§ Mr. CoxTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if the prison governor and doctor are always informed when a prisoner is put into physical restraint; and if he will make a statement.
§ 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. Tom Cox, dated 27 April 1994:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about prisoners put into physical restraints. In a prison, if a prisoner is put into physical restraints, other than the temporary application of ratchet handcuffs, the governor and medical officer must be informed.Where a prisoner is escorted outside the prison, for example to attend court, the medical officer need not be told if handcuffs are to be used, since it is the normal presumption that they will be used. If any other form of restraint is to be used outside the prison, the medical officer must be informed.