Andy Burnham’s government is preparing to launch what it describes as the biggest prison-building programme “since the Victorian era”, as the criminal justice system struggles with a shortage of available cells.
Justice Secretary Alex Norris is expected to announce £110mn of new investment aimed at accelerating the construction and conversion of prison accommodation, as ministers seek to add 14,000 places by 2031.
The programme reflects the scale of the capacity problem facing the prison estate, with the government under pressure to ensure there are enough cells to accommodate offenders while maintaining space for those convicted of serious and violent crimes.
Labour said the latest funding would help bring hundreds of additional places online more quickly. Existing prison facilities will also be converted into cells, including unused offices, laundry rooms and storage areas.
Norris said the government was determined to address what it described as a “broken prison system”.
“This Government is serious about fixing the broken prison system we inherited, which is why we’ve already delivered more than 3,200 prison places in just two years,” he said.
“We’re now investing to boost these efforts further, getting spades in the ground quicker to deliver thousands more places to lock up dangerous criminals and keep the public safe.”
The government is also putting money into acquiring land for potential future prison sites, in an attempt to create a pipeline of projects that can be developed beyond the current programme.
A contract has been signed to allow the first phase of construction to begin on a new 1,700-place prison on the border of Leyland and Chorley in Lancashire.
The scale of the proposed expansion comes as ministers attempt to address longstanding capacity constraints across the prison estate. The shortage of cells has increased pressure on the wider criminal justice system, with the government having to balance prison capacity against demands for tougher sentencing and the need to keep dangerous offenders behind bars.
Norris is also expected to announce an additional £18.9mn for services supporting victims of crime.
The funding is intended to provide specialist emotional and practical assistance to victims as they seek to recover from the consequences of crime.
Labour said the latest allocation comes “on top of a record £550million already announced by the Government to bolster this important support over the next three years”.
The government’s prison programme represents a substantial expansion of the physical capacity of the English and Welsh prison estate. Ministers argue that increasing the number of cells is essential to restoring resilience to a system that has faced years of overcrowding and operational pressure.
The immediate task is to deliver new places quickly, while creating sufficient land and construction capacity to sustain a longer-term expansion of the prison estate.
With 14,000 additional places promised by 2031, the government is betting on a large-scale expansion of the prison system to ease one of the most persistent pressures facing the criminal justice system.
Leave a Comment