§ Mr. StunellTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list for each of the last five years the number of television sets with stand-by units in prisons in(a) England, (b) Scotland and (c) Wales. [81983]
§ Mr. George HowarthThe information requested on the numbers of television sets with stand-by units for prisoners' use in England and Wales is not available in the form requested. The number of television sets with stand-by units in prisons in Scotland is a matter for my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Scotland.
My hon. Friend, the then Minister for Prisons and Probation (Ms Quin), announced our intention to extend the availability of in-cell television as part of the incentives and earned privileges scheme in a reply to my hon. Friend the Member for Newark (Mrs. Jones) on 1 June 1998, Official Report, columns 50–51. Figures for television sets with stand-by facilities installed since then in 1998 and 1999 to the end of April, are as follows:
These figures do not include television sets used in association and communal rooms for which information is not kept centrally.
Year England Wales 1998 9,828 560 1999 4,526 412