Mr. Compton Carrasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what further consideration he has given to the recommendation of his Advisory Council on the Treatment of Offenders that National Assistance, where it is due, should be paid to a prisoner before he is discharged so that when he leaves the institution he has sufficient money to meet immediate contingencies; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. BrookeMy right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland and I intend to introduce on 1st October an arrangement by which a prisoner who has served a sentence of over three months, or a prisoner who cannot reach an office of the National Assistance Board on the day of discharge, will be eligible, where appropriate, to receive at the prison a payment of up to £4 to enable him to meet his immediate needs. These payments will be made by the prison authorities and not by the National Assistance Board; they will be made only to prisoners who are in need of such help and the Board will take them into account when considering any requests for further assistance. Provision will be made in a Supplementary Estimate to be presented in due 455W course. Advances will be sought from the Civil Contingencies Fund to meet any payments requiring to be made in the meantime.