Prisons

Debate between Jeremy Wright and Ian Lavery

Wednesday 18th December 2013 Ministerial Corrections

[Ian Lavery]

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what capital expenditure projects his Department commissioned at (a) HMP Blundeston, (b) HMP Dorchester, (c) HMP Northallerton and (d) HMP Reading in each of the last five years; what the cost of each such project was; and if he will make a statement.

[Official Report, 8 October 2013, Vol. 568, c. 75-6W.]

Letter of correction from Jeremy Wright:

An error has been identified in the written answer given to the hon. Member for Wansbeck (Ian Lavery) on 8 October 2013.

The full answer given was as follows:

[Jeremy Wright]

The following table shows the centrally-funded capital expenditure projects commissioned at HMP Blundeston, HMP/YOI Dorchester, HMP/YOI Northallerton and HMP/YOI Reading in each of the last five years and their cost. As at 6 September 2013 there have been no projects in those prisons in 2013/14. The total projected maintenance requirements for the four prisons over the next five years would have amounted to £17 million.

The Department needs to modernise the estate to provide prison capacity at much lower cost and in the right places to deliver our ambition of reducing re-offending. That is why MOJ are replacing older accommodation that is expensive to run with newer, cheaper and more efficient accommodation that will provide better value for money.