§ 28. Mr. Thomas Coxasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what action he is taking to resolve the numbers of vacancies for prison officers in the prison service.
§ Mr. MellorThe Government have given a high priority to ensuring that the prison service is adequately staffed. Since May 1979 we have increased the number of prison officers by nearly 1,800, and have made provision for a further increase of 550 in the period up to April 1984.