HC Deb 13 November 2000 vol 356 cc532-4W
Mr. Simon Hughes

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many certified prison custody officers are employed in each private prison in England and Wales. [137846]

Mr. Boateng

The number of prisoner custody officers at each privately managed prison is:

Privately managed prison Number
Wolds 139
Blakenhurst 231
Doncaster 249
Parc 256
Altcourse 292
Lowdham Grange 117
Ashfield 134
Forest Bank 215

Mr. Simon Hughes

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost was of the contracts and competitions group within the Prison Service in each of the last three years. [137845]

Mr. Boateng

The costs requested are:

Year £
1997–98 939,134
1998–99 1,122,844
1999–2000 1,379,395

Mr. Simon Hughes

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish the Wilson report on the comparative costs of state and private prisons; and if he will make a statement. [137848]

Mr. Boateng

I refer the hon. Member to the reply my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary gave my hon. Friend the Member for Doncaster, Central (Ms Winterton) on 25 June 1998,Official Report, column 587W. The Wilson report is one of the two reviews referred to in that reply.

Jackie Ballard

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average cost is of a prison place in each contracted out prison. [137804]

Mr. Boateng

The cost of a prison place in each contracted out prison is:

Prison £
Wolds 26,224
Blakenhurst 22,622
Doncaster 25,335
Pare 39,546
Altcourse 57,908
Lowdham Grange 30,160
Ashfield 39,120
Forest Bank 28,886

The figures represent costs at the end of September 2000 annualised over 2000–01. The average cost per place for the eight prisons is £33,725. The costs for Private Finance Initiative prisons include an element for the repayment of the capital financing charge.

Jackie Ballard

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what sum Premier Prison Services has repaid to the Prison Service as a result of the refinancing of PFI schemes for HM Prisons(a) Lowdham Grange, (b) Ashfield, (c) Dovegate and (d) Hassockfield Secure Training Centre. [137798]

Mr. Boateng

Premier Prison Services Ltd. (PPS) has not refinanced its Private Finance Initiative (PFI) schemes. In late 1999 the holding companies of relevant PFI projects and their parent companies were restructured. This mechanical change did not alter the charges paid by the Prison Service or its lender liabilities in respect of Lowdham Grange, Ashfield or Dovegate prisons. The same applies to the Hassockfield Secure Training Centre which is a Home Office project.

Jackie Ballard

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much it has cost on average to build a prison place in each of the contracted out prisons. [137803]

Mr. Boateng

The capital cost for each Private Finance Initiative (PFI) prison place is:

£
Parc 53,750
Altcourse 105,000
Lowdham Grange 56,000
Ashfield 75,000
Forest Bank 62,500
Rye Hill 66,667
Dovegate 86,250

The average capital cost per place for the seven PH prisons is £72,167.

Mr. Simon Hughes

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many accredited offender programmes are running in each private prison in England and Wales. [137847]

Mr. Boateng

Blakenhurst, Doncaster and Forest Bank prisons each run one accredited cognitive behavioural programme—the Enhanced Thinking Skills programme. Wolds prison runs two accredited programmes: the CALM (Controlling Anger and Learning to Manage It) programme and the Reasoning and Rehabilitation programme. Parc prison is due to introduce Reasoning and Rehabilitation later this financial year.

Rye Hill prison is due to introduce Reasoning and Rehabilitation later this financial year, and the Sex Offender Treatment Programme within the next financial year. Dovegate prison is due to introduce the Sex Offender Treatment Programme within the next financial year. Altcourse and Ashfield prisons do not run any accredited programmes at present.

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