Parkhurst Gaol (Hansard, 8 November 1995)

§ Miss Widdecombe

Responsibility for this matter has been delegated to the temporary 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 Janet Anderson, dated 8 November 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 number of occasions Mr. John Marriott, former Governor of Parkhurst Prison, has requested the installation of electronic perimeter fences, high intensity lighting, extra cameras and guard dogs; and the Prison Service's response on each occasion.Mr. Marriott made a number of requests for these security measures to be installed.GeophonesAppendix F of the Learmont Inquiry report sets out a schedule which includes Mr. Marriott's documented requests for geophones to be installed at Parkhurst prison and the response to these.High Intensity Lighting and CamerasPerimeter CCTV and lighting was installed at Parkhurst in 1991 as the first phase of work to upgrade the perimeter security at Parkhurst. The Governor and Area Manager subsequently put forward bids to upgrade the CCTV and lighting as part of the annual process of compiling a capital building programme. These bids were considered in 1993/94 and 1994/95 but not included in the 1037W programme because there were other security schemes in other areas of the Prison Service already programmed which were considered to be of a higher priority. Following a special review of perimeter security at Parkhurst in April 1994 the Governor, in conjunction with the Area Manager, took forward the planning for the now funded improvements to perimeter security identified in that review, including geophones. Following the escape in January 1995 adjustments and additions were made to the perimeter security cameras and lighting and this was followed by the replacement of the camera system which was completed by the end of June 1995.Dogs and Dog HandlersThe Governor made a bid in 1990 for additional dogs.The Governor, through the Area Manager, made a bid in April 1992 and in September, identified the need for two dogs and handlers to work at Parkhurst until 31 March 1993. In October 1992, the Governor asked that these be retained after this date.The Governor and Area Manager made a bid in 1993/94 for additional dogs and dog handlers, but there was insufficient funding for this increase. They renewed the bid for 1994/95.No money was directly allocated as the result of the above bids. It was acknowledged that any increase in the number of dogs and handlers would have to be made from within the existing budget. The governor sought six additional dog handlers and dogs in November 1994. He offered to fund two himself by diverting funds from elsewhere and bid for additional funding for the remaining four. It was agreed to take this forward as a prioritised bid for that year.