§ Mr. RocheTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he plans to take to remedy the shortage of prison officers supervising visits to prisoners by lawyers. [32541]
§ Miss WiddecombeResponsibility 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. Barbara Roche, dated 10 July 1995:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about visits to prisoners by lawyers.There is no general shortage of prison officers to supervise visits to prisoners by lawyers. Accommodation may sometimes become over-stretched and result in difficulty in agreeing to visits at short notice. Many prisons find that the best service can be offered by operating a booking system.