Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to ensure that Category C male prisoners from North Wales are considered for transfer to HM Prison Berwyn.

When fully operational in 2018, HMP Berwyn will provide an initial point of custody for North Wales prisoners. Following sentence, men from North Wales will remain at HMP Berwyn unless the prison is unable to meet their offender management needs. In this way HMP Berwyn will become the default prison for men from North Wales unless their needs can be better met elsewhere.

Men from North Wales¹ currently serving their sentences in other prisons, will also be considered for transfer to HMP Berwyn if the prison can meet their needs and the prisoner meets the acceptance criteria.

¹ This will be based on their home address on reception into custody. If no address is given, then an offender’s committal court address is used as a proxy for the area in which they are resident.