§ Mr. Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many day releases were authorised at HMP Blantyre House during 1999. [123639]
§ Mr. BoatengThe exact figure is not available, but it is estimated that there were approximately 16,000 day releases in connection with work and community placements. The available information is that there were 627W 15,118 releases on temporary licence between 1 April 1999 and 31 March 2000. However, this figure includes authorised absences for periods of less than a whole day and also for longer periods, while for prisoners involved in work or community placements, a single licence may cover a number of daily absences.
§ Mr. Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners at HMP Blantyre House are on work and community placements. [123640]
§ Mr. BoatengThe numbers fluctuate slightly from day to day. On 23 May, there were 19 prisoners on community placements, five on work experience and 38 at work.
§ Mr. Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many assaults were registered at HMP Blantyre House in 1999. [123643]
§ Mr. BoatengNone.
§ Mr. Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reasons a search was authorised by the Prison Service at HMP Blantyre House on 5 May; how many staff were used on 5 May to search and secure HMP Blantyre House; what was the outcome of the search and if he will list those items found; what were the results of the drug tests on prisoners taken following the search; and if he will make a statement. [123644]
§ Mr. BoatengThe Director General of the Prison Service authorised the search in the light of intelligence suggesting that some prisoners on the working out scheme might be engaging in criminal activity.
Sixty-two officer grades (prison officers, senior officers and principal officers) from other establishments were involved in the operation. This included 28 officers in specialist control and restraint teams who were primarily on hand in case of any indiscipline on the part of prisoners. In the event, they were not required for this role and were redeployed to expedite the completion of the search.
The search made 98 finds of unauthorised articles, including cash to the value of £370, nine mobile telephones, 25 bank and credit cards and banks' books, a small quantity of illicit drugs, 12 cameras, two computers, two televisions, a set of building tools, seven examples of hard core pornography, tattooing equipment, computer disks, screwdrivers and blank visiting orders for Elmley prison.
Blantyre House carries out important resettlement work with long-term prisoners. I do not expect this operation to lead to any change in Blantyre House's ethos and role, but it was necessary to maintain the confidence in the establishment without which its valuable work could have been jeopardised.
§ Mr. Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the reconviction rate for prisoners discharged from HMP Blantyre House in the latest 12 months for which figures are available. [123641]
§ Mr. BoatengThe two-year reconviction rates for prisoners discharged from Her Majesty's Prison Blantyre House in 1995 was 20 per cent. The reconviction rate has been derived by analysing a stratified random sample of628W discharges from all prisons during the year; the sample contained just 12 offenders who were discharged from Blantyre House.
There is a selection criteria for inmates of Blantyre House which means that the reconviction rates for this prison are not directly comparable with reconviction rates for other prisons.
§ Mr. Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many drug tests were positive at HMP Blantyre House in 1999. [123642]
§ Mr. BoatengThe available information is for the 12 months to 31 March 2000. In this period, there were two positive drug tests at Blantyre House.
§ Mr. Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average population was at HMP Blantyre House in 1999. [123638]
§ Mr. BoatengProvisional information shows that the average population at Blantyre House Prison in 1999 was recorded as 115 persons.
§ Mr. Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he intends to publish the next HM Inspectorate of Prisons report on HMP Blantyre House; and if he will make statement. [123645]
§ Mr. BoatengThe last inspection of Blantyre House took place on 21–25 January this year. No publication date for the report has yet been set.
Under the protocol on the publication of inspection reports, the Prison Service is given the opportunity to check the report in draft for any factual inaccuracies. The Director General of the Prison Service is currently discussing a number of points from the draft with the Chief Inspector.
§ Mr. Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many senior staff have been removed from HMP Blantyre House since 4 May; and if he will make a statement. [123646]
§ Mr. BoatengThe governing governor, Eoin McLennan-Murray, was transferred to the post of deputy governor at Swaleside prison on 5 May. Another governor grade was also moved on detached duty to fill an essential specialist post elsewhere.