§ Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) who is responsible for overseeing the quality and implementation of sex offender treatment programmes throughout the prison estate; and if he will make a statement; [37682]
(2) how many offenders have had places on sex offender treatment programmes in each of the last five years; what the target was for the number of offenders on these programmes in each year for which targets were set; what the estimate is of the total number of sex offenders in prison at any one time; what the total number of sex offenders who were on programmes in young offenders institutions was in each of the last five years; what the estimate is of the total number of young sex offenders in custody at any one time; and if he will make a statement. [37681]
§ Beverley HughesThe Prison Service measures its performance in delivering the sex offender treatment programme by completions rather than by the number of participants, because some participants who start the programme may not complete it. The table sets out the targets, completions and completions adjusted in the light of audit quality markings awarded to each programme site (the latter figure representing the Service's final Key Performance Indicator score).
Year Targets Completions Audit adjusted completions 1996–97 650 680 663 1997–98 670 736 671 1998–99 680 664 589 1999–2000 700 669 585 2001–01 1,020 851 783 The numbers of prisoners in custody for sexual offences over the past five years were as follows.
48W
Year Sentenced nude adult sex offenders in custody Sentenced male young offenders in custody 1996–97 3,786 153 1997–98 3,903 166 1998–99 4,574 205 1999–2000 4,714 215 2000–01 4,854 216 The quality and implementation of the sex offender treatment programme is overseen by the Prison Service's Offending Behaviour Programmes Unit working to standards set and maintained by the independent Prison/Probation Service Joint Accreditation Panel. The Unit develops the programmes, the implementation processes and the audit processes, all of which must then he accredited by the Panel. The Unit ensures that the standards demanded by those processes are maintained by training staff and by annual audits of implementation, carried out to the accredited standards. The Panel also conducts an annual moderating exercise on the audits conducted by the Unit.