§ Mr. ParryTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent negotiations he has had with the Prison Officers Association concerning staffing levels in Her Majesty's prisons; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Michael Forsyth[holding answer 12 January 1995]: 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. Robert Parry, dated 13 January 1995:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about negotiations with the Prison Officers' Association on staffing levels.
The Home Secretary has had no negotiations with the Prison Officers' Association on staffing levels in Her Majesty's Prisons. The utilisation of staff resources within the Service is a matter for me.
In practice, the staffing requirements of individual prisons are determined by governors in consultation with local trade unions including, in the case of prison officer grades, the local Branch of the Prison Officers' Association. Such consultations take place 250W whenever there are proposals to change staffing numbers or grades. Across the Service as a whole these consultations are frequent and a normal feature of industrial relations.
Where there is a failure to agree on these local issues the Industrial Relations Procedural Agreement with the POA comes into operation to assist in the resolution of this matter.