§ Baroness Davidasked Her Majesty's Government:
What is the average capital cost of a prison place in the current prison building programme.
§ The Minister of State, Home Office (Baroness Blatch):Responsibility 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 to Baroness David from the temporary Director General of the Prison Service, Mr. Richard Tilt, dated 28 November 1995:
Lady Blatch has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the average capital cost of a prison place in the current prison building programme.
Publicly financed new prisons typically cost about £100,000 per prisoner place, although the most recent— Buckley Hall— cost £57,000 per place because of the use of innovative building techniques. New houseblocks in existing prisons cost approximately £40,000 per place. All further planned new prisons are due to be built and managed using private finance. The negotiations for these contracts are continuing and for this reason I am unable to disclose the likely costs. When the contracts have been signed, the fees paid by the Prison Service per prisoner will be published.