Written question asked by Ian Lavery (Labour) on Monday, 17 January 2011, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 19 January 2011. It was answered by Crispin Blunt (Conservative) on Monday, 24 January 2011 on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.

Ford Prison

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) on how many occasions an offender has been sent to HM Prison Ford who would fall outside of the normal selection criteria for placement there in the last 12 months; and if he will make a statement;

Answer: Prisoners are categorised and allocated to open prison (category D) following an established risk assessment process set out in the National Security Framework as amended by Prison Service Instructions 16/2008 and 3/2009, which remain in force. Prisoners may be assessed as suitable for open conditions if they present a low risk of harm to the public, are considered to be trustworthy not to abscond from low security conditions and, for those serving a lengthy prison sentence, in general, within two years of their earliest release date. Prisoners who do not meet these criteria are not moved to open conditions, and those who are later considered to have increased those risks whilst in open conditions would be moved back to closed conditions.Sending prisons are aware of Ford's acceptance criteria, and so prisoners who do not meet these criteria are not sent there. All prisoners transferred to Ford have been risk assessed as suitable for category D.

Secondary information