§ Mr. HoonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the labour costs for HM Prison Service prison custody officers for each hour spent at court; and what are the corresponding costs to public funds for Group 4 prison custody officers.
§ Mr. Peter LloydResponsibility for this matter has been delegated to the director general of the prison service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Derek Lewis to Mr. Geoffrey Hoon, dated July 1993:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the hourly labour costs of Prison Service officers while they are at court and the corresponding costs of Group 4 prison custody officers.
We do not collect costs for Prison Service staff specifically while they are on court duty, but the average hourly costs of prison officers in 1992–93 were as follows: 145W
Region Grade Principal Officer Senior Officer Officer £ £ £ Inner London 15.31 14.12 12.73 Intermediate zone 14.71 13.52 12.15 Outer London 14.49 13.30 11.94 National 13.85 12.68 11.32 Group 4 are paid an overall price for the escorting of prisoners to courts from prisons and police stations, their subsequent custody at court and as necessary escort to prison after their hearings. The constituent costs are a matter for them as the contractor.