Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 21
21
Accepted
Severe overcrowding in adult male prisons increases violence and reduces prisoner wellbeing
Conclusion
The adult male estate was operating at 98.0% to 99.7% occupancy between October 2022 and August 2024, with many prisons severely overcrowded.71 HMPPS confirmed that around a quarter (23.6%) of prisoners are sharing cells designed for one person, often with an open toilet.72 The Howard League for Penal Reform provided written evidence which noted that overcrowding increases pressures in the prison environment, reducing prisoners’ wellbeing and leading to an increase in violence.73 This is reflected in increases in the rate of assaults, such as fights between prisoners which increased by 14%, and attacks on staff which increased by 19% in the year to September 2024.74
Government Response Summary
HMPPS recognises the challenges that capacity pressures have on providing a safe environment. They have evaluated the impact of prisoners living in overcrowded prison cell conditions and monitor safety data and prison performance.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
5.6 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented: April 2025 5.7 HMPPS recognises the challenges that capacity pressures have on providing a safe environment and can make it harder to effectively manage prisons. There is no single cause of self-harm or violence in prison and there are a range of interacting imported and situational factors that contribute including crowding. 5.8 The MoJ has evaluated the impact of prisoners living in overcrowded prison cell conditions with the analysis showing that they were c.20% more likely to be involved in an assault. The analysis shows that crowding does not directly impact self-harm rates, although there is some evidence that crowding may impact drivers of self-harm, including the mental wellbeing of prisoners. Self-harm is extremely complex and there are a range of clinical, custodial, historical and sociodemographic factors that increase self-harm risks and therefore, a single factor such as crowding is unlikely to be the only reason. 5.9 As outlined in the Prison Estate Expansion: Evaluation Strategy – GOV.UK , the plan is to assess the impact of different types of prison builds on prison safety, focusing on indicators such as self-harm and assaults. The expansion programme covers a range of build types, including new prisons, new houseblocks of varying sizes on existing prison sites, refurbishments, and rapid deployment cells. 5.10 HMPPS regularly monitors monthly self-harm and violence data, and the Prison Performance Tool Dashboard is used on a quarterly basis to monitor overall prison performance. One area considered is safety, with both quantitative and qualitative measures included.