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23 Feb 2009 : Column 354W—continued
Prisoners Release
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 12 January 2009, Official Report, column 552W, on prisoners: release, how long on average it took a prisoner eligible for jobseeker's allowance upon release to receive that benefit after release in the last 12 months. [251164]
Mr. McNulty: I have been asked to reply.
The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the acting chief executive of Jobcentre Plus, Mel Groves. I have asked him to provide the hon. Member with the information requested.
The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking how long on average it took a prisoner eligible for Jobseeker's Allowance upon release to receive that benefit after release in the last 12 months. This is something that falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Acting Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
In answer to your specific question, I regret that this type of information is not routinely collected and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.
Whilst information about prisoners' claims is not collected specifically, they are included in the overall Jobseeker's Allowance claim processing target. At the end of December 2008, our Jobseeker's Allowance claims clearance rate was an average of 10.4 days, against a target of 11.5 days. Whilst January figures have not yet been confirmed, we expect them to be at a similar level.
All prisoners being released who wish to claim Jobseeker's Allowance are also able to use the Freshstart process. Freshstart involves pre-arranging a New Jobseeker Interview to claim Jobseeker's Allowance at the prisoner's home Jobcentre Plus office for as soon as possible after they are released. The customer normally has an appointment with a Jobcentre Plus Adviser within 3 days of leaving prison. The process helps to speed up the receipt of benefit and aims to ensure that the offender engages with the Jobcentre at the earliest opportunity to allow them to gain appropriate support.
In addition, those serving shorter term sentences can also take advantage of the Rapid Reclaim Process. This service is available if a prisoner reclaims benefits within 26 weeks of their last claim and their circumstances have not changed. There are simpler and shorter forms to complete and processing the benefit is eased.
Prisoners Transfers: Jamaica
Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will place in the Library a copy of the prisoner transfer agreement signed with the Government of Jamaica in June 2007. [252839]
Mr. Hanson:
The prisoner transfer agreement between the United Kingdom and Jamaica was signed in London on 26 June 2007. It will enter into force when ratified by
both the United Kingdom and Jamaica. Changes to Jamaican law are necessary before it can ratify the agreement. Once these changes have been made and Jamaica can proceed with ratification, the agreement will be laid before Parliament in accordance with the Ponsonby Rule in the normal way.
Prisoners: Elderly
Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many prisoners aged 60 years or over there were on average in each of the last 10 years; [257569]
(2) how many prisoners aged 60 or over were serving a sentence for a sexual offence on average in each of the last 10 years. [257570]
Mr. Hanson: Figures showing the total number of prisoners aged 60 and over detained in all prison establishments in England and Wales and the total number of those within the same age group serving a sentence for a sexual offence from June 1998 to June 2007 (latest available) can be found in the table.
These figures are taken from tables within the publications “Prison statistics, England and Wales” and the “Offender Management Caseload Statistics”, copies of which can be found in the House of Commons Library and which can also be found at the following website:
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.
| Population in prison establishments( 1) under sentence, by age group and offence( 2) England and Wales, June 1998 to June 2007 | ||||||||||
| Age group and offence | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 |
| n/a = Data not available. (1) Excludes police cells. (2) Includes: buggery and indecency between males; rape; gross indecency with children and other sexual offences. Notes: 1. Data for all prisoners aged 60 and over includes fine defaulters. 2. Data sources and quality—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. | ||||||||||
Prisoners: Females
Mr. Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) convicted, (b) unconvicted and (c) convicted but unsentenced (i) adult and (ii) 18 to 21 year old female foreign national prisoners are in custody in England and Wales; and how many such people are being held in custody beyond the end of their custodial sentences. [258092]
Mr. Hanson: Figures showing the numbers of female foreign national prisoners (a) untried, (b) convicted unsentenced and (c), sentenced, separately for (i) adults and (ii) young adults, detained in all prison establishments in England and Wales at 31 December 2008, can be found in the following table:
| Young adults | Adults | |
Young adults are those aged 18 to 20 and those 21-year-olds who were aged 20 or under at conviction who have not been reclassified as part of the adult population.
Information relating to the number of foreign national female prisoners who are detained beyond their custodial sentence is not available. The chief executive of the UK Border Agency has regularly updated the Home Affairs Select Committee with all of the most robust and accurate information available on the deportation of foreign national prisoners. Copies of her letters to the Committee are available in the Library of the House. She will continue to update the Committee as required.
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.
Prisons: Construction
Dr. Vis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether any land has been acquired for the construction of Titan prisons. [257471]
Mr. Hanson: The work to identify suitable sites for prison clusters is currently under way, but we have yet to confirm or purchase any sites.
Prisons: Manpower
Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the average length of service was for (a) a prison guard and (b) other staff in (i) all prisons in England and Wales and (ii) HM Prison Winchester in each of the last five years. [258029]
Mr. Hanson: The average length of service for a prison officer and other staff in all public sector establishments in England and Wales and in HM Prison Winchester in each of the last five years are detailed in the tables. Information for public and private sector prisons are shown separately.
Public sector prisons contribution
| Table 2: Average length of service for prison officers and other staff in HMP Winchester | ||
| HMP Winchester | ||
| Average length of service (years) | Prison officer | Other staff |
| Note: Includes prison officers, senior officers, principal officers in public sector Prison Service. | ||
Information on staffing figures in the contracted estate is not collated centrally and has been requested from each contractor, derived from their own human resources databases. Information has been provided from each contractor Kalyx which manages Bronzefield, Forest Bank and Peterborough; G4S which manages Parc, Altcourse, Rye Hill and Wolds; and Serco which manages Ashfield, Doncaster, Dovegate and Lowdham Grange. Information in the following tables is provided for the contracted sector equivalent of Prison Service prison officers and other staff (non-operational). The data are provided for each year since 2004.
| Table 3: Average length of service for prison officers in contracted prisons | |||||
| Prison | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 |
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