| Previous Section | Home Page |
Mr. Maclean : Responsibility for deciding whether or not to caution an offender in any particular case will
Column 365
continue to rest with the police who will make their own judgments as to what action it would be appropriate to take in particular circumstances. But we have estimated that the effect of the guidance which has just been issued for consultation might be to increase the number of prosecutions by some 25,000 to 30,000. The vast majority of these cases would be heard in the youth court or magistrates courts ; it is too soon to estimate reliably the effect, if any, on court waiting times.Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what is the average length of time from offence to the administering of a police caution nationally and in each police force area ;
(2) what is the average cost of a caution.
Mr. Maclean : This information is not available.
Falklands War Crimes
Mr. David Nicholson : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what expenditure has hitherto been incurred in investigating the alleged war crimes by British soldiers in the Falklands ; and what estimate he has for the cost of the total investigation.
Mr. Charles Wardle : I understand from the commissioner that the estimated additional cost of the investigation to date is £98,000 and that future additional costs are estimated at £3,800 per month.
Vehicle Security
Mr. Robert Ainsworth : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures he is taking to ensure the introduction of secure and visible vehicle identification numbers to improve vehicle security.
Mr. Charles Wardle : The Home Office and the police have for some years been encouraging motor manufacturers to introduce visible vehicle identification numbers on all new cars.
This is preferably done by the number being displayed on a permament tamper -proof plate bonded to the nearside windscreen pillar or dashboard of the vehicle, and I am pleased to say that a number of manufacturers are now responding positively to our representations.
Fines (Defaulters)
Mr. Alton : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of prisoners have been imprisoned for defaulting on payment of fines.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the director general of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from D. Lewis to Mr. David Alton, dated November 1993 : The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the percentage of prisoners imprisoned for defaulting on a fine in Prison Service establishments in England and Wales.
The latest available provisional information is for 31 August 1993 when fine defaulters accounted for some 1.5 per cent. of the total sentenced prison population.
Column 366
Mrs. Joy Gardner
Mr. Cohen : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will place in the Library a copy of the INDECS record of Mrs. Joy Gardner.
Mr. Charles Wardle : No. It is not our practice to make public immigration records relating to individuals.
Category A Prisoners
Mr. Mullin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will provide estimates for the annual cost of imprisoning a category A prisoner for each year since 1974.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the director general of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from D. Lewis to Mr. Chris Mullin, dated November 1993 : The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question concerning the annual cost of holding category A prisoners, since 1974.
Costs are collected by the type of establishment, rather than the category of prisoner.
All convicted category A prisoners are held in one of six dispersal prisons. The average annual cost of holding an inmate in a dispersal prison (at 1993-94 prices) is given for the years 1983-84 to 1992-93. Prior to 1983 the dispersal prisons were not costed separately.
Average annual cost (at 1993-94 prices) of holding a prisoner in a dispersal prison Year |£ ------------------------------ 1983-84 |42,010 1984-85 |40,435 1985-86 |37,279 1986-87 |35,885 1987-88 |40,570 1988-89 |36,730 1989-90 |35,294 1990-91 |36,333 1991-92 |44,627 1992-93 |<1>43,599 <1> Provisional.
Dispersal prisons hold all categories of inmates and we are unable to isolate those costs which relate directly to the category A prisoners.
Birmingham Pub Bombings
Mr. Mullin : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for reports from the appropriate chief constable to provide estimates for the cost including police wages of (a) the inquiry by Mr. David Owen into the injuries inflicted on the six people convicted of the Birmingham pub bombings during the first few days in custody, (b) the inquiry carried out by the City of London police in 1988 into alleged contacts between Dr. Frank Skuse and Mr. George Reade, (c) the first inquiry conducted by the Devon and Cornwall police into the pub bombings convictions and (d) the second inquiry conducted by the Devon and Cornwall police.
Mr. Charles Wardle : No. These are matters for the chief constable of the West Midlands police.
Column 367
Wymott Prison
Mr. Hoyle : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to implement the recommendations made in the report of Her Majesty's chief inspector of prisons on the disturbance at Her Majesty's prison, Wymott.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the director general of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from D. Lewis to Mr. Doug Hoyle, dated November 1993 : The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the plans to implement the recommendations made in the report of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons on the disturbance at Wymott prison. The report makes a total of 47 recommendations. Whilst some of these recommendations are specific to Wymott there are others concerning the management of Category C prisoners and the handling of major incidents. At this stage 42 of the Chief Inspector's recommendations have been accepted or accepted in principle, whilst the remaining five recommendations are currently being evaluated. Several of the accepted recommendations have already been implemented.
The recommendations still under evaluation are :
Recommendation 7.03, that the Certified Normal Accommodation for each house at Wymott should be reduced to make them more manageable ;
Recommendation 7.23, 7.24 and 7.25, which concern themselves with general management and tactical management issues for the Category C prisoner population ;
and Recommondation 7.29, which proposes measures to not hold active drug dealers in establishments with cubicular or dormitory accommodation.
This overall response to the Chief Inspector's Report effectively constitutes a broad programme of action to establish and maintain safety at Wymott. The outcome of the evaluation of the wider recommendations contained in 7.23, 7.24, 7.25 and 7.29 should contribute further to this both at Wymott and in other establishments, whilst the local recommendations for a reduction in house unit Certified Normal Accommodation will be considered in the light of proper experience of the establishment's new vulnerable prisoner population.
The timetable for implementation of this overall response to the Chief Inspector's Report will vary in accordance with the implications and demands of particular individual recommendations. Several of the local recommendations and those for the handling of major incidents have already been implemented. A decision has now been taken to demolish the two most severely damaged house units at Wymott and to replace this accommodation with new cellular blocks similar to those recently opened at the establishment in your own constituency, HM Prison Risley. This building programme will take somewhere in the region of 2 years to complete. Consideration still needs to be given to some of the broader issues concerning the Category C prisoner population, as the Chief Inspector's recommendations have a number of implications for other principles and regime priorities such as the Prison Service's desire to develop community prisons on the lines proposed in the Woolf report. Detailed work will be required to formulate a proper response which effectively balances these varying demands.
Ms Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what plans he has to continue the sex offender treatment programme for prisoners sent to Her Majesty's prison, Wymott ; (2) what assessment he has made of the impact on individual prisoners' progress through the sex offender treatment programme as a result of their compulsory transfer from Her Majesty's prison, Wymott.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the director general of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Column 368
Letter from D. Lewis to Ms Joan Ruddock, dated November 1993 : The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Questions about the sex offender treatment programme at Wymott.No prisoner who has participated in the sex offender treatment programme at Risley prison has been moved to Wymott on a compulsory basis, although four prisoners who had completed the formal treatment have so far chosen to go there on voluntary transfer. Staff from Risley have to date undertaken the necessary post-course assessment of these prisoners. It is intended that any similar further requirements in these cases will at this stage be primarily maintained from Risley.
At this time and for the immediately forseeable future, Risley is maintaining its existing programme for this form of group work. Wymott intends to start similar initiatives early in the new year. No prisoner who has started this kind of course at Risley, either at the present time or in the future, would be considered for any transfer to Wymott until they had completed their course. Any prisoner selected for future attendance on a course at Risley would only be transferred to Wymott if a suitable course place was available in the latter setting.
Once this form of groupwork has become fully established at Wymott the two establishments will work together on arrangements for the post-course assessment and support of all prisoners who have completed the formal treatment programme. This will ensure that a consistent level of care and assessment of progress is maintained for all the individual prisoners concerned.
Ms Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what decision he has come to on the conclusion of HM Chief Inspector of Prisons regarding the safety of the accommodation at HMP Wymott ; and on what basis the accommodation has been certified for use by prisoners.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the director general of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from D. Lewis to Ms Joan Ruddock, dated November 1993 : The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the safety of the accommodation at Wymott prison, and on what basis the accommodation has been certified for use by prisoners. HM Chief Inspector of Prisons' Report into the Disturbance at HM Prison Wymott on 6 September 1993 makes a total of 47
recommendations. Whilst some of these recommendations are specific to Wymott there are others concerning the management of Category C prisoners and the handling of major incidents. Many of this broader range of recommendations also have implications for safety at Wymott. At this stage 42 of the Chief Inspector's recommendations have been accepted or accepted in principle, whilst the remaining five are currently being evaluated. Several of the accepted recommendations have already been implemented.
The recommendations still under evaluation are :
Recommendation 7.03, that the Certified Normal Accommodation for each house at Wymott should be reduced to make them more manageable ;
Recommendation 7.23, 7.24 and 7.25, which concern themselves with general management and tactical management issues for the Category C prisoner population ;
Recommendation 7.29, which proposes measures to not hold active drug dealers in establishments with cubicular or dormitory accommodation.
This overall response to the Chief Inspector's Report effectively constitutes a broad programme of action to establish and maintain safety at Wymott. The outcome of the evaluation of the wider recommendations contained in 7.23, 7.24, 7.25 and 7.29 should contribute further to this both at Wymott and in other establishments, whilst the local recommendations for a reduction in house unit Certified Normal Accommodation will be considered in the light of proper experience of the establishment's
Column 369
new vulnerable prisoner population. This total response must be considered as part of the context for decisions now taken about the continuing and future use of accommodation at Wymott. These measures also in themselves contribute significantly to the maintenance and promotion of a safe environment for prisoners within this establishment.The Chief Inspector's Report makes two particular recommendations about the existing accommodation at Wymott :
Recommendation 7.01 , that the houses at Wymott should be redesigned and rebuilt or strengthened and converted to locked cellular accommodation ; and
Recommendation 7.02 , that integral sanitation and an emergency call bell system should be installed throughout following the conversion to locked cellular accommodation.
A decision has now been taken to demolish the two most severely damaged units (C and D Houses) and to replace this accommodation with cellular accommodation with integral sanitation and an emergency call bell system. The long term future of the remaining A and B Houses is being reviewed, and decisions on this should be reached in the early part of 1994.
At this stage, however, work is well underway for the full refurbishment of these houses and the division of their existing 24 place accommodation units in half. The Chief Inspector's proposed means of creating cellular accommodation with integral sanitation within the refurbished house units were noted. This would involve difficult technical issues for the services supplied to the buildings, and is not considered to be essential.
The implementation of several of the Chief Inspector's other recommendations, the further division of the existing accommodation units and changes already made to the daytime regime, night routines and the frequency of staff patrols together contribute significantly to the safety of Wymott's prisoner living areas. Such small cubicular accommodation with its access to night time sanitation is comparable with that found in several other establishments within the estate. This accommodation at Wymott has been certified for use in accordance with normal requirements of Section 14 of the Prison Act 1952 and Rule 23 of the Prison Rules 1964.
Ms Ruddock : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many vulnerable prisoners are now held at Wymott prison.
Mr. Peter Lloyd : Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the director general of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from D. Lewis to Ms Joan Ruddock, dated October 1993 : The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about vulnerable prisoners at Wymott prison.
On 2 November 1993, 129 vulnerable prisoners were located at Her Majesty's Prison Wymott.
Police White Paper
Mr. Michael : To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish a list of the organisations and individuals who have responded to or commented on the police White Paper ; and if he will place a copy of each comment and submission in the Library.
Mr. Charles Wardle : Since the White Paper on police reform was published on 28 June, representations have been received from the 263 organisations set out in the following list. In addition, 95 letters have been received from individuals in response to the proposals. An additional 91 letters have been received from organisations and individuals in response to the specific proposals set out in the White Paper about possible adjustments to the boundaries of the Metropolitan police.
Some organisations who have written may already have published their comments. But those commenting were not warned that their names or comments might be published
Column 370
and I do not therefore think it right to name private individuals who have written, or to place copies of any of the letters in the Library.List of Organisations from whom responses to the White Paper on police reform have been received
Alnwick District Council
Arun District Council
Assembly of Welsh Counties
Association of Metropolitan Authorities
Association of County Councils
Avon and Somerset police authority
Aylesbury Vale District Council
Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council
Bedfordshire Constabulary
Bedfordshire police authority
Bedfordshire County Council
Belgrave Road local consultative committee
Bidford on Avon Parish Council
Blyth Valley Borough Council
Bournemouth Town Council
Bournville Lane police local consultative committee
Bradford on Avon and District Crime Prevention Panel
Brecknock police liaison Committee
Brentwood Borough Council
Bridlington police community liaison committee
Bridlington Crime Prevention Panel
Brighton Borough Council
British Transport Police Federation
Broadbury and Bishopsworth police and community consultative group Cambridgeshire police authority
Camden Community and police consultative group
Carmathen District Councrfield Borough Council
Chiltern District Council
Christchurch Borough Council
Chute Parish Council
Clwyd County Council
Commission for Racial Equality
Conservative Party West Midlands Area
Coventry City Council
Craven District Council
Crigglestone Parish Council
Cumbria police authority
Dalton le Dale Parish Council
Darlington police community consultative group
Denby Dale Parish Council
Derbyshire County Council
Derwentside police community consultative group
Devon and Cornwall police authority
Dinefwr Borough
Dorset County Council
Durham police community consultative group
Durham County Council
Durham Association of Parish and Town Councils
Dyfed Powys police authority
Easington police community consultative group
East Lindsey District Council
East Sussex County Council
East Birmingham Pensioners
Eastbourne Borough Council
Ecclesfield community and police liaison forum
Epping Town Council
Epping Forest District Council
Essex police authority
Featherstone Town Council
Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council
Gloucestershire police authority
Gloucestershire County Council
Great Grimsby Borough Council
Greater Manchester police authority
Greater Manchester Superintendents' Association
Gwent police authority
Hampshire Superintendents' Association
Harrow Police and Community Consultative Group
| Next Section
| Home Page |