Prisons: Basford

Mr. Timpson
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice (1) what size of prison was considered for the Basford East and West site;

(2) what categories of prison have been considered for the Basford East and West site;

(3) what assessment he has made of the potential impact on the local community in Basford East and West as a result of building a prison in that area;

(4) whether his Department has decided against Basford East and West as a potential site for a prison building;

(5) what parties local to Basford East and West he has consulted on prison building;

(6) what assessment he has made of Basford (a) East and (b) West as a potential site for a prison building;

(7) what estimate he has made of the cost of building a prison on the Basford (a) East and (b) West site was.

Mr. Straw
As I announced on 27 April 2009, Official Report, columns 569-80, we will not be proceeding with the 2,500 place “Titan” prisons, but we will be building 1,500 place prisons instead.

The site at Basford East and, West was one of a number of sites brought to the attention of the National Offender Management Service as part of the site search exercise for “Titan” prisons to hold 2,500 prisoners. It was assessed, but not considered suitable for development as a Titan and no estimates of costs were made. There are no current plans for prisons on any of the sites listed other than those named by me in Parliament on 27 April.