§ Mr. Skeetasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how he proposes to maintain appropriate differentials in the prison service to ensure continued acceptance of responsibility in the higher grades, or whether he is prepared to contemplate the further closing of differentials pursuant to paragraph 8.64 of the May report.
§ Mr. WhitelawAll the observations and recommendations contained in the May report are being carefully studied and we shall have regard to the committee's recommendations contained in paragraph 8.64 in future consideration of pay scales.
§ Mr. Skeetasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the rates of pay and allowances recommended by the May report will suffice to aid recruitment into the prison service; and how rates of pay in the police and the prison service compare at the initial stages.
§ Mr. WhitelawRecruitment to the prison service has shown a welcome increase since the summer, and I hope that this trend will continue.
Because of differences in pay structures and conditions of service, I think it better not to make comparisons with other groups.
§ Mr. Skeetasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what allowance is made in the earnings of prison officers for the injuries that may be sustained at the hands of mentally unstable prisoners whom regional health authorities are unable to accommodate at special establishments and if he will give a comparison of the average rate 603W of pay of a prison officer of five years standing and the average rate of pay in manufacturing industry for men over 21 years.
§ Mr. BrittanFactors of this kind are not separately identified in fixing the pay of prison officers, but a prison officer who is on sick leave as a result of an assault by any inmate receives full pay and an averaged overtime payment throughout the whole period of absence. Differences in pay structures and conditions of service make strict comparisons impossible.