§ Mr. AlexanderTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many prison cells will be without sanitation on completion of the current integral sanitation programme;
(2) what effect the provision of integral sanitation in prisons has had on the number of cells available;
(3) what effect the provision of integral sanitation will have on future prison cell accommodation;
(4) whether he has any plans to provide integral sanitation for those prison cells not included in the current integral sanitation programme.
§ Mr. WaddingtonIt is not possible to answer these questions with precision. All new prisons built or planned since 1979 have integral sanitation. Major refurbishments under way or planned for existing establishments will reduce the number of cells without access to sanitation by over 7,000. The effect of this on the number of cells ultimately available will depend on whether the refurbishment involves the addition of sanitary annexes or the installation of toilets and hand basins in individual cells; this has not yet been decided in many cases.
In addition, there is an on-going programme to instal toilets and hand basins in individual cells where major 19W refurbishment is not planned. When this on-going programme was announced in February 1989, 6,500 cells had been identified as suitable for this type of conversion. This programme is kept under continuous review, and the number of cells identified has now risen to over 8,000. The effect on availability of cells will be very temporary and will involve small numbers at any one time, because the conversions are fitted into each establishment's normal works programme.
Completion of the programme described will reduce the number of cells without access to sanitation to fewer than 7,000 by the end of the century. This number may be further reduced by closure of some establishments if the prison population remains stable.