To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the effect on costs of the creation of HMP Redditch, broken down by (a) staffing and (b) other elements. (178758)

As I announced to the House on 29 January, consultation on the name of the planned merger has been extended to 1 March 2008. Any further comments on wider issues would be welcome.

Following the outcome of the consultation it will be possible to calculate the cost of the exercise. It is expected that the merger will generate cost reductions of £650,000 in 2008-09 and £860,000 in 2009-10, while improving efficiency and effectiveness.