§ 1. Lieut.-Colonel Liptonasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what cuts are being made in prison staffs.
§ The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Sir David Maxwell Fyfe)In view of the continued increase in the prison population, I am taking up with my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer as a matter of urgency the provision of staffs in the prisons adequate to the present situation.
§ Lieut.-Colonel LiptonWhile that reply will do something to remove the widespread public anxiety which arose out of the various notices of dismissal which have already been given to members of prison staffs, can the right hon. and learned Gentleman give an assurance that the prison staffs are not going to be cut down, for it is quite clear that our prisons at the moment are very much overcrowded and, in view of the negligible recruiting for prison staffs, under-staffed as well?
§ Sir D. Maxwell FyfeI have said that I am acting at once in the matter, but the hon. and gallant Gentleman should appreciate that the numbers of prison staffs in post are being temporarily limited but that no actual reductions have been made.
§ Mr. WoodburnWill the right hon. and learned Gentleman consider the possibility of reducing the prison population? Instead of keeping people behind bars, could not some be segregated? There are mental cases where there was no criminal intent, for instance. Could not these people be put on useful work?
§ Sir D. Maxwell FyfeThat is another question.