WELLINGBOROUGH PRISON TO BE CLOSED

Wellingborough Prison will close by the end of this year with the loss of almost 600 prison places, Kenneth Clarke said.

The Justice Secretary said closing the category C jail in Northamptonshire will save £10 million per year.

The prison population in England and Wales was 86,652 last Friday, with enough capacity for a further 3,500 inmates, thePrison Service said.

Juliet Lyon, director of the Prison Reform Trust, said: “Today’s announcement of the closure of Wellingborough Prison signals a slowing down in the inexorable growth of theprison population over the past two decades.

“Each prison place costs nearly £40,000 a year and half of all prisoners reoffend within a year of release.

“Before we sink even more taxpayers’ money into large private jails, it’s time to invest in effective measures to cut crime that give a better return for the public purse.”

She went on: “There is sound evidence for a switch of investment to well organised community sentences, restorative justice and appropriate treatment and care for people with mental health needs, learning disabilities and drug and alcohol addictions.”