§ 30. Mr. P. Williamsasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will give a general direction that those detained in Her Majesty's Prisons should never be issued with secondhand footwear.
§ Mr. RentonNo, Sir. Part-worn shoes are not issued unless they are serviceable. The extra cost of new shoes for every prisoner would not be justified.
§ Mr. WilliamsWould not my hon. and learned Friend agree that this rather 1353 nauseating practice of supplying secondhand shoes to people who may well be first offenders is one not designed to help the rehabilitation of prisoners and that the false economy involved in this matter so trivial as to be beneath contempt?
§ Mr. RentonThe cost would be about £30,000. I do not know whether my hon. Friend considers that trivial. The difficulty is that about 70 per cent. of the prisoners are in prison for less than six months and in that time they do not wear out one pair of shoes. Prisoners are not asked to take second-hand shoes that are not serviceable.