§ Mr. Charles Irvingasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the average daily number of prisoners who are escorted more than 10 miles from their holding prison to a magistrates' court for a formal weekly remand appearance.
§ Mr. MellorI regret that the information available centrally does not enable an exact figure to be given, but we estimate that the number is somewhere between 240 and 380.
216W
§ Mr. Charles Irvingasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) police officers and (b) prison officers are employed on average each day in escorting prisoners to formal weekly remand appearances; and if he will estimate the total wages costs of these officers.
§ Mr. MellorAbout 1,300 prison officers are employed each weekday on duties outside prisons. The great majority of these will involve escorts to courts and Crown court manning, but it is not possible to say precisely how many of these staff are employed only in escorts to formal weekly remands. The total wages cost of all these officers, without overtime, is about £11 million a year. The information requested relating to police officers is not available centrally.