HC Deb 06 May 1994 vol 242 cc666-8W
Mr. Hoyle

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many prison auxiliaries and civilian grades have been employed at each prison establishment in each of the last five years;

(2) what is the proportion of (a) male and (b) female prison officers who are aged (i) 18 to 24 years, (ii) 25 to 40 years, (iii) 41 to 55 years and (iv) over 55 years;

(3) if he will list the number of assaults on prison officers, and the rate of assaults on prison officers per 100 prisoners, at each prison establishment in England and Wales;

(4) how many working days in each of the last 10 years have been lost to the prison service because of assaults on staff;

(5) at what prison establishments creche facilities are provided for staff; and what are his plans to provide such facilities in the future;

(6) how many prison officers work in the prison service of England and Wales; in what establishments they work; and at what grade;

(7) how many people from the ethnic minorities work as (a) prison officers, (b) prison auxiliaries, and (c) civilian works staff; and at what grade and at what establishments they work;

(8) how many women prison officers currently work in the prison service; at what establishments; and at what grade;

(9) how many assaults on prison officers in each of the past five years involved weapons;

(10) how many prison officers in each of the last 10 years have been medically retired following an assault:

(11) how many women prison officers have been physically or sexually assaulted in each of the last five years.

Mr. Peter Lloyd

Responsibility for these matters 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 Brian Landers to Mr. Doug Hoyle, dated May 1994: The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Questions asking for a breakdown of Prison Service staff by age, sex, grade and ethnic origin, and about assaults. The information you requested is set out in tables which have been laid in the library of the House.

Physical and sexual assault on women prison officers Our recording of assaults does not distinguish between those on male and female staff, or between sexual and other types of assault.

Working days lost due to assault Our information on the impact of assaults on staff is not as detailed as it might be, and we are considering the extent to which it can be improved. We do not record separately the amount of sick leave taken as a consequence of assault. Available figures for total sick leave taken per uniformed officer, for whatever cause, are 13.47 days in 1991–92, 12.75 days in 1992–93 and 13.05 days (provisional figure) in 1993–94.

Medical retirement due to assault We do not have separate figures for members of staff who have been granted medical retirement as a result of assault, but the total numbers of Prison Officers who have been medically retired from the Prison Service since 1992 (reliable information for earlier years is not available) are 240 in 1992, 251 in 1993 and 95 in 1994 (as at 29 April). As we have explained in our recent correspondence, we do take assaults on members of staff very seriously, and the numbers of all assaults, of whatever kind, is one of the Service's key performance indicators. Reducing violence in prisons is one of the top priorities identified in our Corporate Plan. We endeavour to help any member of staff on long term sick leave, for whatever reason, by counselling and advice from line management or from our staff care and welfare service.

Creches in prisons The Prison Service has one workplace nursery at Holloway prison, which is used by staff at Holloway and Pentonville prisons. It will shortly be expanding, to offer a total of 44 places. To enable other governors to consider the need for childcare facilities for their staff, the Prison Service Guide to Setting Up a Nursery was published in 1993. This guide drew on the Service's experience in setting up the nursery at Holloway and on more general guidance issued by the Cabinet Office in 1992 on childcare in the Civil Service. A number of establishments are now surveying local demand for and feasibility of childcare facilities. Prison Service staff in London and Croydon have access to nurseries run by the Home Office and other government departments and the Service has very recently bought five places in the British Rail network of nurseries around the country.

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