Former Prisons Minister and Reigate MP, Crispin Blunt, has welcomed the Government’s decision to re-open HMP Downview on the outskirts of Banstead in his constituency.
The prison will be refurbished and will re-open for sentenced women. The unsuitable Holloway prison for women will be closed.
Crispin Blunt said:
“I welcome the announcement to re-open HMP Downview with improved facilities. Downview will be able to provide more secure and humane conditions for sentenced women with single cells, improved visits for children and more space for workshops and sports. With this investment in Downview, I am pleased that the Government is in a position to close the expensive and unsuitable HMP Holloway. Downview will be a much more suitable site.
“I welcome the Government’s investment in the prisons estate, including nine new prisons with enhanced facilities for work and education. This builds on a social reform agenda in criminal justice which I believe, from my experience as Prisons Minister under the last Government, is central to rehabilitation of offenders, reducing crime and protecting the public.”