§ Mr. Hoyleasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prison officers' houses there are in Culcheth and Risley area; where they are located; how many are empty and where they are located; how long they have been empty; and what action is being taken in relation to them.
§ Mr. MellorThe total stock of prison officers' quarters held by Risley remand centre at the present time numbers 184. These are located at Woolston (five miles from the establishment), Culcheth (two miles), Croft (three miles) and Leigh (seven miles). Forty-nine of these quarters, all located at Culcheth, are currently empty and the bulk of these have been empty for four to five years. Negotiations are in hand to dispose of between 34 and 40 properties to a private developer and the remainder are to be refurbished for use by prison officers posted to Risley. The quarters have not been placed on the market earlier than this for a variety of reasons. Firstly, the prison department had to determine whether any of the properties would be required for staff appointed to the new prison at Thorn Cross. Secondly, it was necessary to await the outcome of negotiations with the Prison Officers' Association on the question of "discount sales" to their members and finally196W there were problems to overcome concerning the sewage pumping station and the adoption of certain roads on the estate. Now that all these problems appear to have been resolved, the sale of these properties can go ahead.