§ Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to combine the prison and probation services into a single correctional service; and if he will make a statement. [125418]
§ Paul GogginsI will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.
§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the prisons which offer paid employment and the nature of the employment; which prisons have contracts with the(a) private and (b) public sector; what services and products are produced; and whether the services are profitable. [131242]
§ Paul GogginsI will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.
§ Mr. GibbTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 8 September, references 128559 and 129219, on prisons, for what reason he chose scenario C as the basis for the projection; and if he will provide similar projections on the basis of scenarios(a) A, (b) B and (c) D. [132218]
§ Paul GogginsI will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.
1037W
§ Mr. BluntTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many members of staff at(a) High Down and (b) Downview Prisons are not receiving the pay to which they are entitled within one month; and what proportion of staff this represents. [133264]
§ Paul GogginsI will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.
§ Mr. GibbTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 6 March 2003,Official Report, column 1244W, on prisons, on which (a) assumptions about future sentencing trends and (b) new policy initiatives with an agreed timetable the forecast average prison population for 2003 to 2006 is based. [128559]
§ Paul GogginsThe projected prison population for 2003–06 in the answer given by the Secretary of State for International Development, the right hon. Member for Leeds, Central (Hilary Benn) on 6 March 2003,Official Report, column 1244W, was scenario C published in Home Office Statistical Bulletin 14/02 in December 2002. It assumes that custody rates increase by 1.25 per cent. per year for males and 2.5 per cent. for females to 2005, with the increase halving thereafter.
The legislative and other changes that are included in the projection are given as follows:
'Narrowing the Justice Gap'—one of the delivery targets for the Criminal Justice System.
Crime (Sentences) Act 1997—automatic life sentences for serious repeat offenders; minimum custodial sentences of three years for third-time domestic burglars.
Crime and Disorder Act 1998—the recall of short sentence prisoners released on licence; the extension of secure remands.
Early release from Detention and Training Orders (DTOs).
Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programmes (ISSPs).
Added days—effect of a decision by the European Court of Human Rights.
The number of Immigration Act detainees.
Extension of Home Detention Curfew (HDC)—the maximum period of HDC to be increased to 90 days for those prisoners eligible from 16 December 2002.
An updated set of prison population projections was released on Tuesday 9 September in the April 2003 monthly brief. The projections take into account recent policy changes, such as the extension to HDC in July, and sentencing trends.
§ Mrs. BrookeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many juvenile girls being held in prison are pregnant. [132160]
§ Paul GogginsI will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.
§ Mr. GibbTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answer of 24 February 2003, Official Report, column 116W, what his assessment is of the change in(a) criminal convictions and (b) the custodial population between 1980 and 2000. [99962]
§ Paul GogginsI will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.
1038W
§ Mr. OatenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners in each of the last 15 years tested positive for(a) heroin and (b) crack cocaine; what proportion of the total prison population these represented; and if he will make a statement. [133905]
§ Paul GogginsI will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.
§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether it is necessary for the Chief Inspector of Prisons to seek the permission of the Home Secretary to enter prison at any time; and what plans he has to change the rules governing the Chief Inspector's access to prisons. [137075]
§ Caroline FlintI will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.
§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement about his strategy for dealing with changes in the prison population. [137551]
§ Paul GogginsI will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.
§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the populations of each(a) prison and (b) young offenders institute; whether each institution is overcrowded, giving (i) the definition of overcrowding used, (ii) by how much and (iii) for how long the institution has been overcrowded; and for each institution, how many prisoners (A) in absolute terms and (B) as a percentage of the total population (1) are serving 0 to three months, (2) are serving three to six months, (3) are serving six to nine months, (4) are serving nine to 12 months, (5) are serving 12 to 24 months, (6) are young offenders, (7) are elderly, (8) have mental health problems, (9) have learning difficulties and (10) are illiterate. [131351]
§ Paul GogginsI will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.
§ Mrs. Curtis-ThomasTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which prisons offer rehabilitation programmes, giving the nature of the programmes; how many prisoners participated in rehabilitation programmes in(a) absolute terms and (b) as a percentage of total population in 2003; and how many hours they spent on average in rehabilitation programmes on a weekly basis. [131352]
§ Paul GogginsI will write to my hon. Friend and place a copy of my letter in the Library.
§ David DavisTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the population of each prison in Haltemprice and Howden was in the last quarter for which figures are available; and what the figures were for the preceding four quarters. [132328]
§ Paul GogginsI will write to the right hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library.