§ Ms RuddockTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many disturbances have occurred at Blakenhurst since it opened; and if he will provide details.
§ Mr. Peter LloydResponsibility 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 18 October 1993:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about disturbances at HM Prison Blakenhurst.The Prison Service does not classify incidents as 'disturbances', but records a range of different types of incident which disrupt the smooth running of establishments.Since Blakenhurst began receiving prisoners on 26 May 1993, there have been four incidents of concerted indiscipline, and two rooftop demonstrations; all six incidents were passive throughout. These are the details:—9 August 1993: 50 prisoners refused to return to their cells at the end of evening association. They were protesting about the quality of the food and about the imminent transfer to training prisons of a number of prisoners. They returned to their cells after 3½ hours.13 September 1993: 62 prisoners refused to return to their cells after evening association. Their complaints included the timing of meals, lack of available work, poor choice of video entertainment and new restrictions on access around the houseblocks. The incident was resolved after 3½ hours.20 September 1993: 60 prisoners refused to return to their cells at the end of evening association; they did so after one hour.23 September 1993: a prisoner climbed onto the roof of the segregation unit to protest about his location in the unit. He remained there for 4 hours. No damage was caused.24 September 1993: another prisoner climbed onto the roof of the segregation unit to protest about his location in the unit. He surrendered after 3 hours 50 minutes.9 October 1993: ten prisoners refused to return to their cells after evening association. Four of the prisoners were due to be relocated in the segregation unit following an alleged assault on two staff members. The situation was resolved after 2½ hours.