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15 Jan 2008 : Column 1210W—continued
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.
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the average cost of a new prisoner place in a new building; and if he will make a statement. [179077]
Mr. Hanson: The capital cost of building each new prisoner place is dependent on the type of accommodation constructed. The following table shows the current approximate capital cost per place for different construction types.
| Construction type | Capital cost per place( 1) (£) |
| (1) Public sector prisons. | |
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what projection has been made of the prison population in 2020; and if he will make a statement. [179095]
Mr. Hanson: No prison population projections have been made for 2020. The latest published prison population projections, which cover the period 2007-14, were published in August 2007 (“Prison population projections 2007-2014 England and Wales”, N. de Silva, et al, Ministry of Justice, 2007). A copy is available in the Library of the House. When the methodology for projecting the prison population was developed (“Forecasting the prison population”, P. Grove, J. Macleod and D. Godfrey, OR Insight, 11(1), 1998, pp. 3-9) seven years was the period chosen as a reasonable period for the projections. The further into the future a projection is made, the less accurate it becomes.
Prisoners Transfers
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many managed moves were authorised by Michael Spurr, Deputy Director General of HM Prison Service, in (a) 2004, (b) 2005 and (c) 2006; what proportion of these involved (i) male, (ii) female, (iii) white and (iv) ethnic minority personnel; and if he will make a statement. [175630]
Maria Eagle: All managed appointments of operational senior managers in the Prison Service are authorised by the Succession Planning Committee chaired by the deputy director general. Michael Spurr was appointed deputy director general in December 2006, therefore the figures for managed moves in the years in question include those overseen by the previous DDG. The number of managed appointments authorised in the years in question are as follows:
| Male | Female | White | Ethnic minority | Total | |
These figures do not cover all managed appointments within the service as the SPC oversees only operational senior managers.
To place this in context, the composition of operational senior managers as of 31 December 2007 broken down by gender and ethnicity, is as follows:
| Number | |
Prisoners: Foreigners
Nick Herbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many foreign national prisoners serving sentences of less than 12 months have a court recommendation for deportation. [174904]
Maria Eagle: The following table shows the number of defendants for whom a judicial recommendation for deportation was issued at their trial or sentence hearing in the Crown court in England and Wales. This covers the last five calendar years for which data are available.
| Defendants with judicial recommendations for deportation in the Crown court 2002-06 | |
| Number | |
Of the 1,882 defendants issued with a judicial recommendation for deportation in the Crown court in 2006, 1,422 were sentenced to at least 12 months imprisonment. Therefore 24 per cent. (460) of those recommended for deportation in the Crown court in 2006 were sentenced to less than 12 months or given a non-custodial sentence.
The above figures include defendants who were tried in the Crown court, as well as those who were committed for sentencing by the Crown court following summary trial in a magistrates court. Separately, there were a further 18 recommendations for deportation made in cases disposed of in the magistrates courts in 2006. However, the maximum possible custodial sentence that can be handed down in the magistrates courts is six months.
Prisoners: Muslims
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether any faith-based organisations make weekly visits to Muslim inmates in HMP Highpoint. [177077]
Maria Eagle: There is one faith-based organisation which makes weekly visits to Highpoint. Muslim mentors from a scheme based at a London mosque visit two or three prisoners on a weekly basis. The aim of this scheme is to help resettle Muslim offenders into their community and is available to prisoners who are due to resettle in the London area.
David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what schemes are in place in prisons in England and Wales aimed at preventing Muslim inmates being exposed to extremist (a) views and (b) indoctrination. [177078]
Maria Eagle: The Prison Service is delivering a programme of work to address the risks associated with violent extremism and radicalisation in prisons including: training and awareness raising for staff; intelligence gathering; and enhancing faith provision through Muslim chaplains. Decisions on the management of individual prisoners are taken on a case-by-case basis.
Prisoners: Self-Mutilation
Nick Herbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners in open prisons have been judged as posing a (a) high and (b) very high risk of causing serious harm. [174905]
Mr. Straw: Only prisoners classified as category D, the lowest security category, and thus assessed as presenting a low risk, are eligible for open conditions.
In the case of offenders sentenced to indeterminate sentences, they may be placed in open conditions only on a recommendation of the Parole Board, which has been accepted by the Secretary of State.
In either case, offenders will only be placed in an open prison following an individual and rigorous risk assessment. In all cases, the protection of the public is paramount.
The National Offender Management Service now also uses the Offender Assessment System (OASys) to assess the risk of serious harm presented by offenders. Probation officers have been undertaking OASys assessments for relevant offenders already placed in open prisons, following the risk assessment processes that were in place at the time.
As at 9 January, there were no offenders in open prisons who were assessed on the OASys system as very high risk of serious harm and 280 who had been assessed as high risk of harm.
Prisoners such as those who are now being assessed as high or very high risk on OASys have been successfully managed in open conditions for many years and open prisons provide an ideal environment to prepare prisoners for the transition from custody to management in the community.
It should also be noted that, for those prisoners who are subject to Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements, release plans are in place to address risk to the public when the prisoner reaches their release date, and open prisons provide an ideal bridge between custody and management in the community.
Prisons
Mr. Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the cost of (a) the land and sites for and (b) the building of the three titan prisons announced on 5 December 2007; and whether funding to cover these costs has been allocated to his Department. [178559]
Mr. Hanson: The cost of the land and sites for the Titan prisons has been estimated at £122 million, and funding for this has been provisionally earmarked.
The cost of construction of the Titan prisons has been estimated to be around £350 million each at 2007-08 prices.
As I informed the Joint Select Committee on 17 December 2007 the cost of building and operating the Titan prisons, which will be post 2011 spending review period, will be subject to the usual Comprehensive Spending Review processes.
Rehabilitation: Young People
Mr. Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will discuss with the Secretary of State for Defence the provision of training programmes by the armed services for young people as an alternative to court (a) proceedings and (b) sentences under (i) voluntary and (ii) court-ordered arrangements; and if he will make a statement. [178438]
Mr. Hanson: We will be consulting with a range of organisations which have an interest in youth justice and the provision of youth justice services as part of the Youth Crime Action Plan which will be published in the summer.
Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform
British Franchise Association
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what assessment he has made of the British Franchise Association’s compliance with the European code of ethics for franchising. [178013]
Mr. Timms: The Department has made no assessment of the British Franchise Association’s (BFA) compliance with the European code of ethics for franchising. The BFA is a voluntary body, and its compliance with the code is a matter for the association.
Mr. Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what recent representations he has received on the British Franchise Association’s mediation in disputes with its members. [178014]
Mr. Timms: The Department has received no such representations.
Business: Inspections
Mr. Lilley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform when inspectors' reports into (a) Graylaw Holdings Ltd, (b) Link Service Stations Ltd, (c) British Anzani plc, (d) Bank Street Securities Ltd, (e) Medway Secondary Metals Ltd and (f) Pennine Commercial Holdings plc were completed; and what plans he has to publish the report in each case. [177063]
Mr. McFadden: The inspectors' reports into Graylaw Holdings Limited, Link Service Stations Limited and Bank Street Securities Limited were all completed on 26 July 1996; the report into British Anzani plc was completed on 28 November 1986, the report into Medway Secondary Metals Limited was completed on 21 October 1987 and the report into Pennine Commercial Holdings plc was completed on 26 July 1996. There are no plans to publish the reports; in 1996 the Secretary of State concluded that publication was not justified.
Carbon Sequestration
Gregory Barker: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how carbon capture and storage technology will be considered in Government negotiations on the clean development mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol. [175420]
Mr. Woolas: I have been asked to reply.
The Government believe that carbon capture and storage forms an important part of the portfolio of mitigation options needed to tackle climate change. Carbon finance, channelled through instruments such as the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), offer a useful incentive to this technology, notably in key developing countries. In international negotiations, the UK has consistently argued, through the EU, that such projects should be considered under the CDM.
Governments agreed at the Second Meeting of Kyoto Parties (COP/MOP2) that after the opportunity to consider outstanding issues at the recent meeting in Bali, we should seek agreement this year in Poznan to a decision providing guidance to the CDM Executive Board. We will continue to press at the Fourth Meeting of Parties (COP/MOP4) for a decision clarifying how the board should consider such projects.
Certification Officer: Expenditure
Mr. Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the Certification Officer's expenditure was on (a) hospitality and (b) travel in the latest year for which figures are available. [179235]
Mr. McFadden: In 2006-07, the Certification Officer spent (a) £65 on hospitality and (b) £3,183 on travel and subsistence for himself and his staff.
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