asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what proportion of the total wage bill for prison officer staff in closed prisons and each of the dispersal prisons is made up of overtime payments; and what is the average overtime payment in dispersal prisons for each of the last five years;(2) what is the total wage bill for prison officer staff in closed prisons and for each of the dispersal prisons.

I regret that information is not readily available in the form requested and could not be obtained without disproportionate cost.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the total prison officer staff employed in closed prisons; and how many are employed in each of the dispersal prisons.

At 1st October 1976 prison officer class staff in male closed prisons, including the dispersal prisons, was 10,201.The figure for each of the dispersal prisons was: