§ Mrs. GillanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who will decide whether to grant a home detention curfew until the Chief Executive of the National Offender Management Service takes up his appointment on 1 June. [149087]
§ Paul Goggins[holding answer 26 January 2004]Decisions on whether to grant a prisoner release on home detention curfew are made by prison governors. There will however be exceptional cases where an offender who has successfully passed the risk assessment may be considered unsuitable for Home Detention Curfew (HOC) if to grant HDC would undermine public confidence in the scheme. The Home Secretary has decided that such exceptional cases should be referred to the Chief Executive of the National Offender Management Service who will take the final decision whether or not to grant HDC.
Martin Narey was appointed Chief Executive of the National Offender Management Service on 6 January 2004. He will deal with all such decisions.
§ Mr. AmessTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people have been released on the Home Detention Curfew Scheme. [154320]
§ Paul GogginsThe Home Detention Curfew Scheme has been in operation since January 1999. Up to and including 31 December 2003, there have been 86,000 people released on the scheme.