§ Mr. BurnsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures his Department is taking to reduce overcrowding at Chelmsford prison; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. MellorThe Government's overall strategy of reducing the number committed to custody while increasing the number of places available is, notwithstanding the recent disturbances, well on the way to drastically reducing overcrowding in prisons in the next two or three years. Meanwhile Chelmsford, along with other local 659W prisons and remand centres, many of which are similarly overcrowded, must hold those whom the courts commit to custody. The current industrial action by the local branch of the Prison Officers Association at Chelmsford is not the way to solve the problem. It simply means that prisoners have to be held in even less suitable conditions in police cells.