§ Mr. CorbettTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what present proposals he has to build a new prison in Birmingham.
§ Mr. Peter LloydResponsibility for this matter has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
786WLetter from Derek Lewis to Mr. Robin Corbett, dated 16 December 1993:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about any proposals the Prison Service has to build a new prison in Birmingham.Although the Prison Service is actively seeking sites for new prisons, at present there are no specific plans to build a new prison in Birmingham. Any such sites must be near to the locality from which prisoners come in order to meet our commitments set out in the White Paper "Custody, Care and Justice". At present, there are insufficient prison places available in the West Midlands area to house all the prisoners who come from that area.