Context
The MP references a previous meeting with the Prisons Minister in the other place and notes that the Ministry of Justice owns public amenities like greens, lampposts, and lighting on the Springhill Road estate despite them being unused for prison purposes.
Question
I am grateful for the Minister’s answer, and for the Prisons Minister’s time last summer. Notwithstanding our local opposition to a new prison, it is an absurdity that has been going on for years that the MOJ owns the greens, the lampposts and the public lighting on the Springhill Road estate adjacent to HMP Spring Hill, even though they are of no use to the MOJ and there is no benefit to the prison estate. The residents’ association is willing to take those greens and care for them, so that kids can play on them and residents can use them. Will the Minister look again at getting the land transferred, because it is of no benefit to him or his Department?
Answer from The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice (Sir Nicholas Dakin)
Under the last Government, only 500 prison places were created. By contrast, the last Labour Government delivered 27,830. The Lord Chancellor has set out her ambition to deliver 14,000 new places by 2031. Almost 1,500 of those will be provided by the new prison in the hon. Gentleman’s constituency. If he writes to me about the specific concerns of the residents’ association, I will be happy to respond.
Not addressed: The Minister did not address the specific request for land transfer and instead focused on overall prison capacity and previous government performance.
How: Discussing Unrelated Issues, Providing Historical Context Without Addressing Current Concerns
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