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, …

Reports

1 report

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

Recommendations & Conclusions

2 items

13 Conclusion 15th Report - Prison estate capacity Not Addressed

Ministry of Justice projects significant prison capacity shortfall by early 2026

According to its December 2024 statement on prison capacity, in its central forecast MoJ will run out of capacity again by early 2026 and will be 5,400 places short by November 2027.40 This is lower than the 12,400 places shortfall reported by the NAO.41 MoJ confirmed this is because its …

Government response. The government disagrees with the Committee’s recommendation and states HMPPS acknowledges the importance of addressing the prison estate maintenance backlog, with future investment decisions depending on the outcome of the ongoing Spending Review round.

HM Treasury

19 Conclusion 15th Report - Prison estate capacity

HMPPS extended Dartmoor lease despite radon, requiring further investment for reopening

To help with capacity pressures, HMPPS recently extended its lease for HMP Dartmoor by 25 years, starting in 2023–24, despite the detection of radon gas in 2020. It closed the prison temporarily in July 2024, following the detection of high radon readings.66 Given the likely substantial costs involved with any …

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

Date	Direction	Title
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…

Accepted	18
Acknowledged	1
Deferred	5
Not Addressed	1
Rejected	2