Written questions by Hinds.

What the gross number of prison places added to the prison estate in England and Wales through new builds and extensions to prisons was between (a) 1997 and 2010 and (b) 2010 and 2024.

The previous Labour Government added nearly 28,000 places to the prison estate between 1997 and 2010. However, available records do not provide a breakdown for these figures of these places by category. The annual breakdown of this net change has been provided in the table below.For the information requested relating to the period between 2010 and 2024, I refer you to the table provided in the response to PQs 36624 & 36626.Last year this Government announced plans to build 14,000 places by 2031 as part of our 10-year Prison Capacity Strategy. We have already started the 700-place expansion at HMP Highpoint in Suffolk in March, and a new houseblock providing nearly 460 places at HMP Rye Hill in Northamptonshire recently received its first prisoners. We are also opening HMP Millsike in the coming weeks, a major milestone which will hold nearly 1,500 prisoners and help put more violent offenders behind bars to make streets safer.Table 1. Annual change in Operational Capacity between May 1997 and May 2010.Date Total Operational Capacity Annual net change May-9761,927xMay-9869,5207,593May-9969,645125May-0071,1711,526May-0171,598427May-0273,5351,937May-0376,0512,516May-0477,4311,380May-0578,9871,556May-0681,2002,213May-0783,1581,958May-0885,0871,929May-0986,8051,718May-1089,7572,952Total 27,830

If she will replicate the data line items included in the ad hoc publication Estimate of the number of prison places built and closed between 2010 and 2024, published on 25 October 2025, for each year from the earliest year for which data are available to 2010.

The previous Labour Government added nearly 28,000 places to the prison estate between 1997 and 2010. However, available records do not provide a breakdown for these figures of these places by category. The annual breakdown of this net change has been provided in the table below.For the information requested relating to the period between 2010 and 2024, I refer you to the table provided in the response to PQs 36624 & 36626.Last year this Government announced plans to build 14,000 places by 2031 as part of our 10-year Prison Capacity Strategy. We have already started the 700-place expansion at HMP Highpoint in Suffolk in March, and a new houseblock providing nearly 460 places at HMP Rye Hill in Northamptonshire recently received its first prisoners. We are also opening HMP Millsike in the coming weeks, a major milestone which will hold nearly 1,500 prisoners and help put more violent offenders behind bars to make streets safer.Table 1. Annual change in Operational Capacity between May 1997 and May 2010.Date Total Operational Capacity Annual net change May-9761,927xMay-9869,5207,593May-9969,645125May-0071,1711,526May-0171,598427May-0273,5351,937May-0376,0512,516May-0477,4311,380May-0578,9871,556May-0681,2002,213May-0783,1581,958May-0885,0871,929May-0986,8051,718May-1089,7572,952Total 27,830

What the (a) number of prison places added, (b) number of prison places removed and (c) net change in the number of prison places was in each year from the earliest year for which data are available.

As previously set out in an ad-hoc release in October 2024, the previous Government only managed to increase prison capacity by c.500 places between May 2010 and April 2024.As we have also previously published, the previous Labour Government added nearly 28,000 places to the prison estate, however available records do not provide a breakdown for these figures.The answers to both questions, dating back to 2010, have been provided as an Excel document alongside this response. Please note that HMPPS does not collate data in the specific categories requested in PQ 36626 so these have been substituted for the equivalent categories in which the data is held. The ‘other’ category in the table includes all other changes such as places temporarily out of use for maintenance.Lastly, due to the complexities around prison crowding data, we are unable to provide a breakdown alongside the other information. However, data on prison crowding is published annually and a comprehensive overview can be viewed at HMPPS Annual Digest, April 2023 to March 2024 - GOV.UK.

What the number of prison places added through (a) prisons opening, (b) small secure houseblocks, (c) rapid deployment cells, (d) crowding places and (e) other additions was in each year from the earliest year for which data are available.

As outlined in the recently published 10-Year Prison Capacity Strategy, this Government is committed to delivering an additional 14,000 prison places through the 20,000 prison place programmes, which the previous Government failed to deliver.We are aiming to deliver the further 14,000 places by 2031 through our four new prisons, in addition to HMPs Five Wells and Fosse Way which have already been built. Other places within the 20,000 place programmes will be delivered through expansion of the existing estate, including Small Secure Houseblocks and Rapid Deployment Cells, additional houseblocks and refurbishments on the existing estate, additional crowded places available in the new manage and maintain private prison contracts, Category D Estate Expansion, Small Secure Investments and Urgent Temporary Accommodation.No places have been delivered through the Small Secure Houseblocks Programme to date. ‘Other (e)’ in the table below consists of additional crowded places available in the new manage and maintain private prison contracts, Category D Estate Expansion, Small Scale Investments and Urgent Temporary Accommodation.Data has been provided from this point as the programmes in the question (Rapid Deployment Cells and Small Secure Houseblocks) are new delivery types from the 20k programmes, which began in 2020. Due to the complexities around prison crowding data (d), we are unable to provide a breakdown in the below table. However, data on prison crowding is published annually and a comprehensive overview can be viewed at HMPPS Annual Digest, April 2023 to March 2024 - GOV.UK This data does not represent the net breakdown of supply across this period, which can be found through PQs 36624 and 36626, or the October 2024 Ad Hoc publication which can be found at The_number_of_prison_places_built_and_closed__2010-2024_.docx.YEAR PROGRAMME PLACES ADDED 2020New Prisons (a)0 Small Secure Houseblocks (b)0 Rapid Deployment Cells (c)0 Houseblocks and Refurbishments (e)651 Other (e)02021New Prisons (a)0 Small Secure Houseblocks (b)0 Rapid Deployment Cells (c)0 Houseblocks and Refurbishments (e)0 Other (e)4072022New Prisons (a)1,715 Small Secure Houseblocks (b)0 Rapid Deployment Cells (c)0 Houseblocks and Refurbishments (e)0 Other (e)3532023New Prisons (a)1,715 Small Secure Houseblocks (b)0 Rapid Deployment Cells (c)406 Houseblocks and Refurbishments (e)165 Other (e)2842024New Prisons (a)0 Small Secure Houseblocks (b)0 Rapid Deployment Cells (c)361 Houseblocks and Refurbishments (e)214 Other (e)2512025New Prisons (a)0 Small Secure Houseblocks (b)0 Rapid Deployment Cells (c)0 Houseblocks and Refurbishments (e)0 Other (e)126

What the number of prison places removed through (a) prisons closing, (b) parts of prisons being removed from use, (c) loss of modular units, (d) reductions in crowding places and (e) other removals was in each year from the earliest year for which data are available.

As previously set out in an ad-hoc release in October 2024, the previous Government only managed to increase prison capacity by c.500 places between May 2010 and April 2024.As we have also previously published, the previous Labour Government added nearly 28,000 places to the prison estate, however available records do not provide a breakdown for these figures.The answers to both questions, dating back to 2010, have been provided as an Excel document alongside this response. Please note that HMPPS does not collate data in the specific categories requested in PQ 36626 so these have been substituted for the equivalent categories in which the data is held. The ‘other’ category in the table includes all other changes such as places temporarily out of use for maintenance.Lastly, due to the complexities around prison crowding data, we are unable to provide a breakdown alongside the other information. However, data on prison crowding is published annually and a comprehensive overview can be viewed at HMPPS Annual Digest, April 2023 to March 2024 - GOV.UK.