§ Jackie BallardTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what financial penalties have been incurred at HMP Altcourse since the prison opened; if he will list the reasons for each penalty; how many of the recommendations for improvements made by the Chief Inspector of Prisons in his report were implemented before the publication of the report; what conclusions were drawn from the recent security audit; by what date recommendations for improvement were implemented; and what penalties were incurred by Group 4 as a result of that audit. [121468]
§ Mr. BoatengFinancial penalties totalling £212,728.23 were withheld for the period 1 December 1997 to 30 August 1998 for Altcourse prison. Of these, £195,000 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 £17,728.23 which has been deducted from the contractor for 'doubling', in excess of permitted levels. There have been no financial penalties since 1 September 1998.
74WThe incidents leading to the deductions are listed in the table and are failures to comply with performance standards.
The inspection report on Altcourse prison was published on 19 April. In accordance with the protocol for handling inspection reports, the Prison Service will produce an action plan within 30 working days of publication of the report, addressing all the recommendations made by Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Prisons. It is not possible to say how many of the 106 recommendations were fully implemented before publication, but once the action plan has been completed and reviewed at Prison Service Headquarters, I will write to the hon. Member with a progress report on implementation.
The overall compliance rating of the security audit of Altcourse prison was acceptable. Of the modules audited, four were rated as good, two as acceptable and three as deficient. Only one of these was rated as a significant finding and this has been fully addressed.
An action plan has been produced addressing the recommendations for improvements, and some non-compliant baselines were resolved during the course of the audit. Ninety per cent. of the action plan has already been implemented with full implementation to be completed by the end of June. No financial penalties were incurred as a result of the audit.
75W
Altcourse prison: Failures to comply with performance standards Nature of performance Number of incidents Keep prisoners in custody Escape from Prison 1 Release in error 1 Items smuggled in Key lock Compromises 66
Altcourse prison: Failures to comply with performance standards Nature of performance Number of incidents Maintain order, control discipline and safe environment Assaults on Staff and others 34 Assaults on Prisoners 29 Incident of concerted indiscipline 128 Incidents of roof climbing 2 Incidents of self harm 70 Contingency Planning Exercise 1 Fire Evacuation Exercise 1 Failure to comply with agreed reporting procedures 7 Tool/Implement loss (found) 1 Providing decent conditions for Prisoners and meet their needs, including healthcare Failure to provide medical response 155 Response to Prisoner Complaints 16 Repair failure 63 Provision of sentence plans 80 Providing Positive Regimes Main Programmes Sentenced (Core Week) 4 Regime Activities Sentenced (Non-Core Week) 4 Out of cell hours 36 Helping Prisoners prepare for their return to the Community Visits starting within 30 minutes of appointment 61 Release without discharge report 13 Pre-release course attendance 13