Supplementary written evidence from the
Northern Ireland Prison Service
NIPS BACKGROUND PAPER ON COST PER PRISONER
PLACE (CPPP)
INTRODUCTION
The current NKPS Cost Per Prisoner Place Target
(CPPP) is one of a number of targets agreed with HM Treasury by
the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) in the 2004 Spending Review
as part of the overall Public Service Agreement (PSA) for the
Department. It was designed as a relatively simple target to measure
improvements inthe efficient operation of the organisation over
a period of time. Put simply, it divides the broad costs of running
the organisation by the number of available cells, to come up
with a single figure. The current target was to achieve a CPPP
of £82,500 by 2007-08 with interim targets of £86,290,
for 2005-06 and £85,250 for 2006-07.
SETTING THE
TARGET
This measure is calculated by taking the resource
expenditure out-turn, as set out in the Statutory Accounts each
financial year, and dividing it by the Certified Normal Accommodation
(CNA), which repreents the number of available staffed prisoner
places during the same financial year. In Northern Ireland, the
entire cost of the Prison Services is included in the calculation,
including Headquarters costs.
The out-turn last year was in excess of the
target for the first time since NIPS gained Agency status in 1995.
However had the accommodation envisaged in 2004 been built, the
CPPP would again have been met, as noted on page 50 of the Annual
Report for 2006-07. It may e helpful to note that the actual forecast
costs for 2007-08 are significantly below those anticipated when
the target was set and agreed in 2004.
The key elements for the target for the current
year are set out below, although it must be noted they are only
provisional.
| Forecast Outturn 2007-08 £k
| Per SR04 2007-08 £k |
| Resource Expenditure | 138,758
| 140,993 |
| Less: | |
|
| Inquiry Costs | 1,980
| |
| Prison Service Trust Grant | 290
| |
| Healthcare Costs | 5,469
| |
| Adjusted Resource Exp | 131,019
| 140,993 |
| CNA | [1,567] | 1,709
|
| CPPP | 83,611 | 82,500
|
| | |
Although the forecast is showing a higher out-turn than the
CPPP at this stage, NIPS has a detailed delivery plan to meet
the target if at all possible.
COMPARISON WITH
OTHER ORGANISATIONS
The CPPP has also been used to measure the performance of
the NIPS against other similar organisations, in particular HMPS
in England and Wales. While the target does have some validity
in assessing year on yer improvements within the organisation,
it now has less validity when used to compare performance with
others. Each Prison Service is unique—HMPS is a very large
organisation with almost 150 different prison establishments.
With only three sites, NIPS faces significant challengers in dealing
effectively and economically with the diverse population of prisoners.
Moreover in Northern Ireland the calculation is made using
different elements to that in England and Wales, as a recent detailed
benchmarking exercise with the England and Wales Prison Service
demonstrated. HMPS do not include the cost of the headquarters
function. Second, a number of costs that the NIPS meets internally
are funded by other organisations in England and Wales, including
healthcare, education, and probation. Finally the targets are
calculated using different measures of resource expenditure.
CPPP is no longer used in England and Wales as the primary
measure of organisational performance. HMPS have introduced a
suite of performance measures not unlike the balanced scorecard
approach, which NIPS is now assessing. Feedback suggests that
this suite of measures is more useful in driving and measuring
improvements in performance and efficiency.
WHY NORTHERN
IRELAND IS
DIFFERENT
There are many factors that serve to increase the differential:
(a) NIPS has only three prison establishments so the opportunities
for financial economies and service flexibility have been significantly
reduced;
(b) the headquarters funcion is required to deliver the
same range of functions as our English and Welsh counterparts
but the proportionate costs are more;
(c) the complexity of Maghaberry that houses more than
50% of the total prison population, but with five categories of
prisoner; the whole prison operates effectively as a high risk
prison;
(d) the element of separated prisoners, which increases
running costs (mostly staff related);
(e) the legacy that during the "Troubles" staff
received higher salaries due to the increased risks, and in addition
the staffing levels required to manage this population effectively
were significantly higher than elsewhere. (As the Committee is
awre, both of these issues are being addressed through the recent
Pay and Efficiency Package agreed with the POA).
The CPPP targets set as part of SR2004 were predicted on
(a) the delivery of a large capital building programme and (b)
the delivery of a staff reduction in (c) the face of no significant
growth in prisoner population. However the main element—a
new block at Maghaberry—in the building programme was postponed
to facilitate a strategic review. Annex A contains the out-turn
against CPPP targets in the three SR04 years.
Northern Ireland Prison Service
August 2007
Annex A
COST PER PRISONER PLACE FOR 2004-05 AND SR04 YEARS
| 2004-05 Target
£k
| 2004-05 Actual
£k | 2005-06 Target
£k
| 2005-06 Actual
£k | 2006-07 Target
£k
| 2006-07 Actual
£k | 2007-08 Target
£k
| 2007-08 Forecast Actual £k |
| Expenditure | 124,981 | 119,826
| 137,028 | 128,333 | 135,803
| 135,718 | 140,993 | 131,019
|
| CAN | 1,440 | 1,394
| 1,588 | 1,494 | 1,593
| 1,503 | 1,709 | [1,567]
|
| CPPP | 86,800 | 85,935
met
| 86,290 | 85,900
met |
85,250 | 90,298
not met |
82,500 | [83,611] |
| | |
| | | |
| |
|
