HL Deb 06 July 1983 vol 443 cc638-9WA
Lord Avebury

asked Her Majesty's Government:

  1. (i) What further changes are proposed in the rules governing correspondence to and from prisoners following the European Court of Human Rights judgment in the Silver case.
  2. (ii) What steps are to be taken to provide prisoners with an effective domestic remedy for breaches of their rights.
  3. (iii) Whether the changes in the standing order applying to prisoners' correspondence in England and Wales are to be extended to Scotland and Northern Ireland.
  4. (iv) When the part of Rule 34(8) dealing with correspondence is to be repealed.
  5. (v) How many further applications to the ECHR concerning censorship of mail are outstanding and how many of these applications concern matters after December 1981.

Lord Elton

  1. (i) Execution of the judgment will be supervised by the Committee of Ministers, which has yet to consider the matter. The Government propose 639 to invite the committee to conclude that the changes already incorporated in the revised Standing Order 5 are sufficient to satisfy the terms of the court's judgment in the case of Silver and Others v. UK.
  2. (ii) The court found that insofar as Standing Order 5 is compatible with our obligations under the convention an effective remedy for breaches of it is available in the form of petition to the Secretary of State and access to the courts.
  3. (iii) The Secretary of State for Scotland has authorised amendments to the Prison (Scotland) Standing Orders which take account of the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in the Silver case. These will take effect on 1st August 1983. Similar amendments to the Northern Ireland regulations are in the course of preparation.
  4. (iv) The necessary amendment to Prison Rules 34(8) was effected by the Prison (Amendment) Rules 1983, which came into force on 24th May 1983.
  5. (v)Thirty applications relating wholly or partly to the control of correspondence in the United Kingdom are outstanding; none concerns events after December 1981.

Lord Avebury

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What further changes are proposed in the rules dealing with prisoners' correspondence in the light of the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights against the United Kingdom in the case of Silver.

Lord Elton

We have at present no further plans for change.