Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 14
14
Ministry of Justice relies on independent sentencing review to manage future prison capacity
Recommendation
MoJ confirmed that it is relying on the Government’s response to the sentencing review to help it manage the expected gap between capacity and demand.46 Given its forecasts suggest it could run out of places again in early 2026, we challenged MoJ on whether there would be sufficient time to implement measures resulting from the review.47 It told us that it did not think the timeline was impossible. MoJ explained that timelines for the review had been considered with projected shortfalls in mind and it had been planning carefully for this.48 However, it stressed that the review is independent and it will have to ‘wait and see’ what the outcomes are.49
Government Response
A response document is linked to this report, dated 16 May 2025. Response attribution to this conclusion has not been verified. Read the response document ↗