Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many women’s prisons his Department plans to close in the next four years.

On 27 June we published our strategy for female offenders, which sets out our vision to see fewer women in custody, especially on short-term sentences, and a greater proportion of women managed in the community successfully.

We previously announced, in 2013, our intention to close HM Prison and Young Offender Institution Askham Grange and HMP Prison and Young Offender Institution East Sutton Park. However no dates were set for the closure of these establishments.

No further decisions have been made about future prison closures (male or female) beyond those which have already been announced.