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21 Apr 2008 : Column 1878W—continued
Prisoners: Police Custody
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many prisoners have been held in police cells (a) in total and (b) in each police force area since the start of 2008; and if he will make a statement; [193017]
(2) how many times police cells have been used to house prisoners overnight under Operation Safeguard in 2008 to date, broken down by police force; and if he will make a statement. [200117]
Mr. Straw: This year, up until the night of 27/28 March, prisoners have been held in police cells under Operation Safeguard on 12,122 occasions, which equates to an average of 139 prisoners per night. An occasion is one prisoner night. The following table breaks this down by police force areas.
| Police area | Occasions | Average number in Safeguard per night( 1) |
| (1) Based on number of nights in 2008 that Safeguard was available to 27/28 March | ||
Police cells were used to hold prisoners regularly from 1982 until 1993 and from 1994 to 1995, and use peaked when more than 1,000 prisoners a night were being regularly held in police cells in 1988 and in 1990-92 (based on end of month data).
Prisoners: Rehabilitation
Mr. Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when he plans to introduce dedicated funding for alcohol misuse treatment services in all prisons. [199689]
Mr. Hanson: A range of interventions to support those with an alcohol problem are already in place as follows:
clinical services (alcohol detoxification and health care support), available in all local and remand prisons, as well as some young offender institutions;
Alcoholics Anonymous run groups in 67 per cent. of prisons;
where alcohol is part of poly-drug misuse, (counselling, assessment, referral, advice and throughcare (CARAT) services) are available in all prisons with the exception of Blantyre House prison;
for those prisoners benefiting from the roll-out of the Integrated Drug Treatment System (IDTS), a 90 minute alcohol awareness session has been developed;
a 12-Step programme is being piloted at Bullingdon prison; and
the Young Persons Substance Misuse Service for 16 to 18-year-olds provides support for those with both alcohol and drug problems in 18 prisons.
There are no current plans to introduce dedicated funding for alcohol misuse treatment services in prisons.
Prisoners: Training
David Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the (a) initial contract value and (b) outturn in each year since establishment was of each contracted-out secure training centre. [199710]
Mr. Hanson: The information requested is commercially sensitive and may not be disclosed.
David Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the cost was of each (a) place and (b) offender in each contracted-out secure training centre in each year since establishment. [199711]
Mr. Hanson: The Youth Justice Board has been responsible for overseeing the contracts for the four secure training centres (STC) since 1 April 2000. Data are available from that date. The pricing mechanism is not based on the cost-per-young-person, but on cost-per-available-place. Detailed cost information is commercially sensitive, but the average annual cost of a secure training centre place, excluding VAT, is set out in the following table:
| Financial year | Average cost per place at a secure training centre (£) |
| Source: Data provided by the Youth Justice Board from financial systems. | |
David Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what liquidated damage clauses there are in each contract of each contracted-out secure training centre (STC); how many times those clauses were used in respect of each STC in each year since establishment; and how much was paid by each centre in each year. [199712]
Mr. Hanson: There are liquidated damages clauses in each secure training centre contract. Hassockfield, Rainsbrook and Oakhill secure training centres all made liquidated damages payments in their first year of operation. Payments are set out in the following table:
| Establishment | Year of opening | Liquidated damages payments (£) |
| Source: Data provided by the Youth Justice Board. | ||
Prisons: Cells
Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many prisoners held in a cell designed for two cellmates shared their cell with two others in (a) 2006-07 and (b) 2007-08; and if he will make a statement; [199886]
(2) how many prisoners held in a cell designed for one inmate shared their cell with one other in (a) 2006-07 and (b) 2007-08; and if he will make a statement. [199887]
Mr. Hanson: The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) is in the process of collating a complete set of figures for 2007-08 at present. The following tables show the average number of prisoners reported as being doubled in cells certified to hold one person and trebled in cells certified to hold two persons, for 2006-07 and 2007-08 to the end of February. Data for 2007-08 remain provisional.
| Financial year | Number of prisoners trebling up in cells designed for two |
| Financial year | Number of prisoners doubling up in cells designed for one |
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