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23 Oct 2007 : Column 284Wcontinued
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice for how much (a) South Wales police, (b) Gwent police, (c) Dyfed Powys police and (d) North Wales police have invoiced his Department to cover costs incurred under Operation Safeguard since 31 March; what the dates of those invoices were; and if he will make a statement. [158976]
Mr. Hanson: The following table provides the dates covered and amounts paid in respect of invoices submitted by Gwent and Dyfed Powys police forces to cover costs incurred under Operation Safeguard since 31 March. We have not received any invoices from South Wales or North Wales police forces since 31 March 2007.
Police force | Dates covered | Total |
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many places are planned to become available at each prison establishment through the opening of (a) existing, but non-functional, and (b) new wings; and if he will make a statement. [159437]
Mr. Hanson: There is a planned rolling programme of refurbishment of accommodation across the prison estate. This allows the critical maintenance of the estate to be undertaken whilst having no significant net change on the number of places in use.
Over 1,100 new prison places have been delivered this year to date. This includes the conversion of a former secure hospital to a prison, Kennet, and expansions at the following prisons:
Lowdham Grange
Featherstone
Garth
Channings Wood
Altcourse
The Mount
Stocken
Planning permission has been granted for around 4,300 places at the following sites:
Acklington
Belmarsh East (new cluster prison on existing Belmarsh site)
Brinsford
Bullingdon
Coldingley
Dovegate
Haverigg
Highdown
Hindley
Lewes
Lindholme
Long Lartin
Maghull (new prison in Merseyside)
Nottingham
Parc
Portland
Rochester
The locations of the remaining places to be delivered as part of the new capacity building programmes are still subject to final decisions.
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many cells in the prison estate are not in use; and if he will make a statement. [159711]
Mr. Hanson: At the end of September there were 1,650 places out of use in the prison estate to allow critical maintenance to be undertaken. These places may be located in single cells, double cells or shared rooms. This information is published monthly on the Prison Service website.
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 12 September 2007, Official Report, column 2095W, on prison accommodation: Wales, if he will list the potential sites in Wales which are being investigated as possible sites for new prison development. [160158]
Mr. Hanson: The publication of potential sites at this stage of the process would lead to unnecessary speculation as most will eventually be discounted once the investigations have been completed. A shortlist of sites will be published once all of the site investigations have been assessed.
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many staff are suspended from duty within HM Prison Service; what estimate he has made of the cost of these suspensions; and if he will make a statement. [159433]
Mr. Hanson: The public sector Prison Service does not currently hold detailed central records of all staff suspensions. This information is recorded at a local level. The Service does, however, monitor suspensions which have exceeded three months' duration and has done so since March 2006.
Detailed records of all suspensions could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the longest period is for which a member of staff of HM Prison Service has been suspended (a) at the current time and (b) at any time; what the estimated cost is of such suspensions; and if he will make a statement. [159435]
Mr. Hanson:
In the public sector Prison Service, details of long-term suspensions have only been collated centrally since March 2006. Establishments and groups submit records of long term suspensions to
headquarters on a monthly basis. According to Septembers records, the longest period for which a member of staff has been suspended at the current time is 518 days. In this particular case, the internal investigation was delayed pending the outcome of criminal proceedings. The estimated salary cost associated with this suspension is £45,000.
Historical data are not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how much was spent on special bonus payments to staff in the Prison Service between 1 April and 30 September; [159681]
(2) which Prison Service workplaces made special bonus payments to staff between 1 April and 30 September; how many staff at each workplace of each (a) sex, (b) grade and (c) ethnicity received payments; and what the nature was of the work undertaken to attract each payment. [159686]
Mr. Hanson: Figures for the current financial year are not available. However, the data requested that relate to last year are shown in the following tables. The specific reason for each award is not recorded.
The total amount spent by the public sector Prison Service on special bonuses between 1 April and 30 September 2006 was £293,000.
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