A bold 10-year Prison Capacity Strategy aims to create 14,000 new prison places by 2031, ensuring the justice system can accommodate dangerous criminals and keep communities safe.

Key highlights of the Strategy:

- £2.3 billion investment: allocated over the next two years to fund new prison construction and expansion projects.

- accelerated planning: prisons will be designated as sites of national importance, cutting through red tape and reducing planning delays.

- future-proofing the system: land acquisition for additional prison sites is planned to meet potential future demand.

Building safer communities

As part of the government’s "Plan for Change," four new prisons are set to open over the next seven years, providing 6,500 places for dangerous offenders. Additionally, 6,400 places will be added to existing facilities, with 1,000 rapid deployment cells and 1,000 refurbished cells enhancing the current infrastructure.

Tackling a long-standing problem

The government’s commitment to prison capacity comes in response to years of underinvestment. Between 2010 and early 2024, the prison system expanded by fewer than 500 places, leaving the system struggling to keep pace with rising demand. 

Recent developments

The Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government recently approved plans for a new prison adjacent to HMP Garth in Lancashire, unlocking 1,700 places on greenbelt land after over three years of planning delays. 

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”.

Accountability and transparency

To maintain public confidence, the government will publish an Annual Statement on Prison Capacity, detailing progress on building projects and the availability of prison spaces. The first of these reports has been released alongside the strategy.

Sentencing reforms

The Prison Capacity Strategy complements the Independent Sentencing Review, chaired by the Rt Hon David Gauke, which seeks to ensure serious offenders receive appropriate sentences and sufficient prison capacity exists to enforce them.

With this comprehensive approach, the government aims to resolve the current prison capacity crisis, deliver on its promise to protect the public, and restore trust in the justice system.

Photo by Derek Harper, Wikimedia commons.