asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what will be the staff complement and the estimated annual running costs of the new low security prison at Wymott.

Wymott came into operation in April and the build-up to full capacity will be gradual. The present staff complement of 203, including 119 members of the prison officer class, will be kept under review as the population increases. Cost estimates for individual establishments are not readily available, but during 1977–78, the last financial year for which figures are available, the average annual cost of keeping an inmate in a similar type of establishment was £4,732.