ensure that business can take full advantage of technological developments and enable it to compete successfully in the global economy.
Mr. Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many flights to overseas destinations were taken by employees of UK Trade and Investment in the last three calendar years; and what the total cost was of such flights. [148355]
Mr. Thomas: UK Trade and Investment has no direct employees of its own and draws mainly on staff from the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The information requested is not readily available centrally, and to collect it would involve disproportionate cost.
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many people in his Department have been (a) disciplined and (b) dismissed for (i) inappropriate use of the internet while at work and (ii) using work telephones to access premium rate telephone numbers in the last 12 months. [149183]
Mr. Thomas: In the former Department of Trade and Industry, 12 staff were disciplined and five staff dismissed for inappropriate use of the internet while at work in the last 12 months.
Furthermore, no members of staff in the former Department of Trade and Industry were disciplined for using work telephones to access premium rate telephone numbers in the last 12 months.
Mr. Atkinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what role his private office played in organising his visit to NETpark, Sedgefield, County Durham and other destinations in the north-east; whether officials from his Department accompanied him on the visit; and what the cost was to his Department of the visit. [150306]
Mr. Thomas: The visit to NETpark was organised and funded by the Labour party. The Secretary of States private office arranged a fact finding visit to Sheffield to study the impact of flooding on local businesses followed by a visit to Newcastle for a meeting with the chair of One North East. The Secretary of State was accompanied by one of his special advisers to enable him to deal with any departmental business unconnected with the political visit.
Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the cost of setting up his new Department is; and how much has been budgeted for (a) fees paid to advisors, (b) replacing official stationery and (c) other transition costs. [147542]
Mr. Thomas [holding answer 4 July 2007]: The costs of setting up the Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform are ongoing and the processes will take some time to complete. I will write to the hon. Member setting out the costs once these processes have been completed and place copies of the letter in the Libraries of both Houses.
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the total cost was of creating signs displaying his Departments name for ministerial offices. [147812]
Mr. Thomas: The Department has incurred no additional costs associated with providing signage for the ministerial Offices as these signs are produced internally and by reusing existing signage.
Mrs. May: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how much has been spent on external consultancy fees involved in the (a) relocation and (b) rebranding of his Department, broken down by (i) company contracted and (ii) services provided. [147814]
Mr. Thomas: The information is as follows.
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