§ Lord Hyltonasked Her Majesty's Government:
What conclusions were reached in November 1995 by the North American section of the Panel of Independent Experts reviewing penile plethysmograph (PPG) tests on prisoners; and whether they will place a copy of the Report in the Library.
§ Baroness BlatchResponsibility 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 to the Lord Hylton from Mr. Richard Tilt, temporary Director General of the Prison Service, dated 1 February 1996.
Lady Blatch has asked me to reply to your recent Question about penile plethysmograph testing.
The North American section of the panel of independent experts, which reviewed PPG testing on prisoners, discussed the Prison Service's use of PPG tests on prisoners. It broadly approved the system used but suggested some minor technical issues which it recommended should be explored to allow the test to be used more effectively.
Meetings between Prison Service staff and the panel of independent experts take place regularly and are summarised in notes which are agreed with the panel's chairman. Formal reports are not normally produced by the panel.