(2) whether he plans to build Titan prisons on sites in (a) public ownership, (b) private ownership or (c) both; and if he will make a statement;
(3) what account he plans to take of the proximity of existing prisons when deciding where to locate new Titan prisons; and if he will make a statement.
The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) sought information on the availability, within its statutory area of authority, of sites which meet our criteria and might be suitable and available for the construction of a Titan prison as defined by the Carter report and announced by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor (Mr. Straw) on 5 December 2007, Official Report, column 821, from all public authorities in the West Midlands, London/Essex and the North West.
NOMS set out its site requirements which are:
Minimum site of 50 acres
Preferably brownfield sites, regular in shape, level and not overlooked
Ideally no restrictions such as listed buildings; rights of way across the site; other third party rights, etc.
Good access from the Public Highway
Ideally all mains services connections already exist
Additionally, NOMS pointed out some of the benefits of a Titan prison which are:
Significant, permanent job creation for 1,500 jobs across the skills range
Economic benefits to a location of c.£36 million per annum
Funding confirmed for these major regeneration projects
NOMS went on to invite public authorities to meet and discuss whether they were able to provide details of suitable sites within their area.
The Ministry of Justice will seek to acquire land that meets the Titan prison criteria, whether in private or in public ownership.
Proximity to existing prisons is not considered within the site search criteria and is not a factor for determining Titan prison sites.