§ Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost of and timetable for the planned programme of capital works are at HMP906W Swansea; when it will be completed; and what plans exist to bring the remainder of the prison buildings back into prison service use. [5202]
§ Beverley Hughes[holding answer 19 July 2001]The only capital project currently under way at Her Majesty's Prison Swansea is the replacement of the central heating boilers. The expected cost of this project is £1,040,000 and it is expected to be completed in November 2001. This work has not involved loss of accommodation.
Capital works in A Wing to remove asbestos, renew the heating system and install in-cell electricity at a total cost of £520,000 have been completed during September 2001 and the accommodation is being brought back into use in a phased programme to be completed by mid-October.
Twenty-five work places in Workshop 3 have been temporarily closed for a six-week period for essential electrical maintenance.
Most of B Wing remains out of use. There are no plans to return this accommodation to use. B Wing is a listed building and, as a result of the conditions required by CADW/Welsh Historic Monuments, the cost of the works needed to bring it up to current standards, including in-cell sanitation, mean it is not viable to restore it.
A capital project to the value of £147,000 has been authorised in the health care centre to provide improved cells and a lift for disabled prisoners. The contract for this work has not yet been let and there is therefore no definite timetable for it. It will not involve taking prisoner accommodation out of use.
It is also expected that various roofing repairs will take place at Swansea in the current financial year. The details have not yet been finalised. This is also not expected to involve the loss of accommodation.