Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much has been spent on refurbishing (a) gym and leisure facilities, (b) cafeteria and (c) interior decoration within (i) his Department and (ii) buildings owned by his Department in (A) 2013 and (B) 2014 to date.

The Ministry of Justice keeps its estate under review to ensure it meets business need, is cost effective, provides value for money for the taxpayer and is more sustainable. Separate information on interior decoration, cafeteria and gym and leisure facility refurbishment is not collected centrally and can only be obtained at disproportionate costs.

Since the start of the Spending Review (SR10) the size of the estate has been reduced by over 600 properties to nearly 1,500 properties. As a result, lower business as usual costs have been achieved. We have removed nearly 50% of the administrative estate from our portfolio over the last four years. We have reduced 180 properties to 98 in England and Wales including from 18 properties to 4 in London, saving over £34m a year.