§ Mr. George HowarthTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will name the prisons to be built by 2000, with the costs of each. [40459]
§ Miss WiddecombeResponsibility for this matter has been delegated to the temporary Director General of the Prison Service, who has been asked to arrange for a reply to be given.
Letter from Richard Tilt to Mr. George Howarth, dated 6 November 1995:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about new prisons to be built by the year 2000.570WSix new prisons are planned to be built under the private sector design, construct, manage and finance (DCMF) initiative announced by the Home Secretary on 2 September 1993. The first two prisons will be at Bridgend in South Wales and at Fazakerley on Merseyside. These are due to open in 1997–98. A site for a third prison has been identified in the Salford area of Greater Manchester, but the local planning authority have objected to the proposal. The Prison Service is considering making a request to the Secretary of State for the Environment to determine the dispute and this could lead to a public inquiry. Site searching for the remainder of the DCMF projects is in progress and it is too early to give locations and likely timescales.In addition to the six new DCMF prisons, the former Lowdham Grange prison near Nottingham will be rebuilt as a 500 bed, category B prison to be operated by the private sector. The prison is planned to open during 1997–98.An annual management charge will be paid, subject to contract, so far as Fazakerley and Bridgend prisons, are concerned. Costs are not available at this time. Costs for Lowdham Grange and the other DCMF prisons are not yet known.