§ Ms RuddockTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what steps he is taking to deal with overcrowding in prisons; what assessment he has made of the effect of overcrowding on the safety of prison staff and prisoners; and if he will make a statement;
(2) what measures he is taking to deal with prison overcrowding; and what are his plans regarding the use of (a) police cells, (b) temporary buildings or portakabins and (c) prison ships or barges.
§ Mr. Peter LloydResponsibility for these matters has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
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§ 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 A. J. Butler to Ms Joan Ruddock, dated 26 May 1994:
The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Question about the availability of sex offender treatment programmes in prisons in England and Wales and the numbers of prisoners commencing and completing the programme in (i) 1992–93 and (ii) 1993–94.The centrally managed sex offender treatment programme is now available in 17 adult male and one young offender male establishments.Other prisons where locally managed programmes are in operation include HMP Grendon and HMP Wormwood Scrubs.The number of prisoners having their treatment needs assessed and those completing treatment on the centrally managed programme is as shown in the attached table.Letter from A. J. Butler to Ms Joan Ruddock, dated 26 May 1994:
The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Question about the measures being taken to deal with prison overcrowding and the use of police cells, temporary buildings and prison ships or barges; and also about the effect of overcrowding on staff and prisoner safety.The majority of Prison Service establishments are not overcrowded. Despite the rise in the prison population, overcrowding has reduced markedly from the high levels of the late 1980s. In 1987–88, an average of over 5,000 prisoners shared three to a cell designed for one. By the end of March 1994, no prisoners were sharing in this way. In 1987–88, an average of nearly 13,400 prisoners shared two to a cell designed for one. By the end of March 1994 there were only 8,500.To reduce overcrowding and maximise the use of available accommodation, sentenced prisoners are transferred as quickly as possible from local prisons and remand centres, where the population pressures are most acute, to training prisons and young offender institutions. In addition, some establishments 275W have changed the type of prisoner they take to fit better with current needs and the court catchment areas of some local prisons and remand centres have been adjusted to equalise population pressures as far as possible. Further progress in reducing overcrowding will be made as additional accommodation at existing prisons and new places at new prisons come on stream.Some use of police cells has been necessary in the North of England since the beginning of 1994. The number of prisoners held in police cells peaked at 540 in mid-March but had reduced to 130 on 23 May. If there is no unplanned loss of accommodation or exceptional surge in the prison population, the current use of police cells should end during June. Every effort will be made to avoid future use of police cells.There are no present plans to use accommodation such as military camps or floating facilities, but some use of temporary buildings within prison establishments will continue to to made to enable progress with the building and refurbishment programme to continue.Each establishment has an operational capacity which is set at the number of prisoners who can be held without serious risk to good order—including the safety of staff and prisoners—or to security and the proper running of the planned regime. It remains a top priority of the Prison Serice to ensure that the number of prisoners held in an establishment is kept within the establishment's operational capacity.
24 May 1994 Establishment Certified normal accommodation in use Operational capacity Population Acklington 658 658 606 Albany 436 436 391 Aldington 127 127 118 Ashwell 404 404 383 Askham Grange 126 127 101 Aylesbury 241 246 213 Bedford 303 329 308 Belmarsh 841 841 736 Birmingham 558 869 786 Blakenhurst 649 649 615 Blantyre House 95 95 95 Blundeston 408 408 385 Brinsford 446 446 465 Bristol 423 473 430 Brixton 483 656 630 Brockhill 135 135 132 Bullingdon 635 635 607 Bullwood Hall 125 125 121 Camp Hill 378 441 365 Canterbury 184 275 263 Cardiff 334 450 431 Castington 300 300 296 Channings Wood 594 594 560 Chelmsford 230 393 353 Coldingley 292 292 284 Cookham Wood 120 120 115 Dartmoor 538 538 515 Deerbolt 450 450 383 Dorchester 138 200 205 Dover 316 316 228 Downview 287 291 270 Drake Hall 255 255 200 Durham 399 577 611 East Sutton Park 94 94 84 Elmley 627 627 621 Erlestoke 250 250 234 Everthorpe 228 228 223 Exeter 274 473 383 Featherstone 599 599 580 Feltham 842 842 776 Finnamore Wood 106 106 50 Ford 536 536 455 Frankland 447 432 425 Full Sutton 604 576 542 Garth 512 512 496 Gartree 277 277 271 Glen Parva 767 788 757 Gloucester 215 271 238 Grendon 190 186 177