(2) how many new prison places have been brought on stream in each of the last 24 months for which figures are available; and what the estimated capital construction cost was per prison place per year of lifespan, excluding operation, maintenance and other costs.
The framework approach used by the Prison Service for the new 1,500 place prisons is designed to introduce real competition into the procurement process for each prison, and the construction and operating costs are a key part of our commercial strategy to ensure value for money. It is therefore not possible to reveal the estimated costs at this stage of the procurement.
The Core Capacity Programme aims to deliver approximately 12,500 places by 2012. The following table shows the number of places delivered in each month since October 2007 as part of this programme:
Number of places1 October 2007 0 November 2007 366 December 2007 60 January 2008 60 February 2008 100 March 2008 642 April 2008 240 May 2008 395 June 2008 240 July 2008 0 August 2008 102 September 2008 449 October 2008 132 November 2008 269 December 2008 106 January 2009 190 February 2009 92 March 2009 82 April 2009 29 May 2009 212 June 2009 29 July 2009 34 August 2009 41 September 2009 400 October 2009 0 1 Includes places delivered through new build accommodation, conversion of existing buildings and more effective use of the estate.
The average construction cost for the Core Capacity Programme (not all new build), including costs of providing ancillary facilities, and excluding running costs, is approximately £170,000 per place across the lifetime of the accommodation.