§ Mr. Andrew F. BennettTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the latest figures for prisoners held in police cells in Greater Manchester; and how he expects those numbers to alter over the next three months.
§ Mrs. RumboldOn Friday 19 July there were 237 prisoners in Greater Manchester police cells.
Over the next three months there will be significant increases in accommodation available to the prison service in the north of England. Occupation of part of the new accommodation in Full Sutton prison is in progress and 150 refurbished places in Manchester prison itself should be available next month. As the hon. Member is aware, prison service management is also seeking to bring into use the second Full Sutton wing and 150 places at Acklington. In addition the opening this month of Moorland young offender institution and remand centre will enable management to clear large numbers of young men on remand from local prison accommodation. It is planned to 345W use places made available in this way to clear prisoners from police cells in the north of England, subject to the resolution of continued difficulties in accommodating some of the young men on remand who must be kept close to the Manchester courts. I hope, therefore, that over the next few months the present use of police cells in the north-west will be substantially reduced.