§ Mrs. PeacockTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what notice is given to prisoners in Her Majesty's prisons in the United Kingdom before a cell search takes place.
§ Mr. Michael Forsyth[holding answer 14 February 1995]: 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 Mrs. Elizabeth Peacock, dated 16 February 1995:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the searching of prisoners' cells.If a prisoner is available when a cell is to be searched, he or she will be informed that the search is to take place. He or she will be allowed to view the search from the cell doorway, under the observation of staff.The Woodcock enquiry recommended that in future at all closed prisons prisoners should be excluded from the cell during search, to avoid intimidation. This was part of a wider recommendation on changes to searching procedures.