§ Mr. BattleTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many hospital officers and medical officers work on the hospital wing of Armley prison during the day and during the night as distinct from the total number of staff employed to provide a service, for 1988 and 1989.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggBecause staffing levels vary from day to day it is not possible to make comparisons between whole years. The following information gives the situation at the mid-point of each year, that is, 30 June.
On 30 June 1988 four full-time and two part-time medical officers attended during the day, one of the latter also attending in the evening. The same pattern occurred on 30 June 1989 except that five full-time medical officers attended on that day. On both dates one doctor was on call at night.
The number of hospital officers working during the day on both dates ranged at different times between four and 10, and one officer on duty at night.
§ Mr. BattleTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the staff-prisoner ratio on B wing of Her Majesty's Armley prison; and what training is given to staff in suicide prevention and dealing with young persons now and in 1988.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggThere were 227 inmates on B wing on 21 July, and 23 staff are generally assigned to work on the wing. Training for prison staff in how best to identify and help suicidal inmates was introduced in 1987. Fifty-one staff at Leeds prison had been so trained by February 1989; 125 staff have now been trained, and502W weekly training courses are to take place throughout the autumn with the intention of training all staff by the end of the year.
§ Mr. BattleTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the number of persons on remand as a percentage of the total number of prisoners in custody in Her Majesty's prison Armley in 1988 and 1989 to date.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggThe information is given in the table.
Remand population as a percentage of the total population of Leeds prison: January 1988 to May 1989 Month end Untried Convicted unsentenced Total population number Per cent. Per cent. (100 per cent.) 1988 January 49 6 1,380 February 50 7 1,350 March 46 6 1,340 April 48 6 1,320 May 49 4 1,350 June 48 6 1,370 July 44 6 1,390 August 48 6 1,400 September 46 8 1,310 October 49 9 1,260 November 48 8 1,280 December 46 6 1,210 1989 January 48 6 1,290 February 46 6 1,290 March 47 5 1,270 April 43 5 1,240 May 45 5 1,280