§ Keith VazTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners in UK prisons have been diagnosed with a mental illness; and what support is given to them. [102231]
§ Hilary BennA survey of mental ill health in the prison population of England and Wales, undertaken in 1997 by the Office for National Statistics, showed that some 10 per cent. of remanded men, 7 per cent. of sentenced men and 14 per cent. of all women prisoners had suffered from a functional psychosis in the past year. Some 59 per cent. of remanded men, 76 per cent. remanded women, 40 per cent. of sentenced men and 63 per cent. of sentenced women had a neurotic disorder in the week prior to being interviewed for the survey. These rates are considered to be still representative of the prison population. Applying them to the current population would indicate that, on any one day, there would be over 5,500 prisoners in England and Wales who would have suffered from symptoms of a functional psychosis in the previous 12 months and over 32,000 who would have suffered symptoms of a neurotic disorder in the previous week. Some prisoners will fall into both categories. All Prison Service establishments and their NHS partners are working to implement the improvements to mental health services set out in `Changing the Outlook, a Strategy for Developing and Modernising Mental Health Services in Prisons' published in December 2001. Prisoners who need inpatient treatment for mental disorder may be transferred to psychiatric hospitals. The care and treatment of mentally disordered prisoners who do not need to be admitted to hospital is generally undertaken by prison healthcare staff under the supervision of NHS specialists and increasingly, in establishments with the594W greatest mental health need, by NHS-funded multidisciplinary in-reach teams. The commitments made in the NHS Plan (2000), for an additional 300 staff to be employed by 2004 to provide such in-reach services to prisoners, are being implemented. Mental illness in the prison population of Scotland is a matter for the Scottish Executive. While the institutions in Northern Ireland are dissolved, responsibility for this subject rests with Ministers in the Northern Ireland Office.
§ Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of prisoners aged(a) 18–20 and (b) juvenile prisoners are drug dependent on entering prison. [102448]
§ Hilary BennNeither the Prison Service nor the Youth Justice Board keep records of the percentage of drug-dependent prisoners who, on entering prison, are(a) aged 18–20 or (b) juveniles. Based on research conducted by the Office for National Statistics, however, it is estimated that 54 per cent. of those being received into custody report drug-dependency in the year prior to justice.
A review into substance misuse by young people is already under way. The findings from this review, expected to be available in the summer, will help inform the drug—and other substance misuse—needs of young people in custody.
§ Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners were held in prisons in England and Wales on 30 June 2002, broken down by ethnic group. [102456]
§ Hilary BennThe number of prisoners held in prisons in England and Wales on 30 June 2002 broken down by ethnic group is given in the table.
Ethnic group Number of prisoners held in prisons White 54,988 Black 11,022 South Asian 2,198 Chinese and other 2,947 Unrecorded 63 Total 71,218
§ Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners were(a) considered and (b) approved for parole in each of the last five years. [102457]
§ Hilary BennThe information is as follows:
Year Cases considered Parole awarded 1997–98 5,242 2,006 1998–99 6,078 2,383 1999–2000 6,219 2,561 2000–01 5,576 2,584 2001–02 5,514 2,791 The information requested is published by the Parole Board in its Annual Reports and Accounts for 2001–02.