| Previous Section | Index | Home Page |
30 Jun 2009 : Column 175W—continued
Pleural Plaques
Mr. Clapham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will publish the medical reports the Government has requested from the (a) Chief Medical Officer and (b) Industrial Injuries Advisory Council as part of its consultation on pleural plaques. [283503]
Bridget Prentice: The Government commissioned reviews of the medical evidence on pleural plaques from the chief medical officer and the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council alongside their consultation paper on pleural plaques. I have deposited copies of these two reports in the Libraries of both Houses.
The Government received 224 responses to their consultation paper. A full summary of the responses will be published together with the Government’s response to the consultation as soon as possible.
Prisons: Drug Abuse
Mr. Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what guidance his Department has issued on drug abuse and treatment for drug abuse in prisons; and whether he plans to revise that guidance. [282623]
Maria Eagle: The National Offender Management Service's Interventions and Substance Misuse Group provides guidance to prison staff and prisoners about drugs misuse and treatments. This includes various prison service orders and instructions, manuals, booklets, leaflets, videos, DVDs and toolkits.
All of the guidance provided by Interventions and Substance Misuse Group is regularly reviewed and revised in order to provide the most recent best practice and advice in the substance misuse field. The manuals associated with accredited drug treatment programmes are reviewed annually and revised additions are promulgated throughout the prison estate.
The revised NOMS Drug Strategy was published In June 2009. The strategy includes a comprehensive list of supporting guidance documents. Additionally, the strategy's accompanying communication strategy "Getting the Message Across" includes an Interventions and Substance Misuse Group Approved Drug Publications list for prisons and details suitable guidance produced by other agencies relevant to drugs misuse and treatment. Getting the Message Across includes a commitment to review the composition of the list annually and identify gaps to be filled. A copy of the NOMS Drug Strategy and its supporting papers is available in the House of Commons Library and online at
Prison Sentences
Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Hazel Grove of 16 June 2009, Official Report, columns 256-64W, on prison sentences, how many of the 14 prisoners recalled following release from an indeterminate sentence for public protection were recalled for alleged re-offending; and what the (a) original offence and (b) alleged further offence was in each case. [282533]
Mr. Straw: There are five cases where the recall was for alleged reoffending as shown in the table. It is for the independent Parole Board to determine whether an offender sentenced to an indeterminate sentence of imprisonment for public protection should be released once his tariff has expired.
| Index offence | Alleged reoffending |
Prison Service: Probation
Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many staff with a background in (a) the Prison Service and (b) the Probation Service are employed in the Offender Management Group of the National Offender Management Service. [282399]
Maria Eagle: The Offender Assessment and Management Group currently has 34 staff in post of whom 11 are on secondment from the probation service. Four staff in the group have a background in HMPS one of whom has also worked in the probation service. Of the remaining 19, one has previously served in the probation service.
Prisoners
Mr. Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many times in each prison in England and Wales (a) police have been called in to the prison and (b) arrests have been made in the prison following violence, disorder or other incidents in each of the last 12 years; and what the reason for the (i) request for police attendance and (ii) arrest was in each case. [282425]
Maria Eagle: Data on police attendance at prison incidents are only recorded by the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) for incidents of concerted indiscipline and hostage taking. Data on arrests are only recorded by NOMS for drug related incidents, bomb threats, firearm related incidents and breaches of perimeter security. None of these data can be produced in the form requested without incurring disproportionate cost.
Prisoners: Foreigners
Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many foreign national prisoners serving indeterminate sentences for public protection have been released upon the expiry of their tariff in each of the last five years. [282671]
Mr. Straw: There have been two releases of foreign national prisoners serving indeterminate sentences of imprisonment for public protection since 4 April 2005. They were released after expiry of their tariff on the direction of the independent Parole Board, one in 2007 and one in 2009. Both were deported on release.
Prisoners: Personal Property
Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to the answer to my hon. and learned Friend the Member for Harborough (Mr. Garnier) of 8 July 2008, Official Report, columns 1526-28W, on prisoners: personal property, what the equivalent figures for 2008-09 are. [282553]
Mr. Straw: A breakdown of the compensation the National Offender Management Service has paid, during 2008-09, to prisoners for damaged or lost property is set out as follows. In obtaining the information the National Offender Management Service does not distinguish between prisoners’ lost or stolen property.
| 2008-09 | Number of cases | Compensation (£) |
Prisons: Training
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what training prison staff receive in (a) offender management, (b) parole assessment and (c) risk assessment. [282380]
Maria Eagle: Training provision does not fall into these specific categories. However, training for prison staff covering these areas is provided by the following courses: Introduction to Risk Assessment and Management (IRAM), Managing Indeterminate Sentencing and Risk (MISaR) and Offender Assessment System (OASys).
In 2010, it is proposed to introduce a formal training programme for HM Prison Service offender supervisors covering all aspects of offender management.
Prisons: Mental Health Services
Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many psychologists were employed by (a) HM Prison Service in (i) 2001 and (ii) 2004 and (b) the National Offender Management Service in 2008. [282401]
Maria Eagle: There were 343 full-time equivalent psychologists employed in the Prison Service on 31 March 2001, 518 in 2004 and 653 across the National Offender Management Service in 2008. These figures include associated workers, who are involved with programmes but are not psychologists. Psychological assistants are not included.
Prisons: Probation
Mr. Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice who the members are of the Programme Support Audit Group within the Interventions and Substance Misuse Group of the National Offender Management Service; and which of them have a (a) prison and (b) probation background. [282402]
Maria Eagle: There are 13 staff in the Programme Support and Audit team within Interventions and Substance Misuse Group including eight operational and five administrative staff. All are from a prison background. The names of the staff concerned have not been included to respect the rights of the individuals concerned.
Probation
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the principal duties are of probation staff seconded to work in jails in England and Wales. [282381]
Maria Eagle: Probation staff of varying grades may be seconded to prisons in the public and private sector under service level agreements (SLA) between the governor of each establishment and the chief officer of the local probation area. Each SLA is negotiated and tailored to meet the needs of each establishment.
The duties of seconded probation staff therefore vary according to the SLA and the grade of the officer. However, they typically centre on offender management, including the assessment and management of risk; preparation for release; and the determination of licence conditions. Seconded probation staff may also deliver or manage accredited programmes in the prison.
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many probation staff who have been seconded to prisons in England and Wales have had those secondments cancelled. [282516]
Maria Eagle: Probation staff working in prisons in the public and private sector are supplied under service level agreements (SLA) between the governor or director of each establishment and the chief officer of the local probation area. Each SLA is negotiated and tailored to meet the needs of each establishment. The requirement for probation staff both in respect of grade and overall number is subject to annual review.
Information on the number of probation officers working in prisons under such arrangements are not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
Mr. Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many serious offences in each category of offence were committed by offenders on court-order probation supervision in each of the last five years; [282672]
(2) how many serious offences in each category of offence were committed by offenders on post-release probation supervision in each of the last five years. [282673]
Mr. Straw: The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) holds data on the number of offenders convicted of serious further offences for the years 2006-07 and 2007-08, recorded in accordance with the requirements of probation circulars 8/2006 and 41/2006.
The following table contains a break-down, by type of supervision, of those offenders convicted of serious further offences, who were included in the Offender Management Caseload Statistics (OMCS) 2007 for 2006-07 and 2007-08. NOMS does not hold this information for 2004-05 and 2005-06. I will send the hon. Gentleman the breakdown by supervision type in respect of the 2008-09 figures (and updated figures for 2007-08) after OMCS 2008 has been published on 31 July 2009.
It should be noted that the figures are based on the year in which NOMS was notified that the offender was charged with the serious further offence, not the year in which the offender were subsequently convicted. The table includes the probation caseload figures for 2007 and 2008, for reference.
| Next Section | Index | Home Page |