Women's Prisons (Hansard, 2 February 1996)

§ Miss Widdecombe

[holding answer 31 January 1996]: 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 Richard Tilt to Ms Tessa Jowell, dated 2 February 1996: The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question asking how many womens' prisons do not currently meet (a) fire compliance standards and (b) statutory and safety standards; and how much must be spent to bring each prison into compliance with those standards. All prisons are subject to statutory standards set by the Fire Precautions Act 1971, the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Food Safety Act 1990. These Acts are enforced by the Crown Premises Inspection Group of HM Fire Service Inspectorate, the Health and Safety Executive and local authority environmental health departments. 970W Inspectors have the authority to inspect and issue Crown Improvement and Prohibition Notices should any failures be discovered which are deemed to be a risk to health, safety or hygiene. No such notices have been served on a women's prison within the last three years. In addition, all prisons are inspected by the Fire Safety Section of the Prison Service and the Home Office Health and Safety Services. Reports of the visits are sent to the governors and area managers concerned, who are required to deal promptly with any shortcomings discovered. All female prisons, except Drake Hall, have had a full fire inspection within the last three years. Recommendations for improvements were made at each establishment. Drake Hall has been visited during its rebuilding programme and recommendations have been incorporated into all the living accommodation. During the last two years, all the female prisons have been visited by the Home Office Health and Safety Service. In some cases minor faults were discovered in the fabric of the buildings, but in the majority of cases improvements to management systems were needed. The cost of making improvements to the fabric of a prison is normally contained within the prisons maintenance budgets and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.