§ 1. Mr. Wingfield Digbyasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will review the number of outside working parties at smaller gaols like Dorchester; and whether the percentage of prisoners allowed on them is less than 15 years ago.
§ The Secretary of State for the Home Department (Mr. Roy Jenkins)Outside working parties from all closed prisons have been reviewed. I regret that statistics are not available to enable comparisons to be made with the position 15 years ago.
§ Mr. DigbyWill the right hon. Gentleman make the policy on these outside working parties a little clearer? How far is it left to the discretion of the governor, and how far does it depend simply on the availability of outside work, and how much on the needs of prisoners?
§ Mr. JenkinsIt depends on a combination of factors. Outside working parties are most important from the point of view of the economy of prisons. This Question refers only to small prisons. In Dorchester, for example, with a total population of 182, 21 are currently employed outside, but all the factors the hon. Gentleman mentioned are taken into account.