§ Jackie BallardTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what criteria govern decisions by the Prison Service to make out-of-court settlements; and what changes there have been to these criteria in the last 10 years. [106141]
§ Mr. BoatengIn deciding to settle out-of-court, the Prison Service will take professional advice as to the likelihood and financial implications of the claim succeeding, and will normally agree to settle out-of-court those cases where it considers the claim is likely to succeed and the proposed settlement figure is at or below the level a court is likely to award. Savings in costs are also taken into account, as are any wider operational or public policy implications of the case.
This approach has not changed over the last 10 years, but in handling claims the Prison Service has of course taken into account developments in the law and the civil justice system. The Woolf reforms to civil justice encourage out of court settlements.
§ Jackie BallardTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how often the Prison Service has made out-of-court settlements; and how much was paid, in each case, in each year since 1990. [106142]
§ Mr. BoatengThis information is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
§ Jackie BallardTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the average weekly cost per inmate of imprisonment in each category of prison for each year since 1990. [106112]
§ Mr. BoatengThe average weekly cost per prisoner in each category of prison is listed in the tables in cash terms and at 1992–1993 prices, when the Prison Service became an Executive Agency. Data have been obtained from the Prison Service Annual Reports and Accounts.
233W
Cost per prisoner cash Cost per prisoner (weekly) 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 Local prisons and remand centres 467 464 526 430 432 406 358 325 339 Dispersal prisons 728 857 816 644 654 612 636 617 641 Category B training 444 465 518 395 400 427 388 348 360 Category C training 363 386 387 329 338 320 297 276 278 Adult male open 358 336 331 263 272 302 294 272 277 Young offender closed 470 480 492 405 400 359 327 304 309 Young offender open 653 585 634 462 439 445 419 423 418 Young offender remand — — — 410 434 393 330 311 342 Male juvenile — — — — — — — — 583 Female establishments (combined) 668 668 657 527 493 — — — — Local female — — — — — 542 489 479 454 Closed female — — — — — 468 430 411 480 Open female — — — — — 359 290 272 284 Notes:
1. A dash indicates that no comparable data are available.
2. Data have been obtained from the Annual Report and Accounts in the years concerned.
3. Where weekly figures are not available in the reports they have been derived by dividing the annual outturn by 52 weeks.
4. Establishments have been categorised by their main role only.