Prisoner Early Release Scheme

Richard Tice Excerpts

Tuesday 13th October 2026 Commons Chamber

[Jake Richards]

My hon. Friend is right, and I can set out clearly what we are doing. By the end of this Parliament, there will be more criminals behind bars than ever before under a Labour Government. That is because this Government are spending three times more on prison building than the Conservatives ever did. The Conservative Government closed 23 prisons; we are building 14,000 places. That is the difference between a Labour Government and a Conservative Government.

[Richard Tice (Boston and Skegness) (Reform)]

The sad truth is that dangerous sexual predators are being released early under this scheme. The sister of a friend of mine was told by police just a few weeks ago that her heinous assailant was being released in a few months’ time and there was nothing they could do. She resigned from her job and has fled the country in terror. That is where things have got to. There are some 4,000 empty cells that require maintenance and refurbishment, and 10,000 cells are occupied by overseas nationals. Will the Government use those places to stop dangerous offenders from being released early?

[Jake Richards]

I am happy to ensure that the hon. Member has the appropriate information needed about the case that he raises, and we will be able to look into that case individually. Prison capacity more generally is still a challenge. Although 4,000 places may be available today, there are different categories of prisons and there is geographical need. It is not quite as simple as just being a numbers game; the picture is a bit more complicated than that. I am proud that this Government have increased the deportation of foreign national offenders by 40%. We will continue to deport more foreign national offenders when the new early release scheme comes into effect early next year, and I look forward to Members from across the House supporting the Government in our efforts.