Prison Ships (Hansard, 27 May 1993)

§ Ms Ruddock
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions his Department has had with the Bibby Line.

§ Mr. Peter Lloyd
Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the director general of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Derek Lewis to Ms Joan Ruddock, dated 26 May 1993:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about discussions with the Bibby Line.
725W
The Prison Service has had a number of discussions with representatives of the Bibby Line over the last 6 years or so.
Floating accommodation units are an option being considered to cope with surges of prison population. No final decision has been taken on the feasibility of this option.

§ Ms Ruddock
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consideration the Prison Service is giving to the use of ships for prisoners' accommodation; and in what circumstances ships might be used for prisoners.

§ Mr. Peter Lloyd
Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the director general of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Derek Lewis to Ms Joan Ruddock, dated 25 May 1993:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the use of ships for prisoner accommodation.
The Prison Service has for some time been developing contingency plans to cope with surges of prison population which exceed the available accommodation. If effective plans can be devolved, they will reduce the need to have recourse to police cells to hold excess population.
Floating accommodation units are one option which is being considered, though as yet no final decision has been taken on the feasibility of this option.