Prison Officers (Hansard, 22 October 1990)

§ Mr. Hinchliffe
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prison officers who graduated earlier this month from the Newbold prison officer training school expressed a wish to be placed in posts at prisons within the Yorkshire area; and how many were actually placed in posts within Yorkshire.

§ Mrs. Rumbold
Twenty-one of the 180 officers who completed their training at Newbold Revel on 12 October named an establishment in North, South or West Yorkshire as their first choice. None was posted there, such vacancies as there were being filled by existing officers with longstanding requests for a transfer.

§ Mr. Hinchliffe
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to reply to the letter of 6 August from the Prison Officers Association branch at Her Majesty's prison, Wakefield, regarding staffing levels.

§ Mrs. Rumbold
The letter concerned a dispute about the staffing of Her Majesty's prison, Wakefield which was resolved at a national disputes meetings on 2 October. In the light of the outcome of that meeting, one of my officials replied to the letter on 18 October.

§ Mr. Hinchliffe
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the prison officer staffing levels agreed under "fresh start" for Her Majesty's prison, Wakefield and the actual number in post for 1 April 1988, 1 April 1989 and 1 April 1990; and what information he has on the reasons for the differences in these figures.

§ Mrs. Rumbold
Wakefield prison went on to "fresh start" in April 1988. A staffing level of 429 officers, including principal and senior officers and specialists, was set by the regional director. The actual number of officers in post on the dates in question was:

1 April Number of officers

1988 406

1989 426

1990 440

In setting the original staffing level and in determining subsequently the resources to be allocated to Wakefield, the regional director took account of the needs of the establishment relative to the others in his region and of the contribution which it was able too make to the efficiency improvements which were an integral part of the "fresh start" package.