Written question asked by David TC Davies (Conservative) on Tuesday, 10 October 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 12 October 2006. It was answered by Gerry Sutcliffe (Labour) on Tuesday, 7 November 2006 on behalf of the Home Office.

Prisons

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many new prisons the Government have commissioned since 1997.

Answer: Since 1997 we have increased prison capacity by around 19,700 places by expanding existing prisons and opening nine new prisons.HMP Bronzefield and HMP Peterborough were commissioned by the present Government and funded under the private finance initiative (PFI). Bronzefield opened in 2004 and Peterborough in 2005.Contracts for HMP Altcourse, HMP Parc and HMP Lowdham Grange were signed under the previous administration but were opened after May 1997. Planning for HMP Ashfield, HMP Forest Bank, HMP Dovegate and HMP Rye Hill was undertaken prior to May 1997, although funding for these prisons was approved by the present Government, with contract signatures taking place after May 1997.The Home Secretary announced, in July 2006, an additional 8,000 prison places. These places will be delivered through a mixture of expanding existing prisons and building a number of new prisons.

Secondary information