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Column 193
Written Answers to Questions
Wednesday 16 December 1992
DUCHY OF LANCASTER
Citizens Charter
Mr. Bayley : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will list and describe briefly each of the initial commitments in the citizens charter to which he referred in his oral statement of 25 November, Official Report, column 869, and give against each of these commitments the level of performance currently being achieved.
Mr. Waldegrave : The citizens charter is a major programme of improvement to our public services. The aim is a comprehensive and durable change in the way that the services are managed and delivered, so that the citizen always comes first. Initial commitments were set out in the original "Citizen's Charter" White Paper of July 1991, Cm. 1599. The bulk of these, and much more, have already been delivered, as the "Citizen's Charter First Report : 1992", Cm. 2101 shows. The table summarises the original specific commitments and how they have been met or put in hand. References are to Cms. 1599 and 2101 where fuller descriptions can be found.
The Government's position is one of openness and constant improvement, and progress against remaining Cm. 1599 commitments, the new commitments in Cm. 2101, and the further commitments we shall be making will also be published from time to time.
Establishment |Major |Minor |Total
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Belmarsh |56 |178 |234
Brixton |22 |142 |164
Feltham |29 |210 |239
Holloway |32 |150 |182
Pentonville |31 |121 |152
Wandsworth |24 |249 |273
Wormwood Scrubs |18 |209 |227
|----- |----- |-----
Total |212 |1,259 |1,471
Research and Development
Mr. Mans : To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will make a statement about international comparisons of research and development spending.
Mr. Waldegrave : The Office of Science and Technology is today publishing a report on international comparisons of research and development spending. Copies are being placed in the Libraries of both Houses.
HOME DEPARTMENT
London Prisons
Mr. Cox : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what has been the number of reported incidents at each of the London prisons as from 1 January to 1 December.
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Mr. Peter Lloyd : There has been a total of 1,471 reported incidents in Prison Service establishments in London from 1 January 1992 to 1 December 1992 inclusive. The table shows a breakdown of these incidents :
Table file CW911216.000 not available
Major and minor incidents are defined in CI 18/1988, a copy of which is in the Library of the House.
Crime Statistics, Warwickshire
Mr. Mike O'Brien : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which areas of North Warwickshire are most affected by burglary and incidents of violence and car theft.
Mr. Jack : The information is not collected centrally. Information for areas within Warwickshire is published in the annual report of the Chief Constable for Warwickshire ; a copy of which is available in the Library.
Bogus Callers
Mr. Richards : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures are being taken to alert the elderly to the dangers of allowing into their homes thieves posing as officials or trades people.
Mr. Jack : Individual police forces continue to develop crime prevention initiatives to reflect the needs of their areas, including measures to combat the risks posed by bogus callers. Several forces are known to have launched recent initiatives in this area working with local utility companies or crime prevention panels. For example, in November 1990 the Metropolitan police set up a dedicated unit operating in selected areas under the title of Operation Worker specifically to detect bogus callers. So far, more than 3,000 of these crimes have been cleared up throughout the areas covered by the project, representing a 58 per cent. clear-up rate for these offences.
The Home Office publication "Practical Ways to Crack Crime" and the poster and leaflet "Be Safe Be Sure" contain advice on dealing with callers at the door and have been widely distributed. Supplies are available free of charge to members of the public or, in support of local campaigns, to police forces and other agencies. The Association of British Insurers has also produced a helpful leaflet "The Knock Code" giving similar advice which has been distributed through the insurance industry and citizens advice bureaux. More than 2 million copies of the leaflet have been distributed so far.
Organisations such as Help the Aged and Age Concern through their local offices and often working in conjunction with the police and other organisations such as victim support groups, also provide practical help and advice. For example, Help the Aged ran a campaign in 1990 called "Who's There?" specifically to address the
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problem of bogus callers. It produced publicity material including videos for use by its local offices, which in turn arranged seminars and publicity campaigns. This material is still being used. Age Concern, through its nationwide network of 1,000 groups, has provided "security cards" with advice and local contact points, for distribution to the vulnerable.Bullwood Hall
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what response he is making to the report by Judge Stephen Tumin on Bullwood Hall.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : I made a statement on Judge Tumin's report on 1 December when the report was published. I shall send the hon. Member a copy.
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many complaints he has received on conditions at Bullwood Hall during the last 12 months.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Four complaints about conditions at Bullwood Hall have been received by the area manager during the last 12 months.
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proposals he has for improving the conditions of prisoners serving life sentences at Bullwood Hall ; and for how many hours each day they are currently locked in their cells.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The governor and her staff are constantly striving to improve life for all prisoners in Bullwood Hall as resources allow. New staff attendance systems will be in place by January to meet the recommendation of the chief inspector of prisons that prisoners should spend at least 12 hours each day out of their cells.
Prisoners are currently locked up for either 14 and a half hours per day with evening association or 16 and a half hours without. Evening association is currently provided on an average of four nights each week.
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will arrange for children's visits to Bullwood Hall to be allowed at weekends.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Every Monday afternoon Bullwood Hall provides visits solely for children and their carers. Children may also visit Bullwood Hall on any domestic visit on every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday afternoon. The governor hopes that she will be able to provide special children's visits at the weekend in the future.
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to increase the recreational, educational and language learning facilities for female prisoners at Bullwood Hall.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The gymnasium has recently been refurbished. There are plans to repair and enclose the swimming pool which will enable it to be used all year round. Money has been allocated to complete the conversion of workshops to an education and activity centre. Facilities for learning languages are already available to prisoners on an open learning basis as required.
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Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will provide facilities for prisoners at Bullwood Hall to telephone their lawyers.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : All prisoners in Bullwood Hall can use the card telephone system to contact their lawyers if they wish. In addition, urgent telephone calls at public expense will be allowed if necessary.
Assaults on Women
Mr. Richards : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many violent assaults, including rapes, were committed against women in each police area in each calendar year since 1981 inclusive and in the 12 months ended June 1992.
Mr. Jack : The available information by police force area is in terms of notifiable offences recorded by the police, with the most appropriate offence categories available being rape--offence category 19-- and indecent assault on a female--offence category 20. Other types of assault do not distinguish between male and female victim. These figures are published annually in table 3.1 of "Criminal Statistics, Supplementary Volume 3", copies of which are in the Library. Statistics for the 12 months ended June 1992 are given in the table :
Notifiable offences recorded by the police
Year ending June 1992
Police force |Rape |Indecent assault on|Total
|a female
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Avon and Somerset |94 |352 |446
Bedfordshire |52 |154 |206
Cambridgeshire |66 |243 |309
Cheshire |41 |234 |275
Cleveland |57 |174 |231
Cumbria |20 |119 |139
Derbyshire |43 |239 |282
Devon and Cornwall |59 |394 |453
Dorset |43 |199 |242
Durham |51 |228 |279
Essex |77 |329 |406
Gloucestershire |37 |199 |236
Greater Manchester |225 |825 |1,050
Hampshire |133 |626 |759
Hertfordshire |46 |187 |233
Humberside |75 |497 |572
Kent |147 |543 |690
Lancashire |48 |291 |339
Leicestershire |38 |220 |258
Lincolnshire |36 |142 |178
City of London |0 |20 |20
Merseyside |88 |402 |490
Metropolitan Police District |1,143 |3,128 |4,271
Norfolk |59 |207 |266
Northamptonshire |35 |144 |179
Northumbria |102 |426 |528
North Yorkshire |15 |107 |122
Nottinghamshire |110 |630 |740
South Yorkshire |70 |363 |433
Staffordshire |55 |273 |328
Suffolk |69 |185 |254
Surrey |38 |271 |309
Sussex |73 |414 |487
Thames Valley |111 |543 |654
Warwickshire |19 |104 |123
West Mercia |53 |220 |273
West Midlands |195 |888 |1,083
West Yorkshire |195 |812 |1,007
Wiltshire |63 |201 |264
Dyfed-Powys |46 |173 |219
Gwent |44 |155 |199
North Wales |51 |181 |232
South Wales |88 |282 |370
|------- |------- |-------
Total |4,110 |16,324 |20,434
Car Crime
Mr. Barry Jones : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement concerning his policies to combat car crime.
Mr. Jack : Our strategy to tackle crime consists of two main strands --promoting and encouraging practical ways to reduce this type of crime ; and ensuring that car criminals are dealt with effectively under the criminal law.
It is important that we should do what we can to tackle car crime by adopting measures that reduce the opportunities for them occurring in the first place.
We have, therefore, been actively encouraging the motor manufacturers to improve the security of their vehicles. Many of the manufacturers are now responding positively, and more new cars are being fitted with advanced security equipment.
It is equally important to tackle the second-hand car market and to upgrade the security of vehicles already on the road. Central to this is making the public more aware of the cost of car crime and providing them with the information they need to make their cars more secure and to reduce the risk of crime happening to them. This has been a major feature of our Car Crime Prevention Year campaign, which has been running throughout most of this year. A review of this has shown a greater awareness during the year, allied with increased sales of security equipment.
We are also pressing the insurance industry to provide incentives for both manufacturers and the public to adopt appropriate security measures. Some insurers have now begun to take greater account of the risk of car crime and the presence of security features when setting premiums. This development is welcomed.
The police, too, have developed many impressive car crime prevention initiatives during the year, including the "Sold Secure" initiative in Essex and the national "Secured Car Parks" scheme. The Government will, of course, continue to support and encourage the police in these efforts.
Progress to date is encouraging. The recorded crime statistics for the most recent quarter--April to June 1992--show a reduction in car crime of 2.5 per cent. on the corresponding quarter of 1991. Of course, we cannot draw too many conclusions from a single quarter's figures ; we hope, however, that this downward turn is the start of a welcome trend.
To help maintain the momentum in continuing with this strategy, I recently formed a specialist committee comprising people who are actively involved in all areas of car security and car crime prevention to advise me on these matters. I envisaged this body playing an important part in enhancing and taking forward the initiatives that we have been developing.
Our strategy for tackling car crime does, however, go much wider than improving vehicle security, essential
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though this particular factor is. It is also most important to tackle offending behaviour itself. We are therefore giving every encouragement to local probation services, the police and voluntary groups to work effectively to counter motor offending.The Government have also announced their intention to tackle the problem of people who commit offences--often vehicle related--while on bail.
We are also committed to giving the courts the support and powers that they need, such as in the Aggravated Vehicle-Taking Act which came into force on 1 April, which deals firmly with those who take cars and cause damage, injury or death. My right hon. and learned Friend also announced on 16 July our intention to increase the maximum penalty for causing death by dangerous driving to 10 years, when parliamentary time allows.
Police Road Blocks
Ms. Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will call for a report from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis listing (a) the location of each road block recently set up by the Metropolitan police in the Greater London area, (b) the total number of people who have to date been stopped, (c) of that number, the number of members of ethnic minority groups and (d) the numbers of people who have refused to stop ;
(2) what specific discussions his officials had with the Metropolitan police in advance of the setting up of road blocks in parts of London ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Charles Wardle : The decision of the Metropolitan police, acting within their legal powers, to set up road checks in London is an operational one and as such falls within the discretion of the Commissioner. Officials in my
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right hon. and learned Friend's Department were not consulted in advance of the recent operations and there is no reason for him to call for a report from the Commissioner in relation to the matters listed in the question.Winson Green Prison
Ms. Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will conduct an inquiry into the circumstances that led to a man's death from dehydration in HMP Winson Green in July 1992 ; and if he will make a statement.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : No prisoner died from dehydration at HMP Winson Green in July 1992.
The hon. Member may be referring to the death of John Joseph Ryan in July 1987 at Birmingham prison. The coroner found the causes of death to be electrolyte imbalance due to water depletion and to bronchopneumonia. The jury returned a verdict of lack of care, and Mr. Ryan's family is currently pursuing a civil action against the Home Office. It would therefore be inappropriate for me to comment further.
Prisoners
Ms. Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) sentenced prisoners, (b) remand prisoners and (c) fine defaulters were received into Leeds, Liverpool, Birmingham, Durham, Brixton and Lewes prisons, respectively, each week from the beginning of September to date.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The latest readily available information is given in the table.
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Number of prisoners received under sentence initially into Leeds, Liverpool, Birmingham, Durham, Brixton and Lewes
June to August 1992
Sentence
||12establishment
Leeds Liverpool Birmingham Durham Brixton Lewes
Period date received |Fine defaulter |Others |Fine defaulter |Others |Fine defaulter |Others |Fine defaulter |Others |Fine defaulter |Others |Fine defaulter |Others
sentence
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 June to 6 June |15 |33 |30 |45 |33 |49 |8 |36 |- |79 |9 |22
7 June to 13 June |17 |43 |32 |48 |30 |51 |3 |41 |- |90 |8 |16
14 June to 20 June |21 |48 |41 |51 |35 |60 |- |29 |- |90 |7 |20
21 June to 27 June |36 |51 |33 |57 |30 |50 |1 |32 |- |60 |11 |19
28 June to 4 July |10 |32 |17 |46 |28 |51 |5 |32 |1 |95 |5
5 July to 11 July |10 |57 |40 |57 |27 |50 |2 |29 |- |88 |9 |24
12 July to 18 July |13 |39 |38 |51 |30 |47 |1 |47 |- |92 |4 |20
19 July to 25 July |17 |45 |33 |39 |38 |52 |3 |45 |- |81 |6 |12
26 July to 1 August |36 |32 |34 |65 |25 |42 |1 |40 |- |92 |1
2 August to 8 August |29 |22 |38 |103 |33 |46 |2 |22 |- |95 |4 |9
9 August to 15 August |28 |19 |34 |58 |30 |52 |2 |31 |- |73 |4 |15
16 August to 22 August |26 |26 |28 |46 |28 |72 |1 |38 |- |63 |1 |12
23 August to 29 August |28 |39 |36 |43 |28 |54 |- |33 |- |80 |4 |5
30 August to 31 August |- |- |- |- |2 |- |- |- |- |- |-
Total receptions for period |286 |486 |434 |709 |397 |676 |29 |455 |1 |1,078 |73 |211
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Number of prisoners received under sentence initially into Leeds, Liverpool, Birmingham, Durham, Brixton and Lewes
June to August 1992
Sentence
||12establishment
Leeds Liverpool Birmingham Durham Brixton Lewes
Period date received |Fine defaulter |Others |Fine defaulter |Others |Fine defaulter |Others |Fine defaulter |Others |Fine defaulter |Others |Fine defaulter |Others
sentence
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 June to 6 June |15 |33 |30 |45 |33 |49 |8 |36 |- |79 |9 |22
7 June to 13 June |17 |43 |32 |48 |30 |51 |3 |41 |- |90 |8 |16
14 June to 20 June |21 |48 |41 |51 |35 |60 |- |29 |- |90 |7 |20
21 June to 27 June |36 |51 |33 |57 |30 |50 |1 |32 |- |60 |11 |19
28 June to 4 July |10 |32 |17 |46 |28 |51 |5 |32 |1 |95 |5
5 July to 11 July |10 |57 |40 |57 |27 |50 |2 |29 |- |88 |9 |24
12 July to 18 July |13 |39 |38 |51 |30 |47 |1 |47 |- |92 |4 |20
19 July to 25 July |17 |45 |33 |39 |38 |52 |3 |45 |- |81 |6 |12
26 July to 1 August |36 |32 |34 |65 |25 |42 |1 |40 |- |92 |1
2 August to 8 August |29 |22 |38 |103 |33 |46 |2 |22 |- |95 |4 |9
9 August to 15 August |28 |19 |34 |58 |30 |52 |2 |31 |- |73 |4 |15
16 August to 22 August |26 |26 |28 |46 |28 |72 |1 |38 |- |63 |1 |12
23 August to 29 August |28 |39 |36 |43 |28 |54 |- |33 |- |80 |4 |5
30 August to 31 August |- |- |- |- |2 |- |- |- |- |- |-
Total receptions for period |286 |486 |434 |709 |397 |676 |29 |455 |1 |1,078 |73 |211
Ms. Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was (a) the total prison population, (b) the sentenced prison population, (c) the remand prison population and (d) the number of imprisoned fine defaulters on each Friday from the beginning of the September to date.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The available information is given in the table which relates to Prison Service establishments in England and Wales and does not include prisoners in police cells. The data on the unsentenced population include inmates remanded in custody by magistrates courts, committed for trial in the Crown court and also those who have been convicted but not yet sentenced. Information on fine defaulters is currently only available for 30 September when the total was 256.
Date |Sentenced population|Unsentenced |Total population
|population
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4 September 1992 |37,838 |7,698 |45,536
11 September 1992 |37,741 |7,771 |45,512
18 September 1992 |37,906 |7,612 |45,518
25 September 1992 |37,669 |7,642 |45,311
2 October 1992 |37,075 |7,790 |44,865
9 October 1992 |37,082 |7,505 |44,587
16 October 1992 |36,800 |7,451 |44,251
23 October 1992 |36,711 |7,434 |44,145
30 October 1992 |36,450 |7,335 |43,785
6 November 1992 |36,353 |7,204 |43,557
13 November 1992 |36,125 |7,143 |43,268
20 November 1992 |35,934 |7,157 |43,091
27 November 1992 |35,893 |7,106 |42,999
4 December 1992 |35,745 |7,023 |42,768
11 December 1992 |35,436 |6,952 |42,388
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Police Supernumerary Posts
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will allow police authorities to hold supernumerary posts to deal with problems of crime in city centres and town centres, on housing estates and in the community generally.
Mr. Charles Wardle : No. Supernumerary police posts are considered only where there is a special commitment which is temporary. Supernumerary posts would not be considered for normal aspects of policing a force area.
Highpoint Prison
Ms. Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the incident at HMP Highpoint on 24 November ; and what plans he has to review security procedures in the light of the incident.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : An inquiry is currently being conducted into the disturbances at Highpoint prison. The inquiry will review security procedures and systems.
Racial Incidents
Ms. Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many recorded racial incidents occurred in each London borough in each of the last 12 months.
Mr. Charles Wardle : Information in the form requested is not available. The information supplied is for racial incidents recorded by the police by Metropolitan police area. The following table gives details of reported racial incidents for the 12 months to June 1992, the last month for which figures are presently available.
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Racial incidents in the Metropolitan Police Areas for the twelve months ending
June 1992
Month |Area 1|Area 2|Area 3|Area 4|Area 5|Area 6|Area 7|Area 8|Total
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1991
July |39 |106 |66 |23 |34 |29 |57 |8 |362
August |29 |84 |73 |28 |31 |21 |66 |3 |335
September |30 |80 |51 |18 |33 |17 |66 |8 |303
October |34 |90 |49 |25 |17 |20 |56 |9 |300
November |27 |59 |35 |22 |13 |17 |54 |4 |231
December |18 |45 |30 |23 |20 |15 |31 |1 |183
1992
January |35 |71 |40 |28 |18 |11 |49 |7 |259
February |20 |78 |68 |22 |38 |17 |37 |7 |287
March |32 |93 |89 |28 |31 |13 |43 |2 |331
April |24 |99 |76 |35 |25 |20 |43 |6 |328
May |22 |98 |81 |45 |28 |18 |45 |5 |342
June |43 |94 |72 |47 |33 |13 |52 |10 |364
Prison Visitors
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he will take to encourage persons from ethnic minorities to join the membership of prison boards of visitors.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : In making appointments to a board of visitors, consideration is given to the abilities of the individual candidate to discharge the duties effectively and the desirability of maintaining, so far as possible, a representative balance on the board in terms, for example, of age, sex, and social and ethnic background. No fewer than two members of the board are required to be justices of the peace. The membership of individual boards is reviewed every three years.
Advice on the selection and appointment of new members forms part of the training of chairmen of boards and is also included in the "Notes for the guidance of Chairmen" in the "Handbook for Members of Boards of Visitors", a copy of which is in the Library.
Chairmen are encouraged to seek members from the ethnic minorities wherever possible and to advertise as necessary.
The current ethnic make up of boards is as follows :
Ethnic origin |Percentage of
|members in post on
|14 December 1992
---------------------------------------------------------
Asian |2.52
Black |3.69
White |64.35
Other |0.18
Not known |29.26
Prison Education
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will continue to employ prison education officers at every prison.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Under present arrangements, each prison establishment has an education officer, usually employed by the local education authority. Following the current competitive tendering exercise, each prison establishment, from 1 April 1993, will have an education co- ordinator employed by the successful contractor. The education co-ordinator will be an on-site manager accountable to the governor for ensuring that the educational services required of the contractor are discharged effectively and efficiently.
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to improve the morale of prison education personnel in Wakefield prison following the report of Her Majesty's chief inspector of prisons for 1991-92.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The report of Her Majesty's chief inspector of prisons, published in July 1992, related to an
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inspection of Her Majesty's prison Wakefield undertaken in October 1991. The education programme was then described as lacking in imagination and breadth with an absence of a team approach, a lack of openness, poor communications and unfilled potential.Since then, there have been changes in staff. It is also hoped, in due course, to provide improved accommodation for classes. One of the purposes of the current competitive tendering exercise is, of course, to stimulate new and better ways of carrying out tasks. More detailed specification by the Prison Service of its requirements, establishment by establishment, and more rigorous monitoring should improve standards of education provision and the morale of the staff delivering it.
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons were employed in prison education within (a) individual prisons and (b) all prison establishments for each year since 1979.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : This information is not held centrally. The Prison Service currently obtains most education services for prisoners through local education authorities. It is generally the local education authorities which employ the full and part-time salaried staff and sessionally paid teachers required. The Prison Service reimburses local education authorities for the expenditure incurred and pays a small additional charge for administrative costs.
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how the prison education service will be publicly accountable in terms of services provided and overall budget, following compulsory competitive tendering ;
(2) if teachers working in prisons will continue to be paid at the same level and conditions as non-prison teaching staff ;
(3) which national agency will have responsibility for managing personnel in the prison education services following the introduction of compulsory competitive tendering ;
(4) how administrative fees for the prison education service will alter following compulsory competitive tendering.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : In the current competitive tendering exercise, the Prison Service has specified what educational services it requires to be provided and the contracts will provide for payment for all the services which the contractor undertakes to supply. The pay and conditions of service of the staff to provide those services and responsibility for their management and career development is a matter for their employer. The Prison Service will wish to assure itself of the adequacy of the arrangements the employer has made and also to monitor the quality for delivery of the service for which it has contracted.
This requirement that the Prison Service should specify, establishment by establishment, the services it requires and that the provider should be contractually liable if he fails to deliver is directed to improving effectiveness, public accountability, and value for money.
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Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how recommendations in the report of Her Majesty's inspector of prisons for 1991-92 will be implemented for education following the introduction of compulsory competitive tendering within the prison education system.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : The arrangements for responding to
recommendations from Her Majesty's chief inspector of prisons will not change. The chief inspector makes an annual report to the Secretary of State for the Home Department, as required by section 5A(5) of the Prison Act 1952. He also publishes reports of inspections of individual prisons, in which recommendations may be directed to the Secretary of State, the Director-General of the Prison Service, the responsible area manager or to the governor. These recommendations will continue to be considered and, where appropriate, implemented in respect of educational services bought in from contractors on and after 1 April 1993, as they are now in respect of services bought in from local education authorities.
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the budget for prison education for each financial year since 1979.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Total expenditure on education services in prisons in England and Wales since 1979 was as follows :
|£ million
------------------------------
1979-80 |6.5
1980-81 |8.6
1981-82 |8.6
1982-83 |9.9
1983-84 |11.0
1984-85 |11.9
1985-86 |12.3
1986-87 |14.8
1987-88 |16.9
1988-89 |19.5
1989-90 |22.9
1990-91 |25.5
1991-92 |29.5
Prison Complaints Procedure
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will take steps to speed up the request and complaints procedure between prisoners and the prison service headquarters.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Seventy-one per cent. of Prison Service headquarters replies are already within the time target set. Prison Service management will be considering what can be done to improve on that proportion.
Prisons (Suicide Prevention)
Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to encourage greater staff training and awareness in suicide prevention in the prison service.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : A training package in suicide awareness forms part of the induction training for all new prison officers, and is also available to all prison establishments for local delivery. It is for individual governors to determine what priority such training should have, taking into account other staff training needs at different times.
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Staff awareness is maintained by the suicide prevention management group within the establishment and by line managers. Prison Service headquarters provides active encouragement through the work of the national suicide awareness support unit. The unit issues regular newsletters as a way of sharing good practice within the Prison Service. It published an information paper in August 1992 which gives more details of national and local initiatives in this important area--my answer of 27 October, at column 580, refers.Mr. Hinchliffe : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in how many prisons suicide prevention management groups are established ; and how he will encourage the involvement of the Samaritans.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Suicide prevention management groups are established in all prisons in England and Wales.
The Samaritans are already extensively involved in prisons. Local branches are represented on almost all suicide prevention management groups. The nature of their involvement varies according to local needs, but many include regular surgeries for prisoners ; confidential befriending of suicide prisoners by visit, phone and letter ; and training and support of prison staff and prisoner befrienders. This work is co-ordinated by the national prison liaison and development officer for the Samaritans. The Prison Service is funding this post for a two-year period. In conjunction with the Samaritans, the Prison Service also issued, in January 1992 guidelines to prisons on the role of the Samaritans and how it can be developed.
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