§ Mr. PorterTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is his policy in respect of building a top-security unit at Woodhill prison, Milton Keynes; how much has been budgeted for the prison unit and for fixtures and fittings; and if he will make a statement. [11187]
§ Miss Widdecombe[holding answer 21 January 1997]: 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. David Porter, dated 27 January 1997:
The Home Secretary has asked me to reply to your recent Question about the building of a top security unit at Woodhill prison.On 15 January I announced that category A prisoners would be held in a smaller number of more secure prisons to meet the recommendations of Sir John Woodcock and General Sir John Learmont. Woodhill is one of these prisons and will in the future hold a larger number of category A prisoners.The Prison Service also has examined the options for improving the management of disruptive prisoners. We have concluded that this can be accomplished most effectively by the establishment of a co-ordinated series of five close supervision units (CSUs) each holding small numbers of prisoners with varying regimes ranging from the strict through to the more structured regimes. The three CSUs at Woodhill will be part of this co-ordianted series.The latest estimate of the capital cost of the programme of work for the CSUs at Woodhill is £3.2m. The fixtures and fittings will be standard Prison Service issue and association areas will also have standard furnishing and equipment.