Prisons Minister opens two new wings at HMP Bullingdon

Prisons Minister opens two new wings at HMP Bullingdon

Prisons Minister David Hanson MP officially opens a new 120 place unit at HMP Bullingdon (near Bicester) today, marking a significant contribution to the 1,614 new prison places delivered this year so far.

The Finmere Unit is made up of two connected wings. It serves as a First Night Centre and Induction facility for new prisoners, and a detoxification facility for those suffering from severe addiction problems.

It will also provide accommodation for prisoners who have demonstrated good behaviour during their time in custody. In order to qualify to be held in the accommodation, prisoners will need to have addressed their offending behaviour, shown that they are free from drugs through mandatory testing, and have no adjudications against them as part of the prison disciplinary system.

The new facilities include a multi-purpose building which will ensure the prison can provide purposeful activity and education for all prisoners. This work aims to get prisoners into work or training so that they can live constructive lives away from crime when they are released.

David Hanson MP said:

'Prison plays a key role in punishing and rehabilitating criminals, and we will always ensure there are places to hold serious offenders who should be behind bars. Opening the new Finmere unit is an important step towards our aim to increase capacity of the prison estate to 96,000 by 2014.

'I would like to thank the Governor, staff, and all those who have worked hard to deliver this new accommodation; and I congratulate them for doing so two months ahead of schedule. We should not forget that their work has made a very real contribution to keeping the public safe'.

Notes to editors

1. HMP Bullingdon operates as an adult male Category C training prison with a Category B local function.
2. The new unit cost £25.3 million and took 18 months to complete.
3. Since 1997 the government has increased prison capacity by over 23,000 places.
4. On 5 December, in response to Lord Carter's review of prisons, the government announced its aim is to achieve an overall net capacity of just over 96,000 by 2014. This includes up to three 'Titan' prisons as recommended by Lord Carter. It is anticipated that 2,700 places will be delivered this year alone.