Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministerial Statement

Prison Capacity Strategy

12 December 2024 · 12 other contributors

Opened by Alex Davies-Jones Lab Pontypridd

Justice & Courts

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Alex Davies-Jones raised concerns about prison capacity strategy in the House of Commons. A government minister responded. Other MPs also contributed.

Key points

  • The Minister, Alex Davies-Jones, discussed the 10-year prison capacity strategy and the annual prison capacity statement.
  • The previous government's commitment to build 20,000 additional prison places was not met, leading to emergency measures.
  • The current strategy aims to build 14,000 additional prison places by 2031 and includes contingency plans for resilience.

How the debate unfolded

MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said.

Government Statement

Alex Davies-Jones

The Minister, Alex Davies-Jones, delivered a statement on the 10-year prison capacity strategy and annual prison capacity statement published by the Government. The previous Government's failure to deliver on their commitment to build 20,000 additional prison places left the system short of required capacity, leading to emergency measures such as releasing prisoners early. The current strategy aims to build 14,000 additional prison places by 2031 and includes contingency plans for resilience in the building programme. It also sets out plans for streamlining delivery through planning reforms and securing new land for future builds. The Government will legislate to publish an annual statement on prison capacity, ensuring transparency and accountability for long-term planning. An independent sentencing review is underway to ensure a balanced approach between demand and supply of prison places.

Other contributors (12)
  • Kieran Mullan Con Bexhill and Battle

    Question

    How does the shadow minister respond to Labour's record on early prisoner releases, comparing it with current government actions?

    Minister reply

    The Minister did not provide a direct response in the provided text. However, she emphasised taking difficult decisions necessary to prevent a total collapse of law and order.

  • Kieran Mullan Con Bexhill and Battle

    Question

    The MP thanked the Minister for advance sight of her remarks and criticised Labour's record on early prisoner release. He cited statistics showing that under the last Labour Government, 80,000 prisoners were released early. The MP also highlighted an unprecedented spike in remand populations due to COVID-19.

    Minister reply

    The Minister rebutted the shadow's criticism by pointing out the chaotic situation inherited from the previous government and highlighted actions taken such as increasing Crown court sitting days and extending magistrates’ sentencing powers. She also emphasised deporting foreign national offenders, mentioning that more than 1,500 have been deported since taking office.

  • Andrew Slaughter Lab Hammersmith and Chiswick

    Question

    The MP welcomed the prison capacity strategy and questioned whether a long-term reduction in prisoner numbers could be achieved without changes to sentencing policy. He asked about rehabilitation strategies to reduce reoffending.

    Minister reply

    The Minister thanked the Chair of the Justice Committee for his question and stated that tackling reoffending is indeed a priority, but emphasised the need for prison capacity to first protect public safety before focusing on rehabilitation.

  • Josh Babarinde Lib Dem Eastbourne

    Question

    The MP criticised years of neglect under previous Conservative Governments and questioned the criteria for reviewing the SDS40 scheme next year. He highlighted the need to reduce reoffending as a key solution to tackling prison overcrowding.

    Minister reply

    The Minister confirmed her commitment to reducing reoffending but noted that immediate action was necessary due to overcrowded prisons. She explained measures taken under SDS40 and plans to prevent future emergency releases by focusing on rehabilitation.

  • Alex Barros-Curtis Lab Cardiff West

    Question

    The MP thanked the Minister for her statement and questioned what other steps would be taken to bridge a potential gap in prison places, noting concerns about running out of space by November 2025.

    Minister reply

    The Minister outlined immediate actions such as increasing magistrates’ sentencing powers from six to twelve months. She also mentioned exploring new technologies and models like the one used in Texas where offenders can earn time off their sentences for good behaviour.

  • Neil Shastri-Hurst Con Solihull West and Shirley

    Question

    This strategy does little more than commit to deliver the 14,000 places that the previous Government committed to delivering. To what extent have the Government factored in optimism bias when working out the delivery timeframe?

    Minister reply

    The display from the Conservative party is staggering given the inheritance we were left with. We have published a realistic strategy for how we plan to deliver this, offering real solutions and committing to transparency annually.

  • Sureena Brackenridge Lab Wolverhampton North East

    Question

    The Conservative Government failed to deliver 20,000 promised prison places. Does the Minister agree that publishing an annual statement on prison places will allow transparency and accountability?

    Minister reply

    I could not agree more. We are transparent about how we will deliver these places annually to ensure the public is never left in the dark.

  • Neil O'Brien Con Harborough, Oadby and Wigston

    Question

    Instead of letting dangerous criminals out on early release, it would be better to sort out the remand backlog and increase prison places for people on remand. At what point will the number of prisoners waiting on remand be returned to pre-pandemic levels?

    Minister reply

    We are tackling the remand population by increasing Crown court sitting days and sentencing powers for magistrates courts, with plans to be published in due course.

  • Peter Swallow Lab Bracknell

    Question

    Would a better response to the statement not have been a much simpler, one-word answer—sorry?

    Minister reply

    My hon. Friend hits the nail on the head. Sorry seems to be the hardest word for the Conservative party. This Government have started as they mean to go on and delivered nearly 500 places within six months.

  • Damian Hinds Con East Hampshire

    Question

    The Minister needs to work on remand population and sentencing review, replacing older capacity with newer prisons conducive to rehabilitation. Will she confirm what new ideas will be incorporated into the new prisons?

    Minister reply

    We are tackling our remand population, increasing magistrates' sentencing powers, building new prison places, and launching an independent sentencing review to ensure better outcomes for prisoners and protect the public.

  • Paul Kohler Lib Dem Wimbledon

    Question

    Will she confirm what new ideas will be incorporated into the new prisons? Rehabilitation, not incarceration, is key.

    Minister reply

    The hon. Gentleman makes a valid point. We cannot build our way out of this problem and are focusing on preventing reoffending with an independent sentencing review to halve violence against women and girls and knife crime within a decade.

Shadow Comment

Kieran Mullan

The shadow minister, Kieran Mullan, criticised the Labour government's record on early prisoner releases and changes to sentencing laws. He highlighted that during the last Labour Government, 80,000 prisoners were released early compared to 5,500 under the current Conservative administration. The spike in the remand population is attributed directly to the impact of COVID-19.

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