§ Lord Aveburyasked Her Majesty's Government:
At what prisons there are woodmills or heavy machinery plants; at what intervals the noise levels are measured in each of them; on what date the noise levels were most recently measured at each, and what were the readings on those occasions.
§ Lord EltonIn England and Wales there are 19 prison establishments with woodmills and 28 with other heavy or noisy machinery in use in workshops. Over the past five years noise surveys have been carried out on at least one occasion at 24 of these establishments; the others are due to be surveyed in the course of the next year. Details of readings on each occasion when noise levels have been measured are not readily available, since a substantial number of readings is required to determine the noise contours in each case. If the noble Lord will provide details of any particular case he has in mind we will make further enquiries.