HC Deb 17 July 2003 vol 409 cc598-601W
Mir. Oaten

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to build more prisons; what the cost of the construction programme is; and if he will make a statement. [124595]

Paul Goggins

Two prisons are being built at Ashford, Middlesex and Peterborough. The construction costs of the two prisons are £111.5 million but, as the prisons are being procured under the Private Finance Initiative, no costs will be incurred until the prisons open, scheduled for June 2004 and March 2005 respectively.

Outline planning permission, subject to a legal agreement to give effect to certain planning conditions, has been obtained for two more prisons on land adjacent to Ashworth Special Hospital, Merseyside and adjacent to Her Majesty's Prison Belmarsh in southeast London.

In addition, the Government have provided funds to increase capacity by 3,220 additional prison places at existing prisons, such as an extension to Birmingham prison. The total construction costs for these places will be £390 million.

Mr. Grieve

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the construction of new prisons at Ashford and Peterborough was ordered. [125216]

Paul Goggins

The contracts for new prisons at Ashford, Middlesex and at Peterborough were signed on 20 December 2002 and 14 February 2003 respectively. Contract signature authorised the contractor to commence construction which is now in progress at both sites.

Mr. Oaten

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the average cost was in 2002–03 of imprisoning an offender for one year; and if he will make a statement. [124596]

Paul Goggins

The average cost per prisoner in 2002–03 was £36,268.

Mr. Hoyle

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will make a statement on the provision of education courses in prisons; [124415]

(2) what plans he has to contract out education courses in prisons. [124416]

Paul Goggins

Effective learning and skills programmes are key to the Government's rehabilitation agenda. It is important that provision available to prisoners reaches the same standards as we expect of providers in the community. Prisoners are working towards nationally recognised qualifications that are relevant to the needs of the labour market—from basic communication skills through to higher level vocational qualifications. We are looking to education and training provision in prisons to meet the national standards expected by Ofsted and the Adult Learning Inspectorate.

The Prison Service is in the process of appointing new Heads of Learning and Skills across the prison estate who will help to develop and plan provision and drive up standards. The substantial rise in funding for education and training for prisoners over the next three years will enable us to increase the number and range of courses available. We have given early priority to expanding provision in establishments holding female prisoners and young offenders aged 18–21.

Investment by the Youth Justice Board in learning and skills for the juvenile estate will provide high quality, individualised programmes for all learners together with support appropriate to young people with a diverse range of needs.

Education courses in prisons are contracted out to a number of further education colleges and local authorities as well as one private provider. The Prison Service is working with the Offenders' Learning and Skills Unit, which has policy responsibility for prison education, to let new contracts for learning and skills services from September 2004.

Mr. Oaten

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the most overcrowded prison is; what the ratio of cells to prisoners is in that prison; and if he will make a statement. [124594]

Paul Goggins

The Prison Service defines overcrowding as when the number of prisoners held at the prison exceeds its un-crowded capacity, known as in use certified normal accommodation (CNA). Shrewsbury prison was the most overcrowded prison in England and Wales as at June 2003.

At Shrewsbury prison, the in use CNA as at June 2003 was 183 but the number of prisoners held on 27 June 2003 was 344.

Mr. Oaten

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the ratio of staff to prisoners was in each year since 1990; and if he will make a statement. [124601]

Paul Goggins

The ratio of Prison Service staff to prisoners for each year since 1990 is shown in the following table:

Ratio
1990 1:1.40
1991 1:1.41
1992 1:1.31
1993 1:1.17
1994 1:1.25
1995 1:1.26
1996 1:1.33
1997 1:1.45
1998 1:1.49
1999 1:1.40
2000 1:1.37
2001 1:1.36
2002 1:1.43
2003 1:1.44

Prison Service recruitment has increased significantly in recent years, particularly among operational grades, in response to the rise in the prison population. In total, 6,217 new staff joined the Service during 2002–03 compared to 4,337 in the previous 12 months.

During 2002–03, 2,096 new prison officers completed initial entry-level training compared to an average of 978 new officers in each of the previous four years. This is expected to increase to 2,200 new officers during the current financial year.

Mr. Hoyle

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures he is taking to tackle the number of suicides in prisons. [124414]

Paul Goggins

All suicides are tragic events affecting families and staff deeply, and reducing prisoner self-inflicted deaths and managing self-harm remains a key priority for Ministers and the Prison Service. The general prison population contains a large number of prisoners with a combination of psychiatric disorders, alcohol and drug dependency, family background and relationship problems, histories of self-harm and previous abuse, all of which raise their risk of suicide. Good care and support from staff saves many lives but such instances go largely unreported. One hundred and forty-one prisoners were resuscitated following self-harm incidents in 2002 and 37 in the first five months of this year.

The Prison Service is in the final year of a three-year strategy to develop policies and practices to reduce prisoner suicide and manage self-harm in prisons. Over the next few months the outcome of this will be reviewed taking into account pilot project evaluations and emerging research findings. The next steps will be agreed in consultation with partner agencies and organisations.

As part of this close partnership with other agencies such as the Youth Justice Board and outside organisations such as Samaritans, there has been a particular focus on improvements at six pilot sites in areas such as improved reception, first night and induction areas and mental health in-reach support. The Prison Service is running a series of projects to develop improved suicide prevention and self-harm management policies, concentrating on pre-reception, reception and induction arrangements; inter-agency information exchange; prisoner care; detoxification; prisoner peer support, and learning from investigations into deaths in custody.

Additionally, Samaritans are recruiting and training more prisoner peer supporters (known as Listeners) in high-risk establishments. One thousand one hundred and forty new Listeners were recruited between 1 October 2001 and 31 December 2002 with further recruitment and training continuing. Listeners are selected, trained and supported by Samaritans to offer confidential support to their fellow prisoners who may be at risk of suicide, otherwise in crisis, or simply in need of someone to talk to. The scheme's objectives are to assist in preventing suicide, reducing self-harm and to help alleviate the feelings of those in distress.

Tom Cox

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many(a) men over 65 and (b) women over 60 are held in prisons in England and Wales. [125501]

Paul Goggins

On 31 May 2003, there were 608 men over the age of 65 and 22 women over the age of 60 in prisons in England and Wales.