§ Miss Maynardasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether different criteria are applied to the application for transfers of prisoners from Northern Ireland to another part of the United Kingdom than for those applications 319W which request transfer from mainland United Kingdom to Northern Ireland.
§ Mr. Mason,pursuant to the reply [Official Report, 21st June 1978; Vol. 952, c. 249], gave the following information:
I am responsible only for the criteria applied in the Northern Ireland Office, but I am not aware that these differ in any significant respect from those applied by my right hon. Friends the Secretaries of State for the Home Department and for Scotland.
In general, a prisoner who applies to be transferred to another part of the United Kingdom does so because he is a native of that country or because he has family links there. Transfer is by no means automatic; cases are considered on their merits in consultation with the authorities in the receiving country. Among the factors taken into account are the particular circumstances of each prisoner, security considerations and the availability of accommodation.