HC Deb 06 February 1997 vol 289 cc726-7W
Ms Mowlam

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the annual budget of the assisted prison visits scheme; what are the costs of administering the scheme in (i) the Northern Ireland Office and (ii) the Department of Health and Social Services; how many claims have been made from each of the prisons in Northern Ireland; and how much was allocated in payments to prisoners' families in each of the last five years. [14090]

Sir John Wheeler

Responsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Northern Ireland Prison Service under its chief executive, Mr. Alan Shannon. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.

Letter from Alan Shannon to Ms Majorie Mowlam, dated 5 February 1997: The Secretary of state has asked me to reply to the Parliamentary Question you tabled relating to the Assisted Prison Visits Scheme. The Assisted Prison Visits Scheme in Northern Ireland is administered, on behalf of the Prison Service, by the Benefits Agency of the Department of Health and Social Services through its network of local offices. Claims are made in person and are paid in advance, either by travel warrant or by Girocheque. The costs of the scheme, including the administration costs, are wholly borne by the Prison Service and are made up of the administration fee charged by the Benefits Agency, the staff costs (which are not separately quantified but which are in the order of £15k per annum) incurred by the Service and the amounts paid to eligible claimants. The table below illustrates the breakdown of costs from the beginning of the 1992/93 financial year to 31 December 1996, the latest date for which figures are available. You will note that the number of claims paid in each year is split into local claims and those to prisons in England and Wales and Scotland; visits to Channel island prisons or the Isle of Man prison are not covered.

Financial year Visits in Northern Ireland Visits in Great Britain Total paid out £ thousand Administration costs £ thousand Total cost £ thousand
1992–93 2,266 231 76.6 15.0 91.6
1993–94 2,437 344 95.0 17.4 112.4
1994–95 2,396 357 110.0 18.0 128.0
1995–96 2,336 257 86.7 17.6 104.3
1996–97 1,834 367 82.4 15.9 98.3
1 Against a 1996–97 baseline provision of £145.0 thousand.

In order to come into line with the rest of the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland increased the number of paid visits in any 12 month period to 26, with effect from January 1996.

I hope this is helpful.