§ Mr. Lathamasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what provision will be made in the new Holloway prison for children who have resided with their mothers in prison but who have reached the age of five and can no longer be accommodated;
(2) what long-term provisions he will make to deal with the potential problems of children leaving Holloway Prison after spending the early years of their lives in prison with their mothers.
§ Mr. Carlisle:The new establishment is to have one senior welfare officer and seven welfare officers seconded from the probation and after-care service. With the assistant governors and other members of the staff they will be concerned to make satisfactory arrangements for children who leave the prison. Very few children are likely to have been in the establishment for as long as 12 months.
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§ Mr. Lathamasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what will be the maximum number of children able to stay with their mothers in the new Holloway prison.
§ Mr. Carlisle:Forty-two.
§ Mr. Lathamasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will give a breakdown of the sentences being served by inmates of Holloway Prison at the present time.
§ Mr. Carlisle:The following table gives information about all those detained in Holloway on 30th April.
Unsentenced Inmates Untried, adult 57 Untried, under 21 35 Convicted but unsentenced, adult 34 Convicted but unsentenced, under 21 12 Civil prisoners 4 — 142 Sentenced Inmates, Adults Length of Sentence Less than 6 months 27 6 months to 18 months 76 Over 18 months to 3 years 34 Over 3 years, less than 10 years 7 10 years and over Nil Life 4 — 148 Sentenced Under 21 Sentenced to imprisonment 8 Sentenced to borstal training 16 — 24 Total 314
§ Mr. Lathamasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) whether it is intended that prisoners will be isolated for non-medical reasons in the new Holloway Prison;
(2) what accommodation is to be reserved for disciplinary purposes in the new Holloway prison.
§ Mr. Carlisle:Rooms will be available in the hospital if a woman has to be isolated for any purpose. Women in these rooms will be under medical supervision at all times. There will be no rooms reserved specifically for disciplinary purposes.
§ Mr. Lathamasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will consider allowing weekend visits by spouses to inmates of the new Holloway prison.
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§ Mr. Carlisle:Improved visiting facilities are being provided but these will not include overnight accommodation.
§ Mr. Lathamasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the present visiting arrangements to Holloway prison; and if these arrangements will remain the same when the new prison is fully commissioned.
§ Mr. Carlisle:The number of visits allowed to women at Holloway varies from daily visits for those unconvicted to monthly visits for ordinary sentenced prisoners. Special visits are allowed if necessary. There is a waiting room close to the gate and two medium-sized visiting rooms are permanently available. The ground floor of a workshop is also used at weekends. Refreshments can then be provided. I hope that longer and more frequent visits will be possible in the new Holloway. The details have not yet been decided; but the waiting room and visiting room will be larger and better equipped. There will be improveed arrangements for refreshments; and a multi-purpose hall will be available for visits at weekends and bank holidays.
§ Mr. Lathamasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is satisfied that the new Holloway prison will be better equipped to provide adequately for children who are resident there with their mothers; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Carlisle:The rooms intended for mothers accompanied by their babies or young children have been carefully designed. The post-natal section will be equipped to the normal standards of the Department of Health and Social Security. For older children there will be two play rooms, an outdoor playground, a night nursery and a milk kitchen. A children's nurse will be available. These facilities will be a great improvement on the existing accommodation which has had to be adapted for the purpose and is not entirely suitable for it.
§ Mr. Lathamasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what provisions he is making for educational facilities in the new Holloway prison;
(2) whether any inmates of Holloway prison has undertaken university courses in the last five years from the prison; and whether any have applied to the 290W Open University for placement for the next Open University course:
(3) whether he is satisfied that sufficient encouragement is given to inmates of Holloway prison to pursue educational courses; and if he will make a statement;
(4) whether he will seek to establish within the new Holloway prison education system training courses for social workers similar to those provided in United States prison for women offenders, details of which are in his possession:
(5) what encouragement is given to inmates of Holloway prison to pursue an academic or industrial or technical training course while they are in prison.
§ Mr. Carlisle:An average of 80 education classes are held each week at the prison. The education officer interviews each woman received under sentence and discusses an education programme with her. Most women decide to attend at least one class. Facilities for vocational and technical training and academic subjects at advanced levels are limited at present, but a transfer to other establishments for this purpose can be considered No woman has taken a university course or been eligible to apply for an Open University place.
The new establishment will have excellent facilities for vocational and technical training, academic, social and domestic subjects, remedial tuition, handicrafts, art and music. The possibility of introducing training relevant to work in the social service field will be kept under review.
§ Mr. Lathamasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans have been made for the incorporation of a nursery school in the new Holloway prison.
§ Mr. Carlisle:A children's nurse will he employed in the special unit for mothers with small children and there will be ample space for constructive and educational activities.