§ Mr. BeithTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners serving sentences have been guarded, escorted or otherwise supervised by private security firms, and how many by the Prison Service, since the first escort of prisoners by private security firms; and how many have escaped from the supervision of each.
§ Mr. Michael ForsythResponsibility 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. A. J. Beith, dated 20 December 1994:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the escapes of prisoners serving sentences from escorts by the Prison Service and from escorts by contractors.I am afraid that the information requested is not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.