§ Ms. Harmanasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many prisoners have been allocated to Her Majesty's prison Grendon since 1 July 1987; and how many of these prisoners are expected to benefit from the psychiatric regime of the prison;
(2) what affect he estimates the presence of a high proportion of rule 43 prisoners in the Grendon population will have on the maintenance of the present regime for those with psychiatric needs;
(3) if he will take steps to ensure that the Prison Department reverts to a policy of allocating prisoners to Her Majesty's prison Grendon only on psychiatric need; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. John PattenSince July this year one wing at Grendon prison has been dedicated to the accommodation of rule 43 prisoners transferred from other establishments in the south-east region. This was one of a number of measures which we have taken recently to make the best use of available accommodation in the light of the current high levels of overcrowding in other prisons. This did not entail any reduction in the number of prisoners already at Grendon taking part in the therapeutic regime.
Since 1 July this year 128 prisoners have been allocated to Grendon prison. Of these, 70 rule 43 prisoners will not benefit directly from the therapeutic regime of the prison. The remaining 58 will. Rule 43 prisoners, currently comprising 22 per cent. of the Grendon population, are held separately from other prisoners and do not detract from the psychiatric regime which remains as the establishment's primary purpose. It is not the intention to end the accommodation of rule 43 prisoners at Grendon while other prisons suitable for them are as crowded as they are now.