HC Deb 18 November 1985 vol 87 cc11-3W
Mr. Corbett

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many baths, showers and toilets are available to (a) convicted prisoners and (b) prisoners on remand at Her Majesty's prison, Winson Green, Birmingham; how many baths or showers each prisoner is allowed each week; and how many changes of top and underclothes each prisoner is allowed weekly.

Mr. Mellor

The numbers of baths, showers and toilets available are as follows:

Convicted prisoners Remand prisoners
Baths 35 3
Showers 56 7
WCs 101 25
Urinals 73 16

Each prisoner is normally allowed one bath or shower per week and an additional shower when he makes use of the gymnasium. In addition, prisoners employed on jobs that are of a physically dirty nature have a shower each day, as do prisoners returning from court appearance.

Prisoners at Birmingham have one change of clothes per week consisting of two shirts, two pairs of socks, two pairs of underpants, two vests and one T-shirt. Overclothing is changed as necessary but on return from court, prisoners receive a full kit of clean clothes. In addition two towels, one sheet and one pillow case are changed weekly and a full set of bedding is available to prisoners on return from court.

Mr. Corbett

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many square feet of exercise space is available to prisoners at Her Majesty's prison, Winson Green, Birmingham; and for how many hours each day it was used by (a) convicted prisoners and (b) prisoners on remand in the week ended 2 November.

Mr. Mellor

Birmingham prison has available 46,000 square feet in exercise yards and 8,500 square feet in the gymnasium. In the week ending 2 November 1985 the various exercise yards were in use for two to three hours a day and all prisoners had at least one hour and more normally two hours exercise each day. Information on the use of the gymnasium is available only in the form of total inmate hours per day as follows.

Hours
27 October 91
28 October 113
29 October 82
30 October 107
31 October 160
1 November 65
2 November 111

Mr. Corbett

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the daily population of (a) convicted prisoners, (b) remand prisoners and (c) prisoners awaiting sentence at Her Majesty's prison, Winson Green, Birmingham, in the week ended 2 November.

Mr. Mellor

On 31 October 1985 there were about 340 untried prisoners, 60 convicted unsentenced prisoners and 500 sentenced prisoners in Birmingham prison. Average weekly populations are not recorded centrally.

Mr. Corbett

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the maximum number of prisoners who can be employed on any one day in workshops at Her Majesty's prison, Winson Green, Birmingham; and how many prison officers and instructors are needed to make maximum use of workshop facilities.

Mr. Mellor

There are two heavy textile workshops and a laundry at Birmingham prison which can employ a maximum of 157 inmates. The authorised complement of instructors provides for two senior officer instructors and seven instructors, of which one senior officer instructor and four instructors are currently in post. A total of four prison officers are required daily to provide security cover.

Mr. Corbett

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department for how many hours in the week ending 2 November workshops at Her Majesty's prison, Winson Green, Birmingham, were open; what was the average daily number of prisoners employed; how many classes took place and for how many hours; what was the average number of prisoners in each class; and how many individual prisoners attended at least one class during the week.

Mr. Mellor

In the week ended 2 November one of the two workshops at Birmingham prison was closed. The other was open for 10 hours employing 39 prisoners and the laundry was open for 25 hours and employed 22 prisoners. In addition 60 prisoners were regularly employed on catering, stores and maintenance duties with others employed on cleaning duties. There were no classes during the week ended 2 November because of the half-term break.

Mr. Corbett

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much time each day (a) convicted prisoners and (b) prisoners on remand spent in their cells at Her Majesty's prison, Winson Green, Birmingham, in the week ended 2 November; and how this compares with the same period one and two years earlier.

Mr. Mellor

In the week ended 2 November, convicted prisoners at Winson Green prison who were in employment spent up to seventeen and a half hours each working day in their cells; unemployed convicted prisoners and those on remand were in their cells up to twenty two and a half hours. In both cases these hours were reduced for some prisoners by visits, interviews, court appearances, use of the prison library and canteen, and other out of cell activities for periods which it is not practicable to calculate.

This information shows little change from the position which existed in the same period in 1983 and 1984.