3. Urgent Question: The Decision to Build a Prison in Port Talbot

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 2:42 pm on 22 March 2017.

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Photo of David Rees David Rees Labour 2:42, 22 March 2017

I thank the Cabinet Secretary for that answer. This decision was taken by the Westminster Government before any public consultation had taken place and I deeply regret that they have not taken the opportunities available to them, although I do recognise that the planning process will allow opportunities, perhaps, for that wider public consultation.

They don’t seem to be identifying specific sites, although it has come to my attention that perhaps it’s on Welsh Government land, on Baglan industrial estate, off Moor Road. Can you confirm that? Can you also identify what impact assessments have been undertaken of local services—health, whether physical or mental health, education, particularly for the inmates who will be going to the prison, and perhaps on transport issues, because, clearly, who will be paying those costs as well? What support services are being identified for those inmates who will be released from prison and where will they be located?

We can use HMP Berwyn as an example, perhaps, as an assessment to be made of the local benefits, but have you been given any indication as to how many jobs are being created as a consequence of this decision, particularly in light of the Cardiff University data that have been released today, identifying the fact that, if Port Talbot is an additional prison, then there’s going to be an overcapacity for the number of Welsh prisoners who will need to be housed. Does that imply that Cardiff and Swansea are under review and possibly fit for closure, which means that jobs will not be created, but be transferred instead, which, therefore, has a different impact upon the site? I recognise that some of those aspects may be for the Ministry of Justice to answer, but have you asked those questions and have you had answers to those questions?