LONDON, Dec. 9 -- The government of the United Kingdom issued the following news:
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5,000 newprisonplacesunderconstruction-part of biggest expansionin over acentury
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Thousands of new jobscreatednationwide, boosting localeconomies
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Crucial steptowardssafer streetsunderGovernment'sPlan forChange
Around5,000new prisonplacesareunderconstruction- includingin theNorth West,South East,South WestandEast of England- aspart ofGovernmentaction tokeep the publicsafe andensurejailsnever run out of space again.
Oncecomplete, theywill add to the 2,900placesalreadydeliveredsince July 2024,markingsignificant progresstowards the target of 14,000additionalplacesby 2031to lock up dangerous offenders.The latest project, a 245-place houseblock at HMP Fosse Way in the East Midlands, opened to prisoners last week.
Thevariousbuilds arealsopowering local economies, withthousands of jobscreated nationwideduringconstruction andonce the sites are operational.
Minister for Prisons, Probation, and Reducing Reoffending, Lord James Timpson said:
This Government inherited a prison system incrisis - andwe'redoing everything wecan to fix it.
We'vealready delivered 2,900newplacesin the last 18 months, with thousands more on the way. As part of ourPlan forChangewe'remaking sure dangerous offenders are behind bars and our streets are safer - no excuses, just action.
The prison estate increased by less than 500net placesin the fourteen years to April 2024.
Thethousandsnowunderconstruction arebeing delivered through new prison builds, the expansion and refurbishment of existing sites, and innovative solutions such as Rapid DeploymentCellswhich are modular units designed to quickly addcapacity.
Minister for Sentencing and Youth Justice, Jake Richards, said:
We'vewasted no time in building the prisonplacesneeded to protect the public,creating thousands of jobs along the way.
But building alone will not end thecrisis. That is whywe'realso reforming sentencing to ensure punishmentcutscrime and that there is always acell for dangerouscriminals.
Construction isalreadyunderway on new houseblocks at HMPChanningsWoodin Devon,HMP Highpointin Suffolkand HMP Wayland in Thetford,adding1400placesacross the sites.Meanwhile, expansion work has also begun atsixfurther prisonsdelivering newSmallSecureHouseblocks, whichcombined will deliver over 1,000places.
In Leicestershire, main works havecommencedonthebrand-newHMP Welland Oaksprison that will provide approximately 1,700placeswhen it opens in 2029.
Rapid DeploymentCells are being rolled out at sites including HMPs Wayland,Haverigg,The Mount and Leyhill, withplacesexpected tocome online by summer 2026.
The Government alsopublished its response toDame AnneOwers'independent review into prisoncapacitytoday,acceptingthe majority ofthe report's recommendationsaimed at ensuring thecountry is never faced with running out ofcells again.This includesincreasing investment in probation services,withup to £700 millionextraalready pledgedby2028/29-allowing tens of thousands more offenders to be tagged andmonitoredandreducing pressure on theprison estate.
Background:
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Since July 2024around2,900placeshave been delivered, includingaround1,500placesthroughthenew prison HMPMillsike
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Around930placeshave been delivered through Rapid DeploymentCells (RDCs)at 18 sites since January 2023
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Over 1,000placeswill be delivered throughtheSmall Secure Houseblocks Programme (SSH) and over 2,000 through the Accelerated Houseblocks Delivery Programme (AHD).
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The Government is investing £4.7 billion towards the delivery of these prison builds over this spending review period (2026/27 - 2029/30).
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The government's response to Dame AnneOwers'independent review is available here.
Disclaimer: Curated by HT Syndication.
