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15 Jun 2009 : Column 62W—continued
The National Probation Service, which was part of the Ministry of Justice from 2007-08, is not included as information is held locally by 42 local probation boards or trusts and can be collated only at disproportionate cost.
The Ministry of Justice is fully committed to achieving compliance with the Prime Minister's target of paying suppliers within 10 days and is a signatory to the Prompt Payment Code. During May 2009, the Ministry of Justice and its agencies paid 92 per cent. of invoices received within the 10-day target. This level of performance should ensure that interest to suppliers under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 is greatly reduced for the current financial year.
Departmental Drinking Water
Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much his Department has spent on water coolers in each of the last two years. [278148]
Mr. Straw: The expenditure on water coolers by the Ministry is stated in the following table:
| £ | |
HM Courts Service data are not held centrally and can be collated only on a regional basis at disproportionate cost.
Data on water cooler expenditure by the National Offender Management Service are held locally by prisons and probation boards/trusts and can be collated only at disproportionate cost.
The accounting records of the Tribunals Service do not allow for the separate identification of expenditure on water coolers except at disproportionate cost.
Departmental Official Hospitality
Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much his Department has spent on (a) conference services and (b) banqueting services in each of the last three years. [278665]
Mr. Straw: Expenditure on conference services by the Ministry of Justice, comprising headquarters and executive agencies (the National Offender Management Service (NOMS), Her Majesty's Courts Service, the Tribunals Service and the Office of the Public Guardian), since its inception is as follows:
| Financial period | £ |
The amounts above exclude expenditure by the 42 local probation boards and trusts within NOMS as this information is held locally and could be collated only at disproportionate cost.
The Ministry's predecessor Department, the Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA), incurred the following expenditure on conference services:
2006-07: £3,119,893.
The DCA was a smaller department which did not include the National Offender Management Service or the Office for Criminal Justice Reform which were part of the Home Office prior to 2007-08.
The growth in expenditure on conferences reflects the increasingly cross-cutting nature of government policy. Conferences represent an effective mechanism for bringing together stakeholders in the Government, private and voluntary sectors to promote a joined up approach to the delivery of front-line services.
Bookings for conferences and related expenditure must be made through designated contractors employed by the Ministry of Justice to identify venues and accommodation that offers best value for money.
The Ministry of Justice and the Department for Constitutional Affairs have no record of any expenditure on banqueting services in the last three years.
National Offender Management Service: Training
Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what training is provided for first line managers in the National Offender Management Service; [278557]
(2) how many first line managers in the National Offender Management Service have been offered appropriate training; and how many and what proportion of first line managers in the National Offender Management Service have undertaken this training; [278558]
(3) what plans for further training the National Offender Management Service has for first line management. [278559]
Maria Eagle: National Offender Management Service (NOMS) probation leadership and management development at first line manager level has to date largely been delivered at a local level in areas and trusts, through training consortia or areas and according to local need. A full audit and review of management development on the probation side is currently being undertaken through NOMS headquarters to inform planning for future delivery. In the interim, all NOMS managers (probation and prisons) have access to the NOMS tool, “My Leadership Potential”, a new e-learning management development package launched in April 2009. This provides an opportunity for managers to develop their skills and knowledge on a self-managed learning basis. In addition, first line management development activities are run locally by some probation areas and trusts according to need.
Data on how many and what proportion of probation first line managers have undertaken training has not historically been collected centrally, as first line management development has largely been organised and delivered locally. The current audit and review will provide information on which to base decisions on future interventions.
On the prisons side, the standard offering is the level 3 award in first line management, the introductory certificate in management, which has been offered to all first line managers since 2005. Until April 2009, all first time, first line managers with line manager support were eligible for this programme. In the region of 500-600 have participated annually during this time. This represents on average approximately 45 per cent. of the total number of newly promoted first line managers on an annual basis and 12-14 per cent. of the total number of first line managers. In April 2009, the programme was temporarily closed pending review of continuing fitness for purpose and an updated version or a comparable level 3 nationally accredited programme will be re-launched in October 2009.
With regard to plans for further training and development, on the probation side, the audit and review will provide information on which decisions will be made about future interventions. For prisons, the appropriate level 3 programme will be launched in October 2009.
Prisons: Mental Health Services
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what evaluation has been made of the (a) effectiveness and (b) cost-effectiveness of the Dangerous and Severe Personality Disorder Programme in (i) enhancing public safety and (ii) improving the health of people subject to it. [279063]
Maria Eagle: The Dangerous and Severe Personality Disorder (DSPD) programme has two linked evaluations. The first, focusing on treatment offered and responses to treatment, is being carried out by the University of Oxford. It is due to report to the stakeholder Departments, the Ministry of Justice and the Department of Health, by the end of this year. The second, concerned with staffing and organisation, is by Imperial College. It is due to report in the first quarter of 2010. These two studies will provide a preliminary assessment of effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the DSPD programme, including the health of those subject to the programme and the potential implications for public safety.
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent assessment he has made of the merits of putting the Dangerous and Severe Personality Disorder Programme on a statutory footing. [279064]
Maria Eagle:
There are no plans to change the statutory basis of the Dangerous and Severe Personality Disorder programme. Patients assessed and treated in the units at Broadmoor and Rampton hospitals are detained under
the Mental Health Act. Prisoners assessed and treated in the units at Frankland, Whitemoor and Low Newton prisons are serving sentences of imprisonment.
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people have been treated under the Dangerous and Severe Personality Disorder Programme in each year since 2001 in (a) Broadmoor Hospital, (b) Rampton Hospital, (c) HMP Whitemoor, (d) HMP Frankland and (e) HMP/HMYOI Low Newton; and how long the average length of stay in each of those units was. [279065]
Maria Eagle: Table 1 shows the average number of offenders subject to the Dangerous and Severe Personality Disorder programme per financial year.
Table 2 shows the average length of stay as of 31 March 2009. The figures for Low Newton may be unrepresentative as the unit has only been open since September 2007. These data were also available for the four male sites for the previous year (31 March 2008), as shown in Table 3, but not for any site for earlier years.
| Table 1. Average number of offenders subject to the DSPD programme per financial year | ||||||
| April to March | ||||||
| 2003 - 04 | 2004 - 05 | 2005 - 06 | 2006 - 07 | 2007 - 08 | 2008 - 09 | |
| (1) As the Frankland unit did not open until June 2004, this average only represents the final 10 months of the financial year. Note: The Low Newton DSPD unit opened in 2007, however the occupancy data were only available from April 2008 onwards. Data were not available for Rampton or Frankland DSPD units in the earliest financial years as these units were not yet open. The figures for the first four financial years were calculated on the basis of monthly figures. However, from April 2007 onwards data have been collected on a quarterly basis. | ||||||
| Table 2. Average length of stay for those accepted on the DSPD units as at 31 March 2009 | ||
| Unit | Mean stay (days) | Mean stay (years) |
| Table 3. Average length of stay for those accepted on the DSPD units as at 31 March 2009 | ||
| Unit | Mean stay (days) | Mean stay (years) |
Prisons: Mobile Phones
Mr. Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many mobile telephones were found as a result of searches in prisons in England and Wales in 2008. [279842]
Maria Eagle: Prisons in England and Wales are asked to send mobile phones and SIM cards they find to a central unit for analysis. In 2008, 8,062 mobile phones and SIM cards were analysed. This figure includes items discovered within prison perimeters and on entry to establishments.
We believe that this figure may understate the actual number of finds because it does not include items retained by the police for evidential purposes, and because in some instances prisons have not sent items for analysis. NOMS is putting in place new procedures to ensure that we have a more comprehensive picture in future. While the numbers of phones found indicates the scale of the challenge in tackling illicit mobile phones, it is also a reflection of prisons' increasing success in finding them and better reporting.
NOMS is implementing a strategy to minimise the number of phones entering prisons, and to find or disrupt those that do enter. As part of the strategy, prisons are being provided with technologies to strengthen local security and searching strategies, in line with the recommendations in the Blakey report, “Disrupting the Supply of Illicit Drugs into Prisons”, published in July 2008. This includes the roll out of BOSS chairs to all prisons, and the deployment of other detection and disruption technologies, including mobile phone signal blockers.
We have also strengthened the law, through the Offender Management Act 2007 (implemented in April 2008), which makes it a criminal offence with a punishment of up to two years' imprisonment to bring an unauthorised mobile phone or component part into a prison.
Probation Officers: Redundancy
Mr. Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the number of Probation Service (a) officers and (b) other staff in Lancashire who will be made redundant in (i) 2009-10, (ii) 2010-11 and (iii) 2011-12. [280029]
Maria Eagle: Lancashire Probation was awarded trust status with effect from 1 April 2009 and has no plans to make any employees redundant in the current financial year. In terms of future staffing levels the trust will make decisions about both the size and mix of the workforce once budgets are allocated for the financial years 2010-11 and 2011-12.
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