Accommodation (Hansard, 11 December 1958)

§ 15. Mr. H. Hynd
asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners are now housed three to a cell.

§ Mr. Renton
On 18th November, 1958, there were 5,925 men sleeping three in a cell out of a total prison population of 21,448 men.

§ Mr. Hynd
Is not the Minister rather ashamed of this total of nearly 6,000 men sleeping three to a cell? Has his attention been drawn to the remarks of Mr. Justice Salmon about the case at Canterbury Gaol, where a man with no previous convictions was put into a cell with two men with records, a cell measuring 13 ft. 6 ins. by 7 ft. 6 ins., built over 100 years ago to accommodate one man?

§ Mr. Renton
This problem, which we deplore greatly, and which the Prison Commissioners are doing their best to overcome, is due to a very large and sharp increase in the prison population over the last two years. As regards the case at Canterbury, the three men who were in one cell at the time when the incident occurred had never been in prison before. All three had been convicted, two of them had been sentenced and one—Furrie, the man concerned— was awaiting sentence after being convicted.

§ 29. Mr. Hale
asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department in how many local prisons for male prisoners the system of putting three prisoners in a cell built for one only continues; how many prisoners are affected; and to what extent arrangements have been effectively made so that unconvicted prisoners and first offenders are not confined with more habitual criminals.

§ Mr. Renton
On 18th November, 1958, there were 25 local prisons in which prisoners were accommodated three to a cell, the number of prisoners affected being 5,922. Unconvicted prisoners are not confined in a cell with convicted prisoners, and first offenders are not confined with habitual criminals.

§ Mr. Hale
Will the Under-Secretary bear in mind the fact that most of the cells are 100 years old, and were built, at the time, for one person each? Will he also bear in mind the fact that many of these prisoners are locked up for 11 consecutive hours. and some for 16 consecutive hours, with no lavatory accommodation, so that for 16 hours at a time some of them have to suffer the nauseating stench of the human excrement of three people living in the cell. Does not he think that the prison system is reaching the stage where it is creating criminals instead of restraining crime?

§ Mr. Renton
My right hon. Friend fully accepts that this large number of men sleeping three to a cell creates the most unsatisfactory conditions. I say that without necessarily agreeing with all the details that the hon. Member has given.