§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the breakdown is of prison custody visitors by(a) perceived community origin and (b) sex. [138706]
§ Jane KennedyThere are currently a total of 50 Board of Visitors/Visiting Committee members in post. The breakdowns are as follows:
Breakdown Perceived community origin Protestant 29 Roman Catholic 15 Not known 6 Sex Male 26 Female 24
§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the cost of the prison custody visitors scheme was in 2002; and what proportion of this comprises(a) remuneration, (b) travel and (c) other expenses incurred by the visitors. [138707]
§ Jane KennedyThe total expenditure for the Board of Visitors/Visiting Committee in Northern Ireland for the financial year 2002–03 was £51,751.00. Of this, £39,000 was for travel and subsistence. Members are volunteers and do not receive remuneration.
§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what administrative support is available to teams of prison custody visitors. [138708]
§ Jane KennedyEach Board/Committee is supported by a part-time Clerk at local level. There is also a small team at Prison Service Headquarters who provide administrative support for all three boards.
§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the procedural mechanisms are for addressing(a) general matters of prison 954W administration and (b) expressions of concern about individual prisoners; and what mechanisms are available to monitor (i) responses and (ii) implementation. [138709]
§ Jane KennedyConcerns regarding both general matters of prison administration and concerns regarding individual prisoners can be raised with staff informally, or formally with the Governor at the monthly meeting. If possible, the Governor responds at the meeting, or the query is recorded and the response provided at the next monthly meeting, or before then if urgent. All queries are formally recorded in the minutes of the meeting.
If members are not satisfied with the response they receive, or the action taken by the Governor, they can raise the matter with Prison Service Headquarters or ultimately the Secretary of State.
The Boards submit an annual report to the Secretary of State each year. In the interests of openness and transparency, this report is now made available to the general public.