§ 41. Mr. Roger KingTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what lessons have been learned and what actions are proposed as a result of the Strangeways prison riot.
§ Mrs. RumboldWe shall, of course, consider carefully the recommendations of Lord Justice Woolfs inquiry, when they are received.
A new offence of prison mutiny is to be introduced. Physical security improvements have been identified with a view to denying inmates access to roof areas and facilitating staff access and control. Arrangements for the management of incidents under the reorganised senior structure of the prison service also take account of the lessons from the April disturbances in Strangeways and elsewhere. Also those experiences are being taken into account in the development of strategies for staff training, contingency planning, the protection of vulnerable prisoners and the management of disruptive prisoners.
§ 50. Ms. QuinTp ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the dispersal of prisoners as a consequence of events in Strangeways gaol in April.
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§ Mrs. RumboldImmediately before the disturbances, Her Majesty's prison Manchester held some 1,639 prisoners. It was not possible to accommodate so large a number in other prisons, and as a result substantial recourse had to be had to the use of police cells. Strenuous efforts are being made to resolve the industrial relations difficulties at a number of prisons which have since added to the problems.
As at 30 October 1990, 748 prisoners are being held in police cells who, but for the loss of prison service accommodation in Manchester, would be held in prison custody there. Twenty-one constabularies are currently involved in this operation and I am most grateful for their assistance.