§ Lord Aveburyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will issue a circular instruction to governors of prisons in England and Wales to record the ethnic origins of prison visitors.
§ Lord EltonNo. Prison visitors are private individuals from a wide variety of backgrounds who volunteer to visit and befriend a number of prisoners, some of whom have no other visitors. To record the ethnic origins of those who undertake this voluntary work would serve no useful purpose.