§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what action is being taken in the light of local staffing difficulties at Her Majesty's prison, Leeds over (i) searching, (ii) provision of library, (iii) staffing of landings, and (iv) weekend closure of some facilities; and if he will make a statement;
(2) what action is being taken in the light of local staffing difficulties at Her Majesty's prison, Lindholme over (i) regular suspension of searching, internal cleaning and workshop patrols, and (ii) occasional suspension of receptions, censoring, canteen and library services; and if he will make a statement;
609W(3) what action is being taken in the light of local staffing difficulties at Her Majesty's prison, Wakefield over (i) occasional suspension of searching and (ii) regular closure of workshops; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggIn all three prisons systematic searching is completed on a regular basis in both residential and non-residential areas. Searching is never suspended, but occasional staff shortages may cause changes to a particular programme of searching. Programmes of category A searching are always adhered to.
I understand that there has been some reduction in access to library services at Her Majesty's prison, Leeds in recent weeks, but that this difficulty has now been resolved. Since the introduction of fresh start working practices at Leeds, there are more staff now available to work on the landings. Only one recent cancellation of weekend association (on Sunday 28 August 1988) has been recorded.
In Her Majesty's prison Lindholme, wing officers control the cleaning of the wings. Other officers are allocated to the different parties that clean the various areas around the Lindholme site. The task is accomplished to a satisfactory level on a regular basis. On workshop patrols, the preferred manning level is four officers, with an additional officer available to give assistance to the instructors if required. Staff absences and other commitments mean that this manning level is not often fully achieved, and there is a local agreement to drop the additional officer tasks if the suggested patrol numbers are short. Work on receptions, censoring, canteen and library services fluctuates according to demand and staff are deployed accordingly.
In Her Majesty's prison Wakefield, workshops are not regularly closed, but there are occasional closures, for example due to staff absences or interruptions in the supply of materials.