To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which prisons Ministers in his Department have visited in each year since 1997; and for what purposes. (63073)

I am placing in the Library a list of the visits to prisons by Home Office Ministers since 1 May 1997. Ministers visit prisons for a variety of reasons including: general familiarisation; attending the launch of an initiative or opening of a new building or wing; attending a meeting, such as the Suicide Prevention Roundtable; or attending a religious service. Information on the purpose of each individual visit is not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.