§ Mr. Corbettasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) by what date he expects the 648 unconvicted prisoners being held in police station cells on 10 July to be transferred to prison;
(2) when he expects those police officers currently guarding unconvicted prisoners held in police cells on 10 July to be able to return to normal police duties.
§ Mr. John PattenRollestone camp will open as a temporary prison on 3 August and receive its complement of 360 prisoners over the following two to three weeks. The camp is not suitable for accommodating remand prisoners and therefore cannot, itself, receive untried prisoners from police cells. Instead, it will draw from overcrowded local prisons in the south-east.
Shortly afterwards a substantial number of places will become available in local prisons nationally as a result of the changes in remission arrangements for offenders serving short sentences.
It is not possible to say with certainty when all unconvicted prisoners will be removed from police cells and therefore when police officers looking after them may return to normal duties. Both measures listed above will free places in the prisons so that they can take prisoners from police cells. This will begin to happen shortly after 3 August.
§ Mr. Corbettasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the chief constable of the west midlands as to how many west midlands police officers are currently employed in guarding unconvicted prisoners held in police cells; how many such prisoners were being held on 10 July; and how that compares with the numbers held at the same date one and two years ago, respectively.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggI have asked the chief constable of the west midlands to let me have such information as is available and will write to the hon. Member as soon as possible.