§ 8. Mr. St. John-Stevasasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will make a statement on the progress of the prison building programme.
§ Mr. MaudlingGood progress is being made. I will with permission circulate a detailed statement in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
§ Mr. St. John-StevasCan my right hon. Friend say something about the London prisons? Is not it both urgent and desirable to close down Pentonville and Brixton as soon as possible and to build a new London prison by the end of the 1970s?
§ Mr. MaudlingThe difficulty is that prison accommodation in this country is so heavily overcrowded that we must concentrate first on reducing the number of prisoners sharing cells. That will take a long time, despite the rapidly increased prison-building programme. Only then shall we be able to dispose of old-fashioned accommodation.
§ Mr. LiptonWill the right hon. Gentleman consider taking steps to reduce the number of people on remand in custody? I know of one case where a
| PRISON BUILDING PROGRAMME (ENGLAND AND WALFS) | ||||
| At the end of the financial year 1971–72 work was in progress on the following new establishments or extensions to existing establishments. The list indicates where buildings are already occupied | ||||
| Place | Size and Type of Establishment | |||
| Acklington, Northumberland | … | … | 450 | Category C prison. First inmates April. 1972. |
| Dover, Kent | … | … | 60 | New borstal house. |
| Erlestoke, Wiltshire | … | … | 100 | Extension to Detention Centre. |
| Glen Parva, Leicestershire | … | … | 840 | Young Offender complex. |
| Haverigg, Cumberland | … | … | 150 | Extension to Category C prison. |
| Long Lartin, Worcestershire | … | … | 492 | Category B prison. First inmates January. 1971 |
| Maidstone, Kent | … | … | 115 | Additions to prison. |
| Norwich, Norfolk | … | … | 120 | Extension to prison. First inmates January. 1972 |
| Portland, Dorset | … | … | 72 | New borstal house. |
| Pucklechurch, Gloucestershire | … | … | 80 | Extension to remand centre. |
| Ranby, Nottinghamshire | … | … | 375 | Category C prison. First inmates June, 1971 |
| Rochester, Kent | … | … | 60 | New borstal house. |
| Rochester, Kent | … | … | 120 | New remand centre. |
| Thorp Arch, West Riding | … | … | 75 | Extension to remand centre. |
| Wrabness, Essex | … | … | 816 | Category C prison. |
| Work was also in progress on the complete redevelopment of Holloway prison for women. |
| 2. It is hoped that work will start in the financial year 1972–73 on the following new establishments Or extensions to existing establishments. | |||
| Place | Size and Type of Establishment | ||
| Blundeston, Suffolk | … | 120 | New cell block to prison. |
| Bristol, Gloucestershire | … | 192 | New cell block to prison. |
| Camp Hill, Isle of Wight | … | 160 | New cell block to prison. |
| Deerbolt, North Riding | … | 420 | Young offender establishment. |
| Denbury, Devon | … | 484 | Category C prison. |
| Hollesley Bay, Suffolk | … | 185 | New unit to borstal. |
| Lockwood, Oxfordshire | … | 507 | Category B prison. |
| Northeye, Sussex | … | 200 | Extension to Category C prison. |
| Norwich, Norfolk | … | 60 | Remand centre. |
| Stoke Heath, Shropshire | … | 120 | New borstal house. |
| Ulnes Walton, Lancashire | … | 816 | Category C prison. |
| The Verne, Dorset | … | 160 | New cell block to prison |
| Wellingborough, Northamptonshire | … | 120 | New borstal house. |
§ man has been in Brixton prison since January, when he was arrested, and he is not likely to be tried until September or October of this year.
§ Mr. MaudlingWe have been considering this. I said something about bail hostels a little while ago, and there are provisions in the Criminal Justice Bill which will help in this direction.
§ Mrs. Shirley WilliamsWe appreciate what the right hon. Gentleman has said about bail hostels. Will he consider the purchase of suitable buildings for this purpose to relieve overcrowding in our prisons? Has there been a review of the policy of sending prisoners to open prisons with a view to trying to fill them and relieve overcrowding, especially in local prisons and category C prisons?
§ Mr. MaudlingThe second possibility is in our minds, but it has considerable difficulties in practice. I shall be glad to consider the first point.
§ Following is the information:
1747| 3. Planning clearance is held in principle for the following major schemes on which it is hoped to start work in the period 1973–74 to 1975–76. | ||||
| Place | Size and Type of Establishment | |||
| Acklington, Northumberland | … | … | 300 | Young offender establishment. |
| Eastchurch, Kent | … | … | 816 | Category C prison. |
| Feltham, Middlesex | … | … | 1,000 | Young offender complex. |
| Featherstone, Staffordshire | … | … | 484 | Category C prison. |
| Gartree, Leicester | … | … | 816 | Category C prison. |
| Griston, Norfolk | … | … | 484 | Category C prison. |
| Hollesley Bay, Suffolk | … | … | 300 | Addition to young offender complex. |
| Low Newton, Durham | … | … | 465 | Category B prison. |
| Stocken Hall, Rutland | … | … | 600 | Young offender establishments. |
| Stradishall, Suffolk | … | … | 500 | Category C (later Category B) prison. |
| Tudworth Hall, West Riding | … | … | 300 | Young offender establishment. |
| West Mailing, Kent | … | … | 450 | Young offender establishment. |
| 4. Planning clearance has been sought, or informal discussions opened with the planning authority, in respect of a number of further proposals including those listed below. If planning clearance is obtained it is hoped that a start could be made on these proposals in the period 1974–75–1976–77. | ||||||
| Place | Size and Type of Establishment | |||||
| Bovingdon, Hertfordshire | … | … | … | … | 484 | Category C prison. |
| Duxford, Cambridgeshire | … | … | … | … | 600 | Young Offender establishment. |
| Everthorpe, East Riding | … | … | … | … | 300 | Young Offender establishment |
| Full Sutton, East Riding | … | … | … | … | 465 | Category B prison, and |
| 484 | Category C prison. | |||||
| Hewell Grange, Worcestershire | … | … | … | … | 300 | Young Offender establishment. |
| North Coates, Lincolnshire | … | … | … | … | 500 | Category C (later Category B) prison. |
| North Weald, Essex | … | … | … | … | 360 | Remand centre. |
| 5. A major part of the prison building programme will continue to be devoted to improvement of facilities at existing institutions. Some schemes providing more accommodation for inmates have been listed at 1 and 2 above. Other schemes provide new workshops, upgrading of works services, improved security and extensive refurbishing. Examples of schemes now in progress, or on which it is hoped to start work in the financial year 1972–73, are: | ||||||
| Cardiff | … | … | … | … | … | Improvements. |
| Chelmsford prison | … | … | … | … | … | Boiler house. |
| Exeter prison | … | … | … | … | … | Workshop |
| Kingston (Portsmouth) prison | … | … | … | … | … | Reconstruction. |
| Lincoln prison | … | … | … | … | … | Boiler house. |
| Liverpool prison | … | … | … | … | … | First phase of redevelopment. |
| Lewes prison | … | … | … | … | … | Workshop |
| Parkhurst prison | … | … | … | … | … | Association and dining facilities etc. |
| Reading prison | … | … | … | … | … | Reconstruction. |
| Stafford prison | … | … | … | … | … | Conversion of factory to workshop. |
| Wakefield prison | … | … | … | … | … | Gate and reception facilities. |
| Wandsworth prison | … | … | … | … | … | Gate and perimeter security. |
| Wormwood Scrubs prison | … | … | … | … | … | Improvements. |
| 6. Expenditure on the erection and purchase of quarters for staff at existing establishments continues at a cost of over £2 million a year. |