The UK government is set to announce a £110 million initiative to generate an additional 14,000 prison spaces by 2031. The plan involves repurposing areas within existing correctional facilities, such as office spaces, storage rooms, and laundry rooms, to accommodate more inmates.
Justice Secretary Alex Norris is also expected to reveal investments for acquiring land for future prison sites and an additional £18.9 million dedicated to specialist victim support services. The government has also secured a contract to commence construction on a new 1,700-place prison in Lancashire.
This announcement comes as a row intensifies over the early release of thousands of prisoners. Initially, around 5,000 inmates were scheduled for early release, a number subsequently reduced to 4,500 after offenders convicted of rape and serious child sex offenses were exempted. The policy was further revised to exclude individuals convicted of unlawful killing, meaning Albert Bowers and Jessie Cole, convicted of the manslaughter of PC Andrew Harper in 2020, are no longer eligible for early release next year. This change is being facilitated by reclassifying inmates serving indefinite terms for public protection sentences (IPPs), a move critics argue could pose a higher risk to the public.
Justice minister Alex Davies-Jones acknowledged that the policy changes would lead to very tight prison capacity, stating that inmates released early under these circumstances would generally be placed on GPS monitoring tags with movement restrictions. Some prison governors have expressed concern about a “revolving door” effect, with some inmates being released early only to reoffend or violate their release conditions.
Conservative justice spokesman Nick Timothy criticized the government's approach, noting that there are fewer prison places than a year prior and that the announced flagship prison project was initiated by the previous Conservative government. He also called for emergency legislation to prevent the release of criminals deemed dangerous.