§ Helen JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research he has commissioned on the impact of a mother receiving a custodial sentence on her children; and if he will make a statement. [137353]
§ Mr. BoatengThe most recently published study of imprisoned mothers was "Imprisoned Women and Mothers" by Caddie and Crisp. It was commissioned by the Prison Service and published in 1997 (Home Office Research Study 162). The entire female prisoner population at the end of 1994, comprising 1,766 women, were surveyed. In-depth interviews were conducted with the 61 per cent. of that population who were either pregnant or mothers of children under 18.
In the report of a "Review of Principles, Policies and Procedures on Mothers and Babies/Children in Prison" (Her Majesty's Prison Service July 1999) and the Prison Service's Response and Action Plan (December 1999), a number of areas of research concerning the children of women prisoners was recommended. The Prison Service is giving consideration to these recommendations. Copies of both documents were placed in the Library.
§ Helen JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will estimate the cost of keeping a mother and child in a mother and baby unit for one week. [137356]
§ Mr. BoatengAt present no separate budget is allocated to the mother and baby units. The cost of running the unit is met from the individual establishment's central budget. Mother and baby units (MB U) do not have a standard cost 645W as the physical accommodation offered is different in each one. Additionally the regimes offered differ from prison to prison depending on its security category and its function within the female estate. The information requested is given in the table.
Prisoner place Open/closed Weekly cost per prisoner MBU (£) Askham Grange 20 Open 636 Holloway 13 Closed 858 New Hall 9 Closed 863 Styal 20 Closed 939
§ Helen JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many women received a custodial sentence; what was the average length of sentence; and what proportion of those women were imprisoned for offences of violence, in each of the past five years. [137351]
§ Mr. BoatengAvailable information, taken from the Home Office Court Proceedings Database is given in the table.
Number of females sentenced to immediate custody for indictable Number of females sentenced to immediate custody for indictable and all offences, average sentence length given and proportion of these sentences which were for violent1 offences England and Wales 1995–99 Total immediate custody Average sentence length (months) Percentage of custodial sentences which were for violent1 offences Indictable offences 1995 3,344 11.0 16 1996 3,883 12.3 16 1997 4,807 10.9 15 1998 5,779 9.9 14 1999 6,608 9.8 13 All offences 1995 3,792 10.0 15 1996 4,403 11.1 14 1997 5,506 9.8 13 1998 6,567 9.0 12 1999 7,504 8.9 11 1 Includes indictable offence groups of violence against the person, sexual offences and robbery
§ Helen JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many women were remanded in custody in each of the past five years; what proportion of these women later received a custodial sentence; and how many of them were mothers of children under 18 years. [137352]
§ Mr. BoatengInformation on the number of females remanded to custody is given in the tables. This information is published in successive volumes of "Prison statistics England and Wales" (Tables 2.2 and 2.6 of the 1999 edition, column 4805), copies of which are in the Library. Survey research suggests that about 60 per cent. of women in prison are pregnant or have children under 18 years. Separate figures are not available for those on remand.
646W
Table 1: Receptions1 of untried and convicted unsentenced females into prisons in England and Wales 1995–99 Year Untried Convicted unsentenced 1995 2,940 1,778 1996 3,343 1,994 1997 3,974 2,436 1998 4,540 3,442 1999 4,587 3,935 1 Total receptions cannot be calculated by adding together receptions in each category because there is double counting
Table 2: Final court outcome for females remanded in custody at some stage in magistrates court proceedings1 England and Wales Estimated percentages Final court outcome2 19953 1996 1997 1998 19994 Acquitted etc. 24 24 23 21 21 Convicted5 76 76 77 79 79 Discharge 7 7 8 8 7 Fine 7 6 8 7 7 Community Service6 22 22 25 25 25 Fully suspended sentence 1 1 1 1 1 Immediate custody7 33 32 31 32 35 Total 100 100 100 100 100 1 Includes persons remanded in custody by magistrates during proceedings or on committal 2 Includes estimated outcome at the Crown court for those committed for trial or sentence 3 Uses Crown court (CREST) data from 1 July to 31 December 1995 4 Provisional figures 5 Includes offences otherwise dealt with 6 Includes CSO, probation, supervision orders and attendance centre orders 7 Includes detention in a young offender institution and unsuspended imprisonment
§ Helen JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many women's prisons provide facilities for extended day visits for children; and if he will make it his policy that all women's prisons should provide such facilities. [137355]
§ Mr. BoatengNine women's prisons offer extended visits, two have recently considered the feasibility of providing them, and the other two have open conditions. Our policy is to encourage establishments to provide such facilities wherever possible, although the extent to which each establishment is able to deliver this will depend upon individual operational and resource considerations. For this reason, I do not plan to make mandatory the provision of such facilities, either in women's prisons or the prison estate as a whole.