§ Mr. Alex CarlileTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list all education programmes in the Prison Service which have been dropped, in the last year for which the information is available; and if he will make a statement. [29395]
§ Miss Widdecombe[holding answer 20 May 1996]: Responsibility 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.
251WLetter from Richard Tilt to Mr. Alex Carlile, dated 22 May 1996:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about Prison Service education programmes which have dropped in the last year.Courses which are provided in prisons vary constantly in response to local needs and priorities. Details of programmes which begin and end are not collated centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.The guidance on cost reductions which the Prisons Board has issued to governors makes it clear that emphasis should be on securing greater efficiency and that reductions in regime activities such as education should come as a last resort.Where reductions do take place, governors have been advised to look at courses which have few prisoners and are costly to run and also those which do not offer worthwhile qualifications or are not of any clear use to prisoners in helping them lead law-abiding and useful lives after release.252W
Number of persons sentenced to immediate custody within the administrative counties of Clwyd and Gwynedd 1984, 1989–1994 Petty sessional division1 1984 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 Within the County of Clwyd Berwyn 15 12 9 9 9 11 8 Colwyn 58 66 44 74 58 57 55 Dyffryn Clwyd 15 13 6 9 18 18 23 Flint 35 40 54 51 53 53 43 Hawarden 42 29 35 33 43 30 40 Mold 67 46 36 77 52 70 104 Rhuddan 117 101 86 76 74 100 114 Wrexham Maelor 167 140 136 162 113 121 123 Within the county of Gwynedd Aberconwy 101 99 76 105 56 56 53 Bangor 68 51 40 31 29 37 41 Caernarfon and Gwyrfai 33 36 35 43 30 38 29 Eifionydd and Pwllheli 6 30 24 12 4 26 17 North Anglesey 54 56 36 35 21 39 37 North Meirionnydd 17 22 8 10 10 7 10 South Anglesey 24 16 21 13 16 40 19 South Meirionnydd 14 36 21 24 11 12 20 1 Includes persons convicted at the Crown court where the committing court was one of those listed.
Some prisons are likely to reduce expenditure on non-essential education courses, others will be maintaining their existing provision and some are planning to expand education provision.