20. Mr. R. S. YOUNGasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the size and present positions, respectively, of Pentonville and Holloway prisons are satisfactory; and if, in order to alleviate the shortage of sites for working-class housing in the borough of Islington, he will entertain the suggestion of removing these prisons further from the centre of London?
§ The SECRETARY of STATE for the HOME DEPARTMENT (Mr. Clynes)The cost of providing a prison elsewhere would, I fear, be a serious difficulty, but I appreciate the considerations which my hon. Friend has in mind, and if a housing authority should wish to acquire one of these prison sites for a housing scheme, I should be willing to examine further the financial and other considerations affecting the matter.