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10 Dec 2007 : Column 180W—continued
Peterborough Rape Crisis
Mr. Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what assessment he has made of the effect on the work of the Peterborough Rape Crisis organisation of the withdrawal of Victims Fund grant monies from 1 January 2008; and if he will make a statement; [171948]
(2) how much of the £3 million funding for specialist services for sexual crimes will be allocated to the Peterborough Rape Crisis organisation; and if he will make a statement. [171949]
Maria Eagle: I refer the hon. Member to my reply on 6 December 2007, Official Report, column 1460W.
Police National Computer
Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) on how many occasions cases involving recordable sexual offences have not been placed on the Police National Computer in (a) Leeds and (b) England and Wales; [171694]
(2) how many case conclusions involving recordable offences have so far been identified as not having been placed on the Police National Computer in (a) Leeds and (b) England and Wales; [171703]
(3) how many Leeds magistrates court employees (a) have been and (b) are the subject of disciplinary proceedings related to the (i) recording of outcomes of cases, (ii) updating of the Police National Computer and (iii) withdrawal of warrants; when such disciplinary proceedings began; and what the outcomes were of those proceedings which have been completed; [171704]
(4) pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 29 November 2007, Official Report, columns 44-46WS, on Leeds magistrates court, in what ways the Government’s 2006 guidance was breached in those cases where a warrant was withdrawn in error; [171706]
(5) how many defendants due to come before Leeds magistrates court have been identified as having had warrants wrongly withdrawn. [171728]
Mr. Straw: I refer the hon. Member to my written statement on 29 November 2007, Official Report, columns 44-46WS, on Leeds magistrates courts. Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Courts Administration has been asked to work with the chief inspectors for the constabulary and the Crown Prosecution Service, to conduct a thorough inspection and prepare a report to Ministers on the resulting and warrant processes at Leeds magistrates court.
An experienced judge, district judge (magistrates court) Tony Browne, has also been appointed to conduct an investigation of the judicial responsibilities of legal advisers at Leeds magistrates court. We have also started investigating the national processes and practices for withdrawing warrants across the CIS agencies. HMCS have also been asked to look again at the information they gathered in their pro-active national review of the effectiveness of resulting processes in magistrates courts (in January 2007), and report on any outstanding issues.
It is these inspections and investigations which should provide the reliable data of the kind sought by the hon. Member.
It would be wrong to pre-empt the outcome of those investigations. I will make a further statement to the House on the findings and facts relating to all these matters, the action that has been taken and the action that will be taken when the investigations have concluded. The inspectorate report will be published to Parliament.
Prisoners: Video Games
Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 28 November 2007, Official Report, columns 486-87W, on prisoners: video games, what criteria and guidance the Government issue to prohibit prisoners from accessing computer games which may have extreme violent, racist or sexually inappropriate themes; which games have been banned from prisons under these criteria; and if he will make a statement. [172055]
Mr. Hanson: Prison service order 1250 Prisoners Property provides guidance to governors about all items of in possession property, a copy of which has been placed in the Library. Governors prohibit any item they consider to be a potential risk to security, health and safety, or the good order or discipline of the establishment such as computer games that are of an extreme violent, racist or sexual nature. There are no central data available about which games have been prohibited by governors.
Prisons: Learning Disability
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent discussions have taken place between those responsible for the Dore programme and the Prison Service. [171974]
Mr. Hanson:
There have been no discussions that have taken place between the Prison Service and those
responsible for the Dore programme as there are no formal links with the provider. The Dore programme no longer runs at HMP Stafford or any other prison. The programme does however continue to be run independently within the community and prisoners are referred to the programme on release.
Prisons: Manpower
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the appropriateness of prison officers younger than 21 years old working in prisons where the youngest prisoners are aged 21 years. [170864]
Maria Eagle: No assessment has been made of prison officers working in prisons where the youngest prisoners are aged 21 or over, nor has this been raised formally as an issue. Out of a total of 25,303 prison officers, only 83 (0.3 per cent.) are below the age of 21.
The recruitment process for prison officers is by way of a job simulation assessment centre to assess that candidates are competent to undertake the role. If they are successful in the assessment process, they are deemed capable to work in any prison establishment.
The Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006, which came in to force on 1 October 2006, outlaw the use of minimum recruitment ages unless they can be objectively justified.
While on duty, prison officers hold the powers of a constable and currently share a common minimum recruitment age of 18 with the police services.
The minimum age requirement for prison officers was first reduced from 21 to 20 years in 1987.
Prisons: Mental Health
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what reception screening is in place for mental health needs in prisons. [172360]
Maria Eagle: All prisoners, both new prisoners and those transferred in from one prison to another, benefit from a new health screening process, introduced across the prison estate in 2004, that is designed to detect physical and mental health problems.
Work by Professor Grubin and colleagues led to the roll-out of a new two-part health screening tool, the first part intended to gather information pertinent to the addressing of immediate health concerns, and the second part intended to act as a “well woman/man” consultation, analogous to that in use in primary care settings in the wider community.
Prisoners who are identified as needing further help can be referred to a mental health in-reach team, who will arrange further assessment and follow up referral.
Reoffenders
Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 14 November 2007, Official Report, column 295W, on reoffenders, how much was spent on approved premises in each of the last five years. [171868]
Maria Eagle: The following data set out what has been spent in total on the approved premises estate in each of the last five years.
| £ | |
Sick Leave: Dismissal
David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many staff in his Department (a) were disciplined and (b) had their employment terminated as a result of a poor sickness record in each of the last five years. [163697]
Maria Eagle: The information requested is not held centrally for the former Department for Constitutional Affairs and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. However, this information is now being recorded centrally by the Ministry of Justice and figures will be available shortly.
Sickness absence can become a disciplinary issue when someone is off sick without authority (either absent from work for more than seven days without providing a doctor’s certificate or failing to ring their line manager on the day of their absence) and does not improve following a meeting and an agreed action plan.
Appropriate warning levels can be issued at any stage. Warnings are not issued because someone is unwell; they are issued for non-attendance at work, and are part of the process for managing absence. If someone were found to have misled their employers about the absence they would be dealt with under the conduct policy.
The health referral can be used at any stage, and is not a disciplinary sanction. For example, if someone had a pattern of frequent short-term absence, a referral could be done to see if there were any underlying medical problems. Similarly if someone disclosed diagnosis of a serious medical condition, a referral could be done immediately to identify any reasonable adjustments that could be made.
Within Her Majesty's Prison Service, Prison Service Order 8403 Management of Attendance Procedures contains the policy on dealing with sickness absence. A total of 2,066 members of HM Prison Service staff have been dismissed for the reason of medical inefficiency or medically retired over the last five years.
| Number | |
Within the Office for Criminal Justice Reform (OCJR) and the National Offender Management Service (NOMS), staff with a poor sickness absence record are managed under attendance management policies operated within Home Office headquarters.
Information on the number of attendance management warnings and dismissals is only available from 2005, and breaks down as follows:
| OCJR | NOMS | |
The figures are inclusive of staff disciplined and dismissed under both the long and short-term sick policies used within the Home Office.
Stafford Prison: Learning Disability
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what plans he has to extend the programme of the Dore achievement centres and the Dyslexia, Dyspraxia and Attention Deficit Disorder treatment programme within Stafford Prison to other prisons. [171975]
Mr. Hanson: The Dore programme is no longer run at HMP Stafford and there are no plans to extend the programme to any other prison. The programme does however continue to be run independently within the community and prisoners are referred to it on release.
Television: Licensing
Mr. MacShane: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) men and (b) women are serving prison sentences for non-payment of the BBC licence fee. [170269]
Maria Eagle: Non-payment for a television licence is not an imprisonable offence. Offenders are dealt with by way of a fine. Non-payment of a fine may result in a short custodial sentence. At 31 October 2007 there were no fine defaulters in prison establishments in England and Wales whose main offence was non-payment for a TV licence.
This information has been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large-scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
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