§ 21. Mr. Martyn JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to improve the British prison system over the next five years.
§ Mrs. RumboldThe current medium-term plans of the prison service for England and Wales are to reduce overcrowding by bringing the average number of prison places into line with the average prison population, and by using all accommodation to its proper extent; to seek to ensure all cells have integral sanitation or access to night sanitation; to extend regime opportunities by increasing hours of prisoner occupation, education and association; and to complete and consolidate improvements in management and staff performance. These plans are kept under review and are formally re-examined annually.
Plans for the prison services in Scotland and Northern Ireland are a matter for my right hon. Friends the Secretary of State for Scotland and for Northern Ireland.