§ Mr. Kilfedderasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many full-time and part-time teachers are employed in the Prison Education Service ; what other staff are employed ; what is the estimated cost of the service in 1975–76, and the actual cost in 1974–75, including, in each case, the cost of books, other educational materials and visual aids; and what estimate has been made of the number and value of the books destroyed at the Maze Prison during the fire caused by the Provisional IRA last year.
§ Mr. Merlyn ReesThere are five full-time and 47 part-time teachers presently employed in the Prison Education Service. Their work is supervised by four
194Wfigures for industrial disputes given in his Written Answer to the hon. Member for Epping Forest on 25th February 1975 compare with the figures for Great Britain.
§ Mr. OrmeThe information is as follows:
full-time education officers, one in each prison. Professional oversight of the service is the responsibility of a Chief Education and Training Officer and his deputy. Administrative support is provided by five clerical and administrative staff.
Subject to the approval of Parliament, the cost of the service in 1975–76 is estimated to be £200,000, including £11,600 for books, £2,400 for educational materials and £1,200 for audio visual aids. The actual cost to date in the financial year 1974–75 is about £70,000, including £10,000 for books, £3,100 for educational materials and £8,500 for audio visual aids.
During the fire at Her Majesty's Prison Maze, approximately 2,300 library books and 2,000 text books were destroyed at 195W an estimated cost of £4,185 and £1,450 respectively.
§ Mr. Kilfedderasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what is the average cost per student of the Prison Education Service ; and how this compares with the average cost of full-time and part-time students at colleges of education and the Northern Ireland Polytechnic.
§ Mr. Merlyn ReesEducation in Her Majesty's penal establishments is mainly voluntary and the service offered by educational staff embraces formal teaching, the provision of educational materials and advice of an educational nature often given on a casual basis. It is, therefore, not practicable to determine the average cost per student.