§ 26. Mr. Haleasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will state, with reference to each prison accommodating more than 500 prisoners, the number of trained executive officers in addition to the governor and assistant-governor.
§ Mr. SimonI assume the hon. Member is not referring to executive officers in the Civil Service sense, which would exclude governors and assistant-governors but would include stewards and senior office staff.
As the reply consists of a table of figures, I will, with permission, circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
§ Mr. HaleIs it not a fact that in most of the large local prisons virtually the only officers of executive rank are the governor and assistant-governor, and that they have such temporary help in organising labour and so on as can be made available on a voluntary or semi-voluntary basis? Is it not absurd to 527 imagine that one can run a prison tike Pentonville, containing 1,000 prisoners, with the governor and assistant-governor occupied in statistical and clerical work? Who would suggest that one could run a Royal Navy vessel, with a complement of 1,000 men, with no navigating officer, no lieutenants and no organisation? Is it not necessary to reorganise the executive staffing of prisons?
§ Mr. SimonIn the past it has not been considered useful to provide assistant- governors in addition to a deputy-governor at local prisons, but this is one of the matters which my right hon. Friend has under consideration.
§ Following is the information
§ The number of assistant-governors in addition to the deputy-governor at prisons with over 500 population on 26th February last was:—
| Birmingham | … | … | Nil* |
| Brixton | … | … | 1 |
| Dartmoor | … | … | Nil* |
| Durham | … | … | 1 |
| Leeds | … | … | 1 |
| Liverpool | … | … | 2 |
| Manchester | … | … | 1 |
| Parkhurst | … | … | 1 |
| Pentonville | … | … | Nil |
| Stafford | … | … | Nil |
| Wakefield | … | … | 5 |
| Wandsworth | … | … | 3 |
| Wormwood Scrubs | … | … | 3 |
| *Post authorised but not yet filled. |