§ Mr. CoxTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will list the(a) closed and (b) open prisons Muhammed Naviede has been held in since his prison sentence was imposed; [4502]
(2) which body is funding the private medical treatment being given to prison inmate Mohammed Naviede at St. Thomas's hospital, London; what has been the weekly cost of treatment; and when it is expected to conclude; [4501]
(3) what has been the number of prison officers and the hours they have spent guarding Mohammed Naviede, while at St. Thomas's hospital; what has been the total cost to date; and who is responsible for paying this cost. [4503]
§ Miss WiddecombeResponsibility for these matters has been delegated to the temporary Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from A. J. Butler to Mr. Tom Cox, dated 11 December 1995:
The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Questions about Mr Mohammed Naviede, who is at Brixton prison.Mr. Naviede was convicted and sentenced on 7 July for fraud. Since this date he has been detained at Brixton prison and no decisions have been made to transfer him to open conditions.Mr. Naviede was admitted to St. Thomas's Hospital as a NHS patient on 30 August. He elected to have the private treatment available at this hospital. The costs of the private care were not met by the Prison Service and we are, therefore, unable to comment upon who paid for the medical treatment and what the weekly costs were.500WMr. Naviede was at St. Thomas's Hospital until 18 September. Prison officers guarded him for the entire period. A total of six prison officers were deployed for each 24 hour period in line with standard security practice.The Prison Service is responsible for paying for the staffing costs involved in the escort and guarding of prisoners. Approximately £11,500 was spent on staffing resources for this period. The same costs would have been incurred had Mr. Naviede received National Health Service treatment.