HC Deb 12 December 2000 vol 359 cc110-1W
Mr. Lidington

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many assaults on(a) staff, (b) prisoners and (c) other people took place in prisons and resulted in a positive disciplinary adjudication in (i) 1996–97, (ii) 1997–98, (iii) 1998–99, (iv) 1999–2000, and (v) the period since 1 April; if he will express those figures (A) in terms of actual numbers and (B) as a percentage of the average prison population during the relevant period; and if he will make a statement. [142439]

Mr. Boateng

Data for positive assault adjudications for the years in question are set out in the table. Data since 1 April 2000 are provisional and subject to validation.

1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 April to October 2000
Assaults on prisoners 2,747 3,004 3,131 3,456 1,943
Rate of assaults on prisoners (percentage) 4.8 4.8 4.8 5.3 5.1
Assaults on staff/others 2,531 2,857 2,998 3,010 1,808
Rate of assaults on staff/others (percentage) 4.5 4.6 4.6 4.7 4.8

The Prison Service does not collect data on assaults on staff and others separately. Data on assaults have been previously published in Her Majesty's Prison Service Corporate Plan 1999–2000 to 2001–02, Her Majesty's Prison Service Annual Reports and Accounts 1998–99 (HC 748) and Her Majesty's Prison Service Annual Reports and Accounts 1999–2000 (HC 622).