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3 Nov 2009 : Column 905W—continued
Data prior to 2003-04 are not available. This statement is available from the Library of the House.
The Ministry of Justice will be consulting on the publication of data in respect of offenders who reoffend while on licence in due course.
Secure Accommodation: Young Offender Institutions
Dr. Vis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the statutory authority is for placing children in secure training centres; and if he will make a statement. [296968]
Maria Eagle: Secure training centres were established by the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, and the Youth Justice Board (YJB) was established by the Crime and Disorder Act 1998.
The Youth Justice Board for England and Wales Order 2000 (SI 1160) amended the function of the YJB to include the authority to place young people into custody, including secure training centres, on behalf of the Secretary of State.
Secure Accommodation: Young Offenders
Mr. Rob Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what secure accommodation provision is in place for juvenile offenders from (a) Reading, (b) Berkshire and (c) the South East. [295939]
Maria Eagle: There are no establishments in the under-18 secure estate in Reading or Berkshire. The Youth Justice Board commissions 941 beds in London and the South East comprising:
Cookham Wood Young Offenders Institution
Downview Young Offenders Institution
Feltham Young Offenders Institution
Huntercombe Young Offenders Institution
Oakhill Secure Training Centre
Medway Secure Training Centre
Swanwick Lodge Secure Children's Home
Theft: Sentencing
Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the (a) maximum and (b) minimum sentence is for the offence of the theft of a purse. [296662]
Mr. Straw: The maximum penalty for theft is seven years' imprisonment. There is no minimum penalty.
Young Offenders: Education
Mr. Rob Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what educational assessments are carried out on each young offender entering each young offender institution, with particular reference to Reading Young Offender Institution. [295936]
Maria Eagle: The Learning and Skills Council (LSC), which commissions learning delivered in pubic sector prisons in England, requires its providers to assess an individual's basic skills level, particularly in numeracy, language and literacy, if assessment has not already taken place. The outcomes of the assessments are used to place offenders in appropriate learning.
Reading prison and young offender institution undertakes this assessment as part of the induction programme for young offenders which also includes screening for dyslexia. In addition an individual diagnostic assessment is undertaken by tutors for offenders joining classes to improve literacy and/or numeracy in order to determine the individual's current level so that learning can be further tailored to individual requirements.
Young Offenders: Self-Harm
Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many young offenders in custody (a) committed suicide and (b) self-harmed in each of the last five years. [296444]
Maria Eagle: The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) collects data on self-inflicted deaths and self-harm for young offenders who are held in prison custody, and not for those held in secure training centres (STCs) and secure children's homes (SCHs). These establishments are the responsibility of the Youth Justice Board and local authorities respectively. Numbers of prisoner suicides and incidents of self-harm are collated from the NOMS incident reporting system in prisons.
Tables 1 and 2 give the numbers of self-inflicted deaths and self-harming individuals respectively involving young offenders in prison custody for the years 2004 to 2008. The term "Young Offenders" covers young people aged 15 to 17 and young adults aged 18 to 21.
| Table 1: Recorded numbers of self-inflicted deaths of young offenders, 2004 to 2008 | |||||
| Age group | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2001 | 2008 |
NOMS' definition of self-inflicted deaths is broader than the legal definition of suicide and includes all deaths where it appears that a prisoner has acted specifically to take their own life. This inclusive approach is used in part because inquest verdicts are often not available for some years after a death (some 20 per cent. of these deaths will not receive a suicide or open verdict at inquest). Annual numbers may change slightly from time to time as inquest verdicts and other information become available.
| Table 2: Recorded numbers of young offenders who have self-harmed for 2004 to 2008 | |||||
| Age group | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 |
| Note: These are approximate numbers of individuals, based on incidents of self-harm where the prisoner number was recorded. Recorded self-harm is a high volume incident. The data are drawn from the prison administrative IT 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. Nevertheless, the system provides a sensible indication of the numbers of incidents and individuals who self-harm but the numbers should not be treated as absolute. | |||||
Every death in prison is a tragedy, and affects families, staff and other prisoners deeply. Ministers, the Ministry of Justice and the National Offender Management Service are committed to learning from each death and to reducing the number of such incidents. Good care and support from staff save many lives, but such instances go largely unreported. Prisons successfully keep safe in any given month approximately 1,500 prisoners assessed to be at particular risk of suicide or self harm. Deaths in prisons are among the most scrutinised of all incidents and each case is subject to a police investigation and
independent investigation by the prisons probation ombudsman. Robust systems are in place for monitoring deaths and learning from them.
All prisoners identified as at risk of suicide or self-harm, including young offenders, are cared for using the assessment, care in custody and teamwork (ACCT) procedures. This is a prisoner-focussed care planning system for those at risk. Most self harm is not directly life threatening, but nevertheless can be extremely distressing for those who have to deal with it. There are no easy answers to managing self-harming behaviour but we remain committed to finding ways to reduce it.
Health
Accident and Emergency Departments: Greater London
Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assessment he has made of the additional specialties required to provide the range of services to be offered at the proposed major trauma centre of St Mary's, Paddington; which of these specialties are available at the Royal Free Hospital; and if he will make a statement; [296582]
(2) what assessment he has made of likely changes to the provision of accident and emergency services at (a) Barnet Hospital, (b) the Royal Free Hospital and (c) Northwick Park Hospital following the entry into operation of the proposed new major trauma centres; and if he will make a statement; [296584]
(3) what assessment he has made of the likely change in the services to be provided at (a) the Royal Free Hospital and (b) Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals following the entry into operation of the proposed hyperacute stroke units in London; and if he will make a statement. [296585]
(4) what additional specialties are required to be established at the sites of each of the proposed major trauma centres in London; by what date such specialties will have been provided at each proposed site; and if he will make a statement; [296592]
(5) what date he has set for implementation of the proposed (a) hyperacute stroke centres and (b) major trauma centres in London; and if he will make a statement; [296593]
(6) what progress has been made on the implementation of the plan for (a) hyperacute stroke units and (b) major trauma units; what steps the London Ambulance Service has taken to amend its provision of services in advance of the implementation of such units; and if he will make a statement. [296594]
Mr. Mike O'Brien: This is a matter for NHS London and I have passed the question to the chief executive with a request to write to my hon. Friend.
Accident and Emergency Departments: Waiting Lists
Chloe Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average length of wait for treatment for a patient arriving at the Norfolk and Norwich University Trust Accident and Emergency facility was in (a) May, (b) June, (c) July, (d) August, (e) September and (f) October 2009. [296021]
Mr. Mike O'Brien:
Information on average waiting times in accident and emergency (A&E) facilities is not collected centrally. Trusts submit information on time
spent from arrival to admission, transfer or discharge in hourly time bands. This information for Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust accident and emergency facilities is shown in the following table. This information is taken from the Quarterly Monitoring of Accident and Emergency dataset originally published on 14 August 2009 and revised 18 August 2009.
| Department type | Time bands (Hours) | Total attendances |
In the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, during the first quarter of 2009-10, there were a total of 31,385 attendances at accident and emergency facilities, and 99.11 per cent. of those patients were admitted, transferred or discharged less than four hours after arrival.
Aortic Aneurysm
Andrew Mackinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many (a) hospitals and (b) general practices provide ultra sound screening for aortic aneurysms, with particular reference to screening for men over 60 years old; and if he will make a statement. [297482]
Ann Keen: Information about the number of hospitals and general practices providing ultra sound screening for aortic aneurysms is not held centrally.
Since the ministerial announcement in January 2008 of an Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Screening Programme for men aged 65, six early implementation sites are now offering screening to national standards. These are: West Sussex, Leicester, Gloucester, South Manchester, South Devon and Exeter, and South West London.
Full implementation of the screening programme across England is expected by the end of 2012-13.
Blood: Contamination
Mr. Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health by what date he plans to implement those recommendations in the Archer Report on contaminated blood and blood products which the Government have accepted. [297298]
Gillian Merron: The Government's response to Lord Archer's report was published on 20 May 2009. Implementation to date of the Government's response to the report is as follows:
Recommendation 1 (A committee to advise the Government on the management of haemophilia)-the first meeting with the Haemophilia Alliance will be held on 20 November 2009. Representatives from the Health Departments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and a member from the independent advisory committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs (SaBTO) have been invited to attend.
Recommendations 2 and 3 (Haemophilia patients, their partners, and all blood donors to receive any tests recommended by the committee)-no specific implementation date required as any new relevant tests will be considered by the Alliance or SaBTO as and when they arise.
Recommendation 4 (Free prescriptions and free access to other services "not freely available under the national health service including...general practitioner visits, counselling, physiotherapy, home nursing and support services" for those infected)-Professor Ian Gilmore's review of prescription charges in England for those with long term conditions, is due to report shortly. The Government will consider whether further action is required in England to implement Lord Archer's recommendation following the Gilmore review.
Recommendation 5 (Secure future of Haemophilia Society by adequate funding)-the Government have committed £100,000 per annum funding to the Haemophilia Society for the next five years. The Department has discussed this with the Haemophilia Society on a number of occasions and is currently awaiting a written proposal from the Society to enable the funds to be released.
Recommendation 6 (Financial assistance should be increased and take the form of prescribed periodic payments)-funding to the Macfarlane and Eileen Trusts (for HIV) is being increased in line with the Government response. Some administrative and legal changes have been needed to enable the trusts to make these new payments, but it is anticipated that beneficiaries should receive their new payments in December 2009 with any back-payments being made before the end of March 2010. All payments will be back-dated to 20 May 2009 and payments will be made to the estates of any individual who has died since 20 May 2009. As indicated in the Government response, the Skipton Fund (for hepatitis C) will be reviewed in 2014.
Recommendation 7 (Access to insurance by providing premiums or setting up separate scheme)-no implementation date required as the Government's position is as outlined in its response.
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