Payouts to inmates up seven-fold

Compensation payments to West Midlands prison inmates have rocketed seven-fold in the past year, government figures revealed today.

A total of £112,204 was awarded in 2006-07 compared to £16,000 in 2005-06. Latest payments made in and out of court include claims by drug-addicted prisoners forced to go "cold turkey".

These stem from a test case by six prisoners, settled outside of the courts in November 2006 by the Home Office, after a High Court judge approved damages following their claims that the practice amounted to an assault and breach of human rights.

Payments totalling £750,000 subsequently went to 197 prisoners forced to stop taking drugs at jails including Birmingham, Blakenhurst, Stafford and Shrewsbury under the Opiate Dependent Prison Litigation.

Awards to inmates in the region in the past year were also made for claims of "miscellaneous injury", an assault by a prisoner, unlawful detention, lost property and slips, trips and falls.

The statistics show that £6,500 was paid out following claims for compensation by inmates at Birmingham Prison in 2005-06, rising to £23,713 in 2006-07.

At Blakenhurst, the bill rose from £2,500 to £32,956 – a 13-fold increase. Payouts at Drake Hall, in Eccleshall, Staffordshire, went up from £7,000 to £8,750.

And a total of £8,714 was handed out during the past year following claims by inmates at Stafford Prison, while at Shrewsbury the sum was £38,071.

Nationally, more than £2million was paid in compensation by publicly run prisons in 2006-07 – down 54 per cent on the previous year. Justice Secretary Jack Straw, released the data to MPs in response to a parliamentary question.