§ Dr. GodmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the cost of repairing and renovating prisons as a result of damage caused by prisoners acting unlawfully in each year since 1976.
§ Lord James Douglas-HamiltonResponsibility for the subject of the question has been delegated to the Scottish Prison Service under the chief executive, Mr. E. W. Frizzell. I have asked him to arrange for a reply to be given.
629WLetter from E. W. Frizzell to Dr. Norman A. Godman dated 14 February 1995:
Lord James Douglas-Hamilton has asked me to reply to your Question about the cost of repairing and renovating prisons as a result of damage caused by prisoners' unlawful activity.
Such activity ranges from minor incidents such as breaking light bulbs to serious riot damage. Damage of a minor nature caused by vandalism would normally be repaired as part of the ongoing maintenance programme and the cost would not therefore be separately identified.
Information on the cost of prisoner damage from major incidents is not available prior to 1986 but the annual cost each year since then is set out in the table below.
Year Cost (£) 1986–87 1,099,437 1987–88 258,926 1988–89 379,790 1989–90 12,805 1990–91 56,595 1991–92 71,556 1992–93 4,865 1993–94 210,413 1994–95 122,204 1 Provisional