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3 Apr 2008 : Column 1187W—continued


Contracted Prisons

Information on the ratio of prisoners to each officer and prisoners to other staff for each contracted establishment in each of the last five years is provided in the following tables. The ratios given are a snapshot at the end of each financial year and the latest available date as at the end of January 2008.

Ratio of prisoners to each officer equivalent( 1) in contracted establishments
As at 31 March each year
Establishment 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

Ashfield

1.8

1.4

1.9

2.2

2.0

Altcourse

3.5

3.3

3.6

3.6

3.7

Bronzefield(2)

(5)—

2.5

2.3

2.4

2.5

Doncaster

4.4

4.4

4.5

4.5

4.2

Dovegate

5.8

5.2

6.8

4.6

4.9

Forest Bank

4.8

4,9

4.5

4.5

4.5

Lowdham Grange

n/a

3.6

3.7

3.5

3.9

Pare

3.5

3.3

3.6

3.7

4.0

Peterborough(3)

(5)—

(5)—

2.5

3.0

2.9

Rye Hill(4)

n/a

n/a

4.0

4.2

4.0

Wolds

3.4

3.5

3.2

3.8

3.3



3 Apr 2008 : Column 1188W
Ratio of prisoners to non-officer staff in contracted establishments
As at 31 March each year
Establishment 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

Ashfield

1.5

3.2

1.5

1.4

1.8

Altcourse

5.1

4.7

5.3

6.0

6.1

Bronzefield(2)

(5)—

3.5

2.9

2.7

2.6

Doncaster

3.5

3.4

3.0

3.5

3.47

Dovegate

10.3

11.5

16.6

9.7

7.1

Forest Bank

6.7

7.0

6.3

6.7

6.2

Lowdham Grange

n/a

2.9

3.0

3.4

3.9

Pare

5.5

5.1

4.8

4.9

4

Peterborough(3)

(5)—

(5)—

6.1

6.8

6.7

Rye Hill(4)

n/a

n/a

6.7

6.43

5.6

Wolds

6.5

5.7

3.7

4.6

3.7

(1) Data is provided for HMPS prison officer equivalents in the contracted prison sector, prison custody officers and senior prison custody officers.
(2) HMP Bronzefield did not open until June 2004.
(3) HMP Peterborough did not open until March 2005.
(4) Data for HMP Rye Hill prior to 2005 is not available due to archiving and could only be provided at a disproportionate cost. Information on staffing figures in the contracted estate is not collated centrally and has been requested from each contractor and is derived from their own HR database.
(5) Not Open.

Prisons

Mr. Heath: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) high and (b) medium security psychiatric beds exist in (i) prison facilities and (ii) health facilities used by the Prison Service; and how many (A) high and (B) medium security psychiatric beds were in use by prisoners in (1) prison facilities and (2) health facilities used by the Prison Service in each of the last five years. [193505]

Maria Eagle: Prisons are not designated for treatment under the Mental Health Act and there are no high or medium secure psychiatric beds in the prison estate.

In NHS units in England, for 2006-07, the latest period for which figures are available, there was an average daily number of 2,993 mental illness secure unit beds, and 516 learning disability secure unit beds(1).

Prisoners with mental disorder that meet the criteria for transfer under the Mental Health Act 1983 are transferred, as patients, to mental health facilities commissioned by the national health service.

The number of prisoners transferred in the last five years are shown in the following table.

Number

2003

786

2004

891

2005

900

2006

962

2007

926


Prisons: Wales

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what representations he has received from Wrexham County Borough Council on the provision of a prison in North Wales in the last 12 months. [197345]

Mr. Hanson: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor has received no formal representations from Wrexham county borough council on the provision of a prison in North Wales in the last 12 months. However, NOMS Custodial Estates has had discussions with Wrexham county borough council in conjunction with North Wales Criminal
3 Apr 2008 : Column 1189W
Justice Board about the possibility of sites becoming a prison development in the Wrexham area.

Property Rights: Cohabitation

Mr. Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what plans he has to respond to the Law Commission proposals to reform the property rights of cohabiting couples published in July 2007. [198691]

Bridget Prentice: I refer the hon. Member to my written ministerial statement on 6 March 2008, Official Report, column 123WS, announcing the Government’s response to the Law Commission’s paper, “Cohabitation: The Financial Consequences of Relationship Breakdown”.

Sexual Offences: Rehabilitation

Mr. Llwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what assessment he has made of the delivery of internet sex offender programmes in probation areas in Wales against delivery timetables in (a) 2005-06, (b) 2006-07 and (c) 2007-08; [197809]

(2) what assessment he has made of the delivery of community sex offenders programmes in probation areas in Wales against delivery timetables in (a) 2005-06, (b) 2006-07 and (c) 2007-08. [197866]


3 Apr 2008 : Column 1190W

Maria Eagle: National guidance to probation areas states that offenders sentenced to a community order with a requirement to attend an accredited sex offender programme should commence the group work programme by the sixth week of the order. In some cases this timetable can be altered at the discretion of the offender manager. There is no timetable for offenders on licence.

Offenders waiting for a place on the group work component of the community sex offender treatment programme or the internet offender programme are under the supervision of their offender manager from the day of sentence. Before they commence either programme a full assessment is required in order to confirm their suitability for the programme; confirm the treatment plan; and identify the modules in which they should participate. During this initial period the offender manager will monitor the risk posed by the offender and manage it. Additionally the offender manager will normally prepare offenders for the programmes by carrying out set work.

The information requested is contained in the following table. 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. The waiting times may include time that has elapsed while the offender is prepared for the programme or because an offender has been recalled to custody.

Community sex offender treatment programme Internet sex offender treatment programme
Area Data 2006-07 2007-08 2006-07 2007-08

Dyfed-Powys

Average time to start in weeks

39

20

—

—

Number of commencements

4

5

—

—

Gwent

Average time to start in weeks

33

34

—

43

Number of commencements

11

13

—

5

North Wales

Average time to start in weeks

38

44

—

56

Number of commencements

36

16

11

1

South Wales

Average time to start in weeks

55

49

63

66

Number of commencements

20

13

1

4

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