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8 Oct 2007 : Column 194W—continued
Foreigners: Prisoners
Mr. Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many foreign nationals were imprisoned in each of the last five years in England and Wales. [153312]
Bridget Prentice: The figures requested are in the following table:
| Immediate custodial sentenced receptions into prison establishments 2001-05 | ||||
| British nationals | Foreign nationals | Unrecorded nationality | Total | |
The figures provided in this table are for the number of sentenced receptions into prison establishments in England and Wales in each of the years in question and not the total prison population held in each of the years. The word “imprisoned” is taken to mean the numbers placed in prison under sentence during the 12-month period in each year, not the total numbers held in prison (including prisoners on remand and non-criminal prisoners), which would be answered by prison population figures(1).
These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
(1 )The figures provided should not be interpreted or used to reflect totals for prison population or total prison capacity.
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many foreign former prisoners were housed in young offender institutions on 20 July 2007. [154026]
Mr. Hanson: Comprehensive data in the form necessary to answer the question is not available on the electronic case management system. The information would need to be gathered from the paper files held on each prisoner and this would involve disproportionate cost.
Mr. Gauke: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the cost was in 2006-07 of providing free telephone calls to foreign national prisoners. [155723]
Mr. Hanson: Prisoners, whether UK citizens or foreign nationals, with close family living abroad receive a free five minute phone call once a month if they have not had a social visit in the preceding period. There is no centrally held information about the cost of free calls nor locally of the breakdown between UK citizens and foreign nationals. Therefore, it is not possible to provide this information. Each establishment pays for such calls from their local budget, and costs are dependent on the number of eligible prisoners as well as the country they wish to call.
House of Lords: Reform
John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent discussions he has had with cabinet colleagues on proposals for legislative reform of the House of Lords. [156074]
Mr. Straw: I will reply to the hon. Gentleman as soon as possible.
Human Trafficking
Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many safe houses there are in the UK for victims of human trafficking; and how many trafficking victims these safe houses accommodated in each of the last five years. [155302]
Maria Eagle: The Government have funded the Poppy project to provide support to adult women trafficked for sexual exploitation since 2003. Poppy has 35 bed-spaces across London and an outreach service. The project accepts referrals from across the United Kingdom. Women who apply for asylum continue to be supported by the project but are accommodated through Asylum Support. Additionally, there are a number of independently funded voluntary organisations that are able to accommodate and support victims of human trafficking for sexual exploitation.
The following table details the number of women supported through the Poppy project in the last five years. Information on the number of women supported by the independently funded voluntary organisations is not held centrally.
| Support and accommodation | Outreach support | |
Judicial Communications Office for England and Wales: Information Officers
Mr. Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many press officers are employed by the Judicial Communications Office for England and Wales. [154434]
Bridget Prentice: The Judicial Communications Office for England and Wales has two press officer posts. The junior appointment is a job-share.
Legal Aid
Mr. Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the rate of legal aid has been since 1997; how much has been spent on legal aid in each year since 1997; and how many hours of legal aid work have been provided in each such year. [155449]
Maria Eagle: The expenditure on legal aid in cash terms during each of the financial years since 1997-98 is set out in the following table.
| £ million | |
Legal aid is paid at a wide range of different rates reflecting the variety of cases funded under different schemes within the Criminal Defence Service (CDS) and Community Legal Service (CLS). Details of the
rates currently payable for the various categories of legal aid are available on the Legal Services Commission's website.
It is not possible to state the number of hours of legal aid work carried out in each year since 1997, as this is not centrally recorded. By January 2008 the vast majority of legal aid work will be remunerated on a ‘ per case’ basis rather than by the hour, reflecting the progressive extension of fixed and graduated fees over recent years.
Offenders: Deportation
Mr. Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 17 July 2007, Official Report, column 270W, what the Department’s estimated timescales are for the completion of the procedures referred to with (a) Jamaica, (b) Nigeria and (c) Pakistan. [154189]
Bridget Prentice: The United Kingdom has concluded prisoner transfer agreements with both Jamaica and Pakistan. The Agreement with Jamaica was signed in London on 26 June 2007; the Agreement with Pakistan was signed in Islamabad on 24 August 2007. Before these agreements come to force each country must complete their respective constitutional procedures.
In the United Kingdom this means that the text of the agreements must be laid before Parliament for 21 consecutive sitting days. It is intended that the Agreements with Jamaica and with Pakistan will be laid before Parliament when it reassembles after the summer recess.
Jamaica has not yet completed changes to its domestic legislation but UK officials in Kingston are following up progress with the Jamaican Ministry of National Security and the Attorney-General’s Office.
The Agreement with Pakistan has only recently been signed. We do not yet know what domestic procedures are necessary to enable the Pakistani Government to ratify it. The British High Commission will take this forward with the Pakistani Government.
Negotiations with Nigeria are ongoing. It is not possible to say when they will be concluded.
Parc Prison
Mrs. Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if the Minister with responsibility for prisons will meet the hon. Member for Bridgend and a group of interested parties to discuss the case for a footpath to be built from the A4061 to Parc Prison. [154085]
Mr. Hanson: I have arranged for my hon. Friend and interested parties to meet with prison representatives of HMP YOI Parc to discuss the case for a footpath to be built. A representative of HMP YOI Parc will contact my hon. Friend's constituency office to arrange this.
Parole
Mr. Bellingham:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the cost implications of the Court of Appeal ruling that prisoners should be compensated when they are
detained beyond the date on which they are eligible for parole; what estimate he has made of the number of prisoners who may fall within the terms of this ruling, broken down by period of detention beyond eligibility for parole; what steps he is taking to ensure that HM Prison Service ends this practice; and if he will make a statement. [154342]
Mr. Hanson: Her Majesty's Prison Service Annual Report and Accounts 2006-2007 details parole performance for the fiscal year 2006-07. Of those prisoners awarded parole, only 3 per cent. were subject to late release due to administrative delays. This is lower than in previous years and the Government are committed to ensuring that no prisoner is detained in prison beyond their parole eligibility date due to administrative delays.
Personal Records: USA
Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will make a statement on the Passenger Name Record system and the agreement with the US for the handing over of personal data; what restraints or limitations of use or storage of such data (a) are binding under the agreement and (b) are expected by the agreement but are not binding; and if he will make a statement. [156065]
Mr. Hanson: The European Union, on 23 July 2007, and the United States of America, on 26 July 2007, signed an agreement on the processing and transfer of Passenger Name Record (PNR) data by air carriers to US authorities. The new agreement, which is binding, is in three parts:
(i) an agreement signed by both parties;
(ii) a letter which the US sent to the EU in which it sets out assurances about how the US handles the collection, use and storage of EU PNR data; and
(iii) a letter from the EU to the US acknowledging receipt of the assurances and confirming that it considers the level of protection of EU PNR data in the US as adequate.
The main features of the agreement and the accompanying letter are:
The purposes for the transfers are unchanged and are for preventing and combating (1) terrorism and related crimes; (2) other serious crimes, including organised crime, that are transnational in nature; and (3) flights from warrants or custody for crimes described above. PNR may be used where necessary for the protection of the vital interests of the data subject or other persons, or in any criminal judicial proceedings, or as otherwise required by law.
Data will be retained for seven years in an operational status and for a further eight years in a non-operational status. The new agreement imposes stringent conditions that it may be accessed only with the approval of a senior DHS official designated by the Secretary of Homeland Security and only in response to an identifiable case, threat or risk.
Sensitive personal data will be filtered out and will not be used by the DHS, except in exceptional cases where life is at risk. The DHS will maintain a log of any access to sensitive data and will inform the European Commission normally within 48 hours.
The Government believe that this agreement balances the need to prevent and combat crime with the need to provide data protection safeguards for UK passengers.
A copy of the agreement and the exchange of letters was published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 4 August 2007.
Prison Accommodation
Mr. Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average total certified normal accommodation was of the prison estate in England and Wales in each year since 1997. [154784]
Bridget Prentice: The following table shows the average in use certified normal accommodation (CNA) of the prison estate in England and Wales for each year since 1997.
| In use CNA | |
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