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Written question asked by Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour) on Wednesday, 8 July 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 13 July 2026. It was answered by Jake Richards (Labour) on Thursday, 16 July 2026 on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.

Prison Accommodation: Fire Prevention

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent progress he has made on the installation of Automatic Fire Detection across prison accommodation.

Answer

Under this Government, H M Prison & Probation Service has adopted a strategic approach to fire safety improvement across the prison estate, prioritising the installation of in-cell automatic fire detection (AFD) to minimise the risk of harm from fires as quickly as possible. This approach, which has resulted in approximately 4000 prison places being made fire safety compliant since July 2024, reflects the assessment that AFD provides the most significant immediate reduction in life safety risk by enabling the earliest possible identification of fire.

The current number of prison places with in-cell AFD is 70,975 out of a total of 89,795 operational places across the prison estate (79 per cent).

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
16982
Session
2026-27
Grouped for answer
Yes
Subjects
Fire prevention Prisons Automation Prison accommodation
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk