Written question asked by Claire Curtis-Thomas (Labour) on Thursday, 30 October 2003, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 11 November 2003. It was answered by Paul Goggins (Labour) on Tuesday, 11 November 2003 on behalf of the Home Office.

Home Office

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to prevent overcrowding in prisons. - Including figures.

Answer: Mrs. Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to prevent overcrowding in prisons. [136249] Paul Goggins: Levels of overcrowding are determined by Prison Service Area Managers and monitored carefully on the basis of operational judgment and experience. As part of the Prison Service building programme, the Government are investing £1.3 billion in the three years up to 2005-06 on building and operating additional capacity. The Prison Service will provide around 3,000 additional places in existing prisons by 2006. A further 1,290 places will be provided through the new prisons currently under construction at Ashford (near Heathrow) and at Peterborough. In addition, a new unit at Birmingham prison has opened recently, six months ahead of schedule, and provides an additional 452 places. We are further managing the prison population through the use of the Home Detention Curfew (HOC) through reforms to the criminal justice system. An amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill will make foreign national prisoners who are serving determinate sentences of more than three months liable to deportation up to four and a half months early. The measure brings the foreign nationals in line with UK prisoners who are eligible to apply for HOC. The same risk assessment procedures will apply.

Secondary information