HC Deb 21 February 2000 vol 344 cc813-5W
Jackie Ballard

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what financial penalties have been incurred by the operator of HMP Parc since 1 March 1999; what contract failures have been identified since 1 March 1999; what payments have been withheld in respect of such failures; on what date the Prison Service withdrew special managerial attention from HMP Parc; which recommendations made by HM Chief Inspector of Prisons in his report of October 1999 have(a) been implemented and (b) not been implemented, stating the method of implementation and reasons for non-implementation respectively; and if he will make a statement. [1104431

Mr. Boateng

Financial penalties totalling £199,950.48 have been withheld for the period 1 March 1999 to 31 December 1999, of which £198,594.65 have been calculated by converting the penalty points accrued during the period to a financial value in accordance with the performance mechanism contained in the contract. The amount also includes the sum of £1,355.83 which has been deducted from the contractor for "doubling" in excess of permitted levels.

The incidents leading to the deductions are listed in the table and are failures to comply with performance standards.

The list of establishments requiring close managerial attention has been discontinued. For the current approach to raising the standard of under-performing prisons, I refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Home Secretary to my hon. Friend the Member for Bolton, West (Ms Kelly) on 31 January 2000, Official Report, column 426W.

Responses to inspection reports follow a protocol agreed between the Secretary of State, the Prison Service and Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons. Following the publication of an inspection report, the Prison Service produces an action plan within 30 working days setting out in detail the programme for implementing each recommendation or, in some cases, the reasons for rejecting the recommendation. The report on Parc contained 216 recommendations and all but 23 are being implemented. Action plans are routinely updated nine and 15 months after publication to monitor the progress made, and copies are submitted to Ministers and to the Chief Inspector. I will write to the hon. Member with details of progress when the Parc action plan has been updated in July.

Performance measures Number of incidents
Keep prisoners in custody
Escape from prison 1
Escape from escort 0
Absconds 0
Temporary release failure 0
Release in error 0
Items smuggled in 1
Category A procedure failure 0
Category A search failure 0
Failure of other (non-category A) procedure 65
Key lock compromises 0
Home detention curfew—risk assessment reports 0
Maintain order, control discipline and safe environment
Assaults on staff and others 19
Assaults on prisoners 13
Incident of concerted indiscipline 29
Incidents of hostage taking 0
Incidents of roof climbing 0
Incidents of self harm 211
Failure to complete 90 per cent. of mandatory drug tests 39
Incidents of class A drugs including opiates 17
Incidents of other drugs 165
Contingency planning exercise 0
Fire evacuation exercise 3
Failure to comply with agreed reporting procedures 0
Tool/implement loss (found) 0
Tool/implement loss (not found) 0
Providing decent conditions for prisoners and meet their needs, including healthcare
Failure to provide medical response 0
Failure to see Medical Officer on arrival 178
Failure to provide meals 0
Health and safety matter 0
Response to prisoner complaints 122
Substantiated complaints 11
Failure to comply with cleaning schedule 26
Repair failure 0
Substantiated complaint concerning mail 0
Providing purposeful activities
Failure to deliver purposeful activity hours:
(i) less than 95 per cent. 19
(ii) less than 75 per cent. 15
(iii) less than 50 per cent. 0
Failure to deliver required hours of activities: 44
Failure to deliver out of cell hours:
(i) less than 95 per cent. 10
(ii) less than 75 per cent. 18
(iii) less than 50 per cent. 16
Failure to provide sentence plans: 158
Helping prisoners prepare for their return to the community
Visits starting within 30 minutes of appointment 80
Release without discharge report 18
See legal aid adviser 0
Pre-release job searching 20
Compact issued and reviewed 0
Implementation of audit proposals
Failure to implement audit report recommendations 9
Performance measures Number of incidents
Failure to report performance measure
Failure to report on performance measures under clauses (i), (ii)(a)-(f), (j)-(n), (iii)(a), (c)-(i), v(b)-(d), 9(vi) 8
Failure to provide any of the reports listed at annex A 1

Back to