Written Answers to Questions - Northern Ireland Assembly

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Friday 20 July 2012 Written Answers Mr Ford: The average working days lost per member of staff due to sickness absence in Northern Ireland’s prisons over the last 3 financial years is outlined below: 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 Magilligan 9.1 11.8 9.7 Maghaberry 12 14 17 Hydebank 17.5 14.3 16 United Nations Doctors Lord Morrow asked the Minister of Justice whether the United Nations doctors attended, and examined, Marion Price; and if so, (i) on which date and where did they attend; (ii) whether the doctors subsequently made representations to the Northern Ireland Prison Service; and (iii) to what extent did the doctors’ input influence the decision to have Ms Price moved from prison to hospital. (AQW 13283/11-15) Mr Ford: Neither the United Nations, nor anyone representing that organisation, has requested to visit Mrs Marian McGlinchey. Two doctors representing the Irish United Nations Association (which is not part of the UN but a voluntary organisation whose objectives are to promote the aims and objectives of the UN in Ireland) booked a professional visit to Mrs McGlinchey which was scheduled to take place in Hydebank Wood on Wednesday 6 June. The doctors cancelled their visit. They subsequently rescheduled their visit to Mrs McGlinchey and one has since visited her at the outside hospital to which she had been transferred prior to their visit. The decision to transfer Mrs McGlinchey to an outside hospital was taken on the basis of a recommendation for secondary care received from the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust and the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust. No input from any other individuals or organisations had any influence on that decision. Disorderly and Abusive Behaviour in Hospital Accident and Emergency Units Lord Morrow asked the Minister of Justice whether he will consider allocating revenue, received from Fixed Penalty Notices for disorderly and abusive behaviour in hospital Accident and Emergency units, for patient comfort funds or for other beneficial schemes in the Health Service. (AQW 13284/11-15) Mr Ford: All Penalty Notice revenue received must be surrendered to the Consolidated Fund. It is not, therefore, possible for the Department of Justice to allocate these funds to specific initiatives. The member may wish to note, however, that each Penalty Notice is subject also to a £5 Offender Levy which is not surrendered to the Consolidated Fund, but is allocated exclusively to victims’ services. Anti-Social Behaviour Mr Weir asked the Minister of Justice what funding his Department plans to provide to local councils to combat anti-social behaviour. (AQW 13286/11-15) Mr Ford: In Northern Ireland we have adopted a multi-agency partnership to tackle anti-social behaviour, which uses a graduated approach of prevention, intervention and enforcement to tackle anti-social behaviour. This approach has contributed to a reduction of over 20% in the incidence of anti-social behaviour across Northern Ireland since 2008. WA 580
Friday 20 July 2012 Written Answers The measures taken by my Department have included initiatives such as CCTV, Community Safety Wardens, Neighbourhood Watch schemes, intergenerational projects, and Priority Youth Intervention programmes. It is my intention to build on the success to date and to develop partnership working at a local level to support local communities in addressing the anti-social behaviour issues that matter locally. In particular, Policing and Community Safety Partnerships will have a pivotal role in developing partnership working at a local level and in supporting communities in identifying solutions to issues of local concern. In conjunction with the Northern Ireland Policing Board, £5.2 million has been made available to the Policing and Community Safety Partnerships for this financial year to address local community safety issues, including anti-social behaviour. In addition, the Priority Youth Intervention programme, which also addresses anti-social behaviour, allocates £200,000 per year to the Policing and Community Safety Partnerships. Case of Prison Officer Zoe Crowe Lord Morrow asked the Minister of Justice whether the Governor, who recommended that Zoe Crowe be suspended from duty on 5 November 2011, reported the matter fully to the Minister; and if so, (i) on what did was the matter reported; (ii) what directions, if any, he gave to the Governor; (iii) when these directions were delivered to the Governor; and (iv) when the directions were actioned. (AQW 13293/11-15) Mr Ford: I refer the member to the answer given to AQW/13005/11-15. ACAS Code of Practice Lord Morrow asked the Minister of Justice, pursuant to AQW 12538/11-15, why the ACAS Code of Practice does not apply, given that the Northern Ireland Prison Service Code of Conduct and Discipline states that in establishing whether a disciplinary offence has been committed the standard of proof to be applied is the balance of probabilities, and that this is the standard required by employment law and provided for in the ACAS Discipline at Work guidelines. (AQW 13320/11-15) Mr Ford: ACAS has no formal role in Northern Ireland. The introductory section of the current Code of Conduct and Discipline refers to the ACAS Code of Practice to reflect the consideration given to exemplary standards of good practice when drafting the document. Random Drug Tests in Prisons Lord Morrow asked the Minister of Justice when the last random drug tests were carried out at each prison facility, including Hydebank Young Offenders Centre and the Juvenile Justice Unit; and how often, on average, such tests are undertaken. (AQW 13321/11-15) Mr Ford: Random drug tests were carried out at both Maghaberry and Magilligan Prisons on 28 June 2012. The last random drug test at Hydebank Wood Prison and Young Offenders Centre was on 19 May 2012. The Northern Ireland Prison Service aims to carry out drug testing, including random testing, five days per week. Resource issues can impact on the ability to do this. Woodlands Juvenile Justice Centre is the responsibility of the Youth Justice Agency and is not a Prison facility. Random drugs tests are not carried out in the JJC. WA 581
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RWA 4
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Written Answers to Questions - Northern Ireland Assembly

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