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11 Dec 2008 : Column 299W—continued
Legal Services Ombudsman
Mr. Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many cases the legal services ombudsman has dealt with in each of the last five years; how many of these have found in favour of the individual making the complaint; and if he will make a statement. [240550]
Bridget Prentice: In 2004, 1,327 reports were issued—502 were in favour of the complainant.
In 2005, 1,928 reports were issued—634 were in favour of the complainant.
In 2006, 1,866 reports were issued—578 were in favour of the complainant.
In 2007, 1,777 reports were issued—555 were in favour of the complainant.
In 2008 (up to 30 November 2008), 1,820 reports were issued of which 512 were in favour of the complainant.
National Offender Management Service: Finance
Mr. Duncan Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much the National Offender Management Service has cost in each year since its inception. [240699]
Mr. Hanson: The creation of the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) was announced in January 2004. The Resource and Capital expenditure outturn (DEL and AME) in each year are given in the following table.
Figures for 2004-05 to 2006-07 are taken from the Ministry of Justice Departmental Report 2007-8. Figures for 2007-08 are derived from the Ministry of Justice Annual Accounts 2007-08
The figures reflect the structure of NOMS before the creation of the new NOMS Agency from 2008-09.
| £ million | ||
| Resource | Capital | |
National Offender Management Service: Manpower
Mr. Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many are employed in the National Offender Management Service Head Office; and how many of these are former employees of the (a) probation and (b) prison service. [240455]
Mr. Malik: 4,270 staff are employed in National Offender Management Service Headquarters. Of these, 113 transferred from the National Probation Service, 742 transferred from the former National Offender Management Service HQ, and 3,415 from the Prison Service Headquarters.
Mr. Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many persons have been seconded from (a) the Probation Service and (b) the Prison Service to work in the National Offender Management Service’s headquarters. [241332]
Mr. Malik: There are currently 98 probation service staff on secondment into the National Offender Management Service headquarters. Prison Service staff share the same terms and conditions as other directly employed staff working in the National Offender Management Service headquarters and are therefore not on secondment.
Open Prisons: Prisoner Escapes
Mr. Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many absconds there were from open prisons in England and Wales in each of the last 24 months; and how many offences were committed by such offenders while unlawfully at large. [242062]
Mr. Hanson: Levels of absconding have been falling steadily for some years now and are currently at their lowest levels since central recording of these data began in 1995. The following table shows the numbers of prisoners absconding from prisons in England and Wales in each of the last 24 months and numbers of further offences committed while unlawfully at large.
| Prisoners absconding from prisons in England and Wales and number of further offences committed while unlawfully at large | ||
| Month | Total prisoners absconding | Further offences committed while unlawfully at large |
These figures have been drawn from live administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system.
Figures on absconds and a range of other prison performance statistics are also available at:
Prevention of Corruption Act 1906
Mr. Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1906. [241161]
Maria Eagle: The Government believe the current law on bribery, including the Prevention of Corruption Act 1906, is functional but fragmented and needs to be brought up to date. We announced in the Legislative Programme our intention to publish a draft Bribery Bill this Session which would replace the existing Prevention of Corruption Acts. We are currently assessing the Law Commission's report on ‘Reforming Bribery’ that was published on 20 November 2008.
Prisoners: Crimes of Violence
John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what programmes were operating in prisons in relation to prisoners who were serving sentences for hate crimes at the latest date for which information is available; [241319]
(2) what (a) funding and (b) other assistance his Department is providing to the Anne Frank Trust for its projects involving offenders in prison and young offenders institutions in 2008-09; [241320]
(3) what programmes his Department has put in place to work with those convicted of hate crime to reduce their levels of re-offending; [241321]
(4) what programmes his Department has put in place to work with those people for whom hatred or racism played a part in their crime to reduce their re-offending; [241322]
(5) which (a) prisons and (b) probation services have established programmes to reduce rates of re-offending amongst individuals imprisoned for hate crimes. [241323]
Mr. Hanson: The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) offers a range of accredited programmes for offenders based on their specific behavioural needs as well as other activities such as education, work, resettlement and training. The programmes are accredited to be responsive to the diverse needs of offenders. There are no accredited offending behaviour programmes targeted specifically at offenders who have been convicted or are serving sentences for crimes where hate or racism was an aggravating factor. Many of the existing accredited programmes address risk factors found in such offenders.
Some establishments and probation areas also deliver non-accredited programmes which are agreed locally to meet a particular need. Information on all these courses is not currently collated centrally. NOMS is aware that Merseyside, West Yorkshire and London probation areas have developed local packages to address issues around hatred and racially motivated offending.
NOMS is currently undertaking a census of non-accredited programmes delivered in custody and the community, which will show the number and type of programmes available for hate crime offenders. Following the census, there will be a programme of work to assess the benefits of certain interventions in addressing particular types of offending. Locally developed programmes that tackle hate crime are likely to fall into scope for such a review.
Work with the Anne Frank Trust has been agreed locally by some prisons and young offender institutions to meet particular needs. Details of the funding arrangements and nature of the assistance provided are not centrally recorded.
Prisoners: Rehabilitation
Mr. Duncan Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners are receiving housing advice in preparation for resettlement. [240692]
Mr. Malik:
All offenders in custody in England and Wales have access to housing advice in preparation for their release. All prisons that release offenders provide
advice and assistance (over 130 prisons) in seeking new accommodation for those offenders who are in housing need. Additionally, all offenders entering custody have their accommodation status assessed within the first four days of custody to signpost further assistance where necessary.
Mr. Duncan Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what re-settlement support is made available by his Department to prisoners seeking employment. [240698]
Mr. Hanson: The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) works in partnership with the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and Job Centre Plus (JCP), and is engaged with employers nationally, regionally, and locally to offer training and employment to offenders.
Job Centre Plus have employment and benefit advisers located in most prisons to provide prisoners with advice and information about employment opportunities available on release, and can arrange an appointment with a new claims adviser prior to release. Prisoners can also be fast tracked on to the New Deal employment programme.
NOMS recognises that it is more difficult for offenders to find employment if they have problems accessing accommodation and financial services. We are currently working with key stakeholders to explore and formally pilot initiatives such as accessing bank accounts whilst in custody, rent arrears payment schemes and preventing accommodation loss.
The Ministry of Justice also has established a corporate alliance of over 100 employers working to maximise employment opportunities for prisoners prior to and on release.
Prisons: Alcoholic Drinks
Mr. Duncan Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners were engaged in alcohol-related intervention programmes in 2007-08, broken down by method of intervention. [241081]
Mr. Hanson: The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) does not collate figures centrally on the number of prisoners accessing services specifically aimed at their alcohol misuse.
A range of interventions are available in prisons to support those with an alcohol problem:
clinical services—alcohol detoxification is available in all local and remand prisons;
where alcohol is part of a wider substance misuse problem, the full range of drug interventions are available;
a number of prisons run alcohol awareness courses;
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) run groups in around 67 per cent. of prisons;
some offending behaviour programmes address the underlying factors which occur in alcohol related crime;
an accredited 12-step alcohol programme is being run at HMP Bullingdon;
a further four more intensive interventions Cognitive Behavioural Alcohol Programmes are being piloted at HMP Hull, Forest Bank, Glen Parva and Chelmsford;
for those prisons(ers) involved in the roll-out of the Integrated Drug Treatment System (IDTS) a 90 minute alcohol awareness session has been developed; and
the young persons substance misuse service for 16 to 18-year-old prisoners has a particular focus on alcohol.
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