§ Mr. Litherlandasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will investigate the extent to which the new attendance system for prison officers has the result of curtailing the periods for which prisoners can be out of their cells; how this affects different types of prisons; and what plans he has to remedy the situation.
§ Mr. MayhewNo agreement has yet been reached on a new attendance system. The general effect on regimes of any change in shift patterns is one of the factors which is being taken into account in negotiating a new system, but the extent to which any particular aspect of the regime is affected will depend on the way in which staff are deployed in individual establishments rather than on the system itself.