§ Dame Jill KnightTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the present ratio of prisoners to prison officers, taking into account staff away on escort duties, in court and on sick leave.
§ 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 Dame Jill Knight, dated 25 May 1994:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the ratio of prisoners to prison officers, taking into account staff away on escort duties, in court and on sick leave.The ratio of prisoners to prison officers varies between establishments, but, as at 19 May 1994, the overall ratio of 164W prisoners to prison officers, including senior officers and principal officers, was 2.01:1. Figures for the number of staff scheduled to be on duty on that day, whether at their establishment or on court or escort duty, and of those on sick leave, are not held centrally and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.