§ Mr. Alfred MorrisTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the future of Operation Container; and what recent consultation he has had with the Greater Manchester police authority about its effects on policing in the conurbation.
§ Mr. Peter LloydThe prison service expects Operation Container to end shortly, although this will depend on the prison population, especially the numbers remanded and committed to custody in the north-west.
The prison service has weekly meetings with the Greater Manchester police on Operation Container. In addition, on 5 February, the prison service area manager for the trans-Pennine area—which includes Manchester prison—discussed the management of plans to reduce numbers in police cells with the senior headquarters officers concerned. The implications of police cell usage on police operations was discussed at that meeting. It was explained that the police had successfully been able to confine the operation largely to rest day working in order to minimise the effect on normal police operations.