§ Mr. DowdTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions in each of the past 10 years payments for(a) compensation and (b) damages with or without the admission of liability, have been offered by his Department to individuals as a result of disturbances in Her Majesty's prisons; if he will list the number of payments and amounts involved on each occasion; and how many other such claims have been made but refused. [13895]
§ Miss WiddecombeResponsibility for this matter for prisons in England and Wales has been delegated to the temporary Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given. Responsibility for prisons in Northern Ireland and Scotland is a matter for the Secretaries of State for Northern Ireland and for Scotland respectively.
Letter from Alan Walker to Mr. Jim Dowd, dated 7 February 1996:
The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Question about payments for compensation and damages which have been made to individuals following disturbances in prisons in England and Wales in each of the last 10 years.
This information is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.