HC Deb 07 February 1997 vol 289 cc739-40W
Mr. George Howarth

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) when a decision was made concerning the closure of the therapeutic community at HM YOI Glen Parva: [13831]

(2) what plans he has to provide alternative facilities at HM YOI Glen Parva following the recent closure of its therapeutic community; [13829]

(3) how many hours per month were spent by prisoners undergoing rehabilitation at HM YOI Glen Parva since January 1995; and of these hours, how many were spent undergoing rehabilitation in the therapeutic community; [13832]

(4) for what reasons the therapeutic community at HM YOI Glen Parva has recently closed; [13828]

(5) how long a period of notice of closure of the therapeutic community at HM YOI Glen Parva was given to (a) the prisoners and (b) the staff involved with the unit. [13830]

Miss Widdecombe

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 Richard Tilt to Mr. George Howarth, dated 7 February 1997: The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Questions about the Therapeutic Community at HMYOI Glen Parva and the reasons for its closures. The decision to close the Therapeutic Community was taken on 13 December 1996 and prisoners and staff were given about half a day's notice of its closure. The Therapeutic Community has been temporarily closed to allow the Governor to re-deploy existing health care staff to provide an increased level of cover and observation on the acute psychiatric and assessment wards following a decision to close the seclusion rooms for prisoners at risk of self-harm. There are no immediate plans to provide alternative facilities at Glen Parva, however health care facilities are currently being reviewed and the outcome of this review will determine the long term future of the Therapeutic Community. In the meantime a new therapeutic community unit has recently opened at Aylesbury Young Offenders Institution and priority will be given to prisoners from Glen Parva when considering admissions to this unit. Prisoners at Glen Parva have each spent an average of 79.19 hours a month undergoing rehabilitation since January 1995. The figure for those held within the Therapeutic Community, for the same period, was an average of 74.75 hours a month for each prisoner.