(2) whether he has made arrangements to deal with the eventuality that a private contractor is unable to provide a prison on the Beam Park West site.
The exact cost of constructing the proposed prison at Beam Park West has yet to be determined. However, it is estimated that the capital cost of constructing five 1,500 place prisons at 2008-09 prices is around £1.2 billion, excluding VAT and site purchase costs.
We will consider the options available to us in the event we are unable to find a suitable contractor to build the proposed prison.