§ Mr. Nelsonasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will publish the notes of guidance from the Home Office to officers in charge of attendance centres; in how many cases the notes of guidance are known not to have been complied with for junior and senior attendance centres in the last two 37W years; and what action was taken subsequently.
§ Mr. JohnThe "Notes for the Guidance of the Officer in Charge", unlike the rules governing the organisation and conduct of attendance centres contained in S.I. 1990 of 1958, have no statutory authority but cover mainly minor management and administrative matters. There is, therefore, no question of checking compliance with them in every minor detail. The notes are currently being revised and a copy of the revised edition will be placed in the Library of the House when it is available.
§ Mr. Nelsonasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many attendance centres were inspected by the Home Office in 1977; and whether the Department of Health and Social Security reports on attendance centres will be published.
§ Mr. JohnAlthough members of the Home Office staff visit attendance centres, they do not carry out inspections. The junior attendance centres are inspected at regular intervals by officers of the social work service of the Department of Health and Social Security, who act as professional advisers to the Home Office. Forty-three of the 60 junior attendance centres were inspected in 1977. The reports are for internal management purposes and I do not consider that it would be appropriate to publish them.
Neither of the two senior centres was inspected in 1977.