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| Seven prisons in England to close | Seven prisons in England to close |
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| Seven public-sector prisons are to close by March and two more partially shut in England and Wales under a £63m a year cost-saving drive announced by the justice secretary, Chris Grayling. | Seven public-sector prisons are to close by March and two more partially shut in England and Wales under a £63m a year cost-saving drive announced by the justice secretary, Chris Grayling. |
| The decision will remove 2,600 "old and uneconomic places" from prisons in England and Wales at time when the jail population stands at 83,632, about 5,000 below the all-time record high of 88,179 in the aftermath of the 2011 summer riots. | The decision will remove 2,600 "old and uneconomic places" from prisons in England and Wales at time when the jail population stands at 83,632, about 5,000 below the all-time record high of 88,179 in the aftermath of the 2011 summer riots. |
| Grayling also announced that 200 places at private prisons contracted to deal with the post-riots bulge are also to be taken out of use. A sharp fall in the number of under-18s in custody to 1,500 has also led to a decision to turn the Serco-run Ashfield young offender institution at Pucklechurch, near Bristol, into an adult male prison. | |
| At the same time, the justice secretary announced funded plans to build new houseblocks in the grounds of four existing prisons to provide 1,260 "modern and cost-effective" places. | At the same time, the justice secretary announced funded plans to build new houseblocks in the grounds of four existing prisons to provide 1,260 "modern and cost-effective" places. |
| Grayling also held out the prospect that a Titan-style super-prison could be built by announcing a feasibility study and a search for a possible site for a jail that could hold more than 2,000 inmates. This would be 20% larger than any existing prison. | |
| The seven prisons to close are Bullwood Hall, Essex; Camp Hill, Isle of Wight; Canterbury; Gloucester; Kingston in Portsmouth; Shepton Mallet, Somerset, and Shrewsbury. Chelmsford and Hull will see the closure of individual wings. The new houseblocks, which Grayling called mini-prisons, will be at HMP Parc, south Wales; Peterborough; The Mount, Hertfordshire and Thameside, London. | |
| The closure list represents a reprieve for Bedford and Lincoln prisons, the future of which have been considered as closure candidates. Six other prisons have closed since the 2010 general election, the most recent being Wellingborough. | The closure list represents a reprieve for Bedford and Lincoln prisons, the future of which have been considered as closure candidates. Six other prisons have closed since the 2010 general election, the most recent being Wellingborough. |
| A review of women's prisons, which hold about 4,000 inmates, is to be completed by the summer. | A review of women's prisons, which hold about 4,000 inmates, is to be completed by the summer. |
| Grayling said there were buildings within the 130-strong prison estate in England and Wales that dated to the 18th century. "Prisons are not located where we would want them to be to best meet the needs of the courts or support resettlement and there is an annual maintenance cost of approximately £184m," he said. "There is clear evidence that by replacing old economic with modern prison capacity we can drive substantial savings for the taxpayer – and I am determined to do just that." | Grayling said there were buildings within the 130-strong prison estate in England and Wales that dated to the 18th century. "Prisons are not located where we would want them to be to best meet the needs of the courts or support resettlement and there is an annual maintenance cost of approximately £184m," he said. "There is clear evidence that by replacing old economic with modern prison capacity we can drive substantial savings for the taxpayer – and I am determined to do just that." |
| The latest figures show there were 90,451 spaces in adult prisons in England and Wales as of last Friday, but with a prison population of 83,632. The justice secretary said the spare capacity, partly created by the opening of the 1,600-place G4S-run Oakwood prison near Wolverhampton last year, provided the opportunity to close "old and uneconomic" prisons. | The latest figures show there were 90,451 spaces in adult prisons in England and Wales as of last Friday, but with a prison population of 83,632. The justice secretary said the spare capacity, partly created by the opening of the 1,600-place G4S-run Oakwood prison near Wolverhampton last year, provided the opportunity to close "old and uneconomic" prisons. |
| Grayling said the average cost of the G4S-run Oakwood was £13,200, less than half the cost of existing prison places and would set a benchmark for future costs. The closure and capacity strategy would help ensure the cost of a prison place was dramatically reduced, he added. | Grayling said the average cost of the G4S-run Oakwood was £13,200, less than half the cost of existing prison places and would set a benchmark for future costs. The closure and capacity strategy would help ensure the cost of a prison place was dramatically reduced, he added. |
| Juliet Lyon of the Prison Reform Trust said closing prisons and reducing inmate numbers offered major social and economic gains. But she warned: "It would be a gigantic mistake if the justice secretary were to revive the discredited idea of Titans and pour taxpayers' money down the prison building drain, when the coalition government could invest in crime prevention, healthcare and community solutions to crime." | Juliet Lyon of the Prison Reform Trust said closing prisons and reducing inmate numbers offered major social and economic gains. But she warned: "It would be a gigantic mistake if the justice secretary were to revive the discredited idea of Titans and pour taxpayers' money down the prison building drain, when the coalition government could invest in crime prevention, healthcare and community solutions to crime." |
| She added that small community prisons tended to be safer and better at reducing reoffending than huge, anonymous establishments. The super-jail proposal was last considered by Jack Straw when he was justice secretary. He abandoned plans for three 2,500 super-jails in 2009 after the £1.3bn scheme was widely criticised for creating US-style penal warehouses. | |
| The Labour justice spokesman, Sadiq Khan, said the prison-closure programme meant 2,600 places were being lost over the next three months with no replacement places guaranteed in the short-term. "This announcement is about short-term gain, with vague commitments to the possibility of a new prison being built somewhere down the line nothing but red meat for Tory backbenchers," he said. | The Labour justice spokesman, Sadiq Khan, said the prison-closure programme meant 2,600 places were being lost over the next three months with no replacement places guaranteed in the short-term. "This announcement is about short-term gain, with vague commitments to the possibility of a new prison being built somewhere down the line nothing but red meat for Tory backbenchers," he said. |