House of Corrections in the House of Commons
Mentally Disturbed Offenders
Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many offenders imprisoned under indeterminate sentence for public protection are in secure hospitals; and if he will make a statement. [307866]
Maria Eagle: Prisoners may be detained in hospital under powers of the Mental Health Act 1983, either if directed to hospital by the court on sentencing or if directed by the Secretary of State during their sentence. They may also be remitted to prison during sentence. On 17 December 2009, Ministry of Justice records showed 113 prisoners in hospital under powers of the 1983 Act, who were also serving indeterminate sentences of imprisonment for public protection.
Prison Accommodation
Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many cells in the prison estate are not counted for the purposes of operational capacity; and for what reason each such cell is not counted. [307424]
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Maria Eagle: Directors of offender management must ensure that each cell used for the confinement of prisoners has sufficient heating, lighting and ventilation and is of adequate size for the number or prisoners it is approved for. Each such cell is recorded on a prison's cell certificate.
Not all accommodation recorded on a prison's cell certificate is part of its certified normal accommodation and in the vast majority of cases will also not form part of its operational capacity. This is due to a range of operational reasons, which include those cells that are part of segregation units (where prisoners should only be held under a governor's express authority), cells in in-patient health care centres (which are only suitable for prisoners with relevant health needs) and holding cells in prison receptions (which are not suitable for holding prisoners overnight).
As of 14 December 2009, based on information from central records, about 2,712 places were not included in the certified normal accommodation (or uncrowded capacity) of the prison estate. This equates to an average of 19 cells per prison.
These figures have been drawn from central administrative/recording systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
Prisoners Release
Mr. Pope: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will assess the merits of increasing the period of time a person with a terminal illness can be released early from prison on compassionate grounds. [308552]
Claire Ward: Early release on compassionate grounds should only be permitted in the most exceptional circumstances and where the risk of re-offending is past. It is right, therefore, to apply stringent criteria. Prisoners with a terminal illness can receive the appropriate care and treatment while in custody and we believe that early release from their sentence should only be considered in the final stages or where they become too ill to remain in prison. The criteria applied in medical circumstances state:
"the prisoner is suffering from a terminal illness and death is likely to occur soon; or the prisoner is bedridden or similarly incapacitated".
The three month period is suggested as a guide for the sort of life expectancy that should be taken into consideration when applying the criteria but is just one of a number of factors that are taken into account.
Mr. Marsden: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) offenders and (b) offenders on temporary licence were released from HM Prison Service into the Probation Service, in each year since 2004. [309218]
Maria Eagle: Adult offenders serving a sentence of 12 months or more and all young offenders under 22 years of age are, upon release, subject to supervision by the probation services.
These figures are published annually in Offender Management Caseload Statistics (OMCS). Copies are in the House of Commons Libraries and on the MOJ website at:
http://www.justice.gov.uk/publications/prisonandprobation.htm
7 Jan 2010 : Column 548W
The following table shows the number of discharges from determinate sentences from prisons in England and Wales. The figures are the sum of adult prisoners released from sentences of 12 months or more (including indeterminate sentences) and all young offender releases.
Prisoners released
2004
42,000
2005
42,000
2006
40,400
2007
42,700
2008
45,600
Data for 2009 will be available in the OMCS 2009 which will be published in July 2010.
Prisoners released on temporary licence remain the responsibility of the prison during the period of temporary release, however, where prisoners are liable to supervision on their normal release date but are released early under the End of Custody Licence scheme, they are required to meet their probation officer during the ECL licence period and to have regular contact after that in line with their supervision programme.
The number of ECL releases for those prisoners serving sentences of 12 months or more and less than four years for the year 2007 and 2008 was 2,941 and 5,643. Data for 2007 is based on the period from 29 June, when the scheme started to 31 December.
All figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.
Prisoners: Body Searches
Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what his Department's policy is on the strip-searching of females under the age of 18 years in prison. [307867]
Maria Eagle: In February 2009 the National Offender Management Service introduced new full search arrangements aimed at reducing the frequency of full searches by a more intelligence-led approach for all females detained within prisons in England. The new arrangements do not require the removal of underwear unless there is intelligence or suspicion at any stage that an item is concealed. The arrangements are kept under constant review, and a full assessment completed in August achieved a positive outcome. A further detailed assessment will be conducted early in spring 2010.
Prisoners: Location
Chris Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice at what average distance from home (a) young adult prisoners, (b) adult prisoners and (c) children prisoners were held in each year since 1997, broken down by sex. [308071]
Maria Eagle: Table A shows the average travelling distance from home in miles of remand and sentenced prisoners held in HMPS accommodation by gender. Data prior to 2006 is not available in the format requested.
All prisoners are asked for details of their home address on first reception to prison and on discharge
7 Jan 2010 : Column 549W
from prison. Approximately 60 per cent. of prisoners (both male and female) are shown to have given a recognised address.
If no address is given, various proxies are used to determine distance from home, including next-of-kin address and committal court address.
Table A
Adult (21+) Young offender (18 to 20) Juvenile (15 to 17)
Month Male Female Male Female Male Femal e
September 2006
49
58
48
57
56
63
September 2007
50
59
49
50
55
71
September 08
50
57
50
53
52
55
May 2009
50
55
49
51
51
55
Table B shows the average distance from home in miles for remand and sentenced young people in .secure children's homes and secure training centres from 2001 to 2009 by gender. Data prior to 2001 is not available in the format requested.
Home area is taken as a young person's address at the time of sentence. If no address is recorded, the address of the Youth Offending Team that the young person is attached to is used as a proxy.
Table B
Male
Female
2001
59
75
2002
59
61
2003
56
61
2004
56
69
2005
52
63
2006
48
61
2007
54
68
2008
52
59
2009
47
52
Prisoners: Mothers
Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many mother and baby units exist for female prisoners in England and Wales; and what the capacity for female prisoners and their children is of each. [309016]
Maria Eagle: There are seven mother and baby units (MBUs) in England providing an overall capacity of 75 places. Each unit can normally accommodate one set of twins. However, the number of places available at any one time can fluctuate for operational reasons, and currently stands at 69. The following table lists each prison with an MBU and the current capacity.
Establishment MBU capacity
Askham Grange
10
Bronzefield
12
Eastwood Park
12
Holloway
13
New Hall
3
Peterborough
12
Styal
7
Total
69
Prisoners: Voting Rights
Mr. Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) who the respondents were to the second round of consultation on voting rights for prisoners; [308289]
(2) how many respondents to the second round of consultation on voting rights for prisoners were convicted prisoners. [308290]
Mr. Wills: The second stage consultation on the voting rights of convicted prisoners closed on 29 September. A detailed analysis of the replies to the second stage consultation-including a breakdown of respondents-will be available upon publication of the Government's response. There have been over 100 responses to the consultation from a number of different groups including charities, local authorities, members of the public and prisoners, which we are currently considering carefully.
Prisons: Overcrowding
Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners in each prison in England and Wales were held in overcrowded accommodation in the most recent period for which figures are available. [307869]
Maria Eagle: The average number of prisoners in overcrowded accommodation in each prison for the period April to October 2009 is provided in the following table.
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7 Jan 2010 : Column 552W
Establishment name Average number of prisoners held in overcrowded conditions: April to October 2009
Acklington
0
Albany
0
Altcourse
891
Ashfield
0
Ashwell
27
Askham Grange
0
Aylesbury
0
Bedford
293
Belmarsh
372
Birmingham
640
Blantyre House
0
Blundeston
127
Brinsford
35
Bristol
162
Brixton
228
Bronzefield
0
Buckley Hall
67
Bullingdon
423
Bullwood Hall
17
Bure
0
Camp Hill
148
Canterbury
211
Cardiff
530
Castington
2
Channings Wood
32
Chelmsford
233
Coldingley
24
Cookham Wood
0
Dartmoor
46
Deerbolt
0
Doncaster
761
Dorchester
166
Dovegate
95
Dover
0
Downview
0
Drake Hall
0
Durham
708
East Sutton Park
0
Eastwood Park
46
Edmunds Hill
0
Elmley
403
Erlestoke
0
Everthorpe
151
Exeter
409
Featherstone
23
Feltham
0
Ford
0
Forest Bank
666
Foston Hall
0
Frankland
0
Full Sutton
0
Garth
32
Gartree
0
Glen Parva
413
Gloucester
145
Grendon
0
Guys Marsh
86
Haslar
0
Haverigg
25
Hewell
377
High Down
234
Highpoint
43
Hindley
0
Hollesley Bay
0
Holloway
0
Holme House
263
Hull
578
Huntercombe
0
Kennet
321
Kingston
0
Kirkham
0
Kirklevington
0
Lancaster
155
Lancaster Farms
83
Latchmere House
0
Leeds
608
Leicester
305
Lewes
136
Leyhill
0
Lincoln
469
Lindholme
79
Littlehey
123
Liverpool
349
Long Lartin
0
Low Newton
50
Lowdham Grange
89
Maidstone
55
Manchester
651
Moorland
77
Morton Hall
0
Mount
31
New Hall
55
North Sea Camp
2
Northallerton
165
Norwich
193
Nottingham
335
Onley
0
Parc
315
Parkhurst
35
Pentonville
533
Peterborough
216
Portland
0
Preston
638
Ranby
236
Reading
123
Risley
65
Rochester
0
Rye Hill
0
Send
0
Shepton Mallet
47
Shrewsbury
226
Stafford
0
Standford Hill
0
Stocken
69
Stoke Heath
133
Styal
20
Sudbury
0
Swaleside
95
Swansea
323
Swinfen Hall
26
Thorn Cross
0
Usk\Prescoed
241
Verne
62
Wakefield
0
Wandsworth
1,095
Warren Hill
0
Wayland
91
Wealstun
38
Wellingborough
2
Werrington
0
Wetherby
0
Whatton
67
Whitemoor
0
Winchester
420
Wolds
101
Woodhill
353
Wormwood Scrubs
124
Wymott
104
A mixture of law, politics, autobiography and humour. Once described as "The Devilish Advocate" (Guardian), I do have the ability to provoke a response. Sometimes it comes from someone who uses a thought process, and sometimes from jerks usually associated with the knee.
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