§ Mr. CallaghanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his estimate of(a) the total inmate population of the prisons in the Greater Manchester area in each of the next five years and (b) the total number of prison places that will be available. [13456]
§ 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. Jim Callaghan, dated 15 February 1996:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the estimate of the total inmate population of the prisons in the Greater Manchester area in each of the next five years and (b) the total number of prison places that will be available.700WThere are three prisons in the Greater Manchester area: Manchester, Hindley remand centre and Buckley Hall. These prisons currently provide a total of 1,656 places and hold 1,723 prisoners. The number of places and prisoners held within each of these prisons is not expected to vary significantly over the next five years. The Prison Service has plans to build a new 800 place prison at Agecroft in the next five years, which will help provide the additional capacity needed in the region.