To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which (a) rooms and (b) other areas of HM Prison Ashwell are inoperable following the disturbance of 11 April 2009; and for how long he estimates the damaged areas will be inoperable. (272822)

Following the disturbance A, B, C, and D wings, totalling 415 accommodation rooms, are out of use.

On the non-accommodation areas, the Potatopak workshop is out of use. It is not yet possible to say for how long the Plastics workshop will be out of use. The Paints CIT (Construction Industry Training) workshop is due to be ready for use on 11 May, and the Offender Management Unit (OMU) will be refurbished and is due for completion in September 2009.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of the disturbance at HMP Ashwell on 11 April 2009 arising from (a) damage to prison property, (b) deploying additional Prison Service staff and other emergency services personnel to deal with the disturbance, (c) transporting prisoners to other prisons and (d) conducting an investigation into the incident. (272823)

The National Offender Management Service (NOMS)/Prison Service investigation which is due to be completed by 29 May will estimate the cost to NOMS of resolving the disturbance. I will make the findings of the investigation and our conclusions on it available to the House in due course.

The investigation will not cover damage to property as decisions which will determine the costs of damage have yet to be made, and are not within the scope of the investigation. I will write to the hon. Member when known.

The cost of the other emergency services is a matter for the individual emergency services.