Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he plans to take to address the current prison population already being greater than the projected numbers for each year through to 2020.

In August 2017, the Ministry of Justice published its annual Prison Population Projections bulletin 2017 to 2022. As at 10th November the total prison population was 86,163, which is well within our published range for November 2017.

Prison numbers can fluctuate, which is why we have a robust set of plans in place to ensure we will always have enough places for offenders committed to custody by the courts. This includes modernising the estate and building new accommodation.