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Prisoners
Nick Herbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of all released prisoners were reconvicted for further offences committed in the first 18 days after release in the last year for which data are available. [174907]
Mr. Hanson: Reoffending rates for 18 days following release from prison are not routinely calculated. Reoffending rates have historically been calculated over a two year period and the most recent figures for adults released from prison in England and Wales are shown in the table.
Two year reoffending rates of adults released from prison, based on the first quarter of each year
| Reoffending rate (percentage) | |
Reoffending rates by month of re-offence are illustrated in figure 3 of “Re-offending of Adults: results from the 2004 cohort” publication. This information is currently not available for prison discharges only. This publication be can be found online at
Prisoners Transfers
Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 5 December 2007, Official Report, columns 1259-60W, for what offences the 11 prisoners transferred to prisons in England and Wales from prisons in Northern Ireland since 2000 were serving sentences; and what the grounds for transfer were. [175770]
Mr. Hanson: The transfer of prisoners between UK jurisdictions is governed by schedule 1 to the Crime (Sentences) Act 1997. Each application is assessed on its individual merits, taking into consideration:
(i) the purpose for which the transfer is requested;
(ii) whether the prisoner was ordinarily resident in the jurisdiction to which transfer is sought prior to the imposition of the current sentence; or whether members of the prisoner's close family are resident in that jurisdiction and there are reasonable grounds for believing that the prisoner will receive regular visits from them; or whether the prisoner has demonstrated through preparations that he has made for his life following release from prison that he intends to reside in the receiving jurisdiction upon release and he is in the later stages of his sentence;
(iii) whether there are grounds for believing that the prisoner may disrupt or attempt to disrupt any prison establishment, or pose an unacceptable risk to security; and
(iv) any compelling or compassionate circumstances.
The application of each prisoner transferred from Northern Ireland since 2000 met one of the conditions for transfer set out.
Information on the offences committed by each of the prisoners is not centrally held. I will write to the hon. Member once the information is available.
Prisoners: Deportation
Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment his Department has made of the number of foreign national prisoners who will qualify under the exemptions contained in the UK Borders Act 2007 from automatic deportation expressed as a percentage of foreign national prisoners in the prison and immigration removal estate. [163782]
Mr. Byrne: I have been asked to reply.
I am advised that based on our experience of deportations appeals and immigration cases currently subject to the non-suspensive appeals process, we are confident that most individuals subject to the new legislation will not fall within one of the exemptions.
Prisoners: Diets
Mr. Hurd:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will eliminate fast and convenience foods from the
diets of those in custody in (a) prisons and (b) young offenders' institutions; and if he will provide supplements aimed at improving behaviour, concentration and health into such diets. [176077]
Maria Eagle: The 2006 National Audit Office report HM Prison Service Serving Time: Prisoner Diet and Exercise noted that on the whole food offered to prisoners is in line with the Government's recommendations on healthy eating. Research into the effect on behaviour of nutritional supplements is planned to take place in two young offender institutions.
Prisoners: Drugs
Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people who have served jail sentences for drug related offences later re-offended in the latest period for which figures are available. [174739]
Mr. Hanson: Information is not available on re-offending by offenders released from prison having been convicted of drug offences. The most recently published adult re-offending figures ("Re-offending of Adults: Results from the 2004 Cohort") cover offenders released from prison and offenders commencing community sentences in England and Wales in the first quarter of 2004. Of those who were convicted of offences relating to the import, export, production or supply of drugs, 31.4 per cent. re-offended within two years. For drug possession and small scale supply offences this figure was 48.2 per cent.
These numbers relate to specific drugs offences only (including the possession and supply of drugs) and not to other offences (such as those involving acquisitive crime) which may be related to drugs issues of the offender.
Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what proportion of those persons serving community service sentences are doing so for drug-related offences; [174741]
(2) how many people are serving community service sentences for drug-related offences. [174742]
Mr. Hanson: On 30 June 2007, there were 5,470 persons (rounded to nearest 10) being supervised by the probation service under community sentences given for drugs offences. This represents some 5 per cent. of all persons being supervised under community sentences on that date. These numbers relate to specific drugs offences only (including the possession and supply of drugs) and not to other offences (such as those involving acquisitive crime) which may be related to drugs issues of the offender.
These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
Nia Griffith: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what proportion of those persons on remand are on remand for drug-related offences; [174743]
(2) how many people are on remand for drug-related offences; [174744]
(3) what proportion of those persons serving jail sentences are doing so for drug-related offences; [174745]
(4) how many people are serving jail sentences for drug-related offences. [174746]
Mr. Hanson: At the end of October 2007 there were 12,996 prisoners being held on remand in all prison establishments in England and Wales, of which 1,874 were for drug offences, or 14 per cent.
At the end of October 2007 there were 66,477 prisoners serving sentences in all prison establishments in England and Wales of which 10,526 were for drug offences, or 16 per cent..
This information is obtainable from the Population in Custody Monthly Tables at the website:
These numbers relate to specific drugs offences only (including the possession and supply of drugs) and not to other offences (such as those involving acquisitive crime) which may be related to drugs issues of the offender.
These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
Mr. Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps he is taking to combat the circulation and possession of illegal drugs in Chelmsford prison; and if he will make a statement. [174981]
Maria Eagle: HMP/YOI Chelmsford is taking many steps to tackle the supply of drugs including searching, perimeter security and close liaison with other agencies. It would not be appropriate for operational reasons to give details of the strategies currently in place.
Prisoners: Employment
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will introduce a key performance indicator target for prison establishments to provide a full working day for prisoners. [176004]
Maria Eagle: There are no plans to introduce a KPI to measure a full working day for prisoners. Currently, the Prison Service has KPIs for offending behaviour, drug treatment and employment and accommodation on release. These measures reflect the key work of the Prison Service in making prisoners less likely to reoffend.
Prisoners: Foreigners
Nick Herbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners serving indeterminate sentences for public protection for an offence of rape or attempted rape have a tariff of (a) under two years, (b) two years or more but less than four years and (c) four years or more. [175080]
Mr. Hanson:
A research study into prisoners received into prisons in England and Wales under Indeterminate Sentences for Public Protection (IPP) between April 2005 and March 2006 found that 46 IPPs had been given for rape or attempted rape. Of these 46, two had a tariff of under two years; 21 had a
tariff of two years to less than four years; and 20 had a four year plus tariff (tariff details were not provided for the remaining three).
These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems and data returns from prison establishments which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
Prisoners: Mentoring
Mr. Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what plans the Government have to expand the role of mentoring in helping prisoners develop employable skills. [175467]
Mr. Hanson: In December 2006, the Government set out in the document ‘Reducing Re-offending through Skills and Employment: Next Steps’ their plans for improving the skills and employment outcomes for all offenders in custody and in the community. A key element of this plan involves engaging employers to work with offenders and ex-offenders. Many employers offer training programmes which not only teach vocational skills but also involve mentoring in order to develop softer skills and improve employability. These softer skills include job searching, CV preparation, interview techniques and customer service.
Mentoring is also a vital service offered by voluntary and community sector organisations. There are several projects running across the country where these organisations work in partnership with Probation Boards, the Prison Service and the regional government offices to remove barriers to employment for offenders, including via mentoring on release from custody.
The Government's aim is to facilitate the sharing of good practice and lessons learnt from all the above examples of mentoring to encourage further and wider use of the methods which are proven to work best in improving skills and employability of offenders.
Prisoners: Police Custody
Mr. Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners were held in police cells in each police force area in each of the last five years; and at what estimated cost in each year. [172863] [Official Report, 20 February 2008, Vol. 472, c. 8MC.]
Mr. Hanson: Prisoners are either held in police cells under Operation Safeguard or as ad-hoc "lockouts".
Operation Safeguard was used in 2006 and 2007. Table 1 shows the number of occasions on which prisoners have been held in police cells under Operation Safeguard in each police force area in England and Wales in 2006 and 2007. (One occasion is defined as one prisoner night spent in a police cell.)
| Table 1: The number of occasions on which prisoners were held in police cells under Operation Safeguard | ||
| Police force area | 2006 | 2007 |
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