§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proportions of the total prison population are serving sentences of up to six months, six months to three years, three to five years, and five years and over, with life sentences shown separately.
§ Mr. JohnThe information that is readily available is as follows:
Prison Population Proportion in each sentence band, 1975 England and Wales Up to and including 18 months 37.5 Over 18 months and up to and including 4 years 32.9 Over 4 years and up to and including 10 years 11.5 Over 10 years 1.2 Life (including H.M.P.) 3.8 The remainder of the prison population comprised remand and civil prisoners. Detention centre and borstal trainees are excluded from the above table.
§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department to what use the 25 places for women prisoners at Grendon Underwood are now being put.
§ Mr. JohnGrendon Prison has never contained women prisoners. The 25 places originally intended for use by women were converted in June 1969 for the use of young male offenders.
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1. Schemes where work was in progress at the end of financial year 1972–73: Place and type of establishment Acklington … Northumberland … Category C prison Work in progress Blundeston … Suffolk … New cell block to prison Completed Bristol … — New cell block to prison Completed Channings Wood … Devon … Category C prison Work in progress Castington … Northumberland … Young Offender establishment Work in progress
§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners are now accommodated one, two and three persons to a cell; and how many of those sharing cells are longterm prisoners.
§ Mr. JohnOn 9th May, the latest date for which this information is available, there were 11,935 prisoners accommodated one to a cell, 11,008 two to a cell and 4,746 three to a cell. 13,699 other prisoners were in non-cellular accommodation or in prison hospitals. I regret that no information is collected which would show how many of those sharing cells were long-term prisoners.
§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the present average daily number of prisoners in penal institutions.
§ Mr. JohnThe total prison population in England and Wales on 15th June was 41,622. The average daily prison population for the financial year 1975–76 was 40,343.
§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the present prison capacity without overcrowding.
§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much of the prison building programme announced in 1973 (Official Report, 3rd May, column 1,443) has been completed, is in progress, or has been cancelled or postponed.
§ Mr. JohnThe major schemes in the prison building programme listed in theOfficial Report for 3rd May 1975, under the headings then used, together with statements of the present position are as follows:
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Place and type of establishment Deerbold Co. Durham … Young Offender establishment Work in progress Dover Kent … New borstal house Completed Erlestoke Wiltshire … Extension to Detention Centre Completed Glen Parva Leicestershire … Young Offender complex Training borstal completed Remand and allocation centre in progress Haverigg Cumbria … Extension to Category C prison Completed Hollesley Bay Suffolk … Secure borstal unit Work in progress Long Lartin Worcestershire … Category B prison Completed Maidstone Kent … Additions to prison One extension completed Second extension in progress Northeye Sussex … Extension to Category C prison Work in progress Norwich RC Norfolk … Remand Centre Work in progress Portland Dorset … New borstal house Completed Pucklechurch Avon … Extension to Remand Centre Completed Ranby Nottinghamshire … Category C prison Work in progress Rochester Kent … New Remand Centre Work in progress Stoke Heath Shropshire … New borstal house Completed The Verne Dorset … New cell blocks to prison Completed Wellingborough Northamptonshire … New borstal house Completed Wrabness Essex … Category C prison Scheme cancelled Holloway Redevelopment London … Women's prison Work in progress
2. Schemes where it was intended that work should start in financial year 1973–74:— Place and type of establishment Camp Hill … Isle of Wight … New cell block at prison Completed Eastwood Park … Gloucestershire … New house at detention centre Completed Featherstone … Staffordshire … Category C prison Work in progress Kirklevington … Cleveland … New house at detention centre Completed Lockwood … Oxfordshire … Category B prison Scheme cancelled Low Newton … Durham … Extension to remand centre Completed Liverpool … Merseyside … New cell block at prison Scheme cancelled Onley … Warwickshire … New cell block at borstal Completed Stradishall … Suffolk … Category C prison Work in progress Thorp Arch … West Yorkshire … Extension to remand centre Work in progress West Mailing … Kent … Young Offender establishment Scheme cancelled Wymott … Lancashire … Category C prison Work in progress 314W315W
3. Schemes where planning clearance was held as at May 1973 and on which it was hoped to start work in period 1974–75–1976–77:— Place and type of establishment Bovingdon … Hertfordshire … Category C prison Scheme cancelled Carr Wood … North Yorkshire … Young Offender establishment Scheme cancelled Everthorpe … Humberside … Detention Centre Scheme cancelled Feltham … Middlesex … Young Offender complex Work in progress Gartree … Leicestershire … Category C prison Scheme cancelled Hewell Grange … Worcestershire … Young Offender complex Scheme deferred Hollesley Bay … Suffolk … Young Offender establishment Scheme deferred Low Newton … Durham … Category B prison Due to start 1976–77 North Weald … Essex … Remand Centre Scheme deferred Stocken … Leicestershire … Young Offender establishment Scheme deferred Swaleside … Kent … Category C prison Scheme deferred Tudworth Hall … South Yorkshire … Young Offender establishment Scheme cancelled Werrington … Staffordshire … Additional unit at detention centre Scheme cancelled
4. Schemes on which planning clearance had been sought in informal planning discussion April as at May 1973:— Place and type of establishment Duxford … Cambridgeshire … Young Offender establishment Scheme cancelled Full Sutton … Humberside … Category B prison Scheme deferred Gorseinon … Glamorgan … Category B prison Scheme abandoned Hobbs Barracks … Surrey … Category C prison Scheme abandoned Holmes Chapel … Cheshire … Category C prison Scheme abandoned Marchington … Staffordshire … Category B prison Scheme abandoned North Cotes … Lincolnshire … Category C prison Scheme abandoned Watchfield … Berkshire … Category C prison Scheme abandoned
§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the cost per inmate of new prison buildings for top security categories.
§ Mr. JohnOn the basis of the latest available estimate of the cost of building a new dispersal prison for 447 prisoners, with associated staff housing, the cost per place would be about £31,600.
§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department which of the projects on the building list (Annex A) submitted to the Select Committee on Estimates (Sub-Committee on Social Affairs) in December 1966 have been completed.
§ Mr. JohnThe following projects have been completed:
- Long Lartin, Worcestershire: Closed prison.
- Erlestoke, Wiltshire: Additional unit for detention centre.
- Pucklechurch, Gloucestershire: Extension of remand centre.
- Dover: One new borstal inmates living block.
- Bristol: New prison block.
- Ashwell, Leicestershire: New prison block.
- The Verne, Portland, Dorset: Additional living accommodation in training prison.