‘Net importer’ of inmates fear over super-prison plan
WALES will become one of the only countries in the world to “import” prisoners if plans to build a super-prison in Port Talbot go ahead, Plaid Cymru has warned.
The party has accused the UK Government of “dumping its prisons problem on Wales”.
Plaid Westminster leader Liz Saville Roberts secured a debate yesterday to try and stop the prison, which could be built on undeveloped land in Baglan, becoming a reality.
In February this year HMP Berwyn, a prison which can hold 2,106 inmates, opened in Wrexham.
Among Ms Roberts’ key concerns is that the prison is “not needed and not wanted”.
Speaking ahead of the debate, she said: “Adding Port Talbot’s 1,600 spaces to the overcapacity created by Berwyn, Wales will have 2,400 places more than is required. Even if Cardiff prison closes, we would still have a surplus of 1,600 spaces. Wales does not need more prison spaces.
“If Wales governed itself in the same way as Scotland governs itself, and had control over its own criminal justice system, we would not be building this prison.”
She is also concerned a new prison would be bad for Wales.
The Dwyfor Merionnydd MP said: “The decision to impose this prison on Wales is based on solving the crisis in England, not on serving the interests of Wales. But it is the people of Wales that will bear the burden. The cost of healthcare and policing as well as the additional burden on the community of Baglan when prisoners’ families move to the area and stay in the community after release, will fall on Welsh taxpayers.”
She said a new prison in Wales is not “the answer to the chaos in the English prison estate” and believes the jobs argument does not stack up.
Ms Roberts said: “The primary argument that both the British Government and the Labour Welsh Government invoke is that of jobs but if they close Cardiff or Swansea prisons, these new jobs would be offset by job losses elsewhere.
“Port Talbot has been through tough times of late but the answer is unequivocally not to turn Wales’ industrial powerhouse into an industrial-size penal colony to prop-up the failing English prison system.”
The MP also believes the prison would be at risk of flooding.
Speaking in the Westminster Hall debating chamber, the MP said: “Council officials have confirmed the proposed site is on a C1 flood plain, putting it in the highest bracket of flood risk areas.”
Plaid wants to see the “devolution of the criminal justice system so that Wales will no longer be subject to Westminster policy and can instead build a justice system that meets the needs of Wales”.
Aberavon Labour MP Stephen Kinnock last month said the proposed location of the prison “doesn’t make sense” and warned that construction would be “incredibly expensive and disruptive”.
Justice minister Sam Gyimah said he would “like the prison population not to be as high as it is but the punishment must fit the crime”.
Defending the selection of Port Talbot, he said: “When assessing where to build new prisons the Ministry of Justice worked very closely with the Welsh Government to identify suitable sites for a new prison build in Wales. We undertook a comprehensive evaluation of over 20 sites in south Wales...
“After careful consideration, Port Talbot was selected as the best potential site for a new category C prison build in Wales.”
He said issues about any potential flooding risk would be “flushed out during the consultation process” but it would not be “in the department’s interest to build a prison if it is on a flood plain and this is a serious technical constraint”.