UN Convention on Biological Diversity
Barry Gardiner: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress the UK has made towards the commitments it made at the Convention on Biodiversity Conference of the Parties in Nagoya on ecosystems mapping and accounting. [150633]
Richard Benyon: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 26 March 2013, Official Report, column 1054W.
Water Supply
Dr Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (1) what assessment his Department has made on the viability of a national water supply grid; [150451]
(2) what assessment his Department has made of the potential use of renewable energy supplies to power a national water grid. [150458]
Richard Benyon: The Water White Paper set out the challenge of ensuring resilient and sustainable water resources in the face of increasing pressure from climate change and population growth. We need to use existing water resources more efficiently, develop new sources, and build connectivity across the network.
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All water companies have statutory Water Resources Management Plans, which look ahead at least 25 years and must include an assessment of the greenhouse gas emissions for each supply option. Water companies are already joining up sources of supply to build resilience and are strongly encouraged to consider options for interconnections in their Water Resources Management Plans, alongside other options such as demand management. Water companies are currently preparing plans for public consultation in the spring of 2013.
There has been no assessment of the potential use of renewable energy supplies to power a national water grid. The large scale infrastructure investment needed for a national water grid is expensive, and water is also heavy, difficult and costly to move. Relatively local connections are likely to be the best options, incrementally building a wider and more integrated network.
Water: Peat Bogs
Glyn Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the cost of treating particulate and dissolved organic carbon in water supply systems arising from peat-dominated catchments. [149960]
Richard Benyon: The cost of treating particulate and dissolved organic carbon in water supply systems is a matter for water companies.
Removal of colour from water, which may be caused by dissolved organic carbon, represents one of the major operational costs of any treatment plant and can run into millions of pounds per annum. United Utilities is restoring approximately 6,000 hectares of peatland as part of their Sustainable Catchment Management Programme (SCaMP). United Utilities anticipates saving between £1.2 million and £2.4 million per year in avoided water treatment costs.
Glyn Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the potential for wind farm construction on areas of peatland to cause an increase in particulate and dissolved organic carbon within the waters of peat-dominated catchments. [150204]
Richard Benyon: Planning authorities must ensure that wind turbines are sited carefully to take into account various environmental issues, including impacts on water quality. There needs to be particular consideration to the environmental impact of siting wind turbines on peatlands.
There may be potential for wind farm construction on areas of peatland to cause an increase in particulate and dissolved organic carbon within the waters of peat-dominated catchments and, where this has been identified as an issue, this would need to be considered alongside other environmental impacts before approving construction.
International Development
Developing Countries: Armed Conflict
Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what engagement her Department has with the Ministry of Defence and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in determining which countries are considered to be fragile and conflict affected. [150487]
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Mr Duncan: The decision to classify a particular country as fragile and conflict affected is made using three publicly available indices as laid out in my previous answer (150545). The process of identification helps us implement the National Security Strategy task of tackling the root causes of instability as well as focus effort in the implementation of the 2010 cross-Government strategic defence and security review. Although not directly involved in determining the classification of states, MOD and the FCO are involved in addressing their needs through the Building Stability Overseas Strategy.
Mr Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what method her Department uses to designate countries as (a) fragile and (b) conflict affected. [150545]
Mr Duncan: DFID identifies countries as fragile or conflict-affected by assessing a wide range of political, social, economic and security factors. It draws on data from three publicly available indices, the World Bank's Country Policy and Institutional Assessment (CPIA), the Failed States Index and the Uppsala list of countries recently affected by conflict.
Developing Countries: HIV Infection
Jim Sheridan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent discussions she has had with the Clinton Health Access Initiative, Médicins Sans Frontières and UNICEF regarding their roll-out of new technologies to quickly and accurately diagnose and monitor HIV. [150311]
Lynne Featherstone: The UK Government recognises the potential of such new technologies but the Secretary of State has had no direct discussions with the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), Médicins Sans Frontières (MSF) and UNICEF on the issue of roll-out of new diagnostics for HIV.
However, UNITAID, the International Drug Purchase Facility, has grants with CHAI, MSF and UNICEF to accelerate the roll-out of HIV diagnostic technologies and to test their use in specific resource-poor settings, such as rural and remote areas. The UK Government is a contributor to UNITAID and supported these grants at the UNITAID Board. Additionally, we directly fund CHAI to undertake some complementary work on new HIV diagnostics within our programme to strengthen markets for priority health commodities. Further support to the Global Fund for AIDS, TB and Malaria and our bilateral HIV programmes also involve some support for diagnostics roll-out.
Jim Sheridan: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps her Department has taken to reduce the number of instances of mother-to-child transmissions of HIV. [150312]
Lynne Featherstone:
The UK Government are wholly committed to the international target to eliminate new HIV infections among children and substantially reduce AIDS-related maternal deaths by 2015. We support a comprehensive approach to the prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV, as recommended by the World Health Organisation. In sub-Saharan Africa through prevention of HIV, and prevention of unintended
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pregnancies, we will help to prevent 500,000 new HIV infections among women, for example by promoting correct and consistent use of male and female condoms which reduces risk of HIV infection by 95%.
The UK Government will also continue to support efforts to increase access to affordable medicines, including anti-retroviral drugs and diagnostics, with a focus on pregnant women and new-borns. Our support to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, will give 37,000 HIV-positive women treatment to prevent HIV transmission to their babies.
Developing Countries: Nutrition
Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of her Department's budget for nutrition was spent on nutritional direct interventions in the latest period for which figures are available. [150534]
Justine Greening: Under the coalition Government, UK annual spend on nutrition has almost doubled from £19.3 million in 2009-10 to £37.5 million in 2011-12. DFID's plans for future expenditure will reflect the fact that nutrition is a continuing priority.
This spend is coded to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Development Committee Basic Nutrition Input Sector Code. This does not capture the significant additional UK spend on nutrition-sensitive programmes, humanitarian response programmes, or nutrition research. We are working with other donors to agree an improved method for tracking all nutrition spend.
Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate she has made of the number of children who will have been reached by its nutritional programmes by 2015. [150535]
Justine Greening: Between 2011 and 2015 the coalition Government have committed to reach 20 million children under five and pregnant women in developing countries with nutrition interventions.
Mr Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans her Department has for further expenditure on child nutrition programmes. [150536]
Justine Greening: Under the coalition Government, UK annual spend on nutrition has almost doubled from £19.3 million in 2009-10 to £37.5 million in 2011-12. DFID's plans for future expenditure will reflect the fact that nutrition is a continuing priority, including a G8 related event 'Nutrition for Growth' on 8 June.
Developing Countries: Sanitation
Sir Tony Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development with reference to the announcement that was made at the Sanitation and Water for All High Level Meeting in Washington in April 2012 that her Department would double its reach on water and sanitation to 60 million people, what steps have been taken to date; and how progress towards this target will be measured. [150630]
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Lynne Featherstone: DFID aims to meet our commitments on water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) through a range of programmes delivered by our country offices and from central teams. We will announce detailed plans once these have been finalised. Details of our current WASH programmes are available on the DFID website.
Progress which has been made through our ongoing WASH programmes is detailed in the “DFID Annual Report and Accounts 2011-12”. Results from the implementation of more recent commitments will be detailed in the next Annual Report, due in June 2013.
Sir Tony Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development with reference to the announcement that was made at the Sanitation and Water for All High Level Meeting in Washington in April 2012 that her Department will double its reach on water and sanitation to 60 million people, when the Results Challenge Fund will be launched. [150692]
Lynne Featherstone: DFID is currently considering a number of new programme options to ensure we meet our water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) targets; these include a challenge fund type mechanism.
All programmatic options are required to undergo a stringent internal quality assurance process to ensure they meet our requirements on issues such as value for money and fiduciary risk management. Once approved, details of all live programmes are available on the DFID website.
Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what was agreed at the meeting of the EU Water Experts Group in January 2013 to improve water and sanitation programmes. [150862]
Lynne Featherstone: The meeting of the EU Water Experts' Group provided the opportunity for members to express their concern about the apparent weakening of EU support to the water sector. Members referred to the 'unfinished business' of the millennium development goals, and the need to reinforce efforts towards universal access to water and sanitation. It was noted that some countries, in response to the EU policy framework—the 'Agenda for Change' have been developing more concentrated thematic programmes and regional focus, responding to developing country priorities and the new focus on the 'growth' agenda.
The group considered the potential for an EU trust fund for improvement of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), acknowledging that the EU water facility with adjustments (in line with the recent 'auditors' report) could be considered as a useful EU members' vehicle for ongoing support for improved WASH. Some participants raised the issue of reinforcing the position of water in the current review of the Joint Africa-EU strategy, and indicated that they have the intention to support this point when it is discussed in Council.
Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make water and sanitation a UK priority for EU development programming for the next funding period up to 2020; and if she will make a statement. [150863]
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Lynne Featherstone: DFID country offices are engaged with EU delegations as part of the EU programming process. We believe that decisions on priorities are best taken in each country based on local conditions and environment. Where water and sanitation is identified as a country priority we would encourage the EU delegation to respond accordingly. DFID is represented on the EU Water Experts’ Group and we use this to encourage the EU to ensure that water and sanitation programmes are delivered in ways that maximise value for money.
Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what representations she has made to her European counterparts on encouraging the EU to join the Sanitation and Water for All Partnership; and if she will make a statement. [150864]
Lynne Featherstone: Sanitation and Water for All (SWA) is an initiative based on partnership principles and DFID encourages all stakeholders to consider their engagement We encourage European partners to join SWA, and the Netherlands, Germany and France for instance are all active members. We are not actively making specific representations to other EU countries to join SWA. This is because it is important that the SWA partners are committed to its objectives and who join because they recognise the value and benefit of the SWA. We consider lobbying countries beyond ensuring they are aware of the SWA and its objectives, to undermine this fundamental principle of ownership and engagement.
The International Water and Sanitation centre recently completed a useful analysis of the potential synergies between the European Water Initiative (EUWI) and SWA. The report recommends that
“Strengthened cooperation is centred around “WASH and Africa”; with key stakeholders being the EUWI, the Africa Working Group (AWG), AMCOW (including AU/African Union) and SWA”.
DFID is an active member of the EUWI African Working Group which will discuss how to take the report recommendations forward at the next meeting.
Disclosure of Information
Jon Trickett: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many civil servants in her Department have been subject to non-disclosure agreements in each year since 2010. [150037]
Mr Duncan: As a standard practice, in the years 2010 and 2011 DFID made it its default policy to arrange for compromise agreements to be put in place for those staff who by agreement, left the organisation under standard compensation terms as allowed for under the civil service compensation scheme. These agreements included a confidentiality, or 'non-disclosure', clause as a matter of course.
From 2010 the following number of departures from DFID had been covered by compromise agreements which include a 'non-disclosure' clause:
| Number | |
| (1) Fewer than 5. | |
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Mali
Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps her Department in taking to increase access to food and drinking water for refugees in the northeast of Mali. [150282]
Lynne Featherstone: The UK is currently providing support totalling £7.6 million to the 2013 International Committee of the Red Cross Mali/Niger appeal. This aid will provide conflict-affected people in northern Mali with sufficient clean water to meet their domestic and livestock needs, as well as providing food assistance to displaced people in north-eastern Mali.
The UK is also providing support totalling £4.5 million to the World Food Programme's emergency operation, in Mali, which aims to provide food to internally displaced and conflict-affected people in parts of north-western Mali.
We will continue to monitor the situation closely to ensure that needs are being met as effectively and efficiently as possible by the international community.
Rushanara Ali: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps her Department is taking to support refugee host communities in Burkina Faso, Nigeria and Mauritania following the influx of Malian refugees to those areas. [150284]
Lynne Featherstone: According to the United Nations, over 475,000 people have been displaced by the conflict in Mali, of which over 292,000 have been internally displaced within Mali's borders, and over 183,000 into neighbouring countries including Burkina Faso, Mauritania and Niger.
So far this year, Britain has contributed £5 million to provide a comprehensive package of support, including food, healthcare, protection, education and non-food items, to over 135,000 refugees in Burkina Faso, Mauritania and Niger through the UN's Refugee Agency, UNHCR, and the World Food Programme. This support is also providing assistance to host communities in these countries.
Our assistance, both in refugee camps and in the wider community, will help take the pressure off already overstretched communities in these countries.
Overseas Aid
Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps her Department plans to take regarding aid to countries which restrict religious beliefs and practice. [149708]
Lynne Featherstone: In July 2011, DFID announced tougher rules about when to provide aid directly to countries' Governments; this involves assessing their shared commitment to respecting human rights, including freedom of religion and belief.
Where we have specific concerns about a Government's failure to protect its citizens rights, for example those of minority faith groups, we raise these at the highest levels of the Government concerned. We may judge that specific human rights concerns are sufficiently serious to merit a suspension of our aid to that Government.
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South Africa
Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the total level of aid from her Department to South Africa is. [149705]
Lynne Featherstone: The total allocation of aid from DFID to South Africa in FY 2012-13 is £19 million.
Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how UK aid to South Africa is spent, by category of programme and expenditure. [149915]
Lynne Featherstone: UK Aid to South Africa in 2011-12 and 2012-13 was £19 million. The categories of programme and expenditure are as follows:
| Percentage | ||
| 2011-12 | 2012-13 | |
|
Tackling gender based violence and strengthening public sector performance | ||
Southern Africa
Martin Caton: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment her Department has made of any link between mining in southern Africa and infection rates for tuberculosis and HIV; and what steps her Department is taking to address rates of those diseases in the region. [150503]
Lynne Featherstone: There is an established link between tuberculosis (TB) and mining. The prevalence of tuberculosis globally in the general population is 128 cases per 100,000 population. Among miners in South Africa, the prevalence of TB is as high as 2,500 per 100,000 population. Infection rates of TB in the mining population are highly associated with high levels of HIV and silicosis, and the weakened immunity of miners as a result of extreme environmental working conditions.
In South Africa, DFID is working with the mining sector, government and civil society and partners to reduce the burden of HIV and tuberculosis in 4.5 million miners. DFID is providing catalytic programme management support to improve the effectiveness and coordination of existing and planned efforts by the mining sector and government to lower the burden of these diseases among the mining workforce and their communities.
Martin Caton: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions officials in her Department have had with mining industry representatives on steps to address tuberculosis and HIV in the gold-mining industry in southern Africa. [150504]
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Lynne Featherstone: In South Africa, DFID has engaged in a series of discussions led by the mining sector as part of a new initiative on how to reduce the burden of HIV and tuberculosis in the mining community. This partnership, involving Government, civil society and development partners, will address the prevention and treatment of these diseases in 4.5 million miners and their communities in high burden areas in South Africa including in the gold-mining industry.
Martin Caton: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assessment her Department has made of the effects of tuberculosis in the gold-mining industry in southern Africa on achievement of the Millennium Development Goal-related target of halving the tuberculosis death rate by 2015, compared to 1990, in the African region. [150505]
Lynne Featherstone: The number of tuberculosis (TB) cases in goldmines is approximately three times higher than that of other mining industries such as coal and platinum. Although TB rates are declining overall including in the gold mining industry, the high levels of tuberculosis and HIV rates in southern Africa will be a particular challenge to achieving the millennium development goals in the region.
Tuberculosis in sub-Saharan Africa has doubled over the last 20 years and is now almost three times the global average. South Africa is particularly badly affected with the prevalence of tuberculosis being 948 per 100,000, as against a global average of 128, and prevalence of 2,500 per 100,000 in the South African mining.
Telephone Services
John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development which telephone lines are operated by her Department for public enquiries or other services; what the (a) principal access number and (b) telephone service provider is for each number; and which such lines (i) are free to the caller and (ii) may incur a charge to the caller. [150021]
Mr Duncan: The information is as follows:
(a) The principle access numbers are:
0845 300 4100 (public inquiries—UK only);
01355 84 3132 (public inquiries—outside UK);
020 7023 0000 (switch board);
020 7023 0600 (press office); and
01355 84 4000 (Abercrombie House).
(b) All numbers are provided by Level 3, a telecommunication company.
All numbers are chargeable at local rates within the UK, the precise rates depend on the individual local telephone provider.
Justice
Drugs: Prisons
Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps his Department is taking to reduce drug use in prisons. [150362]
Jeremy Wright:
NOMS has a comprehensive range of measures to tackle drugs. These include drug detection dogs, procedures to tackle visitors who seek to smuggle drugs and phones into prisons, and mobile phone detection technology. NOMS is also increasing the number of
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drug-free wings in prisons, rolling out a networked IT intelligence system and providing prisons with short-range mobile phone blockers which will help prisons prevent prisoners using mobile phones, which is often associated with drug supply.
NOMS is working closely with the Department of Health and service providers to create integrated, recovery orientated and outcome focused substance misuse services. We are also piloting 11 drug recovery wings focused on abstinence and connecting offenders with services on release.
Fireworks: Yorkshire and the Humber
Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) how many fixed penalties were issued relating to the misuse of fireworks in (a) Brigg and Goole constituency and (b) Yorkshire and the Humber in each of the last five years; [151039]
(2) how many prosecutions were brought relating to the misuse of fireworks in (a) Brigg and Goole constituency and (b) Yorkshire and the Humber in each of the last five years. [151040]
Jeremy Wright: Data on the number of Penalty Notices for Disorder (PNDs) issued in the Yorkshire and Humberside police force area for offences related to fireworks and defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts for throwing fireworks, in each year between 2007 and 2011 (latest available) can be viewed in the table. These data are not available at constituency level.
Court proceedings data for 2012 are planned for publication in the spring of 2013.
| Defendants given Penalty Notices for Disorder (PNDs) for offences related to the misuse of fireworks and defendants(1) proceeded against at magistrates courts for throwing fireworks(2), in the Yorkshire and Humberside police force area, in each year between 2007 to 2011 | |||||
| Area/offence | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 |
| (1) The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (2) Explosives Act 1875, S.80: Throwing, casting or firing any fireworks in or into any highway, street, public place etc. (3) Fireworks Regulations 2004 under s11 of the Fireworks Act 2003. Note: Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services within the Ministry of Justice. | |||||
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Human Trafficking
Michael Connarty: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will consider re-labelling offences as aggravated where human trafficking is involved. [149804]
Damian Green: Human trafficking is a serious crime and there are specific offences under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 (trafficking for sexual exploitation) and under the Asylum and Immigration Act 2004 (for other exploitation) which carry maximum penalties of 14 years' imprisonment. Victims of trafficking may have been subjected to other offences such as rape, false imprisonment and assault, which carry maximum penalties up to a life sentence. Prosecutors will consider the range of offences depending on the facts of the case and the choice of charges should reflect the full extent of the criminality and enable the court to sentence accordingly, including taking into account that the victim was subject to trafficking.
We have no plans to change the law.
Minimum Wage: Prosecutions
John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prosecutions were made against individuals or companies based in (a) Barrow and Furness constituency and (b) Cumbria for breaches of minimum wage legislation in each of the last three years. [150492]
Jeremy Wright: The Ministry of Justice court proceedings database holds information on defendants proceeded against, found guilty and sentenced for criminal offences in England and Wales. However, not all offences are individually reported within the centrally held data. Offences under the National Minimum Wage Act 1998 are reported as part of a miscellaneous group of offences which cannot be separately identified from other prosecutions.
Non-molestation Orders
Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many non-molestation orders have been (a) requested and (b) granted under Part IV of the Family Law Act 1996, to deter someone from causing or threatening violence or molestation to the applicant or to any children in each year since 1996. [148442]
Jeremy Wright: The following table shows the total non-molestation applications and orders from 1998 to 2011.
| Non-molestation applications | Non-molestation orders | |
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Figures prior to 1998 are not available as the relevant legislation, Part IV of the Family Law Act 1996, only came into force from 1 October 1997.
Statistics on non-molestation orders for England and Wales from 2003 are published in the Ministry of Justice in the National Statistics publication “Court Statistics Quarterly”. The most recent edition, up to Quarter 3 (July to September) 2012, can be found at the following link:
http://www.justice.gov.uk/statistics/courts-and-sentencing/judicial-quarterly
Provisional figures for England and Wales for calendar year 2012 will be published on 28 March 2013, with final figures being published at the end of June 2013.
Prisoners: Per Capita Costs
John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent estimate he has made of the average annual cost of keeping an offender in (a) an adult prison, (b) a young offender institution and (c) a secure training centre in (i) the public and (ii) the private sector by main budget heading. [147907]
Jeremy Wright: The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) publishes average annual costs per prisoner and per prison place at the end of each financial year alongside the Management Information Addendum to the NOMS annual report and accounts. The information for average annual costs per prisoner in England and Wales for adult prisons and young offender institutions (YOI), split by ages 15 to 21 and 15 to 17, for financial year 2011-12 (the latest period for which figures are available) at public and private sector prisons is in the table.
The public sector and private sector costs are not directly comparable because of differences in accounting treatment and scope of services.
The cost of a place in a secure training centre for 2012-13 is £178,000. This is the price as at 1 April 2012 and does not include VAT. The Youth Justice Board calculates these costs based upon full occupancy and does not calculate the costs per prisoner. The cost is not broken down by budget heading as the financial mechanism aggregates the full cost of the provision into the price charged to the Youth Justice Board.
| Overall average adult prison and youth offender institution | ||
| Cost per prisoner by adult/YOI and public/private, 2011-12 | ||
| £ | ||
| Prison category | Public | Private |
| £ | |||||
| Breakdown by main budget headings | |||||
| Adult | YOI | ||||
| Public | Private | Public (15 to 21) | Public (15 to 17) | Private (15 to 17) | |
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| (1) Includes shared services centre, IT, headquarters, restructure costs, etc. Notes: 1. The overall average costs comprise the direct local establishment costs of public and private prisons, increased by an apportionment of relevant costs borne centrally and in the regions by NOMS (as recorded in the addendum to the National Offender Management Service Agency 2011-12 Annual Report and Accounts). This involves some estimation. Expenditure which is met by other Government Departments or directly by the Youth Justice Board, such as expenditure on health and education, is not included. Expenditure recharged to the Youth Justice Board in respect of young people is included. 2. The costs represent the total cost per prisoner at each prison where the majority use at the end of the year was as adult prison, YOI (aged 15 to 17) or YOI (aged 15 to 21). There is no adjustment for prisons holding prisoners of more than one category. 3. A split of the YOI (aged 15 to 21) category to show unit cost information for under-18 juveniles only within those establishments is not available. Furthermore, there are no private YOI establishments that house prisoners in the aged 15 to 21 category. 4. The public sector and private sector costs are not directly comparable because of differences in accounting treatment and scope of services. 5. Average price per place figures are also calculated by the Youth Justice Board (YJB). These are calculated differently to the figures above, and are based on the YJB budget allocations at the beginning of each financial year for services in young people's secure custodial facilities. The YJB prices include additional funding for services specific to the juvenile population which are not included in the NOMS' calculation of YOI costs such as advocacy services (in all under-18 YOIs); Lucy Faithfull Foundation services in a number of YOIs for young people who sexually abuse; social worker services; and Youth Offending Team services in private sector YOIs. | |||||
Prisons
Robert Flello: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what the (a) capacity, (b) population and (c) category status was of HM Prison (i) Cardiff, (ii) Forest Bank, (iii) Northallerton, (iv) Nottingham, (v) Portland, (vi) Preston, (vii) Rochester, (viii) Stoke Heath and (ix) Swansea in each month since May 2010; [144064]
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(2) how many prisoners aged (a) under 18, (b) between 18 and 21 and (c) over 21 years have been held in HM Prison (i) Cardiff, (ii) Forest Bank, (iii) Northallerton, (iv) Nottingham, (v) Portland, (vi) Preston, (vii) Rochester, (viii) Stoke Heath and (ix) Swansea in each month since May 2010. [144065]
Jeremy Wright: Table 1 details the capacity, population and category status in each month since May 2010 at HM Prisons Cardiff, Forest Bank, Northallerton, Nottingham, Portland, Preston, Rochester, Stoke Heath and Swansea.
Table 2 provides the number of prisoners aged 15 to 17, between 18 and 20 and over 20 at HM Prisons Cardiff, Forest Bank, Northallerton, Nottingham, Portland, Preston, Rochester, Stoke Heath and Swansea in each month since May 2010.
Young adults (aged 18 to 21 years old) sentenced to detention in a young offender institution (YOI) are detained in YOIs as required by section 98 of the Powers of the Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000. These are normally self-contained but in some establishments that have a dual designation (designated both as a prison and a YOI) young adults are held alongside adults. In these cases, the majority of the facilities are shared but, regardless of dual or single designation, young adults detained in YOIs always have separate sleeping accommodation.
Governing governors and controllers of contracted prisons must ensure that approved operational capacity at each prison is not normally exceeded other than on an exceptional basis to accommodate pressing operational need.
The Government provide safe, decent and secure places for all those committed to custody by the courts. Although the tables contain population figures exceeding operational capacity in some cases, all were actually operating within agreed operational capacity levels.
This recording anomaly appears because either central capacity records had yet to be updated (ie a cell certificate signed by a Deputy Director of Custody had yet to be received but the prison was operating at the revised capacity levels) or mis-recording had occurred where those recorded as an authorised absence had not had their records updated to reflect that they had been fully discharged from prison and were therefore incorrectly counted in the overall population.
Decisions on the future size of the prison estate will reflect the current and projected prison population, including an assessment of the necessary margin to manage population fluctuations.
| Table 1: Population, operational capacity & predominant function since May 2010 | |||||||||
| Cardiff | Forest Bank | Northallerton | |||||||
| Total population | Total capacity | Predominant function | Total population | Total capacity | Predominant function | Total population | Total capacity | Predominant function | |
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| Nottingham | Portland | Preston | |||||||
| Total population | Total capacity | Predominant function | Total population | Total capacity | Predominant function | Total population | Total capacity | Predominant function | |
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| Rochester | Stoke Heath | Swansea | |||||||
| Total population | Total capacity | Predominant function | Total population | Total capacity | Predominant function | Total population | Total capacity | Predominant function | |