§ Lord Aveburyasked her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will give details of any changes in the provision of insurance cover to detention centres and privately managed prisons since January 2000. [HL4385]
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Home Office (Lord Filkin)The terms of the insurance for the immigration detention estate are the subject of current negotiations.
All prisons in England and Wales are currently fully insured. However, as a result of the events on 11 September 2001, there have been significant difficulties in the general insurance market. The fire at Yarl's Wood immigration detention centre has exacerbated the problems for all privately managed custodial facilities, including prisons. A cross-departmental team has been set up to discuss with contractors how best to resolve this issue. We are working with the insurance industry to see how to resolve these problems.