Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to reduce overcrowding in prisons.

We are committed to ensuring that prisons are safe, decent and support rehabilitation.

We are modernising the prison estate, closing older prisons that are not fit for purpose and creating in their place high-quality, rehabilitative establishments. We have started to redevelop the prisons at Glen Parva (Leicestershire) and Wellingborough (Northamptonshire). We are building a new houseblock at Stocken prison (Rutland).

The Verne, a former HM Prison and Probation Service operated immigration removal centre in Dorset, will be reopening as a prison later this year and is expected to hold 580 offenders.