Manchester Prison: Refurbishment (Hansard, 14 June 1990)

The Minister of State, Home Office (Earl Ferrers)
My Lords, my honourable friend the Minister of State announced our plans for the future of Manchester Prison on 17th May. These include a major refurbishment of the living accommodation and the provision of a range of new or improved supporting facilities. The programme aims to have some 970 places back in use within about three years. However, we hope to provide accommodation for up to 200 remand prisoners by October of this year. All the remand accommodation—over 300 places—should be in use in about a year's time.

§ Lord Dean of Beswick
My Lords, I am grateful to the noble Earl for the detailed reply that he has given. However, will the Government take on board suggestions that, as the various phases of the building are completed, they are put into immediate use in order to create a viable establishment at Strangeways? Will he refer briefly to the part that has been played by the visitors' centre, which is controlled by the voluntary organisation Selcare and which is the only building that has been serviceable for some time? Does he agree that it has played a tremendous part in supporting the prison authorities and staff during the difficult period that they have experienced and are still experiencing?

Earl Ferrers
My Lords, I understand the noble Lord's desire to have the gaol brought into operation as soon as possible and in various stages. I am bound to tell him that K wing, which was the least damaged part of the remand prison, will be available after four months. The other parts of the remand wings—G, H and I—will be ready after 12 months. The remaining wings, which are to take the convicted prisoners, will not in fact be able to be introduced separately. As I understand it, there are fundamental alterations with regard to the common services and so on which require to be done all in one piece.
With regard to the visitors' centre, I agree with the noble Lord. It has been of remarkable assistance and has been supported by voluntary people who have done most magnificent work, not only after the disturbances but also beforehand. However, the work done after the disturbances has been of enormous benefit and help.

§ Lord Mulley
My Lords, can the noble Earl explain why Her Majesty's prisons, almost uniquely among 413 public buildings, seem to provide ready access to the roof from inside the building? In rebuilding Strangeways, will care be taken not to provide such access and perhaps remove it in other cases, so as to take away the temptation to prisoners to parade there for the benefit of the ever-ready television cameras?

Earl Ferrers
My Lords, I am bound to say that that is a question which I have often asked myself. I suppose the answer is that the prisoners cannot get downstairs and therefore the easiest way is to get upstairs. I can assure the noble Lord that in the rebuilding of Strangeways that particular precaution will be taken to ensure that it does not happen again.

§ Lord Mishcon
My Lords, without in any way wishing him to prejudge Lord Justice Woolf's anticipated report, can the Minister confirm that included in the refurbishing and rebuilding programmes are the essential civilised elements that, unfortunately, are lacking in Strangeways prison at the moment and have been over past years?

Earl Ferrers
My Lords, it is the Government's intention to renovate as soon as possible those parts of those prisons to which, quite understandably, the noble Lord refers. I can assure him that such matters as internal sanitation and so forth will be put in the refurbished Strangeways.

§ Lord Harris of Greenwich
My Lords, does that mean that there will be internal sanitation when the rebuilt remand facility is opened? Moreover, is the noble Earl aware that, following Strangeways and as a result of disputes with some branches of the Prison Officers' Association, many hundreds of prisoners are now being held in police cells in most deplorable conditions? What action does he propose to take to deal with that situation?

Earl Ferrers
My Lords, with regard to the noble Lord's first question about the position on the remand wings, the fact is that they will not have internal sanitation immediately because we wish to get the prisoners back into that accommodation as soon as possible. If rebuilding were to be delayed because of the introduction of internal sanitation, the overcrowding in police cells to which he refers in the latter part of his question would continue elsewhere. With regard to the question of prisoners in police cells, it is of course our desire to get them down to the lowest possible number as soon as possible. However, the noble Lord will realise that when all of a sudden 1,600 additional prisoners are put into the system inevitably police cells have to be used.