§ Mr. MaclennanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what targets he has set the Prison Service to ensure efficient and convenient access to prisoners by their legal representatives; and to what degree these targets are met.
§ 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. Robert Maclennan, dated 4 March 1994:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about Prison Service targets designed to ensure efficient and convenient access by prisoners to their legal representatives.There is at present no set target for the Prison Service in relation to legal visits. Demand for such visits varies significantly from place to place and over time. Rule 37 of the Prison Rules, a copy of which is in the Library, requires that legal advisers shall be allowed reasonable facilities for interviewing prisoners, and may do so out of the hearing but in the sight of prison staff. Governors are aware that it is important to allow advisers swift and prompt access and most prisons operate an appointment booking system specifically for legal visits.Statistical information on legal visits is not held centrally but a review of practice at a number of prisons completed in May 1993 showed that in general legal advisers were able to visit their clients within two or three working days of a request being made. However, at times of increased demand, longer waiting periods may be unavoidable because of competing pressures on visiting facilities.