Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an assessment of the effect on local authority support services of reclassifying HMP Risley as a prison for non-UK prisoners; and if he will make a statement.

As I mentioned in my answer to your previous question (PQ 160083) answered on 11 July, HMP Risley has been identified to become a Foreign National Offender (FNO) establishment which will hold foreign national men of interest to the Home Office.

The transition of HMP Risley to a specialist FNO establishment will play an important part in the work of the Prison Estate Transformation Programme (PETP) to simplify the prison estate and align the supply of places with demand.

There have been no discussions with Warrington Borough Council yet, but early planning for the transition is underway and the PETP is working closely with the Governor to prepare for this change which will include liaising with all stakeholders, including relevant local authorities, to better understand implications of the changes and to assist them in preparing for the changeover.