HC Deb 19 June 2000 vol 352 cc93-7W
Mr. Simon Hughes

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 9 June 2000,Official Report, column 394W, on prisons, if he will give details of the RESPOND programme including the training required and the amount of training undertaken to date; if he will give details of the targets set for training in this area; and if he will make a statement. [126558]

Mr. Boateng

The RESPOND programme is designed to promote racial equality for staff and prisoners, it consists of five main strategiesconfronting harassment and discrimination; ensuring fairness in recruitment, appraisal, promotion and selection; developing and supporting minority ethnic staff; ensuring equal opportunities for minority ethnic prisoners; and recruiting minority ethnic staff.

To confront racial harassment and discrimination the RESPOND programme highlights the need for mandatory racial harassment training for all staff. I referred in the reply I gave the hon. Gentleman on 9 June 2000, Official Report, column 394W, to the current position against the target set for completion of this training.

To ensure fairness in recruitment, appraisal, promotion and selection the RESPOND programme highlights the need to review training for assessors and promotion board members. Assessors are provided with training at Job Simulation and Assessment Centres at every assessment event. This affords a unique opportunity to update any training they may have previously received. Training is mandatory for staff acting as promotion board members. Training for promotion board members has been reviewed. A new training course entitled Recruitment, Promotion and Selection Interviewing is being piloted. Delivery of the course and its content will be continually evaluated.

To ensure equal opportunities for minority ethnic prisoners, the RESPOND programme highlights the need to review the race relations training provided to Prison Officers including that contained in their basic training. The provision of local race relations training to all staff working in prisons is mandatory. As far as practicable, this training should be repeated every three years. In the period between the 1996–97 and 1998–99 financial years, there was a steady increase in the delivery of this training with 3,594, 4,157 and 5,617 staff trained in each year. A new local race relations training pack was launched earlier this year which will further encourage the delivery of this training. The Prison Service Order 2800 Race Relations was strengthened in February 2000 to require the Governing Governor or Deputy Governor to chair the Race Relations Management Team. To enable this, a training course is being provided in partnership with the National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders. These courses will be completed in July 2000. A consultation phase has begun as part of a review of the basic training provided to Prison Officers with a view to introducing a new course. In the 1999–2000 financial year, 1,122 new Prison Officers undertook basic training. It is anticipated that during the 2000–01 financial year 1,400 new Prison Officers will require basic training.

Mr. Simon Hughes

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the date each report by Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons was(a) received by the Home Office and (b) published, in each of the last two years; and if he will list those reports which are currently with his Department, but are yet to be published and the date they were received. [126557]

Mr. Boateng

The information is given in the table.

Reports submitted to Home Secretary from 13 June 1998 to 13 June 2000
Establishment Received Published
Establishment Reports
Gloucester1 12 May 1998 17 June 1998
Wellingborough1 12 May 1998 18 June 1998
Winchester1 22 April 1998 24 June 1998
Shrewsbury1 21 April 1998 1 July 1998
The Mount1 12 May 1998 10 July 1998
The Verne1 2 June 1998 29 July 1998
Long Lartin1 5 June 1998 17 August 1998
Bedford1 7 July 1998 9 September 1998
Werrington 3 July 1998 23 September 1998
Stafford 16 July 1998 24 November 1998
Everthorpe 30 July 1998 13 October 1998
Belmarsh 31 July 1998 8 October 1998
Eastwood Park 11 August 1998 29 September 1998
Highpoint 12 August 1998 29 September 1998
Woodhill 12 August 1998 2 October 1998
North Sea Camp 29 September 1998 8 January 1999
Birmingham 16 October 1998 13 January 1999
Albany 15 December 1998 12 March 1999
Blakenhurst 10 December 1998 16 February 1999
Chelmsford 18 December 1998 9 March 1999
Aylesbury 11 August 1998 28 October 1998
Haslar 11 September 1998 11 December 1998
Nottingham 13 August 1998 2 December 1998
Sudbury 17 August 1998 16 October 1998
Norwich 28 September 1998 16 December 1998
Thorn Cross 16 October 1998 12 January 1999
Kirkham 7 December 1998 5 March 1999
Askham Grange 16 December 1998 2 March 1999
Feltham 17 December 1998 8 February 2000
The Wolds 9 December 1998 16 April 1999
Doncaster 8 January 1999 30 March 1999
Leicester 30 January 1999 18 March 1999
Brockhil 13 February 1999 28 April 1999
Elmley 14 January 1999 19 March 1999
The Weare 25 January 1999 21 April 1999
Styal 3 February 1999 14 May 1999
Risley 3 February 1999 14 May 1999
Hindley 3 February 1999 29 April 1999
Lincoln 24 February 1999 22 April 1999
Liverpool 19 March 1999 17 June 1999
Wymott 12 April 1999 22 July 1999
New Hall 15 April 1999 16 July 1999

Reports submitted to Home Secretary from 13 June 1998 to 13 June 2000
Establishment Received Published
Highdown 10 May 1999 13 July 1999
Huntercombe 12 May 1999 16 July 1999
Wormwood Scrubs 24 May 1999 28 June 1999
Reading 18 June 1999 8 October 1999
Exeter 29 June 1999 12 August 1999
Bristol 7 June 1999 20 July 1999
Bullwood Hall 16 August 1999 27 October 1999
Preston 16 August 1999 15 October 1999
Parc 30 July 1999 14 October 1999
Swansea 14 September 1999 21 December 1999
Foston Hall 29 September 1999 15 February 2000
Wandsworth 13 October 1999 17 December 1999
Hatfield 14 September 1999 2 December 1999
Wayland 23 September 1999 2 November 1999
Hollesley BC 29 September 1999 8 December 1999
Rochester 27 October 1999 21 January 2000
Onley 27 October 1999 4 February 2000
Guys Marsh 15 October 2000 14 January 2000
Feltham 25 November 2000 8 February 2000
Dorchester 15 November 2000 28 January 2000
Pentonville 6 January 2000 5 April 2000
Portland 11 January 2000 21 March 2000
Altcourse 24 January 2000 19 April 2000
Werrington 6 January 2000 1 March 2000
Ashwell 21 January 2000 5 April 2000
Lowdham Grange 24 January 2000 27 April 2000
Glen Parva 9 February 2000 10 May 2000
Belmarsh 4 February 2000 4 May 2000
Littlehey 4 February 2000 11 April 2000
Brockhill 31 January 2000 15 March 2000
Buckley Hall 9 February 2000
CSCs 9 February 2000 22 March 2000
Shepton Mallet 22 March 2000 9 May 2000
Blantyre House 21 March 2000
Wormwood Scrubs 14 April 2000
Eastwood Park 19 April 2000
Lindholme 27 April 2000
Lewes 23 May 2000
Low Newton 25 May 2000
Featherstone 6 June 2000
Usk 7 June 2000
Channings Wood 8 June 2000
Other Reports
Lifer Thematic 6 April 1999
Annual Report 1997–98 23 February 1999 14 April 1999
Suicide Thematic 6 April 1999 19 May 1999
Annual Report 1998–99 7 April 2000 13 June 2000
1Submitted prior to 13 June 1998 but published after that date

Mr. Lidington

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer to the right hon. Member for Maidstone and The Weald (Miss Widdecombe) on 8 May 2000,Official Report, column 302–05W, on the number of prisoners in work, (a) if he will break down the work undertaken by the 162 prisoners at HMP Coldingley engaged in other occupations and the 215 prisoners engaged in prison maintenance work, (b) if there are further prisoners engaged in work at HMP Kirklevington and HMP Mount and (c) what the reasons are for the figure of 223 prisoners engaged in wing cleaning work at HMP Usk; and if he will make a statement.[126543]

Mr. Boateng

The breakdown of prisoner occupation for Coldingley is set out in the table. Other occupations include offending behaviour programmes, induction and community service.

Kirklevington is a resettlement prison and in addition to the numbers of prisoners employed as shown in my reply to the right hon. Member for Maidstone and the Weald (Miss Widdecombe), on 8 May 2000, Official Report, columns 302–05W the remainder either attend college courses or are employed by companies outside the establishment.

At The Mount more up-to-date information shows an additional 40 prisoners employed in the categories shown in my reply to the right hon. Member for Maidstone and the Weald (Miss Widdecombe), on 8 May 2000, Official Report, columns 302–05W. The remainder are occupied on offending behaviour programmes, basic and key skills education and physical education courses.

The figures given for Usk in my reply to the right hon. Member for Maidstone and the Weald (Miss Widdecombe), on 8 May 2000, Official Report, columns 302–05W cover both Usk and Prescoed. There were 20 prisoners engaged on wing cleaning. The remaining 203 were engaged on craft work, education and offending behaviour programmes and should have been shown under "other occupations".

Number
Other occupations 142
Orderlies 15
Prison maintenance 5
Total 162
Non-Prison Enterprise Services workshops 7
Prison Enterprise Services workshops 168
Kitchen 17
Wing cleaners 23
Total 215

Mr. Lidington

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer to the right hon. Member for Maidstone and The Weald (Miss Widdecombe), on 8 May 2000,Official Report, column 305–07W, on prison workshops, for what reasons HMPs Kirklevington, Usk, Wayland and Weare were not included; and if he will make a statement.[126541]

Mr. Boateng

Kirklevington, Usk and Weare prisons were not included in the answer because there are no industrial workshops at these establishments.

The average length of the working week for Wayland prison is 16 hours.

Mr. Simon Hughes

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the prisons, by prison category, which have received additional funding for special projects under funding made available through the Comprehensive Spending Review; if he will give details of the projects; and if he will make a statement.[126553]

Mr. Boateng

Details of prisons, by prison category which have received additional funding through the comprehensive spending review have been placed in the Library.

The tables that have been placed in the Library show allocation of funding through the Comprehensive Spending Review for 1999–2000 and 2000–01 respectively.

Allocations for 1999–2000 are split into categories as follows: bail information schemes funding to improve prisoners' access to and quality of bail information; education funding to expand education provision to include delivery of accredited basic skills; offending behaviour programmes funding to increase the number of accredited offending behaviour programmes delivered; drugs—funding to implement the prison service Drug Strategy, to provide treatment for drug misusers and measures to reduce the supply of drugs into prisons; welfare to work—funding to develop schemes to improve offenders' access to employment; and juvenile estate—funding to provide a distinct under 18 estate, with a regime tailored to the population. Allocations for 2000–01 are split into allocations for 'drugs' and 'other'.

The information in the tables is set out by prison by current prison category. The prisons are grouped by area and separately for 1999–2000 and for 2000–01 reflecting changes in Prison Service areas.