§ 22. Mr. Redheadasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department for the latest available figure of the total population of Her Majesty's prisons and the number of prisoners who are sleeping three to a cell.
§ Mr. SimonOn 26th February, 1957, the total population of Her Majesty's Prisons in England and Wales was 17,779 men and 707 women. On 12th February, 1957, the latest date for which a figure is available, 2,052 men were sleeping three to a cell.
§ Mr. RedheadWhilst appreciating that the reduction in the total number of the prison population has resulted in the satisfactory feature of our being able to reduce the number of cases of prisoners sleeping three to a cell, might I inquire whether any active steps are being taken to eradicate this most unsatisfactory and undesirable feature of prison conditions as quickly as possible and as completely as possible from the prison service?
§ Mr. SimonI entirely agree with the hon. Member that it is entirely undesirable that prisoners should still have to sleep three to a cell. There has been a substantial and progressive reduction since the peak of 1953, which was nearly three times as much as the present figures.