HC Deb 18 December 1985 vol 89 c177W
Mr. Wheeler

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the study of United States prison designs announced by his predecessor has yet been completed.

Mr. Hurd

The study of recent developments in the design of prisons in the United States has been conducted by a working group of officials from the Home Office an Property Services Agency under the chairmanship of the director of regimes and services in the prison department. The group's report is published today by Her Majesty's Stationery Office under the title "New Directions in Prison Design". A copy has been placed in the Library.

The study was commissioned following a review of control problems in the long-term prison system. The report describes and analyses the design features of a number of the "new generation" prisons visited by members of the group. It emphasises that prison designs need to be related to a clear management philosophy, and that therefore designs developed in the context of one penal system cannot simply be transposed to another system in the expectation that they will be equally appropriate. Nevertheless, the study concludes that "new generation" concepts appear to offer significant benefits in the context of our own prison system. The group considers that, given the right management practices and staffing levels, new generation prisons need not be more costly than conventional prisons of equivalent size. The group also considers that "new generation" concepts may be of particular value in application to local prisons, and that while high-rise development does not form part of the Home Office's immediate plans, such development should not be ruled out for local prisons as it may permit the use of smaller urban sites with consequent advantages in terms of staffing and access to courts. The present building programme gives us the opportunity to consider the applicability of new generation concepts to specific projects and the opportunity is being taken to study the feasibility of new generation designs at two of the local prisons in the programme, at Milton Keynes and Doncaster. The final decision on the design of these prisons will, of course be subject to full consideration of the financial and planning implications.

I welcome this report and hope that it will serve to stimulate a wide-ranging and informed discussion on the future design of prisons in England and Wales.