§ Mr. LuffTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many prisoners or ex-prisoners instituted legal action in relation to their imprisonment against the Home Office in 1992; and how many of these cases were settled out of court or were found against the Home Office;
(2) on how many occasions prisoners or ex-prisoners were paid compensation or ex-gratia payment for other than losses of personal property in 1992; and what is the total of that compensation.
§ Mr. Peter LloydResponsibility for these matters has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for replies to be given.
Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. Peter Luff, dated 16 December 1993:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent questions about litigation and compensation payments to prisoners and ex-prisoners.I have assumed for the purpose of this reply that your questions relate to litigation and compensation payments connected to time spent in prison custody, rather than wrongful conviction, which of course falls outside my sphere of responsibility.Prison Service records show 130 pieces of legal action against the department lodged by prisoners or ex-prisoners in 1992. Of these 13 have been settled out of court or found against the Home Office; two have been withdrawn or struck out and the remaining 115 appear as outstanding (although there may be some delay in the recording of resolved cases). The compensation (including ex-gratia payments) paid to prisoners and ex-prisoners in 1992, other than for loss of property, was as follows:
Injuries at work £265,813 Excessive detention £22,718 Other claims1 £123,114 Total £411,645 1 Including personal injury outside work. Figures for the number of individual claims are not recorded and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.