HC Deb 03 December 1993 vol 233 cc770-2W
Mr. Redmond

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will list for the West Yorkshire police area for the past 12 months(a) the number of prison movements to and from courts and (b) the number of prisoner escapes from (i) the police, (ii) the Prison Service, (iii) Group 4 custody in transit to and from courts and from custody at court, (c) the number of deaths, including suicides, by prisoners at court or in transit from court, (d) the number of assaults on (iv) the police, (v) the Prison Service and (vi) Group 4 officers while escorting prisoners to and from courts and (e) the number of prisoners arriving at court more than one hour late while in the care of (vii) the police, (viii) the Prison Service and (ix) Group 4 officers;

(2) if he will list for the North Yorkshire police area for the past 12 months (a) the number of prison movements to and from courts, (b) the number of prisoner escapes from (i) the police, (ii) the Prison Service and (iii) Group 4 custody in transit to and from courts and from custody at court, (c) the number of deaths, including suicides, by prisoners at court or in transit from court, (d) the number of assaults on (iv) the police, (v) the Prison Service and (vi) Group 4 officers while escorting prisoners to and from courts and (e) the number of prisoners arriving at court more than one hour late while in the care of (vii) the police, (viii) the Prison Service and (ix) Group 4 officers;

(3) if he will list for the Humberside police area for the past 12 months (a) the number of prison movements to and from courts and (b) the number of prisoner escapes from (i) the police, (ii) the Prison Service and (iii) Group 4 custody in transit to and from courts and from custody at court, (c) the number of deaths, including suicides, by prisoners at court or in transit from court, (d) the number of assaults on (iv) the police, (v) the Prison Service and (vi) Group 4 officers while escorting prisoners to and from courts and (e) the number of prisoners arriving at court more than one hour late while in the care of (vii) the police, (viii) the Prison Service and (ix) Group 4 officers;

(4) if he will list for the South Yorkshire police area for the past 12 months (a) the number of prison movements to and from courts and (b) the number of prisoner escapes from (i) the police, (ii) the Prison Service and (iii) Group 4 custody in transit to and from courts and from custody at court, (c) the number of deaths, including suicides, by prisoners at court or in transit from court, (d) the number of assaults on (iv) the police, (v) the Prison Service and (vi) Group 4 officers while escorting prisoners to and from courts and (e) the number of prisoners arriving at court more than one hour late while in the care of (vii) the police, (viii) the Prison Service and (ix) Group 4 officers.

Mr. Peter Lloyd

Responsibility for these matters 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 Mr. D. Lewis to Mr. Martin Redwood, dated 3 December 1993: The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Questions about court escort work in the South Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, West Yorkshire and Humberside force areas. Little of the information requested is routinely collected. Of that which is collected much is not in the format you requested and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. The information which is readily available relates mainly to the East Midlands and Humberside area, where responsibility for prisoner escort and court custody work has largely been contracted out to Group 4. The area covered by the contract with Group 4, known as Area 7, covers the police force areas of Derbyshire, Lincolnshire, Humberside, Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, South Yorkshire and part of North Yorkshire. Group 4 have been operating the contract since 5 April 1993. Between that date and 31 October 1993 Group 4 were responsible for a total of 61,459 prisoner movements. This includes taking prisoners to court, guarding them at court and taking them to prison from court. 2,152 prisoners delivered by Group 4 arrived at court after the start of court business, including those delivered to courts outside the contract area where the length of the journey precludes timely delivery. Between 1 November 1992 and 31 October 1993 in the Prison Service areas which are equivalent to the police force areas covered by your Questions and in Area 7 there were a total of 38 escapes from Prison Service or Group 4 custody and a total of 8 assaults on Prison Service or Group 4 staff by prisoners in transit to or from court. Specifically within Area 7 there were 26 escapes from Group 4 custody and 7 assaults on their staff between the start of the contract and 31 October. These figures are not comparable, since the majority of the work taken on by Group 4 was previously performed by the police. The great majority of the escapes from Group 4 custody have been from escorts which would previously have been carried out by the police. Police forces in the area have been unable to provide any data on escapes from escort and assaults during escort. Between 1 November 1992 and 31 October 1993 there were no deaths of prisoners whilst at court or in transit to or from court whilst in the custody of the Prison Service or the police forces in the areas covered by your Questions. There has been one such death within Area 7 since the start of the contract with Group 4.