New Prison In Wrexham Will Not Be Privately Run

Prisons Minister Andrew Selous has today announced that the new prison in Wrexham will be operated by Her Majesty’s Prison Service (HMPS).

The prison, which is due to open in 2017, will be run by an ‘innovative new approach’ that will see the best of the public, voluntary and private sectors working together.

HMPS will take overall ownership of the prison but with 34% of service provision outsourced – including a large industrial workshop complex.

Prisons Minister Andrew Selous said: “I am pleased to announce that the new prison in North Wales will be operated by Her Majesty’s Prison Service as part of an innovative new approach to running prisons.

“Our combination of benchmarking and outsourcing services is saving taxpayers around £300m a year and now it will allow us to deliver a truly efficient prison in Wrexham that is based on best practice from the opening of previous prisons.

“This prison reflects the true success of our reforms in helping to create a modern low-cost prison estate, and is proving a real boost to the North Wales economy with £1.1m already committed to local companies – well ahead of the £250,000 target for 2014.”

The statement this mornig says: “The £212m investment will provide good quality prison accommodation that delivers value for the taxpayer by reducing the cost per prisoner place. Recent reforms have already saved significant sums for taxpayers, and continuing to create a modern low cost prison estate is essential to further reduce the overall cost of the prison system.”

“Once operational the North Wales prison will also bring a huge benefit to the area, boosting the regional economy by around £23m a year and create up to 1,000 jobs.”

Secretary of State for Wales Stephen Crabb said: “The new prison in Wrexham will provide a massive boost to North Wales by generating opportunities for local businesses and creating hundreds of jobs in the area.

“This is all part of our long term plan to help rebalance the economy and invest in world class infrastructure across the whole country.”

The prison will provide around 2,100 Category C places for male offenders from North Wales and North West England, including a small remand function serving the courts in North Wales.

It will include places for education, 12 large workshop spaces, and resettlement functions, helping offenders who will be held closer to home reintegrate into their communities on release.

The statement this morning added: “The Ministry of Justice has also been working closely with Welsh devolved health and education services to develop suitable models for the prison and will continue to work with the Welsh Government and other partners to agree the necessary resourcing as delivery requirements are finalised.”

Concerns had been expressed that the prison might be run in the private sector – a move which Mr Lucas has opposed.

Speaking after today’s announcement, he said: “I have campaigned consistently for the N Wales Prison to be run in the public sector.

“I welcome, therefore, this decision which is a reflection of the consistent difficulties encountered in private sector prisons in recent years. We now need to work to ensure that the Prison will be safe and effective in reducing re-offending.

“We must also argue the case for improved transport infrastructure and a thoroughgoing assessment of the impact the UK’s largest prison will have on public services in Wrexham, which we are seeing are under increasing pressure already.”

Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Wrexham Andrew Atkinson added: “The new prison build is a great opportunity for local businesses and I hope as many local contractors and businesses as possible can benefit from this project.

“I am grateful to Stephen Crabb MP, Secretary of State for Wales for meeting me in Wrexham to discuss local employment opportunities. We met with CAIS Wrexham who raised a few concerns about making sure there is as big a local benefit as possible.

“Over £1million is already committed to local firms which is a fantastic start.”

Construction is currently underway in Wrexham and the first houseblock is due to start taking prisoners from early 2017.