HL Deb 06 December 1984 vol 457 cc1546-7WA
Lord Donaldson of Kingsbridge

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How many prisons currently hold life sentence prisoners, and of these how many are Category A, Category B, Category C and Category D prisons respectively.

Lord Elton

Excluding local prisons and remand centres which initially accommodate life sentence prisoners, 43 prison service establishments now accommodate life sentence prisoners. The 27 adult male establishments are as follows:

  1. (a) eight Category B dispersal prisons (prisoners who have been placed in security Category A are accommodated in these prisons);
  2. (b) nine other Category B establishments;
  3. (c) seven Category C establishments; and
  4. (d) three Category D establishments.

The six establishments holding females and the 10 establishments holding young male offenders are not categorised.

Recently one further Category D establishment and one further Category C establishment have been added to the available adult male accommodation and are expected to receive life sentence prisoners early in the New Year; consideration is also being given to the use of another Category D establishment. It is also planned to accommodate young male lifers in one of the youth custody centres at present under construction when building is completed.