Yorkshire prison named on government hit list

Blundeston in Suffolk, Dorchester, in West Dorset, and Reading prisons were also on today’s closure list from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).

The announcement was made as the MoJ confirmed plans to build a 2,000-place new prison in Wrexham, North Wales.

Feasibility work has also started on a second large prison to be constructed in the south east of England, focusing on the possibility of replacing the existing Feltham Young Offenders Institution in west London with a large new adult prison and a new youth facility on adjoining sites in west London.

The MoJ also confirmed opening dates for new “house blocks” - mini-prisons - being built to create 1,200 new places at four sites across England.

Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said: “This is the latest part of our plan to modernise our prisons, bring down costs, but to make sure that by the next election we still have access to more prison places than we inherited in 2010.

“The Feltham site in West London is a very large one, and is an obvious option for a major new project to help meet the challenges we face in London and the South East.

“I’m also really pleased that we have reached agreement on the new prison in Wrexham. It will provide a real boost to the local economy in North Wales over the next few years, which is one key reason why the Chancellor has made sure we have the money for the project.

“Of course the reorganisation of our prison estate which we are undertaking means some difficult decisions - but we have to make sure that we have modern, affordable prisons that give the best opportunity for us to work with offenders to stop them committing more crimes when they leave.”

Blundeston, a male category C prison, Dorchester, a male category B local prison which holds young adults, Northallerton, a male category C prison and Reading, a male prison holding young adults and remanded prisoners, will close as they are either too expensive to run or need substantial capital investment in the next few years, the MoJ said.

It said that since January, 2,800 “unstrategic and uneconomic” places have been removed and the four new closures would remove 1,400 “uneconomic” places from the estate.

By carrying out the four new closures it is anticipated that a further £30 million a year will be cut from the overall prison budget, it said.

Three other prisons are due to change their roles, the MoJ announced.

HMP The Verne in South Dorset will be converted into an immigration removal centre, providing around 600 additional places to hold immigration detainees awaiting removal.

HMP Downview in Surrey will change function to hold male rather than female offenders and HMYOI Warren Hill in Suffolk, will stop holding young offenders and will also change to hold adult male prisoners, the MoJ said.

Discussions will also begin to end the lease on HMP Dartmoor.

Final decisions on the site are a long way off as the lease has a 10-year notice period but the age and limitations of the prison mean that it does not have a long-term future in a “modern, cost-effective” prison system, it said.

The MoJ announced plans in January to build four new mini-prisons, known as house blocks, at HMPs Parc, Peterborough, the Mount and Thameside.

The mini-prisons will hold up to 1,260 prisoners and will replace older, more expensive prison capacity.

Secretary of State for Wales David Jones welcomed the plans for the new prison at Wrexham.

“The case for a prison in North Wales has always been strong, which is why I am delighted that Wrexham has been selected as the preferred site for the newest addition to the prisons estate,” he said.

“The construction of this much-needed facility will bring with it considerable economic benefits for local businesses, and create up to 1,000 employment opportunities across the region.

“It will facilitate the rehabilitation of offenders by making them more accessible to their families, legal advisers and the probation service, enabling a smoother transition back into the community.

“It will also benefit prisoner welfare by allowing Welsh speakers more opportunity to speak the language in an environment where its cultural significance is understood.”

Juliet Lyon, director of the Prison Reform Trust, said: “Closing small local prisons and replacing them with super-sized jails will not reduce crime or make communities safer.

“You can and should modernise the prison system without throwing taxpayers’ money down the prison-building drain.

“The millions secured for new-build prisons could be more effectively spent on robust community service, treatment for addicts and care for people who are mentally ill.

“There are enough prison places currently to hold the comparatively small number of serious and violent offenders who need to be behind bars.

“The prison population fell by over 3,000 in the past 12 months when rates of crime also dropped by nearly 10%.

“Smaller prisons tend to be safer and more effective than larger establishments, holding people closer to home and with a higher ratio of prison staff to prisoners.

“Prison ought to be an important place of last resort in our justice system, not a giant economic regeneration or job creation scheme.”

Steve Gillan, general secretary of the Prison Officers Association (POA), said it represents around 700 prison officers working in the four jails earmarked for closure.

“We will be having a dialogue with the Prison Service to try to ensure there are no job losses but there is an element of risk in this every time a prison closes. There is a redundancy programme at this moment in time anyway for the Prison Service - for prison officers.

“The Prison Service has lost some 1,800 staff over the last eight months. This could exacerbate the problem even further.

“With the assaults going on and the violence going on we are extremely concerned by the powder keg situation now in prisons and the severe overcrowding.”

Mr Gillan said: “Once again the Ministry of Justice has paid lip service to the well-being and stability of the professional men and women working in an overcrowded and violent environment.

“The POA has worked with this Government in its attempt to save money and stopping wholesale privatisation, but prison closures will do nothing for the morale of prison officers.

“The Government claim to have around 4,000 space headroom, this is only spin and not accurate.”

POA chairman Peter McParlin said: “The announcement today is short sighted and will have a significant impact on the public sector prison service.

“Prison officers and their families will once again face the uncertainly of where they will be working in the future.

“The Government prison closure policy is cuts driven and does nothing for the rehabilitation revolution. These prisons have played a pivotal role in