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Committee publication · Correspondence · 6 July 2026

Letter from the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Justice relating to Ministry of Justice Follow Up on HMP Dartmoor: Autumn 2025, 30 June 2026

From: Public Accounts Committee

Summary

The Ministry of Justice Permanent Secretary notifies the Public Accounts Committee that the Department will miss its June 2026 deadline to respond to recommendation 2 from the autumn 2025 HMP Dartmoor follow-up. The recommendation requires the MoJ and HMPPS to provide an assessment of proposed remediation works against accounting officer tests, cost and timeline estimates, and evaluation of lease exit options. The Department is extending the implementation date to October 2026 pending completion of its decision on the prison's future.

Key findings

  • The Department will not meet the June 2026 implementation deadline for responding to recommendation 2 regarding HMP Dartmoor's future
  • Recommendation 2 requires assessment of proposed works against four accounting officer tests: regularity, propriety, feasibility, and value for money
  • The Department must provide estimates of remediation costs and when the prison will be fit for use, and evaluate whether early lease exit is better value for money than continued spending on an unoccupied prison
  • HMP Dartmoor was temporarily closed in August 2024 due to elevated radon gas levels in non-accommodation areas
  • The implementation deadline is being extended to October 2026, with an earlier update promised if a decision is reached sooner

Tone

Procedural

Topics

prison-managementpublic-financeasset-managementenvironmental-healthgovernment-accountability

Key actors

Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP, Dr Jo Farrar CB OBE, Public Accounts Committee, Ministry of Justice, HM Prison and Probation Service

Notable line

“While much progress has been made, we have not yet reached a final decision.”

Key Quotes

“I am writing with reference to recommendation two from the TM response on Ministry of Justice Follow Up: Autumn 2025, and to notify the Committee that the Department will not meet the current June 2026 implementation date.”
— Dr Jo Farrar CB OBE · Opening notification of missed deadline
“It is important that our decision on the future of Dartmoor takes into account all available information applied against the four Accounting Officer tests: regularity, propriety, feasibility and value for money.”
— Dr Jo Farrar CB OBE · Justifying the need for extended timescale
“As such, we will be extending the implementation date to October”
— Dr Jo Farrar CB OBE · Stating the new deadline
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Source · parliament.uk record ↗