HC Deb 04 November 1993 vol 231 cc366-9W
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.

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 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.