§ Mr. DoverTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many staff and of what grades are to be recruited or transferred to posts at(a) Her Majesty's Garth prison and (b) Her Majesty's Wymott prison (i) over the next six months and (ii) over the following six months;
(2) how many staff and of what grades are to be redeployed from (a) Her Majesty's remand centre, Risley and (b) Her Majesty's young offenders institution, Buckley Hall (i) over the next six months and (ii) over the following six months.
§ Mr. Peter LloydIn his statement on 25 July 1989 about action to be taken in the light of the Risley disturbances, at columns 607–8, my right hon. Friend indicated that he had decided to work towards the end of Risley's remand function for males by the summer of next year, after which it would take only sentenced prisoners. The staffing requirement for the establishment after these changes have been made has not yet been precisely set, but it is expected that more than 200 staff—mainly from the prison service 617W unified grades—will need to be redeployed. An exercise has been mounted to establish the wishes of the staff, which will be met so far as possible.
My right hon. Friend has recently decided that the young offender institution at Buckley Hall should close and it will cease to function on 12 November, with formal closure some time thereafter. Arrangements are being made for the staff—as shown in the table—to be redeployed.
Movements of staff into other establishments in the north-west, including those mentioned by my hon. Friend, depend on a number of factors, and I cannot say at this stage how many such movements there will be. Priority in filling such vacancies will, however, be given to staff transferred from Risley and Buckley Hall, and it is therefore unlikely that any newly recruited staff will be posted to Garth or Wymott.
HMYOI Buckley Hall: Staff in post 1 October 1989 Numbers Governor 3 1 Governor 5 1 Principal Officers 3 Senior Officers 4 Officers 34 Night Patrols 5 Storeman 1 Farm Manager 3 1 Chaplains (part-time) 3 Medical Officer (part-time) 1 Executive Officer 1 Administrative Officers 5 Administrative Assistant 1 Typists 3 Industrial grades 14