HC Deb 04 July 1968 vol 767 cc1676-7
22. Mr. Brooks

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is aware that his requirement that probation officers who work in prisons shall sign the Official Secrets Acts, restricts such officers' freedom to discuss their work; whether he will give the reasons for this requirement; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Elystan Morgan

Access to confidential information in prison records necessarily involves the restrictions on unauthorised disclosure imposed by the Official Secrets Acts. There is no reason why this should inhibit probation officers from discussing their work with their professional colleagues and I have had no representations that any difficulties have arisen in this respect. My right hon. Friend will, however, consider whether any general guidance is required to remove possible misunderstanding.

Mr. Brooks

I thank my hon. Friend for his assurance about the lack of restrictions on professional discussion. Would not he agree that it is wrong that free discussion within the community of the circumstances of prisons should be any more inhibited than, say, discussion of the conditions in geriatric hospitals?

Mr. Morgan

I should explain to my hon. Friend that the application of the Acts is not restricted to members of the prison service. Anyone working in a prison is subject to them. For example, local education authority teachers and Church Army representatives as well as probation officers are required to complete the declaration under the Official Secrets Acts to ensure that each person involved appreciates this.