§ Lord Graham of Edmontonasked Her Majesty's Government:
Which prisons provide a regular court escort service; how many prisoners each prison escorts on average each month; and which court each prison serves.
Earl FerrersResponsibility for the subject of this Question has been delegated to the Prison Service and its Director General, Mr. Derek Lewis. The Director General has therefore responded to the Question and his letter is given below.
122WALetter from Mr. Derek Lewis, Director General of H.M. Prison Service, to Lord Graham of Edmonton:
Earl Ferrers has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the escorting of prisoners to and from court.
Forty-three prison service establishments provide a regular escort service to and from the Crown Court. Most of these establishments also deliver prisoners for appearances at magistrates' courts (for example, for remand hearings) but the police convey prisoners from magistrates' courts to establishments. In some cases (in London, Greater Manchester and Lancashire) the police also convey prisoners from establishments to magistrates' courts, the cost of this work being reimbursed by the Prison Service. The attached table gives the Crown Court centres concerned but does not name the large number of committing magistrates' courts. If you would find it helpful to have these names I would be pleased to provide them.
I am afraid that we do not collect centrally information on the number of prisoners escorted to court each month by Prison Service establishments.123WA
Establishmen Crown court Number of committing magistrates' courts Bedford Cambridge 5 Peterborough 3 Luton 8 Belmarsh Inner London Sessions 4 Woolwich 1 Birmingham Birmingham 2 Coventry 1 Blakenhurst (private) Warwick 7 Worcester 8 Wolverhampton 8* * These served by Birmingham until 23 August. Brinsford Birmingham 2 Derby 7 Wolverhampton 8 Shrewsbury 6 Stafford 8 Stoke-on-Trent 6 Worcester 8 Dolgellau 9 Welshpool 7 Bristol Bristol 10 Devizes 9 Swindon 8 Brixton Southwark 4 Central Criminal Court 1 Bullingdon Oxford 11 Reading 7 Camp Hill Newport (Isle of Wight) 1 Canterbury Canterbury 7 Cardiff Cardiff 6 Newport (Gwent) 3 Chelmsford Chelmsford 16 Southend 3 Dorchester Bournemouth 6 Dorchester 6 Taunton 7
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Establishment Crown court Number of committing magistrates' courts Durham Durham 6 Newcastle-upon-Tyne 10 Carlisle 9 Elmley Maidstone 7 Exeter Barnstaple 3 Truro 14 Exeter 11 Plymouth 5 Fellham wood Green 5 Kingston-upon-Thames 5 Southwark 4 Knightsbridge 4 Snaresbrook 7 Isleworth 4 Middlesex Guildhall 1 Central Criminal 2 Harrow 3 Inner London Sessions 4 Croydon 4 Guildford 9 13* * Youth courts. Glen Parva Coventry 1 Northampton 6 Warwick 7 Peterborough 3 Cambridge 5 Gloucester Gloucester 7 Worcester* 3 Hereford 3 * Under 21 years. High Down Guildford 9 Croydon 4 Hindley Caernarfon 8 Chester 4 Warrington 1 Mold 8 Knutsford 3 Manchester 10 Bolton 5 Holloway Aylesbury 6 Brighton — Bury St. Edmunds 6 Cambridge 5 Canterbury 4 Chelmsford 14 Chichester 6 Guildford 9 Ipswich 6 Kings Lynn 3 Lewes 10 Central Criminal Court 2 Croydon 4 Harrow 3 Inner London Sessions 5 Norwich 10 Oxford 10 Peterborough 3 Portsmouth 6 Reading 6 St. Albans 7 Isleworth 5 Kingston 5 Knightsbridge 3 Middlesex Guildhall 1 Southwark 4 Luton 8
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Establishment Crown court Number ofcommitting magistrates' courts Maidstone 10 Newport 1 Northampton 6 Southampton 5 Southend 1 Winchester 4 Holme House Teesside/Middlesborough 9 York 8* * Under 21 year olds. Lancaster Farms Barrow 2 Liverpool 9 Burnley 4 Carlisle 9 Lancaster 1 Preston 9 Leeds Leeds 9 Huddersfield 1 Wakefield 3 Lewes Lewes 10 Chichester 6 Brighton — Liverpool Caernarfon 8 Chester 4 Mold 8 Warrington 1 Liverpool 9 Knutsford 3 Bolton 5 Low Newton Carlisle 5 Durham 10 Newcastle-upon-Tyne Teesside Manchester Manchester 10 New Hall Derby 7 Doncaster 1 Grimsby 4 Huddersfield 1 Kingston 12 Leicester 9 Leeds 9 Lincoln 9 Nottingham 5 Sheffield 3 Stafford 9 York 8 Wakefield 3 Norwich Norwich 10 Kings Lynn 3 Ipswich 6 Bury St. Edmunds 6 Pentonville Wood Green 8 Snaresbrook 7 Preston Barrow 2 Burnley 4 Lancaster 1 Preston 9
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Establishment Crown court Number ofcommitting magistrates' courts Pucklechurch Exeter 9 Gloucester 7 Haverfordwes 3 Hereford 3 Merthyr Tydfil 3 Newport (Gwent) 3 Plymouth 5 Salisbury 1 Swansea 5 Swindon 2 Truro 10 Taunton 4 Warwick 7 Wolverhampton 8 Worcester 8 Reading Oxford 10 Portsmouth 6 Southampton 7 Swindon 6 Winchester 6 Reading 7 Risley Barrow 2 Bolton 5 Burnley 4 Caernarfon 8 Chester 4 Dolgellau 6 Knutsford 3 Lancaster 4 Liverpool 8 Manchester 9
Establishment Crown court Number of committing magistrates' courts Mold 9 Shrewsbury 6 Stoke-on-Trent 6 Warrington 1 Welshpool 3 Rochester Maidstone 10 Canterbury 4 Shrewsbury Shrewsbury 6 Stoke-on-Trent 6 Welshpool 7 Dolgellau 6 Stafford 6 Swansea Carmarthen 7 Haverfordwest 3 Merthyr Tydfil 5 Swansea 5 Wandsworth Kingston 5 Knightsbridge 3 Middlesex Guildhall 1 Winchester Portsmouth 6 Salisbury 2 Southampton 7 Winchester 6 Woodhill Aylesbury 6 Northampton 6 St. Albans 7 Wormwood Scrubs Harrow 3 Isleworth 5