§ MR. PICKERSGILL (Bethnal Green, S.W.)To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will state why effect has not been given to the recommendation of the Departmental Committee on Prison Dietaries in 1898, that the tin utensils used in prisons in the service of the food should be replaced by enamel ware.
§ (Answered by Mr. Secretary Gladstone.) The enamel ware was tried, but it was not 1272 found desirable to bring it into general use. It was unsatisfactory for cooking utensils on medical grounds, the enamel was liable to chip, and the chips swallowed were injurious to health. As regards service utensils, its general introduction would have cost £4,000, and the cost of maintenance would have been doubled. In these circumstances I am not prepared to press the Prison Commissioners to make any alteration.