§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people are engaged on the special project committee which he has set up to review the role and future of Holloway prison; from what professional bodies they come; and if he will list then-names in the Official Report.
§ Mr. Mellor:The membership of the Holloway project committee is as follows:
Mr. C P Honey—Regional Director, South East Region, Prison Department
Mr. C J Allen—Governor, Her Majesty's Prison Holloway
472WDr. P Mason—Director, Mental Health Divison, Department of Health and Social Services
Mrs. J Galbraith JP—latterly Chairman, Board of Visitors, Her Majesty's Prison Holloway
Dr. D A F Doherty—Principal Medical Officer, Directorate of Prison Medical Services
Mrs. M M Donnelly—Governor II, Prison Department Headquarters
Mr. B Chaplin—Principal, Prison Department Headquarters
Mr. D Twiner—Governor II, Prison Department Headquarters
Miss J Kinsley—Governor, Her Majesty's Prison, Brixton—attended meetings of the committee while governor of Holloway.
§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he intends to establish any special counselling and advisory services at Holloway prison to help women there who have attempted self-mutilation; and what plans he has to increase the level of prison medical staff to deal with this problem.
§ Mr. Mellor:Inmates at Holloway prison who attempt self-mutilation are seen, as a matter of course, by a prison medical officer, who can refer them, if necessary, to a consultant psychiatrist. A wide range of counselling and advisory services is also available. There are no plans at present to increase the level of medical cover at Holloway.
§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will invite probation and education officers to discuss with him their views on the imposition of restrictions on contacts between professional staff and former inmates of Holloway prison.
§ Mr. Mellor:My right hon. and learned Friend has no plans to do so.
§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the number of women prisoners in Holloway prison in each year since 1970 and the number of cells in that prison which contained (a) one inmate, (b) two inmates, (c) three inmates and (d) four inmates in each year during the same period.
§ Mr. Mellor:Table A sets out the average number of inmates in Holloway prison in the period 1970 to 1984.
Information on the occupacy of cells before 1976 is not readily available. Table B sets out the occupancy of cells in mid-December each year from 1976 up to 1984. No cells accommodated more than three inmates. These figures do not cover rooms and dormitories designed for multi-occupancy, nor do they cover hospital accommodation.
473W
Table A: Average population in custody at Holloway prison, 1970–1984 Year Average population 1970 397 1971 344 1972 330 1973 342 1974 331 1975 373 1976 361 1977 332 1978 359 1979 363 1980 355 1981 331
Year Average population 1982 315 1983 332 1984 335
Table B: Holloway cell occupancy, 1976–1984 Year Number of cells containing one inmate two inmates three inmates 1976 65 92 — 1977 17 75 4 1978 31 26 28 1979 23 32 29 1980 25 33 18 1981 32 48 5 1982 23 49 7 1983 32 46 7 1984 30 46 2