The number of prison places built and closed (2010-2024)
This release provides an estimate of the net change in prison places between 2010 and 2024 as referenced by the Lord Chancellor on 22nd October 2024.
Applies to England and Wales
Documents
Details
Background:
The Lord Chancellor announced an independent Sentencing Review on 22nd October 2024. This note explains the data used to determine the statement that 500 places had been added to prison capacity between 2010 and 2024.
Data:
This data covers the entire prison estate (adult male, adult female, and youth) in England and Wales. All data is sourced from internal HMPPS management information.
Headline figures:
1) 500 places added to prison capacity in 14 years
The 500 places net change in prison capacity in 14 years was calculated as the difference between total operational capacity in May 2010 (89,757) and April 2024 (90,239). This results in a net increase of 482 places which was rounded up to 500 for the Lord Chancellor’s statement to parliament.
2) 13,000 places built and 12,500 places closed between 2010 and 2024
Data for 13,000 places built references unpublished data used in the House of Commons by Edward Argar MP on 18th July 2024. It refers to 13,009 places built between May 2010 and August 2023. Places built includes ‘re-roles’ where other secure space, such as Immigration Removal Centres, has been repurposed to prison places.
Data for the 12,500 places closed refers to an unpublished estimate of 12,514 prison places closed over the same time period. In this instance, ‘places closed’ includes ‘re-roles’ where prison spaces been taken out of use to be reconfigured in a different part of the estate. It includes places that were planned to close permanently due to dilapidation, but which subsequently were re-opened after investment to improve their condition.
Limitations:
The places built and closed data above should not be combined to produce an estimate of prison capacity created. This is because prison places that were expected to close due to dilapidations feature as closures in the places closed data, but not as places subsequently reopened in the places built data. This means net capacity change would be an underestimate if calculated in this way. Operational capacity reflects temporary weekly adjustments in available prison spaces, such as reductions for maintenance or changes to crowding levels. In contrast, places opened and closed indicate permanent capacity changes, like new facilities being built or prisons permanently closing. As operational capacity varies week to week, it often includes more variance due to these frequent, short-term changes.
Prison capacity fluctuates from one week to another, for example as prison places are taken out of use to do essential maintenance work and others are returned to use. The net change in prison places from one year to another therefore depends on the chosen dates within each year.