§ Lord Brockwayasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether it is the case that at Inverness Prison there are cells in the segregation unit 3 metres by 2.5 metres and that prisoners are confined within them for more than six months' solitary confinement.
§ The Minister of State, Scottish Office (The Earl of Mansfield)The overall dimensions of the cells normally used in the Inverness Unit are 3 metres by 4.5 metres. For the protection of staff entering the cells they are divided by a row of vertical bars into two separate areas—an entrance area measuring 3 metres by 2260WA metres, and an area of 3 metres by 2.5 metres (7.5 square metres) occupied by the prisoner. The recommended minimum area for a single cell in a secure prison is 6.3 square metres.
The maximum period of continuous confinement in the Inverness Unit is normally three months. This exceeded only in exceptional circumstances. Since the unit was brought into use again in 1978 the longest continuous period spent there by any prisoner is just over four months. The average period is between two and three months.
A prisoner in the unit does not associate with other prisoners but is in regular daily contact with staff, may take an hour's outside exercise each day and receives his normal entitlement of visits. While in the unit, a prisoner's condition is constantly monitored and his progress is subject to formal review at monthly intervals.
House adjourned at fifteen minutes before nine o'clock.