§ Mr. Mike O'BrienTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what factors underlie the absence of a key target for the number of prisoners held two to a cell in cells designed for one person. [28080]
§ Mr. Michael ForsythResponsibility 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 Mr. Mike O'Brien, dated 15 June 1995:
The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Question about the absence of a key target for the number of prisoners held two to a cell designed for one person.When the Prison Service became an Agency in April 1993, it was agreed that the most serious problem relating to overcrowding was the practice of 'trebling', which involved three prisoners sharing a cell designed for one person. As recently as 1987, over five thousand prisoners were 'trebling'.The targets set in relation to overcrowding have therefore been to eliminate trebling—which was achieved in March 1994—and to continue to avoid trebling.However, against the background of the rapid increase in the prison population—from a low of 40,600 in December 1992 to around 51,000 now—and the need to hold unconvicted and unsentenced prisoners close to the courts—which can result in sudden uncontrollable fluctuations in the prison population in local prisons—it is neither feasible nor realistic currently to set a target for reducing the number of prisoners held two to a cell designed for one person. It is, however, a continuing priority to keep overcrowding to a minimum and to eliminate it wherever practicable.