Asked by: Louie French (Conservative - Old Bexley and Sidcup)
Question to the Ministry of Justice:
To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to increase prison capacity.
Answered by Edward Argar - Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
The Government is currently delivering 10,000 new prison places by the end of 2025 and have a long-term commitment to build 20,00 places overall, which is the largest prison building programme in Britain since the Victorian era. We have already delivered c.5,900 of these, including through our two brand new modern and secure prisons. A third prison will open next year, and two more have planning permission; as a result, the total number of prison places is significantly higher than in 2010 and will rise further.
Meanwhile, with a new prisoner transfer agreement with Albania and expansion of the Early Removal Scheme, strong and decisive action is being taken to drive down the number of Foreign National Offenders in our prisons.