§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what repairs and maintenance work have been carried out at HMP Doncaster since it was opened in 1994; and what was their cost; [5179]
(2) if he will list the representatives of (a) overseas Governments and (b) overseas Ministries of Justice who have visited HMP Doncaster on fact-finding missions since it opened; on what dates these visits occurred; and if he will make a statement. [5181]
Miss Widdecombe: Responsibility for these matters has been delegated to the Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from A. J. Pearson to Mr. Martin Redmond, dated 29 November 1996:
The Home Secretary has asked me, in the absence of the Director General from the office, to reply to your Questions about maintenance work and visits from overseas governments to Doncaster prison.Planned maintenance since the prison opened has cost £197,000. This includes routine cleaning of shower heads, checking of the boiler house plant and ancillary equipment, deep cleaning of the kitchen and food serving facilities, and maintenance of the close circuit television, solenoid operated doors, intercoms, external security lighting and lifts. Work which is contracted-out to specialists is included in the maintenance costs.Routine repairs to the prison estate over that period have cost £713,000. This figure includes the cost of employing the seven permanent staff who carry out much of this work. The repairs include replacing broken wash basins, toilet seats and lighting tubes, machinery breakdowns and repairs to hot water boilers.Details of official visits from overseas government ministers and justice ministers to Doncaster prison are given in the attached table.442W
Date of visit Ministerial visits to Doncaster prison 14 July 1994 The hon. W. Matthew MP. Minister for Emergency and Correctional Services,Government of South Australia 28 May 1995 Ms O Zakharo, Deputy Chair of the Senate Standing Committee on Education, Employment and Training, Australia 17 July 1995 Herr Preusker, Prison Governor from Germany 18 August 1995 Mr. J. Forster and Mr. P. Wood, Queensland Corrective Services Commission 5 October 1995 Svenolov Svensson and Hans Sjoberg, European Prison Education Association 22 February 1996 Dr. Janu, Vice President of the Constitutional Court of Justice, Czech Republic 28 March 1996 Prison Service, Poland Mr. Grzegorz Szkopek, General Director Mr. Ryszard Radolinski, Chief Advisor to the Minister of Justice Mr. Zbigniew Kuzma, Director of Security Mr. Walemar Oiszewski 24 May 1996 Prison Service, Latvia Mr. Leon Aire, Senior Official, Ministry of Home Affairs Mr. S. Pokshans, Director General Mr. louri Kapustine Mr. Viktors Shackis Mr. Alexander Kouplin Mr. Janis Indriks 7 May 1996 Mr. J. Griffin, Chief Executive Office, Correctional Services Division, Victoria, Australia 17 May 1996 Mr. Peter Vassilev, Prison Service, Bulgaria Ms Liliana Grigororva, Prison Service, Bulgaria 18 August 1996 Ms T Smith, policy officer, Department of Correction Services Commission, Australia
Date of visit Ministerial visits to Doncaster prison 18 October 1996 Mr. T. Micol, Queensland Correction Services Commission, Australia 30 October 1996 Delegation from the Government of Colombia and Prison Service: Oscar Pardo, Director, Presidential Efficiency Unit Daniel Salazar, Presidential Efficiency Unit Theresa Huertas, Presidential Efficiency Unit Claudia Pineros, Presidential Efficiency Unit Clara Bernal, Director, Ministry of Agriculture Cecilia Torres, Director, Prison Service