§ Mr. Kilroy-Silkasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department at which prison department establishments, and between what dates since the settlement of the pay dispute, the prison officers have refused to admit prisoners in excess of the certified normal accommodation; at which establishments such action is still continuing; and what measures the prison department is taking as a result.
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§ Mr. MayhewThe Prison Officers Association suspended its industrial action on 11 February 1981 whilst it considered the terms of the Government's offer to end the dispute. The POA has not yet made a formal decision on the matter, but in the meantime all establishments have reverted to their normal patterns of reception and discharge. There has been only one instance where a branch has refused admissions above certified normal accommodation since then and that was at Birmingham for one week from 14 May 1981. There the branch was in dispute arising out of its industrial action during the Council of Civil Service Unions pay campaign. The prison department was not forced to consider any emergency measures.