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13 Oct 2008 : Column 869W—continued
Parc Young Offender Institution
Mrs. Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when representatives of (a) his Department, (b) the Youth Justice Board and (c) the National Offender Management Service met representatives of Parc Young Offender Institution (YOI) to discuss the provision of inreach child and adolescent mental health services at Parc YOI in each of the last eight years; and when he expects such services to be provided. [226708]
Mr. Hanson: The director of HM prison and young offender institution Parc is responsible for the young persons’ custodial facility there and during the last eight years, there have been regular meetings involving representatives from the Home Office, who previously had responsibility for the contract management of Parc, my Department, the Youth Justice Board and the National Offender Management Service. The provision of in-reach child and adolescent mental health services for young people has been an important issue for discussion, and has involved the Welsh Assembly Government in respect of the devolved responsibilities for health services in Wales.
The clinical director and directorate manager of the child adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) directorate, Cwm Taf trust has been involved in work with Bridgend local health board to progress the development of mental health service provision to adolescents sent to Parc. A meeting held on 19 September was attended by representatives of Parc prison management, Parc prison health team (Primecare), Bridgend local health board, CAMHS directorate, Cwm Taf NHS trust and my hon. Friend the hon. Member for Bridgend (Mrs. Moon).
At the meeting it was agreed that a business base proposal would be developed for CAMHS provision in Parc in the form of an ‘inreach’ team similar to that currently provided by adult mental health services. It is intended that this proposal will be discussed at a forthcoming Bridgend Local Health Board Prison Health Partnership meeting for approval and will then be forwarded to the relevant NHS Wales bodies for funding and commissioning.
Mrs. Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will write to those juvenile courts which sentence young offenders to sentences at Parc young offender institution to inform them of the absence of inreach child and adolescent mental health services at that institution; and if he will make a statement. [226711]
Mr. Hanson: It is the responsibility of the Youth Justice Board to allocate placements to young people who are sentenced to custody, taking into account factors such as vulnerability, other individual needs and distance from home. The courts do not play any part in that process.
At a recent meeting it was agreed that a business base proposal would be developed for the child adolescent
mental health services (CAMHS) provision in Parc in the form of an ‘inreach’ team similar to that currently provided by adult mental health services. It is intended that this proposal will be discussed at a forthcoming Bridgend Local Health Board Prison Health Partnership meeting for approval and will then be forwarded to the relevant NHS Wales bodies for funding and commissioning.
Prisoners: Armed Forces
Mr. Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proposals his Department and its predecessor implemented since May 1997 to reduce the number of former and serving armed forces personnel sentenced to custody by the civilian courts in England and Wales; and what plans his Department has in this area. [224444]
Mr. Kevan Jones [holding answer 6 October 2008]: I have been asked to reply.
The armed forces are underpinned by a culture of discipline which is reinforced through codes of conduct. Military law supplements UK civilian law but does not replace it. The Ministry of Defence takes seriously all unlawful acts committed by service personnel, but recognises that unlawful behaviour can be indicative of wider social or mental health problems. A variety of measures are therefore in place to address such problems where they arise and to reduce the risk of former and serving personnel encountering such difficulties.
Welfare support is available for all personnel in service, for their families and for service leavers, and we have arrangements in place to identify and address mental health problems quickly where they arise. All personnel receive a mandatory briefing and a guidance pack to help their return to civilian life. Since 2006-07, those leaving service early are assessed for their vulnerability to social exclusion and offered specialist help. A pilot project is in progress to test whether mentoring would also reduce the risks that vulnerable leavers can face when leaving the armed forces. Veterans facing difficulties in their civilian lives also have access to the free Veterans helpline and the Veterans Welfare Service which can signpost to sources of advice and help.
Through the ‘Prison In-Reach’ initiative, which the Government put in place in partnership with the relevant Third Sector organisations, veterans who have offended (and their families) are made aware of the specialist support available to them, both before and after release. In addition to the improvements in mental health care during service, a new model of community-based mental health care is being piloted at six sites across the UK providing veterans with access to culturally sensitive expert care; if successful, it is intended to roll out the model more widely. In areas not covered by these pilots, veterans serving since 1982 have access to specialist mental health advice from the Medical Assessment Programme at St. Thomas’ hospital in London; this service is available to those veterans in prison whose health professions would like an expert assessment. The Ministry of Defence and National Offender Management Service are working in partnership to put in place measures to assess the current veteran offender population; this work should inform what further measures might be appropriate to help those who have served in the armed forces and to reduce offending.
Prisoners: Death
David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what steps are taken to investigate the death of a prisoner from non-natural causes on the Prison Estate; [224750]
(2) what the average cost of investigating the death from non-natural causes of a prisoner on the Prison Estate is. [224751]
Mr. Hanson: The steps taken to investigate the death of a prisoner by non-natural causes are essentially the same as for all deaths in prison custody. In every case the police are notified and will investigate. Once their investigation is concluded the prisons and probation ombudsman initiates a further independent investigation. The key elements of their investigation are:
a named investigator will lead the investigation and a family liaison officer will liaise with the bereaved family.
the investigator examines all relevant documents and policies, and will interview relevant staff and prisoners as appropriate.
the primary care trust will also carry out a clinical review of the health care provided to the person before their death.
Other required actions following any death in prison custody are set out in Prison Service Order 2710: Follow up to Deaths In Custody.
Investigations into non-natural cause deaths, particularly suspected homicides, can take much longer to complete than those into apparent natural causes because, investigations by the prisons and probation ombudsman are suspended until the police have completed their investigations.
The costs of death in custody investigations are borne centrally by the Ministry of Justice and can vary widely. The prisons and probation ombudsman estimates that the average costs of his office in 2007-08 in carrying out deaths in custody investigations, including those occurring in prisons, young offender institutions, and among the residents of approved premises, was just over £16,000 per case. Separate figures for specific types of deaths such as non-natural are not available.
Prisoners: Employment
Mr. Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the effect of the introduction during 2008 of changes to the core working day on the progress of prison establishments towards their purposeful activity key performance target. [226255]
Mr. Hanson: Following consultation with staff groups, unions, prisoners, external providers and stakeholders the Standard Core Day was introduced in the prison estate on 6 July 2008. Regular contact has been kept with the operational line throughout the implementation. A three-month review and assessment of the impact of the core day is due to begin in October 2008.
I will write to the hon. Member to inform him of the outcome of this review and will place a copy in the Library of the House.
Mr. Garnier:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many hours on average prisoners spent on (a) work, (b) other purposeful activity and (c) out of cell
each week (i) in July 2008, (ii) in July 2007, (iii) in July 2006, (iv) in July 2005, (v) in July 2004, (vi) in July 2003, (vii) on each day of the latest week for which figures are available and (viii) on each Friday of the last four months for which figures are available in each (A) adult (1) male and (2) female prison and (B) (I) male and (II) female young offender institution in England and Wales. [226258]
Mr. Hanson: The average number of weekly hours of work and other purposeful activity, per prisoner per week, for each of the months requested has been placed in the Libraries of the House due to the volume of the information. Weekday time out of cell data are collated centrally each month. Therefore, the average number of weekday hours out of cell per prisoner in each of the months requested is shown in the table that has been placed in the Libraries of the House.
Purposeful activity and time out of cell data are not collated on a daily basis. Therefore, data cannot be shown for each day of the latest week for which figures are available and on each Friday of the last four months for which figures are available.
Prisons
David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many category A prisoners are serving sentences in category B, C or D prisons. [225042]
Mr. Hanson: There are currently no category A prisoners outside the High Security Estate. The High Security Estate consists of eight prisons; Manchester, Woodhill, Belmarsh, Long Lartin, Wakefield, Whitemoor, Frankland and Full Sutton. These are the only prison establishments in England and Wales permitted to hold category A prisoners or those evaluated as provisional category A prisoners, unless the director of high security prisons approves otherwise.
David T.C. Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prison cells have en-suite showers. [225054]
Mr. Straw: The information requested is not held centrally, but I have asked that the National Offender Management Service take steps to obtain this information. I will write to the hon. Member as soon as possible.
Prisons: Crimes of Violence
Mr. Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the number of assaults upon prison officers in the course of their duties in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement. [226683]
Mr. Hanson: The following data is subject to important qualifications. The NOMS incident reporting system processes high volumes of data which are constantly being updated. The numbers provide a good indication of overall numbers but should not be interpreted as absolute. There is a slight lag in reporting which means that the provisional number mentioned here will rise a little in the coming months.
Data on incidents where one or more staff are victims are shown as follows. Figures provided are for calendar years from 2005 to end of September 2008 for comparison purposes.
| Assault incidents with staff as victim | |
| Number | |
| (1) This is for the first nine months of 2008 only. Note: From 2007, figures do not include the three prisons (Albany, Camphill and Parkhurst) where the incident recording has transferred to the NOMIS system. | |
Assault data are complex and the numbers need to be interpreted with caution. The numbers supplied refer to the number of individual assault incidents; these may also include threatening behaviour, projection of bodily fluids and other non-contact events and allegations. Information recorded as assault incidents may involve one or more victim.
NOMS and the Prison Officers Association are jointly committed to ‘zero tolerance’ on assaults on staff. The Secretary of State for Justice has written to the Attorney-General and Home Secretary, both of whom are committed to pursing a robust and consistent approach to the involvement of the police and Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in prosecuting such assaults. Along side working with the CPS and the police, enhanced guidance is also currently being developed by Police Advisers Section in NOMS headquarters on a much wider agenda of crime reporting in prisons. This guidance will address the subject of the reporting and investigation of allegations of assault on prison staff and aims to provide national consistency in classifying and responding to crime committed in prisons. The guidance will be an important step in making sure that the most serious incidents are referred to the police.
Assault information is categorised and recorded at establishment level. The recorded incidents of assaults on prison officers are not completely exclusive to officers; establishment recording sometimes includes assaults on other prison staff in this category.
Probation
Mr. Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment he has made of the likely effect of his Department’s planned efficiency savings for the Probation Service in England and Wales for 2009-10 and 2010-11 on the service’s service delivery and quality. [225867]
Mr. Hanson: Probation service budgets for 2009-10 and 2010-11 have not yet been agreed. The National Offender Management Service is developing specifications for all services delivered by the national probation service to ensure that resources are matched to priorities and offender’s needs.
Repossession Orders: Wrexham
Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) immediate and (b) suspended orders for possession have been made in mortgage possession proceedings in Wrexham County Court in the last five years for which records are available. [224621]
Bridget Prentice: The following table shows the number of mortgage possession claims issued and the number of suspended and outright orders made in Wrexham county court since 2003. However, the statistics on orders made in 2007 are not available for this court. Estimates have been produced for 2007 for Wales as a whole and these are shown in the table.
Court level statistics on mortgage and landlord repossession actions from 1987 to 2007 are available on the Ministry of Justice website at:
http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/mortgagelandlord possession.htm
These figures do not indicate how many houses have been repossessed through the courts, since not all the orders will have resulted in the issue and execution of warrants of possession.
The civil procedure rules state that all claims for the repossession of land must be commenced in the district in which the land is situated. As county courts' jurisdictions are not coterminous with the borough boundaries, any single court's repossession actions are likely to relate to homes in a number of different boroughs.
| Mortgage( 1) possession claims issued and orders made in Wrexham county court and the county courts of Wales, 2003-07 | ||||||
| Wrexham county court | Wales region | |||||
| Claims issued | Suspended orders( 2) | Outright orders( 3) | Claims issued | Suspended orders( 2) | Outright orders( 3) | |
| (1) Mortgage possession data include all types of lenders whether local authority or private. (2) The court grants the claimant possession but suspends the operation of the order. Provided the defendant complies with the terms of suspension, which usually requires the defendant to pay the current mortgage instalments plus some of the accrued arrears, the possession order cannot be enforced. (3) The court, following a judicial hearing, may grant an order for possession immediately. This entitles the claimant to apply for a warrant to have the defendant evicted. However, even where a warrant for possession is issued, the parties can still negotiate a compromise to prevent eviction. (4) The rollout of the Possession Claim On-Line (PCOL) system in late 2006 has affected the availability of court-level data on mortgage possession orders. As a result it is possible only to provide court-level figures for those courts with direct on-site PCOL access for 2007. Wrexham does not have this access and therefore the required court level data are not available. Estimated figures for Wales as a whole are shown instead. Source: Ministry of Justice. | ||||||
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