Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to Prison Population Projections 2020 to 2026, England and Wales, published on 26 November 2020, if he will make an estimate of expected aggregate Certified Normal Accommodation in (a) youth custody, (b) women’s prisons and (c) men’s prisons for (i) September 2021, (ii) September 2022, i(ii) September 2023, (iv) September 2024, (v) September 2025 and (vi) September 2026.

Prison numbers can fluctuate, which is why we have a robust set of plans in place to ensure we will always have enough places for offenders sent to custody by the courts.

Over the next six years, additional capacity will come in to use for a range of reasons. These reasons include new build prison accommodation, existing accommodation returning to use following the completion of essential maintenance or places coming into use following a change in function. We have committed over £4 billion capital funding to make significant progress in delivering 18,000 additional prison places across the prison estate by the mid-2020s.

These 18,000 prison places includes the 10,000 places being made available through the construction of four new prisons, the expansion of a further four prisons, refurbishment of the existing prison estate and the completion of our ongoing prison builds at HMP Five Wells and Glen Parva. New programmes will also provide additional prison places and contribute to the 18,000.

We also continue to progress work to establish our first secure school in Medway. These places are separate to the 18,000 additional prison place programmes.

Places can also be taken out of use for a number of reasons, including deterioration in the standard and condition of the accommodation. Other decreases are the result of accommodation being taken out of use for essential maintenance/refurbishment.