§ Mr. JackTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his Department has any plans for the development of a secure prison alongside the site of Kirkham open prison; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggYes. The Department hopes to use Home Office-owned land alongside Kirkham open prison for a secure category B training prison with a population of about 600 inmates. Following exploratory discussions with Fylde district council, preliminary proposals for the site have been submitted in writing. These informal consultations have taken place under the established procedures for Crown developments. The Department recognises that further discussion will be required in order to develop its proposals to the point of submission of a formal notice of proposed development, which it hopes to be able to do by the autumn of this year.
§ Mr. JackTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will list in theOfficial Report the sites for all future secure prison developments, the numbers of prisoners to be accommodated, the category of prisoners to be accommodated and the acreage on each site available for further development;
292W(2) if he will list in the Official Report those areas of land adjoining existing secure prisons which are suitable for expanding those institutions; and how many additional prisoners can be accommodated on these sites.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggThe prison building programme includes 26 new prisons in the following locations. Eight of these prisons have been constructed. A number of sites remain to be decided; the Home Office is looking for further possible sites in case the programme should be expanded.
Prison Category of prison Number of prisoners Wayland C 484 Stocken YCC 300 Thorn Cross YCC 300 Full Sutton B 444 Littlehey C 484 Mount C 484 Swaleside B 504 Garth B 512 Brinsford B 448 Woolwich B 850 Whitemoor B 522 Bullingdon B 612 Swaleside II B 610 Lindholme II B 610 Milton Keynes B 544 Lancaster Farms YCC 360 Prison 31 ? 600 Prison 41 ? 600 Prison 51 ? 600 Doncaster B 720 Ashford B 600 Rochdale B 600 Prison 61 ? 600 Wrexham C 600 Banstead B 600 Buckley Hall1 YCC 300 1 Site yet to be decided. A number of existing prisons and of these new sites have adjoining land. The prison building programme includes several schemes to expand the capacity of existing prisons by redevelopment or expansion on to adjoining land. Of the new prisons listed in the table, Lindholme II and Swaleside II are being built on Home Office land next to existing prisons. But it is not always possible to obtain planning clearance for such schemes; land must be retained for agricultural production, and for landscaping purposes, to screen existing or future buildings; and some land is poorly located to meet the Department's strategic needs.