HL Deb 29 October 1998 vol 593 cc219-20WA
Lord Avebury

asked Her Majesty's Government:

On what date they received the draft report of the Chief Inspector of Prisons on Haslar and when they now expect to publish it. [HL3480]

Lord Williams of Mostyn

The Chief Inspector of Prisons submitted the draft report of his inspection of Haslar to my right honourable friend the Home Secretary on 11 September. Under the protocol procedures for the handling of the Chief Inspector's inspection reports, Ministers approve publication of a report once the Director General of the Prison Service has confirmed its factual accuracy. The Director General wrote to the Chief Inspector on 6 October, seeking the correction of a number of factual inaccuracies within the draft report. Once this correspondence has been concluded, I will make an early decision about publication.