HC Deb 15 November 1990 vol 180 cc221-2W
Mr. Cartwright

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff he now expects to be employed at Her Majesty's prison Belmarsh; in what grades; and how many of them will be recruited locally.

Rank Numbers Percentage increase
August 1978 August 1990 Per cent.
Constable 15,798 21,494 36.06
Sergeant 3,704 4,443 19.95
Inspector 1,219 1,457 19.53
Chief Inspector 432 498 15.28
Superintendent 211 249 18.01
Chief Superintendent1 199 168 −15.58
Commander1 51 35 −31.37
Deputy Assistant Commissioner1 16 15 −6.25
Commissioner and Assistant Commissioners 4 6 50.00
Total 21,634 28,365 31.11
1 Reduction in numbers at these ranks due to structural changes following force reorganisation.

Mrs. Rumbold

It is expected that there will be 651 unified prison grades of which 80 will be recruited locally. There will also be 135 civilian workers of which 51 will be recruited locally.

Mr. Cartwright

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his latest estimate of the number of staff at Her Majesty's prison Belmarsh who are likely to be seeking housing accommodation in the area.

Mrs. Rumbold

To date, 32 staff due to be employed at Her Majesty's prison Belmarsh have been identified as requiring accommodation. As the complete staff have yet to be allocated, it is difficult to estimate the final number, but it is expected to be between 200 and 250.

Mr. Cartwright

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the housing authorities approached by his Department with a request to provide accommodation for staff at Her Majesty's prison Belmarsh, together with the number of units being made available in each case.

Mrs. Rumbold

Although it is not normally the policy of the prison department to provide accommodation, contact has been made with the following housing organisations:

  1. (a) Thamesmead Housing—which states that it is likely to offer approximately six units of one and two bedroom flats, but this will depend on what is available at the time.
  2. (b) Bexley Borough Council—which is prepared to consider offering accommodation but is not prepared to specify the amount at this stage.
  3. Probe—only initial contact made, but local follow up action to be taken.