§ Mr. Kilroy-Silkasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if there is a list of approved organisations with which prisoners are allowed to correspond and, if so, if he will list the 313W organisations so listed and indicate the criteria employed in deciding which organisations are put on the list;
(2) what status the list of approved organisations that prisoners are allowed to correspond with has; whether all prisoners are able to have the list; and. if not, why not;
(3) if he will publish in the Official Report the list of organisations with which prisoners are allowed to correspond;
(4) if prisoners are prevented from corresponding with organisations that are not on an approved list.
§ Mr. Merlyn ReesIn general, there is no list of approved organisations. In the specific context of seeking legal advice about his conviction or sentence, four bodies are listed to whom a prisoner may write. These are the National Council for Civil Liberties, Justice, Release, and The Howard League for Penal Reform. The list appears in standing orders to governors, of which a copy is in the Library of the House. The provision was made to indicate to governors that a prisoner who sought to write on that subject to one of these bodies should be allowed to do so, and was made in the belief that these were experienced and responsible bodies, competent to provide legal advice, although I understand that one of them does not in fact have legal staff. Information cards for prisoners seeking legal advice direct them to the
314W
UNITFD KINGDOM CIVIL SRRVANTS IN NORTHERN IRELAND AT 1ST JANUARY 1978 Non-Industrial Staff Department Administration and related Groups Professional Scientific Group Typing and Support Services Other Industrial Staff Total Defence* 536½ 102½ 178½ 219 2,783 3,819½ Inland Revenue 1,340 — 126 — — 1,466 Supreme Court of Judicature of Northern Ireland 6 — 32 66 — 104 Environment 50 130 17 5 512 714 Trade and Industry 5 10 3 23 — 41 Customs and Excise 622 — 43 2 — 667 HMSO 27 2 9 3 26 67 DHSS 25 3 5 3 — 36 MAFF 17 — 2 — 1 20 NIO 52 — 13 5 12 82 Others 18 — 2 2 8 30 Totals 2,698½ 247½ 430½ 328 3,342 7,046½ * Figures for Defence relate to 1st April 1978. legal aid scheme, and do not therefore list these four bodies.
A circular instruction to governors in 1976 indicated that a prisoner who thought the organisation JAIL (Justice Against Identification Laws) could be of help to him might correspond with JAIL about his conviction and sentence, but did not specify JAIL as an organisation from which legal advice might be sought.
Prisoners are permitted to correspond with a wide variety of organisations not mentioned by name in instructions to governors.