asked Her Majesty's Government:
On how many occasions physical restraint was used at Ashfield young offender institution on, respectively, male and female clients during each of the 12 months prior to 1 November; and [HL485]
On how many occasions physical restraint occurred at Ashfield young offender institution in relation to, respectively, male and female black and ethnic- minority clients during each of the 12 months prior to 1 November; and [HL486]
On how many occasions strip-searching involving physical restraint occurred at Ashfield young offender institution in relation to, respectively, male and female clients during each of the 12 months prior to 1 November.[HL487]
The attached table lists the number of incidents where physical restraint was used at HMP & YOI Ashfield during the months November 2005 through to October 2006. Also included are figures for the number of black and minority-ethnic (BME) boys subject to physical restraint. The prison does not strip-search boys under physical restraint. Ashfield is a juvenile establishment that accommodates only males.
Month Incidents where physical restraint is used Black and minority ethnic prisoners involved in physical restraint Full searching (strip-searching) involving physical restraint November 2005 52 10 0 December 2005 30 3 0 January 2006 48 11 0 February 2006 34 8 0 March 2006 30 4 0 April 2006 27 10 0 May 2006 42 6 0 June 2006 31 2 0 July 2006 40 5 0 August 2006 51 11 0 September 2006 38 12 0 October 2006 52 4 0 Total 475 86 0
asked Her Majesty's Government:
Following the abolition of the Office for Contracted Prisons, who is responsible for the direct operational management of the juveniles and young offenders in HM Young Offender Institution Ashfield. [HL588]
The operational management of HMP & YOI Ashfield has always been the responsibility of Serco, the company holding the contract. This has been the situation both prior to and following the closure of the Office for Contracted Prisons at the end of March 2006. The Home Office is responsible for contractual management, ensuring that Serco delivers the service as set out in the contract. The chief executive of the National Offender Management Service is the ultimate authority for the contract. For HMP & YOI Ashfield, this is delegated to the head of the commissioner's support bureau, which is part of NOMS. In fulfilling this task, the bureau works closely with the Youth Justice Board in identifying its requirements as the customer for Ashfield's services.
As with all contracted establishments, there is a Home Office controller at Ashfield whose role is to ensure adherence to the contract on a day-to-day basis and to take remedial action in the event of non-compliance. The Home Office controller at Ashfield is line-managed through the head of the commissioner's support bureau.