§ 22. Mr. DONNERasked the Home Secretary whether he is aware that the staff at Pentonville Prison is so short that officers have to be drawn from the division off duty at week-ends; and will he consider taking steps to prevent an interruption of the officers' normal rest days on alternate Saturdays and Sundays?
§ Sir H. SAMUELThe turns of duty of prison officers are so arranged that so far as practicable each officer shall have two free days every second week-end. At Pentonville the number of officers called in from the off-duty division on Saturday or Sunday does not exced five out of a staff of 96, and no officer has had his week-end interrupted in this way more than four or five times in a year. An officer so called in is given equivalent time off in the following week. If no such occasional calls were allowed, the ordinary week-day staff would have to be increased beyond the requirements of the service, and the expense of this would not be warranted.
§ Mr. GODFREY NICHOLSONCan the right hon. Gentleman say how much the staff of Pentonville has been cut down in the last month?
§ Sir H. SAMUELNot without notice.