Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will allocate additional funding in Barnett consequentials to help ensure that prisons throughout the UK meet their obligations under UN guidelines.

Responsibility for prisons is reserved in England and Wales. The UK Government has provided a £3.2 billion cash increase for the justice system over the Parliament to £11.5 billion in 2024-25, which includes a £3.8 billion investment in our prison building programme over the next three years.

Responsibility for prisons is devolved to the Scottish Government and the Northern Ireland Executive. It is for the devolved administrations to decide how to allocate their funding across their devolved responsibilities.

The 2021 Spending Review settlements were the largest since devolution. The Scottish Government is receiving an average of £4.6 billion per year through the Barnett formula on top of its £36.7 billion annual baseline and the Northern Ireland Executive is receiving an average of £1.6 billion through the Barnett formula on top of its £13.4 billion annual baseline.