§ Sir David Priceasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the current criteria for the appointment of prison chaplains, in particular in respect of different religions and different denominations within those religions; and if he will list in the Official Report the number of chaplains currently appointed under each religion and each denomination.
§ Mr. HurdUnder the Prison Act 1952 every prison is required to have a chaplain who is a member of the Church of England. All prisons also have a Roman Catholic and Methodist chaplain. Visiting ministers of other denominations and non-Christian faiths are appointed as necessary. The numbers of Church of England, Roman Catholic and Methodist prison chaplains are as follows:
Numbers Church of England Full time 72 Part time 46 Roman Catholic Full time 11 Part time 86 Methodist Part time 113 Detailed information about visiting ministers is not available centrally.