Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the answer of 14 July 2022 to question 33745 on Prisons, if he will take steps to ensure that the Prison Group Director gives effect to the standard set by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment that all prisoners in multi-occupancy cells are afforded a minimum of four square metres of living space.

New prison accommodation being delivered under the Government’s prison expansion programme, including at the recently opened HMP Five Wells, will meet the standard set by the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, that all prisoners in multi-occupancy cells are afforded a minimum of four square metres of living space.

Some cells in older prisons - Victorian prisons, for example – may fall short of these recommended minimum standards. In such cases, other alleviating factors are found. These factors include in particular the fact that prisoners are able to spend a considerable amount of time each day outside their cells (in workshops, classes or other activities).

On 22 April 2022, HMPPS published a revised framework for the certification of prisoner accommodation. Cells are only shared where a Prison Group Director has assessed them to be decent and of an adequate size and condition. In addition, they must have adequate lighting, heating, ventilation and fittings, have 24-hour access to water and sanitation, and allow prisoners to communicate at any time with a prison officer. These standards ensure that prisoners are accommodated safely even when two prisoners are held in a cell (originally designed for one).