Select Committee · Public Accounts Committee

Prison estate capacity

Status: Closed Opened: 31 Oct 2024 Closed: 16 May 2025 9 recommendations 19 conclusions 1 report

The prison population was 87,538 people at the end of January 2024, with many adult male prisoners being held in cells designed for fewer occupants. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) committed to providing 20,000 additional prison places by the mid-2020s, deriving from a combination of six new prisons, …

Clear

Reports

1 report
Title HC No. Published Items Response
15th Report - Prison estate capacity HC 366 14 Mar 2025 28 Responded

Recommendations & Conclusions

1 item
5 Recommendation 15th Report - Prison estate capacity Acknowledged

Set out evaluation of prison capacity pressures on safety, violence, and access to services.

The prison capacity crisis risks undermining the safety and security of prisons and reduces HMPPS’s ability to rehabilitate offenders. Due to MoJ’s and HMPPS’s failure to deliver additional prison capacity, the adult male prison estate was operating at 98.0% to 99.7% occupancy between October 2022 and August 2024 and remains …

Government response. The government agrees, stating that prisons are mandated to set planned delivery focusing on purposeful activity, and governors are held accountable. It notes a substantial evaluation programme is underway for reoffending outcomes but does not specifically detail how the impact …
HM Treasury

Oral evidence sessions

1 session
Date Witnesses
27 Jan 2025 Amy Rees · HMPPS, Dame Antonia Romeo DCB · Ministry of Justice, Jim Barton · HM Prisons and Probation Service, Ross Gribbin · Ministry of Justice View ↗

Correspondence

3 letters
DateDirectionTitle
4 Sep 2025 To cttee Letter from the Chief Executive of HM Prison and Probation Service relating to …
7 Jul 2025 From cttee Letter to the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Justice relating to the fo…
31 Mar 2025 From cttee Letter to the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Justice relating to HMP Da…