HC Deb 15 March 2000 vol 346 cc175-6W
Mr. Cox

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the longest period of time that(a) men and (b) women had been held in a segregation unit in a prison in England and Wales on 1 March. [113835]

Mr. Boateng

The information requested cannot be obtained from the centrally available data.

Mr. Cox

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on his Department's policy on the regimes to be followed in the segregation units of prisons in England and Wales; and if he will make a statement. [114250]

Mr. Boateng

Prison Service Performance Standards require that there is a published regime for all segregation units, which is known and observed by prisoners and staff. The published regime takes account of exercise, shower or bath, visits, education, library and telephone calls.

Prison Service Order 1700 is to be published in the summer of 2000 and a copy will be placed in the Library. It will provide specific guidance on the management of segregation units and the standards by which they will be measured. The Order makes it a requirement to have a published regime. Regimes for individual prisoners can be varied by governors following an assessment of the risks involved.