§ Ms RuddockTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what provision has been made for private sector employees undertaking court escort duties to be subject to the terms of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974; what training is given in the duties and by whom; and what ratio of staff to prisoner Group 4 provides when escorting prisoners to and from court.
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§ Mr. Peter LloydResponsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Derek Lewis to Ms Joan Ruddock, dated 20 April 1993:
Court escort: Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974; Training given; Ratio of prisoner custody officer staff to prisoners.The Secretary of State has asked me to write to you directly in reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking what provision has been made for private sector employees undertaking court escort duties to be subject to the terms of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974; what training is given in the duties and by whom; and what ratio of staff to prisoner Group 4 provides when escorting prisoners to and from court.Prisoner Custody Officers (PCOs) are required to be certified as such by the Home Secretary as provided by Section 89 of, and Schedule 10 to, the Criminal Justice Act 1991. PCOs are exempt from the terms of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, and therefore, like Prison Officers, all previous convictions are taken into consideration in assessing their fitness for certification.Schedule 3 of the Court Escort Service Operational Specification, a copy of which has been placed in the Library of the House, sets out the requirement for the training of Prisoner Custody Officers. In the East Midlands and Humberside training has been overseen by the Prisoner Escort Monitor and his deputy.In general, prisoners are transported in cellular vehicles. As for the Prison Service, the staffing normally consists of a driver, and an escort who is located in the cells area of the vehicle and is able to monitor the prisoners during the journey.This basic staffing level is the same regardless of vehicle size but can be increased should intelligence deem it necessary. Where non-cellular vehicles are employed, a minimum of one PCO to each pair of prisoners or singleton prisoner, plus one additional PCO must be used.
§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what requirement there is for those tendering for transporting prisoners or managing prisons to declare(a) contributions to political parties, (b) relationships of directors to members of the Government and (c) membership of directors of organisations which could be construed to be subversive; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Peter LloydTenders are sought from companies which have the required capabilities, facilities and resources to deliver the required services. Evaluation is carried out by a panel consisting of officials and outside experts co-opted for the purpose. Tenderers are not required to declare any information about contributions to political parties, as this does not form part of any 187W evaluation process; it would be against the public interest for the level of contributions to be a factor in the evaluation process.
Similarly, the quality of both personnel and management of tenderers is evaluated on the merits of their experience and skills, and the matter of relationships to members of the Government whether of directors or other staff is irrelevant to the evaluation process, and the information is not sought.
Prior to the issue of invitations to tender, pre-qualification assessment is carried out on potential bidders. During this process, reference is made to a range of sources and agencies for financial, security and commercial aspects.