Prison estate capacity

Public Accounts Committee Closed Inquiry
Opened: 31 Oct 2024 Closed: 16 May 2025 Parliament page
The prison population was 87,538 people at the end of January 2024, with many adult male prisoners being held in cells designed for fewer occupants. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and HM Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) committed to providing 20,000 additional prison places by the mid-2020s, deriving from a … Read more
9 Recommendations
19 Conclusions
1 Report
1 Oral session
3 Letters
1 Event
Activity timeline 7 events
4 Sep
2025
Correspondence
7 Jul
2025
Correspondence
16 May
2025
Report published
31 Mar
2025
Correspondence
14 Mar
2025
Report published
27 Jan
2025
Oral evidence
27 Jan
2025
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · The Grimond Room, Portcullis House
Oral evidence sessions 1 session
27 Jan 2025
View on parliament.uk
Amy Rees · HMPPS Dame Antonia Romeo DCB · Ministry of Justice Jim Barton · HM Prisons and Probation Service Ross Gribbin · Ministry of Justice
Title HC No. Published Items Response
15th Report - Prison estate capacity HC 366 14 Mar 2025 28 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
1 result
Clear
5 Recommendation Acknowledged
15th Report - Prison estate capaci…
Set out evaluation of prison capacity pressures on safety, violence, and access to services.
The prison capacity crisis risks undermining the safety and security of prisons and reduces HMPPS’s ability to rehabilitate offenders. Due to MoJ’s and HMPPS’s failure to deliver additional prison capacity, the adult male prison estate was operating at 98.0% to … Read more
Government Response
The government agrees, stating that prisons are mandated to set planned delivery focusing on purposeful activity, and governors are held accountable. It notes a substantial evaluation programme is underway for reoffending outcomes but does not specifically detail how the impact of capacity pressures on the requested key areas will be evaluated.
HM Treasury
View details
Government Response AI assessment · 27 of 9 classified
Accepted 18
Acknowledged 1
Deferred 5
Not Addressed 1
Rejected 2
Total 9 recs + 19 conclusions
Correspondence 3 letters
4 Sep 2025 To committee Letter from the Chief Executive of HM Prison and Probation Service relating to the 15th Report of Session 2024-25, Prison estate capacity, recommendations 3b and 6, 21 July 2025
Parliament page
7 Jul 2025 From committee Letter to the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Justice relating to the follow up on responses to the Committee's reports on Crown Court backlogs and Prison estate capacity, 30 June 2025
Parliament page
31 Mar 2025 From committee Letter to the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Justice relating to HMP Dartmoor, 24 March 2025
Parliament page