§ Mr. OatenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many hours on average adult prisoners spent on(a) education, broken down by (i) literacy, (ii) numeracy and (iii) other education-related activities, (b) exercise, (c) vocational work and (d) community work in the last year for which figures are available. [161789]
§ Paul GogginsThe average number of hours for each activity is as follows:
Hours Number (a) Education 3.4 (b) Exercise 2.0 (c) Vocational work 1.6 (d) Voluntary work 0.2 (e) Time spent in work/workshops 12.1 In spite of the considerable population pressures the average time spent on purposeful activity is 23.1 hours per week.
§ Mrs. GillanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total cost was of the movement of all prisoners from the two prisons that have been re-roled. [166424]
§ Paul GogginsNo final date has yet been fixed for the re-role of Edmunds Hill prison and so no women prisoners have been moved.
The cost of moving prisoners from Winchester prison totalled £5,550.00.
§ Mrs. GillanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when the prisoners who were moved from the two prisons that have been re-roled were informed they were being moved; and whether notification was given to their families. [166425]
§ Paul GogginsThe re-role of Her Majesty's Prison Winchester West Hill has taken place. Prisoners were informed on 11 March that they would be moving to other establishments. All prisoners were able to inform their families that they would be moving. The moves took place between 15 and 25 March.
The re-role of Her Majesty's Prison Edmunds Hill has not yet taken place. It is anticipated that prisoners will transfer out from June 2004. Prisoners there know of the 327W re-role, and, in the case of those prisoners who will still be in custody in June 2004, discussions about future destinations have begun.
§ Mrs. GillanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many women prisoners have been transferred from the two prisons that have been re-roled; what the length of the sentences they had left to serve were on the date of transfer; and to which prisons they were transferred. [166346]
§ Paul GogginsHer Majesty's Prison Edmund's Hill has not yet been re-roled, and no final date has been set. Three of the female prisoners held at the West Hill Wing of Her Majesty's Prison Winchester were released before the transfers took place, as they had reached the end of their custodial sentences.
Table 1 shows the destinations of the remaining prisoners.
Table I: destinations of female prisoners transferred from Her Majesty's Prison Winchester
Destination establishment Number transferred Her Majesty's Prison Eastwood Park 19 Her Majesty's Prison Foston Hall 1 Her Majesty's Prison Downview 11 Her Majesty's Prison Send 40 Her Majesty's Prison Askham Grange 1 Table 2 shows the length of time these prisoners had remaining on their transfer date.
Table 2: remaining sentences Length of sentence remaining Number of prisoners Convicted but unsentenced 1 Less than 12 months 32 One to four years 29 Four years or more 10
§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what progress has been made in recording allegations and incidents of threatening and intimidating behaviour of staff towards prisoners at HM Prison Wormwood Scrubs; how the incidents are broken down for statistical analysis; and what the figures are for incidents in the last three years for which figures are available. [155658]
§ Paul Goggins[holding answer 2 March 2004]: The Investigation Support Section of the Prison Service Professional Standards Unit monitors all incidents in the prison service that result in formal investigations being commissioned. The main categories of investigations that record unprofessional behaviour of staff towards prisoners are racist abuse, inappropriate treatment of prisoners and assault on prisoners.
Monthly reports are prepared for Governors and Area Managers that include, for each prison; numbers of investigations carried out, categories of investigations, overdue investigations and emerging themes.
328WWormwood Scrubs operates systems to ensure that any complaints of mistreatment from prisoners are referred to the Deputy Governor, who decides whether to commission a full investigation under the Prison Service Code of Discipline or conduct a simple inquiry for more minor issues. The Race Relations co-ordinator also reviews data from a wide range of sources to establish if any ethnic minority group is disproportionately represented. For the last three years, the number of complaints from prisoners within the above categories that resulted in investigations being commissioned at Wormwood Scrubs were:
Number of complaints from prisoners that resulted in investigations being commissioned at Wormwood Scrubs
Simple inquiries Disciplinary investigations 2001–02 49 30 2002–03 44 32 2003–041 27 21 1 As at 11 February 2004. Additionally, annual reviews are conducted by staff from the London Area Office to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of monitoring arrangements concerning treatment of prisoners by staff in each London prison. These reviews also seek assurance that local arrangements for acting on any allegations of mistreatment by prisoners, from any source, are consistent with prison service policy and that any subsequent investigations are conducted in a timely and consistent manner.