The Wellingborough Chamber were not going to take the closure of Wellingborough Prison lying down and have written to The Rt.Hon Kenneth Clarke QC MP, Lord Chancellor, Secretary of State for Justice making him aware of The Chamber’s stance on this matter. Please find a copy below:
Dear Sir,
Ref: Proposed closure of Wellingborough Prison.
We write in support of our local MP, Mr. Peter Bone, who has secured a debate over the future of the prison on 5th September 2012. The prison has been located in Wellingborough for many years and contributes well to the overall prosperity of our town. Obviously the economy of Wellingborough will be severely affected if this closure is allowed to proceed at a time when we can least afford any loss of employment.
I also believe that Wellingborough prison is the third cheapest per prison place out of a total number of 122 prisons. How then can this be a decision based on cost alone when there are approximately 118 other prisons around the country that cost more to run per prisoner.
We have also noted in the press within the last few days that most prisons in this country are overfull. What will you do with these offenders? Let them out on some ‘soft’ option. We need sentences which back up the hard work of the Police and send a message to those people in society who believe that they can ‘take’ rather than work for an income.
We trust that true and meaningful debate will be allowed on this issue before any final decision is made on our prison,
Yours sincerely,
Alan Piggott
President of Wellingborough Chamber of Commerce.
cc Peter Bone MP