§ Ms Janet AndersonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners are currently restricted to their cells for up to l8 hours a day as a result of(a) staff shortages and (b) sickness leave among prison staff. [135]
§ Miss WiddecombeResponsibility 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.
298WLetter from A. J. Pearson to Ms Janet Anderson, dated 23 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 how many prisoners are currently restricted to their cells for up to 18 hours a day as a result of (a) staff shortages and (b) sickness leave among prison staff:The information is not available in the form requested. Figures are available, however, on the average time spent unlocked from cells. These figures show that, in the week commencing 13 November 1995, six prisons (Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, Winchester, Chelmsford and Feltham) reported average unlocking figures of less than eight hours per week day. The population of these establishments restricted to their cells up to 18 hours a day constitutes 2.9 per cent. of the total prison population.We do not record centrally the various factors which account for establishment's performance on unlocking.