Source · Select Committees · Justice Committee
Recommendation 3
3
Deferred
Paragraph: 38
It is welcome that the new prison places planned as part of the Government’s expansion...
Recommendation
It is welcome that the new prison places planned as part of the Government’s expansion of the estate will be designed to better accommodate older prisoners and others with disabilities or limited mobility. However, the number of new places delivered under existing expansion projects has been limited. In addition, much of the existing prison estate is unsuited to the needs of older prisoners, and there is a substantial backlog of maintenance works. We recommend that the long-term prison estate strategy in development specifically addresses the provision of reasonable adjustments and physical adaptations necessary to meeting the needs of the ageing population in existing prisons. In its response to this report, the Government should also update the Committee on the timeframe for publishing the long-term estate strategy in light of the Covid-19 pandemic, especially given the greater propensity of older people to contract the disease.
Government response summary AI-generated
The government states it is considering models for older offenders within an upcoming older offenders strategy and will provide updates upon its publication. However, it defers addressing the specific provision of physical adaptations in existing prisons as part of the long-term prison estate strategy, and does not provide a timeframe for its publication.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Paragraph Reference:
38
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government · verbatim extract
Deferred
• The Prime Minister has previously made clear his focus on tackling crime, and last year announced investment of up to £2.5 billion to provide 10,000 additional places that are decent, safe and secure. Alongside meeting the immediate need of protecting the prison population against the threat of covid-19, we are working towards delivering these additional places over the next six years, and the needs of older prisoners and those with mobility challenges have specifically been considered in the design of these new prisons, to ensure that buildings are accessible. For example, in the new build resettlement prisons at Wellingborough and Glen Parva, improvements include bedrooms suitable for those with reduced mobility, level access across the site, and provision of lifts in all buildings to ensure all areas of the prison are accessible, as well as finishes known to aid way- finding and orientation for those with reduced cognition or visual impairments. • At the same time, we are also developing our long-term plans now to ensure we deliver a resilient and sustainable prison estate in the future. As part of this, we will build on learning from Wellingborough and other parts of our current expansion programme, to explore how the prison environment can best support all cohorts, but in particular those who are most vulnerable such older prisoners. • We will provide an update and outline our plans towards the end of the year, allowing us to consult with the committee and others early next year, and move towards publication of a long-term estates strategy.
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