§ Mr. EdwardsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the sex offender treatment programme at HM Prison Usk. [139264]
§ Mr. BoatengThe Prison Service seeks to ensure that its offending behaviour programmes are effective by designing them in line with extensive research on what works in preventing re-offending, and by inviting an independent panel, established for the purpose, to accredit them as conforming to the lessons drawn from that research. The Sex Offender Treatment Programmes run at Usk are so accredited.
All prisons offering the Prison Service's Sex Offender Treatment Programme are audited annually on the effectiveness of their delivery, because research suggests that effective delivery is a crucial factor in reducing reconvictions. Usk prison and six other establishments were awarded a score of 95 out of 100 in the 1999-2000 audit, the highest achieved among the 23 establishments running the programme. This reflects the consistently high quality treatment delivered by a well motivated team at Usk.
The Prison Service monitors against control groups the reconviction data on those who have undergone such programmes. More data, however, are needed before firm conclusions can be drawn about the overall effectiveness of Sex Offender Treatment Programmes, such as those run at Usk.