§ Mr. Douglas-Mannasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners are at present segregated under Rule 43: and what proportion of the prison population this involves.
§ Dr. SummerskillOn 1st March 1976, the latest date for which figures are available, there were 597 prisoners segregated under Rule 43: this represents 1.4 per cent. of the total prison population. Of these, 535 were segregated for their own protection, and 62 for the maintenance of good order and discipline.
In addition, there were 191 prisoners in units at Gloucester, Reading and 209W Wakefield which provide full association at work, exercise and leisure for prisoners previously placed under Rule 43 at their own request at other establishments.
§ Mr. Douglas-Mannasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether any, and, if so, how many, prisoners are segregated under Rule 43 at Shepton Mallet; and why no reference to that prison was made in the reply to the question from the hon. Member for Ormskirk (Mr. Kilroy-Silk) given on 27th February 1976.
§ Dr. SummerskillOn 1st April 1976, two prisoners were segregated under Rule 43 at Shepton Mallet.
The reply given on 5th March to the Question from the hon. Member for Ormskirk referred to the situation on 1st February 1976. On that day no prisoner was segregated under Rule 43 at Shepton Mallet.—[Vol. 906, c. 791–92.]
§ Mr. Douglas-Mannasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the average and what is the longest period for which prisoners are or have been segregated under Rule 43.
§ Dr. SummerskillIt is regretted that information as to the average period of segregation under Rule 43 is not readily available and could not be obtained except at disproportionate cost. The longest period a prisoner has currently spent under the Rule is seven years and 10 months. The prisoner concerned is held on Rule 43 at his own request: he works in association with a number of other men and is able to mix freely with them at other times, but he does not mix with the main body of prisoners.
§ Mr. Douglas-Mannasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what segregation of prisoners under Rule 43 involves.
§ Dr. SummerskillPrisoners placed under Rule 43 for their own protection and at their own request are located in cells which can be kept under observation by prison staff so that all practicable steps can be taken to prevent harassment by other prisoners. Segregation implies that they do not associate with the main group of prisoners in their leisure time and that they do not work in association with them. Conditions vary because210W of differences between establishments in terms of physical structure, staffing and other resources, and the degree of threat involved. Work is in general limited to what can be done in a cell. Such general association as is available is necessarily confined to other men in a similiar situation.
Where it is clear that a prisoner faces a serious degree of risk which is unlikely to diminish in the course of time and he therefore faces a lengthy period of segregation, every effort is made to transfer him to one of the special units at Reading, Gloucester or Wakefield. These afford opportunities for full association at work and in leisure time, in a community of other prisoners similarly situated. Prisoners in these units are not subject to Rule 43.
When a prisoner is placed on Rule 43 for the maintenance of good order and discipline he may, at the Governor's discretion, enjoy some degree of association, but only with others in the same category. Periods spent on Rule 43 for this purpose are generally short.
The retention of any man on Rule 43 for more than 24 hours must be authorised by the Board of Visitors after they have examined the circumstances of the case. All cases must be reviewed monthly. All men on Rule 43 are visited daily by the Governor or his representative, and by a medical officer.
§ Mr. Douglas-Mannasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners are segregated from the main prison population otherwise than under Rule 43.
§ Dr. SummerskillStatistics of the numbers involved are not maintained centrally. The main categories which seem to fall within the terms of the Question include young persons in adult prisons; women prisoners in predominantly male establishments; prisoners located in the two special security wings, in prison hospitals, in outside hospitals, in Parkhurst "C" Wing, and in the two special units at Gloucester and Wakefield; prisoners awaiting adjudication under Prison Rule 48; and prisoners in cellular confinement as a result of a disciplinary award.
§ Mr. Douglas-Mannasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how 211W many prisoners segregated under Rule 43 at their own request had made prior requests for transfer to other prisons.
§ Dr. SummerskillI regret that this information is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.