Patsy McGlone 23rd June 2010

McGlone highlights £1 million payments to suspended prison officers

SDLP Mid-Ulster MLA Patsy McGlone said the £1 million paid out to suspended prison officers over the last five years confirms how far the Prison Service has to go in meeting the requirements of modern society.

The costs were disclosed to Mr McGlone by Justice Minister David Ford in response to an Assembly question.

He said: “Every large organisation may occasionally have to suspend staff but it is alarming to find the cost of suspended prison officers rising from £150,000 in 2005-06 to three times that amount in the last financial year. That is an awful lot of money to be paying to people who are sitting at home.

“Clearly, a lot of the rise is explained by suspensions related to the suicide of prisoner Colin Bell last year. But we also have to put them in the context of high-level resignations and a highly critical report by the Prisons Ombudsman. The fact that disciplinary charges and demotions of suspended officers have now all been dropped on appeal will not inspire confidence that the concerns raised by the Ombudsman have been dealt with or will be dealt with.

“The Prison Service has not undergone the sort of culture change which our police service had to in order to meet the challenges of the Patten Process. Unfortunately, it seems that the Justice Minister is either unwilling or unprepared to challenge the prevailing culture.”

 

ENDS