Prisons: Standards

(asked on 14th March 2019) - View Source

Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he has taken in the last 12 months to improve physical conditions in prisons.


Answered by
Edward Argar Portrait
Edward Argar
Minister of State (Ministry of Justice)
This question was answered on 22nd March 2019

We are getting the basics right through our commitment to deliver up to 10,000 uncrowded decent prison places providing the physical conditions for governors to achieve better educational, training and rehabilitative outcomes. Alongside this, the current estate is being reconfigured so that prisoners will be held in the right place at the right time in their custodial journey to support their rehabilitation.

We are undertaking a rolling programme of capital investment to improve the physical condition of prisons. This includes projects at HMP Isle of Wight to improve the heating and upgrade the night sanitation; at HMP Bristol to deliver a new education block; and replacement of windows and cell doors at HMP Liverpool.

In addition, last summer we announced an investment of £30 million in prisons to enhance safety, security and decency across the estate. This included a £16m investment in improving the fabric of prisons, targeting those with the most pressing maintenance issues so that we begin to bring them back up to acceptable standards. With this funding we have delivered refurbishments of cells, showers and serveries at a number of prisons including HMPs Liverpool, Wandsworth and Wormwood Scrubs.

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