§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to his answers to the hon. Member for Tooting (Mr. Cox) of 16 April,Official Report, columns 362–63, and 13 March, Official Report, column 631, why Doncaster prison was omitted from the list of prisons which carried out dye stamping of visitors. [27643]
§ Miss WiddecombeResponsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from A. J. Butler to Mr. Martin Redmond, dated 13 May 1996:
The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Question about dye stamping of visitors to prisons.
I regret that the reply to Mr. Cox's Question was not comprehensive. Records of prisons using dye stamping are not routinely kept, as it is a matter for the governor's discretion whether to use the system. The information on which the reply was based had been collected for another purpose, and did not reveal that Doncaster used dye stamping.
The Director General's reply to your Question of 13 March was separately researched and unfortunately the result was not included in the reply to the later Question. Investigation of this error has revealed that Bedford prison was also missing from the list.
§ Dr. Lynne JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on current staff morale within the Prison Service. [28172]
§ Miss WiddecombeResponsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
312WLetter from A. J. Butler to Dr. Lynne Jones, dated 13 May 1996:
The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your recent Question about the current level of staff morale within the Prison Service.
Prison Service staff perform a difficult job within a considerable degree of dedication. The Service is facing a number of pressures, including the increase in the prison population and, in common with other public services, the need to make efficiency savings. But the Service, is approaching the task professionally, in consultation with unions and staff and with a firm determination to maintain the balance between essential security and control measures, constructive and effective regimes for prisoners and providing support for staff.