| Statutory Instrument | |
 | |
| Citation | 2014 No. 3 |
|---|---|
| Introduced by | Jeremy Wright, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Ministry of Justice |
| Dates | |
| Made | 6 January 2014 |
| Commencement | 31 January 2014 |
Status: Spent | |
| Text of the Closure of Prisons Order 2014 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk. | |
The Closure of Prisons Order 2014 is a statutory instrument of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The order closed several prisons in England.
The provisions of the order include:
The United Kingdom has three distinct legal systems with a separate prison system in each: one for both England and Wales, one for Scotland, and one for Northern Ireland. As of June 2023, the United Kingdom has the highest per-capita incarceration rate in Western Europe, at 159 people per 100,000 in England and Wales; 162 people per 100,000 in Scotland; 97 people per 100,000 in Northern Ireland; and the largest prison population in Western Europe. The average cost per prison place was £46,696 in England and Wales (2021/22), £46,892 in Scotland (2021/22), and £47,927 in Northern Ireland (2022/23).
Northallerton is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. The town is located near the River Wiske in the Vale of Mowbray. It had a population of 16,832 in the 2011 census, an increase from 15,741 in 2001. Northallerton is the county town of North Yorkshire and the administrative centre of North Yorkshire Council; until 1974 it was part of the North Riding of Yorkshire, of which it was also the county town.
His Majesty's Prison Service (HMPS) is a part of HM Prison and Probation Service, which is the part of His Majesty's Government charged with managing most of the prisons within England and Wales.
HM Prison The Verne is a Category C men's prison located within the historic Verne Citadel on the Isle of Portland in Dorset, England. Operated by His Majesty's Prison Service, HMP The Verne was established in 1949 and occupies the southern part of the citadel. After a brief spell as an Immigration Removal Centre in 2014–2017, HMP The Verne re-opened in 2018.
HMP Weare was an Adult Male/Category C prison ship berthed in Portland Harbour in Dorset, England. It was the latest in a lengthy history of British prison ships, which included HMS Maidstone, used as a prison during Operation Demetrius in the 1970s, HMS Argenta, in use as a prison in the 1920s, and a long list of British prison hulks dating from the late 18th-century to the mid 19th-century.
HM Prison Reading, popularly known as Reading Gaol, is a former prison located in Reading, Berkshire, England. The prison was operated by His Majesty's Prison Service until its closure at the start of 2014. It is a Grade II listed building and sits on the site of Reading Abbey.
HM Prison Low Newton is a closed prison for female adults and young offenders in Brasside, County Durham, England. The prison, which is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service, is next to HMP Frankland, a Category A men's prison. Notable inmates at the prison include formerly Rosemary West, as well as spree killer Joanna Dennehy.
HMP & YOI Cornton Vale was a women's prison and young offenders institution in Stirling, Scotland operated by the Scottish Prison Service. The facility comprised a total of 217 cells in its 5 houses. It accepted solely convicted women and girls from 1975 until 1978. In 1978 Parliament passed the necessary legislation to allow females to be held there on remand. Cornton Vale houses female adults and young offenders in Scotland, alongside HMP Grampian, HMP Edinburgh and HMP Polmont. In April 1999, the separation of adults and young offenders was attained. Lady Martha Bruce was the first Governor. The current Governor at Cornton Vale is Paula Arnold.
In the United Kingdom, prisoners are divided into four categories of security. Each adult is assigned to a category according to their crime, sentence, the risk of escape, and violent tendencies. The categories are designated with the letters A to D, with A being the highest level of security, and D the lowest.
Wetherby Young Offenders Institution is a male juveniles prison, located in Wetherby, West Yorkshire, England. The YOI is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service.
HM Prison Northallerton was a prison in Northallerton, North Yorkshire, England. It operated from 1788 until December 2013. During that time, it variously housed male and female adult prisoners, women with children, youth offenders, and military prisoners. Latterly Her Majesty's Prison Service struggled to keep the old prison operating to modern standards, and citing the costs of doing so and the relatively small size of the institution, it closed the prison in 2014. The prison was bought by Hambleton District Council, which is currently redeveloping the site.
HM Prison Glen Parva was an adult male prison and Young Offenders Institution, located in Glen Parva, Leicestershire, England. Glen Parva was operated by His Majesty's Prison Service from 1974 to 2017; from July 2011 onwards, it was an adult and young offenders institution.
HM Prison Styal is a Closed Category prison for female adults and young offenders in Styal, Cheshire, England. The prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service.
HM Prison Exeter is a category B local and resettlement men's prison, located in Exeter in the county of Devon, England. It holds men sentenced by the courts of Devon, Cornwall, Dorset and Somerset. There are also prisoners from further afield who have been transferred from other prisons. Exeter Prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service.
HM Prison Foston Hall is a women's closed category prison and Young Offenders Institution, located in the village of Foston in Derbyshire, England. The prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service.
HM Prison Dorchester was a local men's prison, located in Dorchester in Dorset, England. The prison was operated by His Majesty's Prison Service, and closed in January 2014.
The prisons in Wales are run by His Majesty's Prison Service, which is in turn a part of HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) which is an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice responsible for the correctional services in England and Wales. The objectives of prison confinement in Wales is threefold: to "hold prisoners securely", to "reduce the risk of prisoners re-offending" and to "provide safe and well-ordered establishments in which we treat prisoners humanely, decently and lawfully".
The Grove is a small village located at Tophill on the Isle of Portland in Dorset. The village is found close to the larger village Easton, and is most notable for containing the HM Prison Portland, including its museum Grove Prison Museum. As with the rest of Portland's villages and settlements, The Grove has been designated as a conservation area, as it is a place of special architectural and historic interest. The village was designated in 1981.
The Salt Pans are two salt pans on the Isle of Portland, Dorset, England. Both pans sit next to one another, and are situated on the coastline of East Weares, the east side of Portland. The pans sit directly below the Young Offenders Institution HM Prison Portland, and are found close to various old historic relics such as the East Weare Rifle Range, Folly Pier, King's Pier and the remains of the Folly Pier Waterworks. The East Weares area, including the Salt Pans, has been labelled a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), largely due to the scrub and wildlife being of high nature conservation value.