Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 16
16
Rejected
HMPPS faces £1.8 billion maintenance backlog with insufficient funding to address it
Conclusion
The condition of the estate also poses a risk to future capacity. Since the government’s 2010 prisons strategy, HMPPS has indefinitely closed 4,151 cells due to dilapidation.54 Furthermore, HMPPS’s maintenance backlog has doubled from £0.9 billion to £1.8 billion between 2020 and September 2024.55 MoJ estimates it needs £2.8 billion to bring the estate into a fair condition.56 MoJ acknowledged that it is generally cheaper to maintain an existing cell than to build a new one.57 MoJ and HMPPS agreed that the funding it received for maintenance in the Spending Review, £220 million in 2024–25 and £300 million in 2025–26, is not enough to make sufficient inroads into the backlog.58 However, HMPPS clarified it would need more headroom in prisons and greater market capacity to complete more than around £300 million of maintenance works per year.59
Government Response Summary
The government disagrees with the committee's conclusion and states that while HMPPS acknowledges the importance of addressing the prison estate maintenance backlog, future investment decisions will depend on the outcome of the ongoing Spending Review.
Government Response
Rejected
HM Government
Rejected
3.1 The government disagrees with the Committee’s recommendation. 3.2 HMPPS acknowledges the importance of addressing the prison estate maintenance backlog and remains committed to undertaking the necessary work to ensure compliance with fire safety standards, improve the overall condition of the estate, and reduce the risk of permanent capacity losses. Future investment decisions and corresponding business cases will depend on the outcome of the ongoing Spending Review round.