§ The Minister of State, Northern Ireland Office (Jane Kennedy)On 8 September 2003, the Secretary of State formally accepted the recommendations of the Steele130WS Review of Safety at Maghaberry Prison. The review recommended that prisoners with paramilitary affiliations should be accommodated separately from each other, and from the rest of the prison population, on a voluntary basis.
This major unforeseen change makes it now necessary to amend the Northern Ireland Prison Service Corporate and Business Plan 2003–06 to reflect the changing circumstances and priorities within the Service.
I have approved the following amendments to the Corporate and Business Plan.
The planning assumptions will now include reference to the requirement to hold some prisoners with paramilitary affiliations in separated conditions.
Amendments will also be made to reflect the extent to which the Service contributes generally to the NIO's objectives and PSA targets.
Three of the Service's twelve Key Targets for 2003–04 are adjusted as follows:
Target 5: an average of at least 18 hours constructive activity per week for each sentenced prisoner (previously 20).Target 6: an average of at least 9 hours constructive activity per week for each remand prisoner (previously 12).Target 8: deliver at least 75% of the planned training days associated with the agreed corporate training priorities (previously 85%).