HL Deb 01 July 1982 vol 432 cc451-2WA
Lord Avebury

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether, on the last occasion when the papers relating to Mr. R. J. Payne, a prisoner in Maidstone, were referred to the Parole Board, they were made aware of the fact that Mr. Payne had been working outside the prison for upwards of four months.

Lord Elton

I would refer the noble Lord to the reply to his Question on Friday, 18th June, about outside work by life sentence prisoners (Official Report, col. 729). The papers before the Parole Board did not include any reference to the fact that Mr. Payne had been allowed by the governor—without proper authority—to work outside the prison for a short period. They did, however, include reports from the prison indicating (a) that Mr. Payne had been made a Category D prisoner locally; (b) that he was working on the prison gardens; and (c) that it was the intention to allow him to work outside the prison perimeter.