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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2014-06-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average cost was of each (a) prison place and (b) prisoner in each prison in England and Wales in the latest period for which figures are available.

Jeremy Wright

The Department routinely publishes average costs per prisoner and prison place, based on actual net resource expenditure for each private and public sector prison and in summary form for the whole of the prison estate in England and Wales on an annual basis after the end of each financial year. This includes a breakdown of these costs by prison category and individual prison within each category, and separately by prisoner gender.

The most recently published figures are for financial year 2012-13 which give an average annual Overall cost per place of £36,808 and average annual Overall cost per prisoner of £34,766. An average annual cost per male prisoner of £34,306 and £44,746 per female prisoner, based on Overall resource costs, is also published.

The information for financial year 2012-13 is available in the Cost per Place and Prisoner and Supplementary Information files on the Department’s website at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/prison-and-probation-trusts-performance-statistics-201213

Figures for 2013-14 will be published alongside the Management Information Addendums to the NOMS Annual Report and Accounts in October 2014.

Continuing to reduce prison unit costs is one of the key targets for the Department. Between 2009/10 and 2012/13 prison unit costs (based on Overall prison costs) have reduced in real terms by 16% per place and 13% per prisoner.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2014-06-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many officials in his Department are currently employed to work on the sentence calculation helplines.

Jeremy Wright

The Department employs two officials whose principal function is to answer queries on the sentence calculation helpline. The main purpose of the helpline is to provide advice to prison establishments as to the correct way to calculate the key release dates for sentences in complex cases. It also provides advice to courts, probation, the public, solicitors and other government departments on the effect of the legislation governing release on key sentence dates.

In the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012, the government made changes to the release and recall provisions in order to simplify the previous, often incomprehensible and complex legislation, making it easier for sentencers and prison staff to administer, and the public to understand the sentence.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2014-06-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the marginal cost was of one extra prisoner being accommodated in each prison in England and Wales when each prison is functioning at its operational capacity in the latest period for which figures are available.

Jeremy Wright

The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) does not have information on the marginal cost of a prisoner for each prison. The calculation of a marginal cost would normally apply where a permanent change to a prison’s operational capacity is taking place.

Prisons are not expected to operate above their operational capacity and ensuring that this capacity is set to reflect the provision of safe and decent accommodation and the operation of suitable regimes ensures that levels of crowding in prisons are carefully managed.

Sensible measures have been taken to ensure that we have sufficient capacity to deal with any temporary increases in population. These include creating additional places in prisons in a safe and decent way and ensuring that prisons reflect the needs of the current population. Any short term increases in capacity will only be those sites where additional prisoners can be safely and decently accommodated and where a senior prison manager has certified that the additional prisoners will be held in safe, secure and decent accommodation.

We will end this Parliament with more adult male prison places than we inherited, more hours of work in prisons than we inherited, more education for young detainees than we inherited and a more modern, cost effective prison estate than we inherited.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2014-06-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the average cost was of each (a) prison place and (b) prisoner in the case of (i) male and (ii) female prisoners in the latest period for which figures are available.

Jeremy Wright

The Department routinely publishes average costs per prisoner and prison place, based on actual net resource expenditure for each private and public sector prison and in summary form for the whole of the prison estate in England and Wales on an annual basis after the end of each financial year. This includes a breakdown of these costs by prison category and individual prison within each category, and separately by prisoner gender.

The most recently published figures are for financial year 2012-13 which give an average annual Overall cost per place of £36,808 and average annual Overall cost per prisoner of £34,766. An average annual cost per male prisoner of £34,306 and £44,746 per female prisoner, based on Overall resource costs, is also published.

The information for financial year 2012-13 is available in the Cost per Place and Prisoner and Supplementary Information files on the Department’s website at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/prison-and-probation-trusts-performance-statistics-201213

Figures for 2013-14 will be published alongside the Management Information Addendums to the NOMS Annual Report and Accounts in October 2014.

Continuing to reduce prison unit costs is one of the key targets for the Department. Between 2009/10 and 2012/13 prison unit costs (based on Overall prison costs) have reduced in real terms by 16% per place and 13% per prisoner.

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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Philip Davies on 2014-06-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the names are of all prisoners who have absconded from prison and currently not been returned; and if he will specify in each such case (a) the offence each absconder originally committed and (b) the length of custodial sentence they were serving when they absconded.

Simon Hughes

I apologise for the delay in replying. The table below provides details of index offence and length of sentence of those absconders who are unlawfully at large having absconded between April 2004 and March 2014 (the most recent period that statistics are available). Information prior to April 2004 could only be collated by performing manual checks across different databases and could only be achieved at disproportionate cost.

In order to disclose the names of absconders who are unlawfully at large, it is necessary to make appropriate checks to ensure that disclosure will not jeopardise ongoing Police operations to recapture the offender, will not place any one else in danger and to ensure that any victim has been informed of both the abscond and release of the name. These checks are still on-going and I will write shortly as soon as the information has been prepared.

The number of absconds has reduced by 80% over the last 10 years.

Table1: Index offence and sentence length of absconders unlawfully at large from April 2004 to March 2014, as at 30 September 2014

OFFENCE	SENTENCE
SUPPLYING DRUGS	3 YRS
GOING EQUIPPED TO CHEAT	2YRS
GOING EQUIPPED TO CHEAT	2YRS
POSSESS DRUGS WITH INTENT	6YRS
AGGRAVATED BURGLARY	4YRS 6MTHS
FALSE INSTRUMENTS	6MTHS
BURGLARY	18MTHS
DEATH BY RECKLESS DRIVING	4YRS
IMPORT/EXPORT DRUG	19YRS
CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT THEFT	3YRS 6MTHS
IMPORT/EXPORT DRUG	9YRS
THEFT	8MTHS
CONSPIRACY TO DEFRAUD	7YRS
IMPORT/EXPORT DRUG	12YRS
IMPORT/EXPORT DRUG	7YRS
POSSESS FIREARM WITH INTENT	78MTHS
IMPORT/EXPORT DRUG	12YRS
POSSESS OFFENSIVE WEAPON	23MTHS
BLACKMAIL	3YRS
POSSESS DRUGS WITH INTENT	3YRS 6MTHS
IMPORT/EXPORT DRUG	10YRS
CUSTOMS EVASION (DRUGS RELATED)	7YRS
FINES	6MTHS
DECEPTION	30MTHS
IMPORT/EXPORT DRUG	5YRS
CUSTOMS EVASION (DRUGS RELATED)	8YRS
ASSISTING ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS	54MTHS
DECEPTION	9MTHS
TRESPASS WITH INTENT	15MTHS
CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT THEFT	3YRS
THEFT	15MTHS
CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT THEFT	2YRS
DECEPTION	26MTHS
POSSESS OFFENSIVE WEAPON	5YRS
ASSISTING ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS	6YRS
DECEPTION	12MTHS
CONSPIRACY TO SUPPLY DRUGS	6YRS
POSSESS DRUGS WITH INTENT	6YRS
FALSE INSTRUMENTS	12MTHS
MANSLAUGHTER	5YRS
THEFT	Unknown
CONSPIRACY TO IMPORT DRUGS	8YRS
ROBBERY	LIFE
FALSE INSTRUMENTS	18MTHS
DECEPTION	30MTHS
THEFT	4YRS
CONTEMPT OF COURT	15MTHS
BURGLARY	6MTHS
SUPPLYING DRUGS	42MTHS
GBH	2YRS
FRAUD	5YRS
FRAUD	DETAINEE
CONSPIRACY TO SUPPLY DRUG	40MTHS
POSSESS FIREARM WITH INTENT	LIFE
BURGLARY	112DAYS
POSSESS DRUGS WITH INTENT	7YRS
GOING EQUIPPED TO STEAL	6MTHS
THEFT	2YRS
EXCESS ALCOHOL	112DAYS
CONSPIRACY TO DEFRAUD	6YRS
ROBBERY	ISPP
POSSESS DRUGS WITH INTENT	3YRS
ROBBERY	6Y
CONPIRACY TO COMMIT BURGLARY	3 YRS 3 MTHS
POSSESS FIREARM WITH INTENT	LIFE
BURGLARY	3YRS
ARSON	ISPP
RAPE	LIFE
ROBBERY	9YRS
WOUNDING WITH INTENT	6YRS 8MTHS
ROBBERY	3YRS
GBH	8YRS
ROBBERY	ISPP
BURGLARY	32MTHS
BURGLARY	2Y 6MTHS
POSSESSION OF A FIREARM WITH INTENT	ISPP
CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT BURGLARY	64MTHS

Note: Table shows absconds of prisoners and excludes absconds of immigration detainees from NOMS operated establishments and those operated as Immigration Removal Centres by NOMS under contract to the Home Office.

These figures have been drawn from live administrative data systems which may be amended at any time. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system.