Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of repurposing empty buildings for use as prisons.

We are committed to delivering 20,000 prison places and accelerating the prison building programme to ensure we have the cells we need. In relation to repurposing empty buildings for use as prisons, we continue to investigate any options which present viable ways to increase the number of places in the estate, which are also compliant with security standards. This enables us to deliver a secure environment which provides a prison regime that is safe for both prisoners and staff, and ultimately keeps the public safe.

The government has committed to a 10-year capacity strategy which will include the steps we will take to ensure we have a sustainable pipeline of prison places in delivery over the next decade, and ultimately reduce reoffending and drive down the prison population.