HC Deb 18 May 1994 vol 243 c460W
Mr. Alex Carlile

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make available gender reassignment treatment to Kelly Denise Richards, currently serving a sentence at HM Prison, Parkhurst; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Peter Lloyd

Responsibility 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. Alex Carlile, dated 18 May 1994: The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about gender reassignment for Kelly Richards, a prisoner currently at Parkhurst prison. Kelly Richards, who is also known as David Cross, has been seen by a consultant psychiatrist and a doctor from the Gender Identity clinic at Charing Cross hospital. No treatment has been recommended and arrangements are currently being made for Mr. Cross to be seen by another consultant.

Mr. Alex Carlile

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the policy of his Department on male-to-female trans-sexuals serving sentences in male prisons; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Peter Lloyd

Responsibility 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. Alex Carlile, dated 18 May 1994: The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the policy on male to female transsexuals serving sentences in male prisons. The handling of transsexuals in prisons is dificult, both in administrative and medical terms. Any transsexual is likely to have difficulties in adjusting to prison life, and it is more often than not necessary to segregate in a vulnerable prisoner unit or prison health care centre those whose transsexuality is obvious. We prefer to treat each case individually and the principal criteria is the most obvious physical characteristics of the person concerned and their ability to integrate with other inmates. A male to female transsexual who had undergone surgery and hormone treatment would therefore be more appropriately allocated to a femal establishment. Conversely, a transsexual who had not undergone any form of treatment would be unlikely to be accepted by fellow inmates in an establishment for the gender of their choice.