§ Mr. CoxTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the present policy of his Department in respect of the wearing by prison officers of name badges when on duty in a prison establishment in prisons in England and Wales; and if he will make a statement. [32465]
§ 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 A. J. Pearson to Mr. Tom Cox, dated 17 June 1996:
The Home Secretary of State has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Question about name badges.Prison Service policy on the wearing of name badges has remained unchanged since it was introduced in 1993. The policy is that staff who come into contact with prisoners or the public will be required to wear name badges; and staff will be encouraged to wear name badges in any circumstances where it will be useful or courteous to do so.The implementation of the policy has been by encouragement rather than by active enforcement. There is a high level of non-compliance by staff, particularly from prison officers.It is planned that name badges will be superseded by new security passes which will be worn by all staff. Information on the new style passes will include the name and a photograph of the member of staff. The new style passes should be introduced throughout the Prison Service by April 1997.