Michael Fabricant has sought clarification from the Ministry of Justice
regarding the site of 5 new prisons, each holding 1500 inmates,
announced by Jack Straw earlier this week.

Michael says: "The list of possible sites published under Freedom of
Information regulations related to 3 so-called ‘Titan’ prisons each
housing 2,500 prisoners. The list was compiled in May 2008. Earlier
this week, Jack Straw said these would be replaced by 5 smaller prisons
and announced the locations of two of them.

"Speaking to the Jack Straw’s office this morning, I have been told that
the 2008 list, which included Curborough, will be scrapped and a new
list compiled of potential locations for the smaller prisons. This new
list might well include Curborough again together with many more
additional sites made possible because of the smaller size of the new
prisons.

"I explained to the officials in the Ministry that a recent proposal for
an eco-town which was supposed to have been on Fradley Airfield was, in
fact, mainly to be developed on farming land and was totally
unacceptable. I have now asked for information relating to the area of
the new prisons and I will take soundings locally if a prison sited only
on the old airfield and creating jobs in the area would be acceptable.

"In any event, I understand that the new list will not be compiled for
12 months or so by which time there might be a change of Government and
policy."