§ Mr. Thomas Coxasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to review the present system of petitions made by prisoners in Her Majesty's prisons to his Department; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. WhitelawI have no immediate plans to review the present system of prisoners' petitions, but am considering the case for such a review in response to the recommendation contained in the630W fifteenth report from the Expenditure Committee.
§ Mr. Thomas Coxasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the average time a prisoner has to wait to receive a reply to a petition that has been made to his Department.
§ Mr. BrittanThe most recent information on this subject is contained in the results of a survey carried out in the quarter ending 31 December 1977, when the average period between a prisoner handing in a petition and a reply being despatched was found to be 39 days.