To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps he plans to take to provide additional prison capacity if his proposed new prisons do not obtain planning permission. (276048)

As is normal, we would consider the options available to us in the event we are unable to obtain planning permission for the new prisons.

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners in England were held in cells shared with two or more other inmates in 2008. (276257)

On Friday 27 June 2008 2,676 prisoners out of 83,243 were recorded as sharing any accommodation such as cells, rooms, wards and dormitories with two or more people in prisons in England.

The data available does not allow for a breakdown of prisoners sharing by individual accommodation types.

Data on HMP/YOI Ashfield is not held centrally and therefore information relating to this establishment is not included in these figures.