Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 25
25
Deferred
MoJ's prison capacity expansion plans face significant funding and inflationary challenges.
Recommendation
MoJ told us it has multiple options to increase prison capacity, including building new prisons and refurbishing the existing estate. MoJ told us it plans to increase prisoner capacity by 20,000 places at a cost of £3.8 billion, but it will need more funding after 2024–25 to bring its planned six new prisons ‘online’.63 It told us that since September 2022 HMPPS has brought online 2,500 of these new places though refurbishing the existing prison estate. In addition, MoJ told us it will be “very challenging” to build new prison capacity and increase the number of staff in the prison and probation service given current inflation, with less money in real terms.64
Government Response Summary
The government accepted the recommendation in principle and committed to responding to the Committee by May 2024 with projections for prison population, new prisons, and resettlement demand. They will also publish a new independently scrutinised annual statement on prison capacity, future demand, and build pipeline.
Government Response
Deferred
HM Government
Deferred
The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: May 2024 The MoJ will respond to the Committee by the six-month deadline, setting out the projections for its prison population, bringing six new prisons online, and the level of demand for resettlement services. In addition, the department will be publishing a new annual statement into prison capacity and an update on prison build, as announced to Parliament on 16 October 2023. This will include a clear statement of current prison capacity, future demand, and a forward pipeline of prison build, which will be independently scrutinised. Following publication of the annual statement, HMPPS will write to the Committee with further information in response to the recommendation above. The department will also consider the level of demand for resettlement services alongside the National Audit Office report recommendation for longer term strategy on resettlement provisions.