Written question asked by John Bercow (Conservative) on Monday, 27 February 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 1 March 2006. It was answered by Fiona Mactaggart (Labour) on Friday, 3 March 2006 on behalf of the Home Office.

Prisons

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what changes have been made to his Department's procurement procedures, as a result of the leaks in the roofs of X and Y blocks at HM Prison Spring Hill with particular reference to assigning national building contracts.

Answer: No changes have been made to the Home Office's procurement procedures as a direct result of the roof leaks in the blocks at HMP Spring Hill. These type of blocks constructed at HMP Spring Hill and elsewhere on the prison estate were the only modular temporary units (MTUs) readily available for quick purchase and rapid construction to meet the then rapidly rising prison places need. The new Strategic Alliance Partnerships set up in 2003–04 with its updated procurement procedures will in future deal with the demands of high value projects with tight timescales across the prison estate. An improved modular design is being developed through these partnerships and no more units of the design used at HMP Spring Hill will be built.

Secondary information