Young Offenders (Hansard, 15 March 2004)

§ Mr. Battle
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the most recent figures are for the proportion of 16 to 18-year-olds who have(a)been in custody and (b)served a period of community service who subsequently (i) re-offend and (ii) are reconvicted. [159511]

§ Paul Goggins
Data on reoffending are not available.
78 per cent. of 16, 17 and 18-year-olds discharged from custody in 1999 were reconvicted of a standard list offence within two years.
76 per cent. of 16, 17 and 18-year-olds commencing community sentences in 1999 were reconvicted of a standard list offence within two years.
The reconviction rates supplied are not adjusted to take out convictions for offences committed prior to either discharge from custody or commencement of the community sentence. Hence some of these reconvictions may not represent reoffending subsequent to custodial discharge or commencement of community sentence.
Reconviction rates should not be used to compare effectiveness between different sentences. This is because the characteristics of offenders receiving different types of sentences may be quite different.

§ Charles Hendry
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the place of education within young offenders' institutions. [158730]

§ Paul Goggins
In order to have an impact on reducing re-offending, the disproportionately low skills and exclusion from learning among young people coming into custody must be addressed. I he Prison Service aims to equip all offenders with the skills to enhance their employability—providing them with an alternative to crime—and to enable them to make a positive contribution to society.
Additional money has been invested this year in learning for young offenders aged 18. The Prison Service is looking to Heads of Learning and Skills in 150W each establishment to promote a culture of learning so that we can continue to widen access and improve quality.

§ Charles Hendry
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what opportunities exist for young offenders to obtain educational(a)qualifications and(b)accreditation. [158731]

§ Paul Goggins
Every Young Offender Institution has an education department which is required to offer mainstream qualifications as delivered in community settings. Most of these are divided into modules enabling short-term prisoners to work towards a full qualification, which can then be completed upon their release. Literacy and numeracy are assessed using a national test that is available weekly.
This year, additional funding of over £4 million has been provided to enable the Young Offender and female estate to buy in and support more teaching hours. Heads of Learning and Skills in each Young Offender Institute are helping to increase accredited learning opportunities across the range of activities such as vocational training, supported by £20 million of capital investment through our "learning to earning" programme.

§ Sue Doughty
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has made to(a)assess the extent of and(b)treat gambling among offenders, with particular reference to young offenders. [158346]

§ Paul Goggins
The new adult Offender Assessment System, (OASys,) developed jointly by the Prison and Probation Services and currently being rolled-out, contains a question on budgeting that provides offenders with an opportunity to raise matters about financial difficulties related to gambling. In addition, OASys contains a self-assessment questionnaire for offenders that includes a question asking whether gambling is a problem for them and, if so, whether it is linked to their offending. Analysis of a sample of self-assessments in 2003 for 711 prisoners showed that 2 per cent. said that gambling was a problem and 0.4 per cent. said it was linked to their offending. A sample of about 2,200 offenders under probation showed that 2.3 per cent. said that gambling was a problem and 0.7 per cent. said it was linked to their offending.
The Youth Justice Board uses a separate assessment system for juvenile offenders (aged under 18 years) called ASSET, which provides an opportunity to detail any problems that should be highlighted and this could include gambling.
Treatment for offenders with gambling problems, whether adults, young offenders or juveniles, is left to the discretion of individual prisons, young offender institutions, probation areas and youth offending teams. A number have established links with organisations such as Gamblers Anonymous and GamCare to provide assistance for offenders with gambling addiction problems, by individual referrals or through groups. Probation areas may also make referrals to Gordon House, a specialist hostel for gamblers.