- 5,000
new prison places under construction - part
of biggest expansion in over a century
- Thousands of new jobs created nationwide, boosting
local economies
- Crucial step towards safer
streets under Government's Plan
for Change
A prison building boom
is underway across the country as the
Government presses ahead with the biggest jail
expansion programme since the Victorian
era.
Around 5,000 new
prison places are under construction –
including in the North West, South
East, South West and East of England –
as part of Government action to keep the
public safe and ensure jails never run out of
space again.
Once complete, they will add to the
2,900 places already delivered since July
2024, marking significant progress towards the
target of 14,000 additional places by 2031 to
lock up dangerous offenders. The latest project, a 245-place
houseblock at HMP Fosse Way in the East Midlands, opened to
prisoners last week.
The various builds are also powering local
economies, with thousands of jobs created
nationwide during construction and once the sites
are operational.
Minister for Prisons, Probation, and Reducing
Reoffending, Timpson said:
“This Government inherited a prison system in crisis –
and we're doing everything we can to fix it.
“We've already delivered 2,900 new places in
the last 18 months, with thousands more on the way. As part of
our Plan for Change we're making sure
dangerous offenders are behind bars and our streets are safer –
no excuses, just action.”
The prison estate increased by less than 500 net
places in the fourteen years to April 2024.
The thousands now under construction
are being delivered through new prison builds, the expansion
and refurbishment of existing sites, and innovative solutions
such as Rapid Deployment Cells which are modular units
designed to quickly add capacity.
Minister for Sentencing and Youth Justice, , said:
“We've wasted no time in building the
prison places needed to protect the
public, creating thousands of jobs along the way.
“But building alone will not end the crisis. That is
why we're also reforming sentencing to ensure
punishment cuts crime and that there is always
a cell for
dangerous criminals.”
Construction is already underway on new houseblocks at
HMP Channings Wood in Devon, HMP
Highpoint in Suffolk and HMP Wayland in
Thetford, adding 1400 places across the
sites. Meanwhile, expansion work has also begun
at six further prisons delivering
new Small Secure Houseblocks, which combined
will deliver over 1,000 places.
In Leicestershire, main works
have commenced on the brand-new HMP
Welland Oaks prison that will provide approximately
1,700 places when it opens in 2029.
Rapid Deployment Cells are being rolled out at sites
including HMPs Wayland, Haverigg, The Mount and
Leyhill, with places expected to come online by
summer 2026.
The Government also published its response to Dame
Anne Owers' independent review into
prison capacity today, accepting the majority
of the report's recommendations aimed at ensuring
the country is never faced with running out of cells
again. This includes increasing investment in probation
services, with up to £700
million extra already
pledged by 2028/29 - allowing tens of
thousands more offenders to be tagged
and monitored and reducing pressure on
the prison estate.
Notes to editors:
- Since July 2024 around 2,900 places have
been delivered,
including around 1,500 places through the new
prison HMP Millsike
- Around 930 places have been delivered through
Rapid Deployment Cells (RDCs) at 18 sites since January
2023
- Over 1,000 places will be delivered
through the Small Secure Houseblocks Programme (SSH)
and over 2,000 through the Accelerated Houseblocks Delivery
Programme (AHD).
- The Government is investing £4.7 billion towards the delivery
of these prison builds over this spending review period (2026/27
- 2029/30).
- The government's response to Dame
Anne Owers' independent review is available here.
