asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the number of full and part-time chaplains employed in the prison service in England in 1974, 1979, 1983, 1984 and 1985 at the latest available date.

The number of full and part-time chaplains employed in the prison service in England and Wales on 1 July in each of the following years was:

	1974	1979	1983	1984	1985
Full-time	61	69	84	85	86
Part-time	73	44	49	45	48

In addition each establishment has a Methodist chaplain on a sessional basis, and where the pastoral care of an inmate cannot be provided by the full or part-time clergy, or when an inmate asks to see a minister of another faith, the establishment will seek to provide the services of an appropriate visiting minister.