§ Ms RuddockTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when Buckley Hall prison will be market tested; if an in-house bid has yet been received; and when the prison will open.
§ Mr. Peter LloydResponsibility for this matter 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 Derek Lewis to Ms Joan Ruddock, dated 1 February 1994:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about Buckley Hall prison.No in-house bid has yet been received. The process of market testing has started and expressions of interest in tendering were received on 21 January. It is expected that invitations to tender will be issued in early February. The opening of the prison is dependent on the rebuilding programme. It is planned to open the prison in phases and the earliest possible date for the opening of the first phase would be October 1994.