§ 46. Mr. Thorpeasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the total number of maximum security cells in United Kingdom prisons; how many of these are occupied by one, two, three, or more inmates, respectively; and how many of such cells are still provided at night with a bucket as the sole form of sanitation.
§ The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mr. R. A. Butler)On 30th May out of 13,796 cells for men in England and Wales, 2,477 held three prisoners. In Scotland out of 2,255 such cells, 87 had three prisoners. There are 934 cells for women in England and Wales and 120 in Scotland. Women are not located more than one to a cell and men are never located in pairs. Prison cells in Great Britain do not contain fixed sanitary installations.
§ Mr. ThorpeI hope that I shall not misrepresent what the right hon. Gentleman said, but I could not hear him. On the figures which I think I heard, would he agree that this represents a very serious state of overcrowding in our prisons which is not conducive to turning out prisoners as useful citizens at the end of their prison sentences? Does he 662 agree that providing three prisoners in a cell with a bucket at night as the sole form of sanitation is also not the best way to rehabilitate them—by keeping them as caged animals?, Will he try to bring the conditions in our prisons up to date and into line with those in some of the other civilised countries of the world?
§ Mr. ButlerDuring the last three years there has been an unprecedented building programme for prisons, of no less than forty-one different types of units, of which seven or eight are now completed, and the rest are nearing completion or are under construction. Moreover, there is a long-term programme for improving the existing sanitary arrangements in prisons amounting to no less than £500,000, and this is well under way in an attempt to deal with some of these conditions which are undoubtedly very serious.
§ Miss BaconWould the right hon. Gentleman agree that, deplorable as it is that three prisoners are having to sleep in a cell, the most deplorable aspect of this is not sleeping three in a cell at night but the grave overcrowding during the day which makes it impossible to give the prisoners a full day's work which they ought to be doing?
§ Mr. ButlerWe have fortunately considerably improved the provision of work in prisons thanks to the Advisory Council which I have set up with the aid of hon. Members serving on it. This will help to improve the day conditions, but it cannot be denied that at present prisons are overcrowded.