HC Deb 23 January 1997 vol 288 cc733-4W
Mr. Cox

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the prisons in England and Wales which his Department assesses to be overcrowded, indicating in each case the percentage of overcrowding. [10774]

Miss Widdecombe

Responsibility 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 Richard Tilt to Mr. Tom Cox, dated 23 January 1997: The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question concerning which prisons in England and Wales are overcrowded and what percentage of overcrowding exists. The information requested is given in the attached table. Overcrowding is defined as the number of prisoners above the In Use CNA. The In Use CNA is the certified normal accommodation and represents the uncrowded capacity of each establishment on the 27th December 1996. This measure of overcrowding takes into account all types of accommodation including single and double cells, rooms and dormitories. The total number of prisoners held in an establishment is determined by its operational capacity rather than its In Use CNA. Operational capacity is the total number of prisoners which an establishment can hold without serious risk to good order, security and the proper running of the planned regime.

Prisons in England and Wales that are overcrowded
Prison name Percentage overcrowding
Ashwell 1
Bedford 12
Belmarsh 2
Birmingham 37
Blakenhurst 10
Brinsford 1
Bristol 15
Brixton 17
Bullingdon 4
Camp Hill 10
Canterbury 47
Cardiff 26
Coldingley 3
Cookham Wood 20
Doncaster 15
Dorchester 52
Downview 2
Durham 41
Elmley 4
Everthorpe 1
Exeter 59
Featherstone 1
Feltham 3
Garth 3
Glen Parva 19
Gloucester 22
Guys Marsh 4
Haverigg 8
High Down 1
Holloway 10
Hull 21
Lancaster Farms 1
Leeds 7
Leicester 52
Lincoln 46

Prisons in England and Wales that are overcrowded
Prison name Percentage overcrowding
Liverpool 9
Low Newton 39
Maidstone 2
Manchester 19
Moorland 6
Mount 6
Northallerton 76
Norwich 25
Parkhurst 1
Pentonville 20
Preston 67
Reading 9
Send 7
Shepton Mallett 29
Shrewsbury 79
Stafford 8
Stocken 8
Styal 1
Swaleside 3
Swansea 23
Usk 40
Verne 4
Wakefield 16
Wandsworth 6
Wayland 3
Whatton 2
Winchester 25
Wolds 10
Wormwood Scrubs 15