UK Government plans 14,000 new prison places
Image courtesy Ministry of Justice
It is part of the UK Government’s Plan for Change and its mission to make streets safer, four new prisons will be built in the next seven years, opening up around 6,500 places to lock up dangerous criminals.
Under the 10-year prison capacity strategy, unveiled by the Lord Chancellor Shabana Mahmood today, a further 6,400 places will be built in new blocks on current sites, 1,000 rapid deployment cells will be rolled out and over 1,000 existing cells will be refurbished.
Prisons will be deemed sites of national importance, preventing lengthy planning delays and new land will be acquired for future prisons and £2.3 billion will be invested to back this prison build, while a further £500 million will go towards vital building maintenance across prisons and the probation service.
The strategy out today also reveals the scale of the problem this government is facing, after capacity of the prison estate increased by less than 500 places in the 14 years to April 2024.
To get shovels into the ground fast, changes to planning rules will see prisons deemed as sites of national importance, reflecting their critical importance to public protection. This will put an end to lengthy delays in the planning process which are stopping new prisons from being built as quickly as needed.
The government will also get ahead of demand with an ambition to acquire new land for potential future prisons if needed and to make sure the supply always keeps up with demand.
Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: "The last government pretended they could send people away for longer and longer without building the prisons they promised. This strategy reveals that their prison building plans were years delayed and nearly £5bn over budget. They left our prisons in crisis, on the edge of collapse.
"Part of our plan for change, this capacity strategy, alongside an independent review of sentencing policy, will keep our streets safe and ensure no government runs out of prison places again."
Around 500 places have been added in the last few months, as part of the 20,000 place prison expansion programme.
Last week, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government also gave the go ahead for a new prison next to HMP Garth in Lancashire - on greenbelt land - after three years and four months in the planning system. This will allow for around 1,700 prison places to be built on the site.
In the last decade, despite significant increases in the time offenders spent in prison, there was no transparency with the public over the growing gulf between supply and demand.
To make sure this government, and future administrations, are always properly held to account on prison building and the long-term impact of changes to sentencing, from now on an Annual Statement on Prison Capacity will be published, providing clarity to Parliament and the public on the availability of prison places.
Today, the Lord Chancellor has published the first statement of its kind.
The 10-year Prison Capacity Strategy will work alongside the Independent Sentencing Review to ensure there is always space in prison and the country never runs out of prison spaces ever again.
The Independent Sentencing Review, chaired by the Rt Hon David Gauke, will make sure the most serious offenders can always be sent to prison to protect the public.
The government has committed to strengthening the approach to national planning policy to make clear that significant weight should be places on the importance of new, expanded or upgraded infrastructure – including prisons.
The Ministry of Housing and Local Government intends to publish the response to an ongoing consultation and revised National Planning Policy Framework later this year.
The government is investing £220 million in prison and probation service maintenance in 2024-2025 and up to £300 million in 2025-26, to improve conditions and keep prisons safe and secure.
