Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the Written Statement of 11 March 2024 on Update on Foreign National Offenders, Prisons and Probation, HCWS332, whether the new 10,000 prison places include rapid deployment cells.

We are delivering 20,000 additional, modern prison places, the largest prison build programme since the Victorian era, ensuring the right conditions are in place to rehabilitate prisoners, helping to cut crime and protect the public. So far c.5,900 places have been delivered.

Of these places, we have so far delivered c.670 Rapid Deployment Cells (RDCs) across 12 sites. By the end of 2025 we are on track to have delivered around 10,000 places in total, this will include hundreds more RDCs. We are looking at all options to accelerate delivery of all types of places across the estate.