The new contractor for the construction of the additional places at HMP Birmingham is Galliford Try Construction Limited.

This Government has already delivered c.3,100 new places, as part of the biggest prison expansion programme since the Victorian era.

We are no longer delivering at HMP Leyhill under the Category D Expansion Programme. Around 100 additional places are currently in construction at HMP Leyhill under the Rapid Deployment Cells Programme.

At HMPs Ford, Standford Hill, Birmingham, Liverpool and Prescoed, work remains ongoing following ISG’s administration in September 2024. Pre-construction work is either underway or complete at these sites, and all have a new contractor. The scope of the project at HMP Ford is 360 Category D additional places and at HMP Standford Hill, 240 Category D additional places.

At HMP Erlestoke, 66 Rapid Deployment Cells which were contracted to ISG have been delivered. Separate to this, 180 places are being delivered by the Small Secure Houseblocks Programme. This project was not impacted by ISG entering administration, as it is being delivered by Wates Construction and is now in main works.

Accounting for the impact of ISG’s administration, we remain on track to deliver the 14,000 additional prison places by 2031.

This Government has already delivered c.3,100 new places, as part of the biggest prison expansion programme since the Victorian era.

We are no longer delivering at HMP Leyhill under the Category D Expansion Programme. Around 100 additional places are currently in construction at HMP Leyhill under the Rapid Deployment Cells Programme.

At HMPs Ford, Standford Hill, Birmingham, Liverpool and Prescoed, work remains ongoing following ISG’s administration in September 2024. Pre-construction work is either underway or complete at these sites, and all have a new contractor. The scope of the project at HMP Ford is 360 Category D additional places and at HMP Standford Hill, 240 Category D additional places.

At HMP Erlestoke, 66 Rapid Deployment Cells which were contracted to ISG have been delivered. Separate to this, 180 places are being delivered by the Small Secure Houseblocks Programme. This project was not impacted by ISG entering administration, as it is being delivered by Wates Construction and is now in main works.

Accounting for the impact of ISG’s administration, we remain on track to deliver the 14,000 additional prison places by 2031.

This Government has already delivered c.3,100 new places, as part of the biggest prison expansion programme since the Victorian era.

We are no longer delivering at HMP Leyhill under the Category D Expansion Programme. Around 100 additional places are currently in construction at HMP Leyhill under the Rapid Deployment Cells Programme.

At HMPs Ford, Standford Hill, Birmingham, Liverpool and Prescoed, work remains ongoing following ISG’s administration in September 2024. Pre-construction work is either underway or complete at these sites, and all have a new contractor. The scope of the project at HMP Ford is 360 Category D additional places and at HMP Standford Hill, 240 Category D additional places.

At HMP Erlestoke, 66 Rapid Deployment Cells which were contracted to ISG have been delivered. Separate to this, 180 places are being delivered by the Small Secure Houseblocks Programme. This project was not impacted by ISG entering administration, as it is being delivered by Wates Construction and is now in main works.

Accounting for the impact of ISG’s administration, we remain on track to deliver the 14,000 additional prison places by 2031.

ISG Construction Limited ceased work on all Ministry of Justice sites on the date of their administration, 20 September 2024. This included HMP Birmingham, HMP Liverpool and HMP Prescoed.

We are investing £3.8bn over the next three years to deliver 20,000 additional prison place by the mid 2020s. We are on track to deliver these places which include the refurbishments HMP Liverpool and HMP Birmingham and the new houseblock at HMP Norwich.

This government is committed to reducing the risk of homelessness on release from custody. In support of this, the MoJ have published a policy framework which mandates the roles and responsibilities of both prison and probation staff in making effective referrals to Local Authorities in relation to those at risk of homelessness at this critical point.

In relation to immediate releases from Court, where an individual is homeless or at risk of homelessness at the point of sentence, the Probation Service Court Team take steps to ensure that a referral to the Local Housing Authority is undertaken.

In addition, Pre-Release teams working in prisons currently provide a service to those who are unconvicted and this includes identification of immediate resettlement needs on reception, including sustaining tenancies. These teams will remain embedded in all prisons which house those who are unconvicted, including HMP Birmingham, and their role includes planning for a potential release from Court.

Releases from HMP Birmingham of offenders who have received a custodial sentence have been falling from around 2,100 in 2015 and 2016 to 750 in 2020, which was an atypical year impacted by the Covid pandemic.  All of those who are eligible will be supported by the new Accommodation Services commissioned as part of the reforms to the Probation Service. This provision includes pre and post-release support to obtain and sustain tenancies.

A proportion of those released without a custodial sentence will receive a Community Order and therefore will be eligible for the new Accommodation Services support at that point. For those who are released without charge or the case is discontinued, Probation staff in Court will offer advice to the individual on how to make representation to their Local Authority homeless unit.

Information on what proportion of prisoners released from HMP Birmingham in a typical year will be ineligible for accommodation support on release following the full implementation of the new accommodation contract, can only be obtained from individual case files at disproportionate cost.

Access to stable accommodation has been identified as one of the key resettlement pathways to support people address their offending behaviour and to reduce the likelihood of reoffending.  Accommodation Services are a key element of Commissioned Rehabilitative Services (CRS) Framework, which went live on 26 June 2021. The CRS accommodation contracts provide services for prisoner released under Probation supervision and covers the entire prison estate. We are currently looking into what accommodation and rehabilitative support could additionally be provided to people in prison who are unconvicted and who are at risk of homelessness on release.

Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) exercised its right under the contract with G4S to ‘step-in’ in August 2018 and took over the running of HMP Birmingham. The ‘step-in’ meant that HMPPS could provide additional resources and support to directly address the areas of failure identified. The additional cost of the ‘step-in’ action, including additional HMPPS staff has been recovered from G4S in accordance with the terms of the contract.

There has been good progress since the ‘step-in’ however, the department and G4S have mutually agreed to formally return the prison to HMPPS in July 2019. G4S staff at Birmingham will transfer to HMPPS contracts on 1 July and they are being supported through the transition.

This change will continue to drive the long-term improvements that are required at the prison.

We have made no changes since G4S remain contractually responsible for the prison until 1st of July 2019.

Privately-managed prisons have pioneered the use of modern technology to improve the running of establishments and help promote rehabilitation. This includes the development of in-cell telephony to help prisoners maintain ties with their families; interactive story-time activities between prisoners and their children; and the introduction of electronic kiosks, which allow prisoners to have greater control of managing their day-to-day lives. The use of body-worn video cameras was introduced by private prisons. Private prisons also have excellent facilities as standard, such as showers in cells, which it is not possible to provide in our older prisons.

In August 2018, Her Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) exercised its right under the contract with G4S to ‘step-in’ and take over the running of HMP Birmingham. The ‘step-in’ meant that HMPPS could provide additional resources and support to directly address the areas of failure identified. The cost of this has been recovered from G4S.

G4S remain contractually responsible for the prison until 1st of July 2019 when HMPPS will take full control of the prison. As we have always mentioned, HMPPS does not publish the staffing numbers for privately managed prisons. Operators of privately managed prisons are required to deliver sufficient recruitment and training of staff to ensure they maintain a safe, decent and secure prison as per their contractual obligation. The performance of all providers continues to be robustly managed and we will not hesitate to take action if standards fall short.