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6 Dec 2007 : Column 1464W—continued

Mr. Gummer: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners who have absconded from HM Prison Hollesley Bay in the last six years remain at large. [169094]

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Maria Eagle: Statistics are not available for the year 2002-03, however the information held by the establishment of those for whom there is no record of recapture is as follows.

	Absconds remaining at large.
2002-03	n/a
2003-04	4
2004-05	5
2005-06	3
2006-07	0
2007-08(1, 2)	2
(1 )To end September. (2) Figures recorded for 2007-08 are provisional and subject to change.

Passports: Fraud

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many persons were convicted of false
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passport or false identity document offences in each of the last two years; and of those how many and what percentage have been given custodial sentences. [170469]

Maria Eagle: The information requested covering selected offences for the years 2005 and 2006 is provided in the following table.

The data provided do not cover all prosecutions for possession or production of false identity documents as some defendants found guilty of these offences can be prosecuted under the Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981 or the Theft Acts 1968 and 1978. Data on prosecutions for these offences have not been provided as data on prosecutions brought under these Acts cannot separately identify whether false documents were involved in the crimes committed.

A percentage cannot be provided due to the method of recording.

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Number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts, found guilty at all courts, sentenced and of those sentenced, the number sentenced to immediate custody for offences related to false passports and related documents, England and Wales 2005 and 2006( 1, 2, 3)
Offence description	Principal statute	Year	Proceeded against	Found guilty	Sentenced	Of which: Immediate custody
Identity Cards Act 2006	With intent knowingly possessing or falsely or improperly obtaining another’s ID document	2006	587	437	484	462
Identity Cards Act 2006	With intent making, possessing or having under control apparatus or article or material designed or adapted for making false ID cards	2006	8	7	9	9
Identity Cards Act 2006	Possessing or controlling a false or improperly obtained ID card or which relates to another or apparatus etc. for making false ID cards	2006	133	81	55	46
Immigration Act 1971 S.26A(3)(a), (b), (d), (e), (f) and (g) and (5) as added by Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 S.148	Registration Card (making, using or attempting to use a false registration card; altering or attempting to use a registration card; making article designed to be used in making false registration card or altering card)	2005	4	3	3	3
		2006	12	9	8	5
Immigration Act 1971 S.26A (3) (c) and (h) and (6) as added by Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 S.148	Registration Card (having false registration card in possession; having article within para. (f) or (g) in possession without reasonable excuse)	2005	5	3	4	2
		2006	6	6	6	4
Being unable to produce an immigration document at a leave or asylum interview in respect of himself	Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants) Act 2004 S.2(1 )(9)	2005	473	428	385	378
		2006	490	499	533	525
Being unable to produce an immigration document at a leave or asylum interview in respect of a dependent child	Asylum and Immigration (Treatment of Claimants) Act 2004 S.2(2)(9)	2005	14	22	32	31
		2006	14	14	21	20
Non citizen entering UK without leave	Immigration Act 1971 section 24 (1) (a)	2005	43	33	24	22
		2006	75	63	38	31
Having possession or any passport, certificate of entitlement, entry clearance, work permit or other document made under or for the purpose of the Immigration Act 1971 which is known or is reasonably believed to be false	Immigration Act 1971 section 26 (1) (d)	2005	9	5	7	5
		2006	12	17	16	14
(1) These data are on the principal offence basis. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the police. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (3) The found guilty column can exceed the number proceeded against and the number sentenced can exceed both those proceeded against and found guilty when a proceeding took place in a different year to conviction or sentencing, or when a defendant is found guilty for a different offence to the one for which proceedings were originally brought.

Prisoners

Mr. Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether his Department has had discussions with Ofcom on the security implications of the radio broadcast of messages aimed at prisoners; and if he will make a statement. [171323]

Mr. Hanson: No. The granting of licences to radio stations, and the conditions of those licences, are matters for Ofcom, though official level contacts may be made in relation to specific broadcasts if concerns are raised.

Prisoners Release

Nick Herbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners have been released on End of Custody Licence who did not fit the criteria for release. [169629]

Mr. Hanson: Between 29 June 2007 and 31 October 2007 11,100 prisoners have been released under End of Custody Licence (ECL). Of this total NOMS has identified six prisoners released who did not meet the eligibility criteria and were therefore released in error. A further two cases have been identified where the prisoners met the eligibility criteria but were released on ECL earlier than they should have been.

Five of the eight errors were reported in the ECL monthly reports published on the Ministry of Justice website. Three errors were confirmed after the ECL report was published on 30 November 2007. They will be included in the report to be published at the end of December.

We are committed to ensuring that as few errors occur as possible and we will keep processes under review to minimise these.

Prisoners’ Release

Lynne Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when his Department will (a) resume work on the review of Prison Service Order 6300 and the arrangements governing Childcare Resettlement Licence and (b) consult organisations acting on behalf of prisoners on this policy; and if he will make a statement. [171103]

Mr. Hanson: A review of Prison Service Order 6300 Release on Temporary Licence began in the spring of 2007. An internal survey of women’s prisons was conducted but further progress, including consultation with external stakeholders, has been halted due to other pressing priorities.

Work will commence again when resources permit and relevant stakeholders, including organisations acting on behalf of prisoners, will be consulted to ensure the review balances the needs of prisoners and their families as well as public confidence in the administration of justice.

Prisoners: Females

Nick Herbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many women in prisons in England and Wales are held (a) more than 50 miles and (b) more than 100 miles from the sentencing court. [172123]

Mr. Hanson: Distance from court area for sentenced women prisoners is set out in the following table:

Distance	Women prisoners( 1)
Up to 50 miles	1,639
50 to 100 miles	830
Over 100 miles	769
(1 )As at 19 September 2007.

159 women prisoners had no recorded court or home address.

Information on sentencing court addresses is not available for every prisoner and where not available home area addresses have been used as a proxy.

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Nick Herbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the (a) certified normal accommodation and (b) total capacity available to house women prisoners was in each year since 1997. [172124]

Mr. Hanson: The information requested is set out in the following table:

	Certified normal accommodation	Operational capacity
1997	2,688	2,772
1998	3,091	3,269
1999	3,240	3,496
2000	3,524	3,763
2001	3,713	3,964
2002	4,493	4,828
2003	4,611	4,924
2004	4,743	5,052
2005	4,996	5,294
2006	4,759	4,996
2007	4,676	4,876

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