Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) male and (b) women category D prisoners were waiting for transfer to an open prison on (a) 31 January 2020 and (b) 31 January 2021.

The number of prisoners awaiting transfer is information that is only held at the level of each individual prison and the central team that co-ordinate prison transfers - Population Management (PMU) - does not have a centralised waiting list process. This is because there are complex and wide-ranging issues involved in transferring prisoners and allocation decisions must reflect both the specific needs and circumstances of the prisoner, as well as the operating environment and range of services at the receiving prison. Within the context of these often competing operational and logistical demands, PMU seeks to ensure that prisoners who have been accepted for transfer are moved as soon as is practical.

Swift and efficient transfers between prisons, particularly progressive transfers to open and resettlement prisons, are necessary and desirable because they ensure that space remains within local/reception prisons. They also ensure that prisoners are held in prisons providing an appropriate level of security as well as the appropriate interventions to allow them to progress with their sentence plan.