§ Mr. Stonehouseasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what is the number of individual urinal places provided in C wing at Brixton Prison and the total number of prisoners using them;
(2) what is the number of water closets available to prisoners in C wing of Brixton Prison and the average number of prisoners held in this wing;
(3) what is the number of showers available for prisoners in C wing at Brixton Prison; and what is the total number of prisoners and the number of times each prisoner can use a shower.
§ Dr. SummerskillThere are eight urinals, eight water closets and four showers in C wing, and a further three urinals and six water closets in the C wing exercise yard. Priority in the use of showers is accorded to prisoners who are due to appear in court the next day and to those engaged in cleaning and comparable work, but every prisoner should have the opportunity of at least one shower a week. The number of prisoners accommodated between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. is significantly less than the overnight population owing to the absence of prisoners at court. The average daily population between those hours in August and September was 274 and 669W 255 respectively, and the average overnight population was 325 and 295 respectively.
§ Mr. Stonehouseasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many of Her Majesty's prisons he has visited and when in the latest convenient period.
§ Mr. Roy JenkinsIn the past year only Glen Parva Borstal, which is not technically an Her Majesty's prison, although my hon. Friends the Ministers of State and Under-Secretary have between them paid six visits during this period, and I have paid at least five previous official visits.
§ Mr. Stonehouseasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what facilities exist for members of the Press to visit Her Majesty's prisons.
§ Dr. SummerskillFacilities are given to journalists to visit Prison Department establishments to prepare material for publication about the establishment or the prison system in general. This may, at the discretion of the governor, include an opportunity to speak to individual inmates—with their consent—about the prison regime, on the understanding that personal cases must not be discussed and the prisoners must not subsequently be named.
§ Mr. Stonehouseasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when permission was last given for a television documentary to be made about conditions in Her Majesty's prisons.
§ Dr. SummerskillIn 1975 facilities have been granted to producers of nine television programmes to film various aspects, according to their own requests, of prison conditions and treatment. These have taken place at Winchester Remand Centre—January; Chelmsford Prison-two visits, February; Canterbury Prison—March; Liverpool Prison—March; Acklington Prison—May; Styal Prison—May; Wormwood Scrubs—June: and Gloucester Prison—June.
§ Mr. Stonehouseasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why VHF radios are not allowed to prisoners in Her Majesty's prisons.
§ Dr. SummerskillVHF radios can be used to monitor police and prison radio670W transmissions, knowledge of which could prejudice the security of prisons. In general prisoners are allowed to have personal radio sets provided they are capable of receiving only medium- and long-wave transmissions, and that they are battery operated.
§ Mr. Stonehouseasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the accommodation available at Brixton Prison based on the original concept of single cell occupancy; and what was the total number of prisoners actually in residence on 1st August 1975 or latest convenient date.
§ Dr. SummerskillThere are 520 cells at Brixton Prison and in addition 15 rooms designed to accommodate 129 persons. On 30th September, 966 persons were accommodated at Brixton.
§ Mr. Stonehouseasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the time allowed for exercise for prisoners held on remand in Brixton Prison.
§ Dr. SummerskillOne hour; normally in two periods of 30 minutes, one in the morning and one in the afternoon.
§ Mr. Stonehouseasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the total staff employed at Brixton Prison and the average hours worked weekly.
§ Dr. SummerskillThe number of staff on the strength of Brixton Prison on 4th October was 543. The prison also employs varying numbers of staff on loan from other prisons. I regret that it is not practicable to provide a meaningful figure of average weekly hours worked.
§ Mr. Stonehouseasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list in the Official Report the prisons in the United Kingdom, the accommodation for which they were designed and the actual prison population at the latest available date.
§ Dr. SummerskillThe information requested in England and Wales is contained in the following table. The designed accommodation at each establishment is conventionally expressed in terms of its certified normal accommodation (CNA) which represents the number 671W of offenders that the institution will hold without overcrowding of cells or dormitories.
672W
ENGLAND AND WALES ESTABLISHMENTS FOR MALE OFFENDERS Establishment CNA Population at 30th September 1975 Remand Centres Brockhill 177 185 Low Newton 159 197 Risley 559 861 Thorp Arch 101 165 Ashford 400 498 Latchmere House 130 149 Cardiff 67 128 Exeter 46 67 Pucklechurch 115 91 Winchester 61 100 Local Prisons Bedford 170 275 Birmingham 602 914 Leicester 238 380 Lincoln 354 532 Shrewsbury 170 217 Durham 665 853 Leeds 592 975 Liverpool 1,066 1,384 Manchester 948 1,295 Brixton 649 968 Canterbury 242 357 Lewes 321 368 Norwich 314 462 Pentonville 931 1,051 Wandsworth 1,197 1,497 Wormwood Scrubs 1,007 1,387 Camp Hill 12 5 Bristol 389 600 Cardiff 271 438 Dorchester 164 235 Exeter 279 443 Gloucester 218 337 Oxford 161 266 Swansea 266 303 Winchester 424 621 Training Prisons Aylesbury 293 312 Gartree 289 233 Long Lartin 328 270 Nottingham 207 256 Ranby 399 373 Stafford 574 723 Swinfen Hall 182 181 Onley 180 169 Acklington 204 194 Haverigg 457 473 Hull 318 288 Lancaster 158 206 Northallerton 146 192 Preston 427 589 Wakefield 783 703 Albany 359 335 Blundeston 418 387 Camp Hill 323 441 Chelmsford 240 207 Coldingley 296 271 Standford Hill 177 169 Grendon 275 147 Kingston (Portsmouth) 140 80
Maidstone 386 392 Northeye 345 334 Parkhurst 681 372 Reading 119 106 Channings Wood 216 221 Dartmoor 529 510 Exeter 45 45 Shepton Mallet 162 267 Verne 458 486 Ashwell 400 338 Sudbury 384 366 Appleton Thorn 310 290 Kirkham 640 382 Thorp Arch 331 324 Standford Hill 374 355 Ford 517 532 Spring Hill 196 175 Leyhill 320 308 Borstals Glen Parva 240 264 Onley 120 22 Wellingborough 344 368 Deerbolt 165 165 Everthorpe 304 361 Hindley 312 324 Manchester 205 408 Stoke Heath 304 332 Dover 246 253 Feltham 286 282 Grendon 50 15 Huntercomb 177 150 Rochester 375 390 Wormwood Scrubs 201 192 Portland 510 477 Hewell Grange 136 133 Lowdham Grange 304 234 Hatfield 180 176 Hatfield (Gringley) 72 72 Wetherby 240 234 Feltham (Finnamore) 79 56 Gaynes Hall 180 179 Hollesley Bay 367 346 Guys Marsh 265 257 Usk (Prescoed) 104 93 Detention Centres North Sea Camp 167 133 Whatton (Senior) 108 81 Buckley Hall 131 116 Medomsley 117 89 New Hall 104 75 Werrington 112 72 Aldington 115 103 Blantyre House 100 101 Hollesley Bay 120 114 Erlestoke 92 62 Haslar 100 98 Usk 105 62 Whatton (Junior) 108 116 Foston Hall 71 70 Kirklevington 110 103 Send 118 76 Campsfield House 70 57 Eastwood Park 123 74 Total (Males) 34,788 38,991 673W
ESTABLISHMENTS FOR FEMALE OFFENDERS Remand Centres Low Newton 23 35 Pucklechurch 56 49 Risley 85 133
ENGLAND AND WALES ESTABLISHMENTS FOR FEMALE OFFENDERS Establishment CNA Population at 30th September 1975 Prisons Holloway 288 358 Askham Grange 109 111 East Sutton Park 20 15 Moor Court 82 89 Styal 162 196 Durham 35 31 Borstals Styal 42 19 Bullwood Hall 120 127 East Sutton Park 45 47 Total (Females) 1,067 1,210 Responsibility for prisons elsewhere in the United Kingdom rests with my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Mr. Storehouseasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will invite a panel of experts in penology from Sweden to advise his Department on prison methods adopted in that country.
§ Dr. SummerskillThe Home Office has ready access to information and views about the Swedish penal system. There is frequent exchange of visits and correspondence between the two countries by people working in or connected with prison administration.