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Written question asked by Andrew Snowden (Conservative) on Wednesday, 8 July 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 14 July 2026 (named day). It was answered by Jake Richards (Labour) on Tuesday, 14 July 2026 on behalf of the Ministry of Justice.

Prisons: Construction

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many new prisons have been (a) planned and (b) approved since 5 July 2024.

Answer

As set out in the December 2024 10-Year Prison Capacity Strategy, we are committed to delivering an additional 14,000 prison places and aim to do so by 2031; we have already delivered c.3,200 of these since taking office.

No new prisons have been (a) planned or (b) approved since 5 July 2024.

However, since 5 July 2024, the delivery of c.1,080 places have been approved through the Small Secure Houseblocks programme at the following sites:

  • HMP Northumberland

  • HMP Lancaster Farms

  • HMP Humber

  • HMP Ranby

  • HMP Onley

  • HMP Erlestoke

We have also uplifted the Accelerated Houseblock Delivery Programme by c.125 places at HMP Wayland.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
17067
Session
2026-27
Subjects
Construction Planning permission Prisons
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk