HL Deb 21 July 1983 vol 443 cc1357-60WA
Lord Avebury

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many remand prisoners who would ordinarily have been detained in prisons within the London area had to be accommodated in police cells during June; how many of these were outside the Metropolitan area, and whether they will give the locations and the numbers in each;what

The Lord President of the Council (Viscount Whitelaw)

In the light of the opinion of the House of Commons on 19th July on MPs' pay, the Government Consider that Ministers' and other office holders' salaries should be established for the period up to the end of 1987. The table below sets out the Government's proposals. The salaries shown are those to which office holders are entitled; some individuals draw less. At 1st January 1984, 1st January 1985, 1st January 1986 and 1st January 1987 the percentage increases will be the same as for MPs, as shown in the table below.

The additional cost of implementing these proposals is estimated at £0.14 million in 1983–84, £0.22 million in 1984–85, £0.17 million in 1985–86 and £0.17 million in 1986–87. For 1983–84 these costs will be contained within the provision for total public expenditure in the latest public expenditure White Paper (Cmnd. 8789).

arrangements they have made for solicitors' and family visits to the prisoners concerned, and whether the Chief Inspector of Prisons or any other independent person has the duty of monitoring the conditions under which they are being held to ensure that they approximate to the European Standards; and

What is the longest period for which any remand prisoner has been held in police custody.

Lord Elton

The only readily available information relates to the number of prisoners recorded as held overnight in police custody from London and the South East, as follows:

June Metropolitan Police Other Forces
1 201 185
2 189 184
3–5 213 195
6 230 202
7 210 218
8 196 232
9 199 235
10–12 208 244
13 213 259
14 221 255
15 207 257
16 196 270
17–19 180 238
20 171 237
21 158 242
22 149 231
23 128 212
24–26 131 204
27 110 208
28 132 200
29 147 179
30 132 171

The other forces comprise the Surrey, Sussex, Essex, Hertfordshire, Thames Valley, Kent, Hampshire, Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, Northamptonshire, Bedfordshire, Warwickshire and City of London Police.

Information about the total number of prisoners concerned, the location in which and the period for which each was held could only be obtained at disproportionate cost. However prisoners are not normally held in police custody for more than a few days at a time. The facilities for visits, both legal and family, vary from one location to another. It is for individual police forces to determine what visits are possible.

Police and court cells are not part of the prison system and are not subject to inspection by H M Chief Inspector of Prisons, but the police are supported in doing a very difficult job by a liaison Assistant Governor from the Prison Service who regularly visits all the locations where prisoners are held.