Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether beds of prisoners who have been released on temporary licence are counted as available for the purposes of determining capacity.

Where a prisoner is authorised to temporarily leave prison, including hospital visits and release on temporary licence (ROTL), their bed remains allocated to them. This reflects the fact that such absences are strictly time limited and the prisoner must return within the short term. Their bed is not therefore considered vacant for the purpose of determining available capacity.