§ Dr. CableTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he plans to reopen the Bail Office at HMP/Y01 Holloway; and if he will make a statement. [100226]
§ Hilary BennThe Bail and Legal Aid Office at Holloway will reopen as soon as a member of staff is in place. A candidate has been selected and is due to start work at Holloway on 7 April 2003. After a period of induction and suitable training, the Bail and Legal Aid office should be fully operational from early June.
§ Dr. CableTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the Youth Justice Board will announce its decision on funding for HMP/YOI Holloway's work with prisoners subject to detention and training orders; if he will investigate the reason for(a) previous lack of funding for this project and (b) the delay in the announcement; and if he will make a statement. [100237]
§ Hilary BennThe Youth Justice Board (YJB), as purchaser and commissioner of juvenile secure accommodation, are currently negotiating with the Prison Service the content of the Service Level Agreement for the coming financial year. They expect to include funding for a limited number of juvenile girls to be held in Holloway this year, including those who require facilities for continuing medical treatment.
The decision had previously been delayed because of changes last year in overall population levels and the need to review the timetable for meeting the commitment to remove 15 and 16 year old girls from Prison Service custody. The Board have announced that this will be met later this year, but Holloway will continue to hold 17 year old girls and some 15 and 16 year olds in the meantime.
§ Dr. CableTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects the Prisoners Advice and Care Trust to take over the running of the visitors' centre booking line at HMP/YOI Holloway; and if he will make a statement. [100238]
§ Hilary BennHolloway will have its telephone system upgraded in July 2003 and the Governor will then introduce changes to the existing arrangements. Proposals include the separation of professional and social telephone booking line arrangements whereby prison staff will continue to organise and run professional visits but a separate line for social visits will be staffed by a telephone operator. The system will be1226W based in the prison and will have a line which would enable people who are finishing their visits to book the next visit before they leave the prison.
Discussions with the Prisoners Advice and Care Trust are not yet concluded but the Governor of Holloway expects to finalise arrangements in the next month ahead of the new system being put in place later this year.
§ Dr. CableTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners at HMP/YOI Holloway have been detained longer than necessary because home detention orders paperwork was not completed correctly, since 2001; and if he will make a statement. [100239]
§ Hilary BennSpecific information about the number of prisoners detained longer than necessary because home detention orders paperwork has not been completed correctly is not available without disproportionate cost. However, an area-wide review of home detention order paperwork was conducted by the Female Estate Operational Office in August 2002, and the arrangements at Holloway were found to be of a high quality.