HC Deb 19 November 1981 vol 13 cc185-6W
Mrs. Renée Short

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the total cost of running the prison chaplaincy service at the latest convenient date; and how this compares with the figures for each of the previous three years at current prices.

Mr. Mayhew

I regret that detailed information on the specific costs of the prison chaplaincy is not available. The largest single element is the cost of chaplaincy salaries, which is currently about £1 million per annum.

Mrs. Renée Short

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prison chaplains at each grade were employed in the prison chaplaincy service at the latest convenient date; and what were the figures for each of the last three years.

Mr. Mayhew

The numbers and grades of chaplains currently employed are as follows. Corresponding figures for 1980 are shown in brackets:—

Church of England
Chaplains
Chaplain General 1 (1)
Assistant Chaplain General 1 (1)
Regional Chaplains 3 (4)
Chaplain I 18 (17)
Chaplain II 44 (41)
Assistant Chaplains 6 (7)
Part-time Chaplain 63 (42)

Roman Catholic
Chaplains
Senior RC Chaplain 1 (1)
Assistant Senior Chaplain 1 (1)
RC Chaplain I 3 (3)
RC Chaplain II 8 (7)
Part-time RC Chaplain 93 (83)

A new grading structure for chaplains was introduced on 1 January 1980 and numbers and grades prior to that were as follows:—

Church of England
1979 1978
Chaplain General 1 1
Assistant Chaplain General 1 1
Regional Chaplains 4 4
Full-time Chaplains 61 60
Part-time Chaplains 48 51

Roman Catholic
1979 1978
Senior RC Chaplain 1 1
Full-time RC Chaplains 10 11
Part-time RC Chaplains 76 81