To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his answer of 24 June 2003, Official Report, columns 736–38 on prisons, how many absconding prisoners committed a further offence, for which they were charged, during their absence from prison, in each year; what assessment he has made of the basis for selecting prisoners for transfer to Kirkham open prison; and how many prison officers were in post at each open prison in each year. [125794]

Offences committed by prisoners who are unlawfully at large, following their abscond from an open prison, and for which they were subsequently charged, is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.The categorisation procedures use an algorithm to indicate a provisional security category for each individual prisoner. This is then accepted or rejected following a consideration of the medical and mental health of the prisoner, and previous custodial experiences. This is a national system and is applied to all prisoners who are transferred to Kirkham. Additional local criteria means that prisoners with any history of sexual offences are excluded from Kirkham. A fundamental review of the categorisation of all prisoners is currently under way. This does include the procedures by which prisoners are considered as suitable for open conditions.The following table shows the n umber of uniformed prison discipline staff at each of the prisons referred to in the answer of 24 June 2003.