§ Mr. Alex Carlileasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many remand spaces were vacant at Wormwood Scrubs on each night during the week commencing 1 April 1984;
(2) how many prisoners were remanded overnight in police cells in the Metropolitan police area on each day during the week commencing 1 April.
§ Mr. HurdThe information requested is as follows:
Number of prisoners held by or for the Metropolitan Police Number of remand vacancies at HMP Wormwood Scrubs 30 March/2 April 181 57 2/3 April 183 58 3/4 April 176 51 4/5 April 186 55 5/6 April 146 63 6/9 April 84 37 For the purpose of this table, vacancies are defined as the number of places by which the population of the accommodation concerned is below its maximum capacity. During the week in question this population remained substantially above certified normal accommodation, over the weekend of 30 March-2 April a hall at Wormwood Scrubs was reopened following refurbishment and was occupied by prisoners from B hall. In order to minimise disruption, the reoccupation of B hall was gradual, but it is now being filled up with prisoners from elsewhere, thus creating vacancies for those held in police cells.