§ Mr. AllanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners completed(a) programmes accepted by his Department as being effective in reducing re-offending and (b) the sex offender treatment programme, in each of the last five years for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [40027]
§ Ms QuinSince 1996, the Prison Service has been accrediting offending behaviour programmes where research evidence exists that such programmes are effective in reducing offending behaviour. The numbers prior to 1996 relate to programmes which were subsequently accredited.
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Sex offender treatment programme (SOTP) Number SOTP Core Programme 1993–94 439 1994–95 554 1995–96 406 1996–97 564 1997–98 1533 SOTP Booster/Relapse Prevention 1995–96 33 1996–97 116 1997–98 1138 Cognitive Skills Reasoning and Rehabilitation 1993–94 63 1994–95 44 1995–96 115 1996–97 190 1997–87 1405 Enhanced Thinking Skills 1993–94 46 1994–95 241 1995–96 631 1996–97 580 1997–98 11,164 1Provisional figures
§ Mr. AllanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the average amount of time spent by(a) sentenced and (b) remand prisoners (i) in their cells, (ii) on education and other projects, (iii) working and (iv) on recreation; and if he will make a statement. [40076]
§ Ms QuinThe Prison Service does not monitor activity time or the time prisoners are unlocked by type of prisoner.
- (i) The Prison Service monitors the time that is available for prisoners to spend out of their cell, based on normal prison routines, rather than actual time that prisoners spend in their cell. At the end of February 1998, the average amount of time that prisoners spent unlocked was 10.9 hours per day on weekdays and 9.7 hours per day at weekends.
- (ii) In 1997–98, prisoners on average spent 4.2 hours per week in educational activity. This includes day-time and evening education, vocational, construction and industrial training.
- (iii) In 1997–98, prisoners on average spent 13.2 hours per week engaged in work. This includes support to works and maintenance staff around the prison, workshops, farms, gardens, kitchen and other domestic work.
- (iv) In 1997–98, prisoners on average spent 28.5 hours per week in recreation. Recreation covers time spent unlocked and able to participate in structured recreational or leisure activities, including mealtimes taken in association.
All data for 1997–98 are still provisional but are not expected to change significantly.
§ Mr. AllanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners were released from Prison Service custody in each of the three most recent years for which figures are available. [40082]
§ Ms QuinInformation on the number of persons discharged from determinate sentences in England and Wales, 1995–97 is given in the table.
Year Number discharged from determinate sentences1 1995 59,810 1996 63,650 19972 68,500 1 Excludes discharge following recall after release on Licence, non-criminals and fine defaulters. 2 Provisional figures. Information regarding the number of persons discharged from determinate sentences in 1995 and 1996 is published in successive volumes of "Prison statistics, England and Wales" (tables 3.14, 4.12 and 5.11 of the 1996 edition, Cm 3732), copies of which are in the Library.
§ Mr. Malcolm BruceTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the average amount of time spent by prisoners on(a) education, (b) vocational training, (c) Prison Service employment and (d) employment involving sale of products or services to the private sector in (i) 1995–96, (ii) 1996–97 and (iii) 1997–98; and if he will make a statement. [40220]
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§ Ms Quin[holding answer 30 April 1998]The total time spent by prisoners on education from the calendar year 1995 to date is detailed in table A.
Comparable statistics for vocational training are not available. There is a wide range of accredited vocational and educational courses at various levels available which range from Associated Examination Board Basic Skills Tests in English and Arithmetic, through Wordpower and
Table A Education provision for prisoners 1995–1998 Year Hours of student study % reduction on previous year Teaching hours bought % reduction on previous year Average class size 1995 9,413,457 — 1,245,580 — 7.56 1996 8,947,305 4.95 1,169,717 6.09 7.65 1997 8,879,747 0.75 1,119,589 4.28 8 1998 (to date) 2,177,464 — 283,962 — 7.6
Table B Time spent by prisoners in constructive activity 1995/96–1997/98 Activity 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 Works 14.3 13.5 13.2 Education 5.0 4.3 4.2 (of which vocational, construction and industrial training courses) 1.4 1.2 1.1
§ Mr. Malcolm BruceTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners are presently employed on work which involves payments from the private sector for services or products provided; and if he will make a statement. [40219]
§ Ms Quin[holding answer 30 April 1998]The total number of prisoners presently employed on work involving payment from the private sector is 3,334.