§ Mr. FrenchTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what is his policy on moving prisoners from one prison to another; [17725]
(2) what representations he has received about the treatment of prisoners known as ghosting; and if he will make a statement. [17724]
§ Mr. Michael ForsythResponsibility 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.
270WLetter from Derek Lewis to Mr. Douglas French, dated 20 April 1995:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Questions about the movement of prisoners from one prison to another; and the representations he has received about the treatment of prisoners known as ghosting.Prisoners are moved from one prison to another only when there are compelling operational reasons for doing so. Transfers can take place for a number of reasons, the usual considerations being the needs of security and control, the needs of the individual prisoner and the need to make the best use of all available accommodation.Representations have recently been made by a number of organisations and individuals about cases where prisoners have been moved to other establishments without any prior notice being given, a practice described as 'ghosting' in some quarters. These cases involve Category A prisoners who, for security reasons, are not given notice of transfers to other prisons.