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Prisons: Manpower

Mr. Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prison officers at each (a) prison and (b) young offender institution have been suspended in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and how many of those suspended were subsequently (i) convicted of an offence, (ii) disciplined and (iii) dismissed. [290754]

Maria Eagle: The disciplinary process in the National Offender Management Service (NOMS), including authority for suspending staff from duty, is devolved to a local level.

While historical information concerning the outcome of formal disciplinary cases is held centrally within NOMS, these records do not indicate whether or not the member of staff concerned was suspended from duty during the course of the disciplinary proceedings. A summary of the numbers of centrally recorded dismissals and other disciplinary penalties for each of the last five years is provided in the following table:

	2004-05( 1)	2005-06( 1)	2006-07( 1)	2007-08( 1)	2008-09( 1)	Total
Dismissal	73	80	88	44	32	317
Other penalty	223	311	360	254	222	1,370
Total	296	391	448	298	254	1,687
(1) Covers the period 1 September through 31 August 2009.

Information about staff suspensions has only been recorded centrally since October 2007. In order to provide the detailed information requested, we would need to contact all public sector Prison Service establishments and ask them to check their paper records. This would incur disproportionate cost.

Prisons: Violence

Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) prisoner-on-prisoner and (b) prisoner-on-staff assaults involving weapons of each type there were in 2008. [291410]

Claire Ward: The administrative IT system holding this data is currently being reconfigured and I therefore will write with the information as soon as possible.

Probation

Jenny Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many and what proportion of offenders under probation supervision were (a) in employment and (b) living in settled and suitable accommodation at the end of their order or licence (i) in total and (ii) in each of the smallest geographical areas for which figures are available in each year since 2000; and if he will make a statement. [291189]

Maria Eagle: The figures requested are available for 2008-09 and 2009-10 only and are shown in tables.

Employment is known to be a key factor in helping to reduce re-offending. The Government's aim therefore is to improve the quantity and quality of offender learning to provide more offenders with the skills and motivation to turn away from crime, improve their employability, and become productive members of society.

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NOMS is actively engaging with employers to create employment opportunities for offenders both in prison and on release. The Government are committed to expanding this programme significantly.

The Government recognise the contribution that having a stable home makes to the rehabilitation of offenders and the reduction of re-offending. The National Offender Management Service is working in partnership with other Government Departments, local authorities and housing providers to deliver public service agreement (PSA) 16, which includes a commitment to raising the proportion of offenders under the supervision of the
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probation service that are in suitable and stable accommodation at the end of their supervision.

Performance against employment targets in 2009-10 has shown a decline compared to 2008-09, but this must be seen in the context of the economic downturn. The current economic climate has exacerbated the disadvantages already faced by offenders in the jobs market. However, we remain committed to maximising employment opportunities for offenders and we are working with probation areas to ensure they retain their focus on performance.

Table 1: Offenders in employment at termination of order/licence 2008-09
Probation area	Number of offenders in employment	Number of terminations (orders and licences)	Percentage in employment	Target (percentage)
Avon and Somerset	713	1,714	42	40
Bedfordshire	405	781	52	40
Cambridgeshire	276	543	51	40
Cheshire	666	1,389	48	40
Cumbria	325	639	51	40
Derbyshire	595	1,259	47	40
Devon and Cornwall	627	1,518	41	40
Dorset	449	879	51	42
Durham	534	1,175	45	40
Dyfed Powys	313	668	47	40
Essex	1,040	1,963	53	40
Gloucestershire	568	1,180	48	40
Greater Manchester	2,856	6,670	43	40
Gwent	404	914	44	40
Hampshire	1,105	2,239	49o	40
Hertfordshire	666	1,153	58	40
Humberside	717	1,725	42	40
Kent	1,198	2,466	49	40
Lancashire	1,175	2,713	43	40
Leicestershire	829	1,633	51	40
Lincolnshire	397	777	51	40
London	3,015	7,896	38	40
Merseyside	1,001	2,713	37	40
Norfolk	270	738	37	40
North Wales	335	730	46	40
North Yorkshire	429	817	53	40
Northamptonshire	412	838	49	40
Northumbria	780	1,809	43	40
Nottinghamshire	672	1,690	40	40
South Wales	511	1,551	33	40
South Yorkshire	756	1,944	39	40
Staffordshire	818	1,658	49	40
Suffolk	334	732	46	40
Surrey	469	850	55	40
Sussex	865	1,773	49	40
Teesside	423	1,363	31	40
Thames Valley	1,170	2,183	54	40
Warwickshire	335	663	51	40
West Mercia	663	1,359	49	40
West Midlands	2,205	5,518	40	40
West Yorkshire	1,218	2,782	44	40
Wiltshire	365	685	53	45
National total	32,904	74,290	44	40

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